Snarky Puppy + Funky Knuckles @ La Sala Rossa

I had an embarrassing moment a couple of weeks ago. My buddy sent me an excited message that Snarky Puppy was coming to Montreal, and I had never heard of them. Knowing that this friend usually shares my taste in music, it definitely merited investigation. A few YouTube videos later, I was completely hooked. Snarky Puppy turned out to be right up my alley: the perfect mix of funk, soul, hip-hop, and jazz. I knew this was not a concert to be missed.

I made my way down to La Sala Rossa, a cosy venue on St. Laurent, with high expectations. The show started about an hour late, but the opening band called Funky Knuckles soon won back the crowd with a solid performance. The Knuckles are a six-piece soul/jazz group (perhaps leaning more on the jazz end of the spectrum) out of Dallas, Texas. I wouldn't write them off as just another jazz group, as they have an original sound and plenty of charisma. The crowd especially enjoyed "Arise", a fresh Dilla-inspired tune written by guitarist Phill Aelony.

Soon, the main attraction made their way on stage for their second consecutive sold-out show in Montreal. The members of Snarky Puppy were packed on stage like sardines, with nine bandmates performing, including Canada's own Larnell Lewis on drums, this represented a small subset of the band's 13-plus collective. Although several musicians are playing at once, the group has a knack for giving each other space musically; everyone knows their roles, and everyone contributes to the creation of a rich and diverse sound.

The set began with an upbeat, high-energy version of "White Cap", a tune off their 2010 album Tell Your Friends. It was followed by "Strawman", a song that blends jazzy harmonies with afro-beat rhythms. The audience then stood in awe as guitarist Mark Lettieri showed us his best Hendrix impression in a beautiful interlude leading up to "Flood".

Later on, The Funky Knuckles' Caleb McCampbell joined Snarky Puppy on stage for a guest keyboard solo that incorporated his dissonant jazz chords with Shaun Martin's synth leads. The entire show was complemented by bassist and band leader Michael League's constant smiling and contagious demeanour. He served as a gracious host and a welcome presence for music nerds, giving insight into his writing process along the way.

For the encore, League (now donning a Habs shirt) introduced the song "Sleeper" from their new album We Like It Here that I recognized from YouTube. Needless to say, it was executed to perfection. Overall, the show exceeded my expectations, and Snarky Puppy has a new fan. Time to go buy some records!

--Richie Starr hosts Cued for Thought, Wednesdays at 2 PM on CJLO