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The snippets of audio from old rocket launches and sci-fi samples that filled The State Room before Con Brio took the stage Thursday night felt like they could have been lifted from Parliament Funkadelic — a clear nod to one of the band's influences.

But Con Brio isn't just relaunching the Mothership and tearing the roof off the mother. They're blending a whole slew of soul and R&B and funk, with nods to some of the greats, back to Sam Cooke and Smokey Robinson, Parliament and Earth, Wind & Fire, and newer acts like Mark Ronson and Usher.

And then, of course, watching frontman Ziek McCarter move, there's the most obvious influence: The Godfather, James Brown.

For 90 minutes, McCarter didn't stop gyrating and twisting, leaping across the stage and dropping to the floor and, oh yeah, singing, often bouncing up into a sort of Smokey-esque falsetto. He has the sex appeal that makes women swoon and men envious and he commands the stage.

It works because the rest of the seven-piece ensemble is so good, and seem to be getting tighter and better each time they come through town. The horns — with Marcus Stephens on saxophone and Brendan Liu on trumpet — are the steroids for the soul-funk sound, and Patrick Glynn on keyboards adds texture and mood.

McCarter bounced onto the stage in a black, red and white track suit and headband to a pulsing bass line that overtook the too-long rocket launch countdowns and burst into the song "Liftoff," asking the crowd, "Are you ready to fly with us, Salt Lake City?" The invitation drew hoots from the audience and a broad grin from McCarter as they took off on a nearly 20-minute jammy exploration.

After a 15-minute version of their song, "California Cowboy," they brought it down with a few romantic burners, then brought it back strong with "Money," the band's pulsing statement of picking integrity over a payday.

They led into the next song harmonizing a few bars from the old spiritual "Wade In The Water," to set the tone for "Free and Brave," a political anthem on maintaining positivity to persevere in the face of urban poverty, unemployment and decay, and threw in an explosive drum solo by Andrew Laubacher.

Con Brio capped the night with a smooth slow jam, "Never Be the Same," and a fiery encore that had a shirtless McCarter dripping sweat and gliding around the stage to hoots and cheers and waving the microphone over the audience in a prolonged call-and-repeat.

Like many of their counterparts in the soul-funk world, Con Brio's albums can't capture the energy of their live show. It's something you have to see to appreciate. And if they come back this way later this year, it's worth checking out, because these guys could be on the verge of lifting off.

@RobertGehrke