The Full Phat 5 Lay Down The Funk-Bomb At Roberts

On Saturday 1^st October The Full Phat 5 played at Roberts Live Lounge in Colchester and left the audience suitably funkified. The Full Phat 5 produced a performance of genuine passion and energy that showed how to cover some of the best soul and funk tracks ever made. Steven Flavell was there to enjoy the experience.

The Full Phat 5

When I heard that The Full Phat 5 were playing at Roberts bar I just had to go. Although I had never seen them play before, I have seen Greg Blackman perform with his piano; his voice is something that really has to be sampled in person; it’s just made for soul and funk. However The Full Phat 5 are not just a one man band, far from it. The remaining four members: Matt Haines (guitar), Rocky Hambling (drums), Geoff Hall (bass) and Kev Wiltshire (keyboard) possess years of experience from gigging and touring across the country and Europe.

How this band came to be is not important, what is important is that we have a local soul and funk cover band that can lay down a set that covers songs by the likes of Stevie Wonder to Bill Withers.

The Full Phat 5 opened with a full and rich rendition of I Wish by Stevie Wonder and followed it up with Harvest For The World by The Isley Brothers. The band seemed at ease as the lethargic base and smooth keys appeared to carry you away with the peaceful melodies of the song.

It was at this moment that The Full Phat 5 introduced a little funk to the proceedings by playing Brick House by The Commodores. The mischievous rhythm of the song is impossible not to dance to. When I looked onto the dance floor I thought that The Full Phat 5 had succeeded in bringing back to life the late Patrick Swayze; he was dancing away like nobody’s business, but alas it was not Patrick Swayze. It was merely a drunken lookalike who couldn’t dance at all…

One of the highlights of the night was during the Bill Withers song Ain’t No Sunshine in the third verse where Bill Withers repeats “I know, I know, I know…” and builds his voice with emotion and volume. Vocally it is incredibly difficult to replicate but Greg Blackman filled the lyrics with such soulful passion that it sent a shiver down my spine.

The Full Phat 5

The Full Phat 5’s cover of Al Green’s Lets Stay Together was also a very special moment. The band nailed it. The gentle thud of the drums complemented the mysterious keys to create a soothing lullaby. Click here to listen to The Full Phat 5′s recorded version of Lets Stay Together by Al Green.

The Full Phat 5 ended the night with Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder, whereby they well and truly laid down the funk like an atom bomb. It was delivered with explosive emotion and it was a great way to end the night.

This article was originally posted by me on the Colchester Circle blog