I can't tell you how stoked I am to check NW indie funksters Velella Velella tonight at the Crocodile. From the moment I first caught them live (this was at the Sunset some years ago), I could feel their uncommon grasp of The Funk: it's not easy to make such music in 2012 and not come off as super cheesy or even hella awkward—I somewhat recently watched a certain nationally/internationally touring band of similar vintage not pull that trick off, night after night. Even the 70's stuff in my dad & uncles' era could veer to the dangerously cheesy. Live, Andrew Means (who once told me he's a big fan of the Mizell Bros. stuff (no doubt trying to secure future blog posts on this very highly-read hotspot) and company bring a welcome meaure of unself-conscious abandon, but tempered with true rhythm, beautiful sounds, and a certain soulful restraint. Shit gets me going.

So I play their albums Atlantis Massif and Flight Cub all the time, at parties, shindigs, and tour vans—and every time, folks are like "Who that is?" or its equivalent. (In fact, quiet as kept, VV has been enjoying a lot of love from local hiphop heads for a minute.) It makes me look good—excuse, makes me look even better. Thank you, double V. I'm looking forward to what you've got coming next.