Strange though it may seem, there was a time when bands played with the sole -- or soul -- intention of shakin' your booty.

With that in mind, Jamiroquai can be forgiven for putting on a show that was more dance party than concert spectacle Thursday night at a sold-out Warehouse.

The British acid jazz outfit kept the lights up, the vibes good, and the grooves flawless for the hour-and-a-half set.

That was good news for the nearly 2,000 stylin' fans who packed the room to see them.

Jamiroquai are the most financially successful band to emerge from the acid jazz movement. Their upbeat fusion of funk, soul and pop extends beyond usual concertgoers and draws the hard-to-reach dance club crowd to their live shows.

The group's popularity may have even delayed the show. Kids were still wedging into the club minutes after the 10 p.m. start time. Many fans showed up without tickets. Scalpers were asking $180 each.

Typical rock concert anarchy, sure.

But inside, nary an eyelash was batted as lead singer Jay Kay and his rather dubiously-named 10-piece band -- Jamiroquai fuses the Englishman's own name with that of the native Canadian Iroquois Nation, get it? -- slid through grooves from their new CD Travelling Without Moving, 1994's Return Of The Space Cowboy, and 1993's Emergency On Planet Earth. The punters were too busy getting down.

The magic was lost in the hollow-sounding corners of the club. From that vantage point and listening post, the party wasn't so inviting. Intimacy just doesn't work in the Warehouse.

Kay and company don't deserve to be upstaged, whether by bad acoustics or unnecessary visuals.

While his reputation for singing exactly like Stevie Wonder precedes him, Kay is talented enough to deliver the goods.

Dwarfed by one of his trademark fun-fur hats, he sang fluidly over the slick work of bassist Stuart Zender, drummer Derrick McKenzie, guitarist Simon Katz, and keyboardist Toby Smith.

The band never put a sneaker in the wrong place.

Their crisp studio approach was fleshed out by a horn section, a DJ with turntables and extra percussion.

Didgeridoo player and general groover Wallis Buchanan added some spontanaeity, jamming on tunes like Didjerama.

But while album-perfect versions of Virtual Insanity, Cosmic Girl, Alright, and Travelling Without Moving showed off Jamiroquai's hot musicianship, their hinted-at knack for expanding on Kay's songs was left out in the cold.

Still, with few solos and no obvious ego trips, the band knew how to complement the singer's casual wailing.

Good taste is a big part of great playing.