Sly-Chi are now officially a phenomenon in this town. Last year they took home this award, plus Live Act to boot, and the 10-member funk wrecking crew don’t show any signs of letting up as they head into their fourth year of playing Tuesdays at the Big Easy — along with some other Portland club just about every weekend.

I guess you’ve got to play often to make it worth nine different members’ while, and there’s plenty to be said for paid practices when you’ve got that many parts in need of coalescence. But the simple fact is that Sly-Chi know how to keep the party moving, and everyone likes a good party band. They cross genres and generations, and their all-inclusive philosophy leads to everyone going home happy, particularly if they’ve had a couple of pops at the bar and gotten a chance to watch some hot piece of ass shake it just across the way.

They’ve only picked up momentum, too, since the release of their 2003 full-length, Wave Length, which solidified with people the idea that they were more than just a cover band. These are serious musicians, with plenty of chops, a hot vocalist in Kate Violette, and a bandleader in Matt Day who always seems completely in control of the situation. That’s an underesteemed skill, surely, and one that Day has grown into over the years.

Ascending the stage on Wednesday night, Sly-Chi looked more like some kind of jazz-funk orchestra, they were so numerous. But, if it’s possible, the band is actually greater than the sum of their parts.

Runners up: Tony McNaboe, Miss Fairchild