Every inch of Funk ‘n’ Waffles Downtown was occupied as The Heavy Pets performed to a packed house Saturday.

The band, made up of guitarist Jeff Lloyd and keyboardist Jim Wuest, performed a plethora of songs heavily based on elements of rock, reggae and funk, as the crowd responded with thundering applause as each song made a smooth transition to the next.

“The Heavy Pets are great. I’ve listened to them for a little while. Kinda didn’t believe that they would be here in Funk N’ Waffles because they’re a little larger,” said Ryan McCarty, an administrative assistant from Cornell University.

Lloyd and Wuest, both Syracuse University alumni, created an almost psychedelic environment as they enthralled the dancing audience with some of their hits. Some songs they played on request. Breaks between songs were interrupted by chants of “let’s go orange” by the audience as well as the band members, on multiple occasions.

Some of the highlights of the performance were Lloyd’s guitar skills as he played powerful solos and duets with the second guitarist and lead vocalist for the night Mark Garulli. There was never a dull moment as the band alternated fast-paced rock songs with smooth, relaxed reggae and funk.

Although not heavy on interaction with the audience, the band involved the audience a couple of times by calling out names of all the people that were celebrating birthdays that night. The audience was made up of people of all ages, from millennials to Generation X’ers.

The opening act for the night was Dixieland-style jam band Primate Fiasco who performed with The Heavy Pets in Buffalo, and will continue performing with them for a few more venues.

The band was a good opening act for the Heavy Pets as they treated the audience to country and folk inspired tunes played with less popular instruments such as the banjo, accordion and a sousaphone, which had the band’s name displayed on it in bold.

The music was primarily instrumental with some vocal songs, as well as elaborate instrumental solos by Dave Russo, playing the banjo and harmonica, and Drake Descant, who played the accordion.

“They’re both different. I like them both. It’s rad”, said Ben Ellenbogen, a server, when asked about which band he likes better.

Published on November 13, 2016 at 5:47 pm