On Friday, Nov. 2, Vibes, Written and Spoken, Delta Phi, Student Performing Arts Club (SPAC), and WHCL presented the Funktion 3: Son of the Funktion. Students gathered in the Annex for 11 featured acts including poetry, student bands, and a dance performance. The lineup of performers was Kayley Boddy ’22, Maddie Cavallino ’21, Peter Case ’21, Ricio, Suavé TheGent, Heat, Grime Time, Yonic Youth, Juice, Dogs, and Uptown Booty. Vibes described the event as “a night where Student Organizations with similar goals and values team up for a crazy high-energy night to benefit both the student artists who perform, as well as the audience members who may not have been aware of the various musical groups and performers on campus.”
The event was highly popular, and the Annex reached capacity early on in the night. Kayley Boddy ’22, Madeleine Cavallino ’21, and Peter Case ’21 performed spoken word. Cavallino commented, “I think my favorite part was seeing the progress that both myself and the other Vibes members made in our performances. The club is about writing of all forms, but it’s also about performance and owning what you’ve written.”
M. Ricio Matt ’20 — or Ricio — started the musical performances with original songs including “S.H.” (The Name’s in the Song), “The Devil in White Denim”, “Weed and Whiskey Sours”, “Off/On”, “Dragonfruit”, “The Judge”, “Seeds”, “DosRico”, and “Fortnite with my Juul.” Ricio describes himself as a “Chicano performing and visual artist from Providence, RI. My music centers mostly around themes of mental health, racial injustice, love & heartbreak, and sometimes just for having a dope time.”
The crowd was full of energy, which only grew as the night went on.
Following Ricio’s performance was Ricardo Millien ’19, also known as Suavé TheGent, who described the Funktion as “lit.” He added: “As a performer, I THRIVE off of SOLID energy, and Hamilton brought just that.” Suavé TheGent is a Haitian musical artist. He says his music touches on themes of love, freedom, pain, and beauty. He performed “Buss A Whine,” “Taste,” “Wave Just Started,” “UNDERSTAND,” “Soul Snatcher,” “We Can’t Be,” and “Drink N Play.” His recent EP: “Smoove Tape” can be streamed on all platforms.
The College’s hip-hop dance team, Heat, performed between Suavé TheGent and Grime Time, a recently formed student band. Grime Time performed “TV Party” by Black Flag, “99 Luftbaloons” by Nena, and “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas with a “Monster Mash” tease. Audience members danced and sang along, and the energy in the room was unwavering throughout the set.
Enthusiasm only grew when Yonic Youth took the stage. The band sang “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks, “Stayin’Alive” by the Bee Gees, “You Go Down Smooth” by Lake Street Dive, “Talking Body” by Tove Lo, “American Boy” by Estelle, “R U Mine” by the Arctic Monkeys, and an original song titled “Vajapple.” The band credits its name to the yonic depiction of a green apple painted on the wall of McEwen Dining Hall.
Following Yonic Youth was Juice, whose appearance spurred cheers and further excitement. Juice started their set with a rendition of “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” by the Beatles, in the style of Joe Cocker. The rest of their set included “Sour Candy” by Melt, and a mashup of “Night Moves” by Bob Seger, “Franklin’s Tour by the Grateful Dead, and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, by the Rolling Stones. After “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and “Hold On” by Alabama Shakes, Juice finished with a twist on the classic “Take On Me” by Aha in the style of Reel Big Fish.
Alex Fergusson ’20, who performed with both Grime Time and Juice, commented, “the Funktion has been one of my favorites nights of the semester since the first incarnation in the fall of 2017 […] The energy of all performers and the audience makes the space something incredible. I was very happy for Grime Time’s first public performance, and for the chance to add WHCL to the co-host list. The balance of many hosts is what makes the event so great, and getting the station involved was something I had hoped for before, so making it a reality this time around was good. I really don’t think there’s another event quite like it on this campus: where else can you have poetry and live music in a full party setting? As a member of half the sponsoring organizations, I was extremely happy with how Funktion 3 went, and can’t wait for the next!”
Following Juice were student bands Dogs and Uptown Booty, whose performances finished up the night.
By all accounts, the third Funktion was a success. Cavallino reflected on the role of Vibes in the event: “It has become a group of people I’m very close with and seeing all of us come together in this performance and cheer each other on was really amazing. I feel like all of us have written things that we normally wouldn’t talk about casually with other people. We share these with things with the club first in our really bad rough drafts and that allows us to gain confidence to make our writing better and to perform pieces that not only have meaning to us but will have an impact on our audience.”
