Ava Luna @ Kung Fu Necktie.

Text and images by Grace Dickinson.

Kung Fu Necktie’s dimly lit back room was barely half-filled as the main act paraded out on stage. An eight-foot gap stood between the band and the audience, making a walk towards the stage easier than getting a drink at the bar on most Saturday nights.

It was an intimate scene that likely won’t occur much longer for Ava Luna, a group of six who made their way to Philadelphia yesterday for the second time this year. The four guys and two gals who just got off tour in SXSW are definitely going somewhere, and not just because Pitchfork says so.

Growing up as the son of a ’70s soul DJ, Carlos Hernandez ditched a short stint in the noise-punk scene and returned to his roots to form Ava Luna. His background shines through in the band’s R&B vocals paired with indie-electronic backdrop, definitive of their Brooklyn base.

They’ve got a funk that makes you want to groove, playing off the strong vocals of Hernandez and jazzy harmonies from the back-up singers that are reminiscent of ‘60s and ‘70s bands.

It’s only a matter of time before these guys blow up. But in the meantime, the Twitter-sphere tells me you can catch these guys keeping it casual. You might even see them chowing down late-night style on Taco Bell. ($30.76 worth of Taco Bell to be exact, thanks to some handy gift cards from everyone’s favorite Darwin Deez).