Courtesy of Reza Mills

After the experimental genteel folk styling’s of Sam and the Plants, it was time for some serious booty shaking courtesy of sleazy dub funk outfit Voytek the bear. Voytek are a 4-piece outfit from Manchester consisting of John Callaghan on drums, Dave Leonard on Trumpet/guitar, Dan Merryweather on vocals/guitar and Pete Robinson on Bass/vocals. The band plays a mixture of ska, funk, punk and dub. Comparisons could be made to Primus, Sublime, Happy Mondays and on occasion A Certain Ratio. There is also a slight jazz influence present as well which should be no surprise as one of the influences listed on their MySpace page was Art Blakey. All these influences combined make for some exceptionally abrasive grooves. The band certainly got the audience moving, especially our very own Kev Mcveigh who feeling the phunky vibes, took off his shoes, got down to the front of the room and started shakin’ and grooving in time to the seriously funky tunes being laid down. Who said white guys had no rhythm? There was also a stoner aesthetic inherent to the music as well, with the more laid back tunes taking you to a higher state of consciousness. The band was hugely entertaining and a lot of fun. Highly recommended viewing if you ever get a chance.