Hey Ocean brings the funk

By Steve McGill

mcgi0086@algonquincollege.com

Vancouver funk group Hey Ocean and Toronto hip hop artist Shad treated the Observatory to a joyous night of dancing and fun.

Both groups are kicking off a cross Canada tour with this show marking one of the first few dates.

Opening the night was Shad, the Canadian hip hop artist who only recently was nominated for the Polaris Prize, an award held by the likes of Final Fantasy and Patrick Watson.

“It’s great that the award exists to push smaller artists who aren’t necessarily selling CDs,” said Shad frontman Shadrach Kabango about being nominated.

He was backed by a DJ, and also joined by the bassist and drummer for Hey Ocean on a few tracks.

At the opening of the night, the crowd was not particularly big.

However, as the night went on, the Observatory filled up and there were actually people dancing up front right from the start, an unusual occurrence at shows at the college.

“Playing colleges can be pretty hit and miss. Sometimes you get a good group of attentive and knowledgeable people, and sometimes you’re just the soundtrack to someone’s drunken party,” said Kabango.

Headlining the night was Vancouver group Hey Ocean, playing a very catchy brand of rhythm-based funk.

All members of the band shared vocal duties and played through an hour long set of very enjoyable and danceable music.

The crowd was certainly enjoying it as well as a number of fans who spent the whole set dancing and another good number stood at the front during the show.

“I’m glad people turned out … sometimes you play shows and nobody comes and it’s just not as fun,” joked lead singer Ashleigh Bell between songs.

After playing for around 45 minutes, the band left the stage but were drawn back by encore yells, and brought Shad with them to play the collaboration the two artists had made.