Wednesday at Takoma Station
Takoma Station, 6914 4th St NW, Washington, DC 20012

Val "Tina Turner", Candy, Michon (I kidded them about not wearing hats), Tamara, Tim (LJ), Ray, Jay Floyd, and Michelle were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Donnell introduced the set by talking about about a guy (Chuck Brown) who started playing in places like the Ebony Inn and started to play the beat from this song under every song. The song whose beat he used they played:
1) Grover Washington Jr.'s Mr. Magic
2) Another instrumental
3) Mike-led John Legend's Ordinary People
Mike talked about hearing on the radio about GoGo's lack of originality. They named a band he had never heard of: Uncalled4Experience (he didn't actually name them tonight, I asked him the following night). They talked about their original. Mike said, "What about our album Evolution which is 75% originals?"
4) Mike-led I Dreamed You
Donnell said, "There's someone in the famiy who hasn't sung in three weeks". Mike said, "There's a picolo player who has their picolo in a case."
5) Tamara-led Mariah Carey's We Belong Together
6) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - she had a monologue with the women in the audience, She said "Shake your emotions, can't all wait around"
7) Mike-led Toto's Georgy Porgy
8) Halima-led Faith Evans' Again
9) Percussion solo - Donnell sang, "Sweet Chelle, my belle"
10) Donnell starting singing Minnie Riperton's Memory Lane, then Halima did.
It's getting hard determining which is her best performance.
Donnell said, "Back all the way to Eastside"

Darrell, Mara, James and Sharmba Mitchell were there. I went over to Michelle, and sat between her and Val in the booth, with Halima across from us.

Michelle and I got out of our seats to go outside. A number of people, including Packy came by and said they didn't know she was pregnant. She joked about swallowing a number of watermelon seeds and a watermelon kept growing inside her. DeeDee came by. Mike joked that he too was seven months pregnant. DeeDee said he was eight months and I was four months. Jauhar said I came by it honestly with the size of my clothes. He had also been in Miami last weekend.

Doc talked about how he hated the political stuff in In the Pocket. I talked with Mike about how Halima said his daughter sings. He said she sings better than he does. I asked what she sang, he said everything off the radio. Mike started singing a song that was familiar to me, but I didn't recognize it. He asked me if I knew who sang that. I said I didn't. DeeDee said I should know, that it was a disgrace that I didn't. Mike said, "Barry Manilow." I said that I thought it was poetic justice that his character got shot in the movie Copacabana (which I later looked up was the name of the song Mike was singing). Mike said he likes Barry Manilow.

When we went in for the second set, I went on the dance floor for the set.

Second Set
Donnell said he had been in Miami auditioning dancers for the video shoot. He talked about how people should dress for the different parts of the video shoot.
The crank started right away with
1) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized
2) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
3) Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down
4) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U
5) Donnell-led Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love (tease) / Rare Essence's Spotlight / Rare Essence's Get on the Wagon?
6) Donnell-led Vinnie D's $55 Motel (tease)
7) Alternating Mike-led Rare Essence's Lock It / Sam Cooke's Chain Gang (same music) / Percussion solo
8) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease)
9) Donnell-led Tupac's Hail Mary (tease)
10) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You
11) Donnell-led Hold the Note
12) Percussion solo - the crowd shouted, "Go-Go Smoke-ay!"
13) Donnell-led "Tired yet, ready to quit?"
14) Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - Donnell did the regular bananas line
15) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Stars Be Partyin'
16) Mike-led Lap Dance - Donnell chanted, "Swing your body" and Mike chanted, "Swing"
Donnell kept restarting the final solo, sayin a girl who sang along and Stomp messed up
17) Donnell-led Common's The Corner
During the set, Angie danced back to back with me.
Robin and Tracy were also over by me.
Sharika was there.
DP came over to Michelle with his trumpet, about to play. She said, you're not going to blow that at my baby? He played a lullaby for her. He talked with her about his unborn baby acting up right constantly when he would get back from the GoGo. So he would play a lullaby. Michelle talked about how her baby reacted to the bass making the bench vibrate. She asked how old DP's daughter was, he said three. His said his wife got the lullaby tape in the divorce.

I sat down at a table with Michelle and DeeDee. Halima said goodbye to Michelle. Donnell had talked about the possibility of filming the making of the video instead of paying Nephew the fee, he told me to call him on Thursday. I told DeeDee and Michelle the two stories about my friend Craig in Miami. I asked if DeeDee was going to get topless, she said, "only in foreign countries". I told her that Miami is a foreign country. Stomp asked the sex of the baby, said the kid would be a drummer. I told them about Cindy Blackman and Susie Ibarra.