LJ's Birthday at Takoma Station
Takoma Station, 6914 4th St NW, Washington, DC 20012


Candy and Michon
Picture Copyright - Michon Battle

There was a thunderstorm going on as I drove over to Takoma Station. When I walked in, it smelled really foul. It turns out their pipes backed up with sewage. I walked in and Candy was there, I hugged her hello. I asked her about her move, she said now she doesn't have to drive up here every week. I believe I recognized Vinnie D from last Thursday. Michon, Tim, Tracy, Roosevelt, Stacey and Tamara were there. I asked Tim "LJ" Littlejohn if he was celebrating his birthday, which is actually Thursday. He said no, last year, his 40th birthday, he had a big celebration. When his brother Roosevelt arrived, they brought a cake and gifts. I asked Doc if that was Vinnie D, he didn't know. DP was back from his vacation tonight. James and YC were there for the start. I gave Mike the flyer showing that Suga Wuga was the promoter for Thursday's upcoming event.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) I was shocked when they performed a Blues-based tune for the first time I had heard, Mike, then Halima-led Ray Charles' Night Time is the Right Time
2) YC sat in on an instrumental - I believe it was Grover Washington Jr.'s Lock It in the Pocket
Donnell said, "If you are here tonight, you are truly a music lover" since it stank so badly. He said, "They swear it be fixed by next week."
3) Halima-led Erykah Badu's On & On
4) Mike-led John Legend's Ordinary People
5) Mike-led Stevie Wonder's As
6) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - another excellent performance, she told the women in the audience, "Sort of an anthem for girls all around the world." She then joked, "Don't talk to me."

I went outside immediately to get out of the stink. So did most of the band. I talked with Doc about Night Time is the right time, he said they were just messing around that that was basically a sound check, which explains why they start first sets with instrumentals. DP talked about the sewage being a health hazard, because they wash the food with water from those pipes. DP talked about other food incidents. Donny Ray came by, then later Sugar Bear. Sugar Bear had two lady friends, one really hot whom Godfather talked to. I said to Doc, this is when it is good for women to be wearing strong perfume. He said, "That's f*cked up." We told Sugar Bear about the sewage problem, he said it was the fault of 'this guy' - pointing to Dwayne. Dwayne said, "I'm funky, but I'm not that funky!" On a more serious note, Sugar Bear did talk about it as a health hazard, but he and his lady friends went in anyway. DP joked about the two guys dancing, doing dances from the 70s. He expected the one guy to do the robot.

Tyrell, Angie and 6'9 were there.

Second Set
Donnell did a shout out, "We have a legend in the audience, a Grammy winner, although I don't know if I like him too much now, Sugar Bear"
Mike joked that Donny Ray looked like a runaway slave
The crank started right away
1) They started to perform the music to Faith Evans' Mesmerized (tease) - Donnell said, "They're not ready for that" / Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh" / Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized
2) Donnell-led Slick Rick's La Di Da Di (tease)
3) Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down
4) Percussion solo - the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Smoke!"
5) Halima-led Faith Evans' Again
6) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You
7) Donnell-led Hold the Note
8) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U
9) Sugar Bear-led medley: "Gimme that beat, when you say __, then you say ___, and then you don't, do it for the ladies, Oh my god!" / Juvenile's Slow Motion (tease) / "When you get to the good part..." / Sly & the Family Stone's Family Affair / Funkadelic's Undisco Kidd (tease) / Bad Girls (Cops theme) (tease) / Ludacris' Number One Spot (tease) "We're so hot, we've got the number one spot" / 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - "Go LJ, it's your birthday"
They ended early: at 12:30 due to the sewage problems. Stacey had motioned toward me, I thought she was trying to get me to dance, but she just wanted to say hello. Michon took pictures.

Donnell said that starting next Thursday, they will be playing Thursdays at the Venus Hall on 15 K St NE, DC. It will be a true happy hour, 6:30 to 12, with Shorty Corleone's Band Heat (also with Go-Go Mickey) opening for them. The Venus Hall is over by the Greyhound station; don't act like you haven't been on a Greyhound. Rah was there. Donnell said, "I would like to thank Lawrence Atwater for a good job, I don't believe LJ is only 41, he's been bald for twelve years." I asked Tracy how long Donnell has been bald, she said she didn't know. Darrell asked me why I didn't have my camera; I told him my dad took it to Fenway, since it is my brother's birthday. He thanked me for including the two women in the blog, but said he still didn't get their names. Tim's cake was good. Tamara said I had promised her I would dance with her. She was upset.