Freaky Funky Fright Night
Phat Mark, R Cade Daddies, Honey Plant
The Cypress
761 S. Virginia St., Reno
Oct. 27, 2023
A werewolf, a vampire, a skeleton, and Satan (?) step onto a stage and start ripping dancey electro funk. In little time, the werewolf is howling at the moon, and they’re all a bit out of breath.
That’s how Friday night’s all-locals Freaky Funky Fright Night kicked off at Cypress in Reno.
Further Halloween hijinks ensued as the night unfolded under a funk rock haze. Three pickles later stepped forward to create jazzy fusion indie. Michael Myers stabbed one poor saxophonist. Luckily, there was a high priest nearby to revive him in time for his set.
Honey Plant took the stage first. They set the tone for the party with textured funk that got the costumed crowd excited for the night and Halloweekend as a whole. Their second song, “Gotta Get Up To Get Down,” was easily my favorite of the whole concert. I love its simple lyrics about getting ready for a night out and the beat that gets stuck in your head for all of the right reasons. Honey Plant were able to get the crowd moving and hooked onto their sound immediately. It was an explosion of energy to kick everything off.
The band’s bio promises audience participation with every set, too. On Friday, they led a limbo competition on the dancefloor to “How Low Can You Go,” commandering a metal walking cane from someone’s costume for the bar. It let everyone be a little silly and get into the right headspace.
That’s pretty much the whole goal of the band, by the way. They make uplifting, positive music that’s straightforward and slick but never boring. They do it by harnessing Robin Low’s distinctive basslines and showing off Noah Jeffery’s delightful saxophone. It’s easy to be yourself and enjoy the people around you when this four-piece is playing such infectious tunes.
R Cade Daddies, with all three members donning pickle suits, took the stage next. They played a sweeping, swooning set of jazzy fusion rock. The best example was “Scorpio.” It opens with a warning that “you won’t find a way out this time,” getting the audience hooked on what seems like a forever unraveling story only merely punctuated by the crashing cymbals of Adrian Rodriguez. Its meandering guitar part from Stevi Cooper and the enduring crooning of Iris Mattos on the song take listeners on a journey to somewhere but leave us unsure of where that somewhere might be specifically.
The storytelling inherent to their style had me begging for Mattos to sing more and wrap us the stories the band tells even more closely. The pacing and piano of many of the songs, especially “Fine Green,” felt even Broadway-esque. It was somehow emotional and gritty as well as whimsical and imaginative at the same time. I imagined characters from the band’s songs in a Sopranos-like drama walking down a city block in an oversized suit on some important but perhaps improbable and immoral business. Next time you need someone to do a score for your movie or musical, reach out to these guys.
Phat Mark closed the night. The six-person group brought true big band sound to the stage and welcomed the crowd into their jam session. Frontman and trumpeter Casey Smith guided the audience through the set with some light cussing and clear gratitude for the talents of his bandmates. It was refreshing and real to see a band wade through their sound live with the crowd. They kept the crowd in the right frame of mind to close out the show by taking turns and showing off each instrument in traditional jazz fashion.
But they expanded out of that, too. Smith and saxophonist Jarod Duffy rapped alongside heady basslines from Morgan Crano on a couple of songs, like “The Pot Thickens.” That one also includes a sample from famously angry sportscaster Stephen A. Smith. That song, like some others, embraces humor to keep things light.
The band also made space for self-introspection with waves of sound that just drop you into that headspace. Smith introduced one song as one “that makes you think about how you fucked up,” and then unleashed a trippy tune full of pause and promise. Phat Mark struck the right mood throughout the set to end a funky spooky season night.
While I preferred the dancey, chorus-heavy sound of Honey Plant, R Cade Daddies and Phat Mark delivered a full night of hazy instrumental vibes that embraced the Halloweekend crowd. All the bands fully embraced the silliness that comes with this time of year while still providing space for deeper storytelling.
What’s next for Cypress: Contemporary jam band Spafford promises to deliver much of the same at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
What’s next for Phat Mark: They head down the hill to play the Torch Club in Sacramento on Nov. 24 with Leaping Blennies and Litty Debungus.
