Sacramento State played host Thursday toKinky, an electronic-meets-cumbia quintet from Monterey, Mexico,whose name fits perfectly with their audio-erotic sound.

They played grooves offtheir 2002 self-titled release that has been lauded by critics atSpin, Rolling Stone and The New York Times and landed them a 2003Grammy nomination for “Best Latin-Rock/AlternativeAlbum.”

You may have even heardtheir song “Mas” floating over commercials for the Nissan Altima orfor the FX series “Nip/Tuck.”

They previously came toSacramento as part of the “Unlimited Sunshine Tour” with TheFlaming Lips and Cake.

They came back as part ofUNIQUE’s Phlagleblast activities last week. And thanks toUNIQUE, students got to see them for only $5 a ticket, afterplaying for $19.50 at the Fillmore in San Francisco the nightbefore.

“This was great exposurefor us to come here and play,” said the band’s lead vocalist,guitar player and DJ Gilberto Cerezo after the show.

“This gave us theopportunity for our music to be heard here before we leave thestates,” he said.

Over 300 people came toexperience Kinky’s unconventional songs, which range from pureelectronica to love ballads.

The technically precisekeyboarding of Ulises Lozano fuses with the percussion of OmarGongora and funky guitar licks by Carlos Chairez to make a freshand funky style.

And despite a possiblelanguage barrier with their Spanish lyrics, Cerezo’s hauntinglyserene vocals blend seamlessly with the wicked bass guitar of CesarPhilego and made for a display of electronic emotion withoutborders.

Kinky’s on stage presenceinfected the audience from the head-bobbing participants to thewild grooving dance-aholics.

From their first song onstage, they put on an action-packed live show that was sure to rockthe house with their eccentric style of funky techno breaks mixedwith high energy dance beats.

The fans’ enthusiasm was sointense that one girl in the front row jumped up on stage andkissed Cerezo as he was playing the guitar before a security guardrestrained her.

Their song “Mas” built asteady tension among the crowd as lead vocalist Cerezo sang “Vamosqueriendo mas y mas/mas y mas, mas y mas” (We want more and more,more and more, more and more). A wall of percussion and guitarssurrounded him as the crowd belted back the anthem to the rythym ofthe music.

“Of course the lead singeris all dreamy, but the bassist steals the show when he hops acrossthe stage on one foot while he smokes a cigarette,” said AlisonMcClaughlin, a liberal studies major, before Kinky took thestage.

The night’s opener, localfunk-Latin band Cambio de Piel, was overshadowed by Kinky’s musicalrange. Cambio’s lead singer is what you get when Steven Tyler meetsAnthony Kiedis in the lead singer Scott Stap of Creed’sback-yard.

The band was supportingBudweiser’s True Music Live in support of “Rock en Espanol,” whichhelps local talent gain exposure.