French group Novox whipped the crowd into a frenzy at Funk Da Rock on Saturday. (0806062)

THE rain came down last Saturday.

Initially, this was bad news for Funk Da Rock, which tends to have the live music outside on the terrace of the Half Moon Cafe.

However, having the bands inside didn’t make a blind bit of difference, as people by the masses turned out to support the popular monthly gig which raises money for the Mines Awareness Trust.

I think this had a lot to do with curiosity – a French, jazz/funk band? I had to be there to witness this and so did everyone else.

Novox, a seven-piece, had travelled 500 miles especially for Funk Da Rock and I don’t think there was a member of the audience who wasn’t amazed by them.

The venue wasn’t as packed as I had expected on arrival, yet it didn’t take long for the place to fill.

Schema were playing their set when I arrived, and I noticed it was much more soulful than their normal, funky set.

As always, the guys were tight as a band, and the latest addition of a second guitarist really adds volume to their sound. Schema are becoming renowned as one of the best bands in the island, but you can’t expect anything less from a band formed from the ashes of Dave.

The vibe inside the cafe had become charged with anticipation by the time Novox played.

In all honesty I didn’t know what to expect when I came to see the band. I had previously checked their myspace page out, which was half in French, half in English.

They took to the stage, DJ, keyboard, double bass , trumpet, sax, guitarist and drummer.

They burst straight into an energetic set and with all the musical flavours coming at once. All I could do was stand in the audience and shake my body violently.

They had a lot of high energy as a group, and even though it was a purely instrumental performance, the vocals were not sorely missed.

Who did they remind me of?

Well I can’t quite put my finger on it; it was straight-laced awesomeness, and something that Guernsey had never really heard before.

There was a distinctive line between jazz and funk – the brass section providing the jazz side of things, with the guitarist and DJ giving up some funk.

You can tell each musician has been well acquainted with his or her instrument, and as the crowd got rowdier and screamed out for more – the band upped its game.

As well as the jazz and funk, we were treated to sprinkles of reggae elements and ska.

It was a pleasure to see a band clearly enjoying themselves so much on stage, instead of taking it far too seriously.

Funk Da Rock is about good music, good company and a good time – Novox ticked all the boxes.

After a storming set from Novox, Double XL played some old school b-boy hip-hop flavours.

Tight mixing and great tune selection had bodies moving on the floor.

Funk Da Rock organiser Sam Evans said that it had been the best one so far this year, and the fact that Novox had travelled 500 miles to support FDR particularly touched her.

‘We moved all live music inside for the first time in FDR history and it actually worked extremely well.

‘The band were outstanding and the continuity between the trumpet and saxophone player when they played duets in some of the tracks was incredible.

‘Novox told me on Sunday they had been slightly anxious about how the night would turn out as people were slowly trickling into FDR. However, after their first song the cafe was jam-packed and the response the band received from the crowd was electric.

‘The great thing about their set was that Novox really enjoyed themselves and they were feeding off the crowd, who in turn were feeding off of them.

‘Novox told me they were grateful for the incredible response they received from the crowd and that if every crowd was as good as Guernsey’s, they would be the happiest musicians.’

So how did Sam find this crazy, talented French band?

Well, they found her through myspace and had been in contact, trying to find the best date to come and play.

Sam has been so impressed that she has booked them again for next year.

Despite the weather, nearly 250 people came to support the gig, which meant £1,330 was raised for MAT.