White Linen Party at the Fur
Fur Night Club, 33 Patterson St NE, Washington, DC 20002

I parked in the same place I had at the previous Fur show I attended. I was the first person in line. Two women came after me. They had a friend who was a bartender there. She came out to them, but they wouldn't let them in yet either. Three deaf guys came by, read the clothing rules on the walls by me and asked me what time they opened at. Since as far as I knew it would be 10 PM, I put up my hands and tapped my watch to show that. The two women said they didn't ever wait in line, so they left.

Next two older men came by. Since it was clear they weren't letting us in yet, they went to their car to drink and invited me. I declined. I saw the Fur staff let the bass player and one other member of Soundproof Band. They finally let us in at 10:30 PM. I was the first in of the paying fans. When I handed my ticket in, the guy laughed, probably because I chose not to wear white.

They let us into the club, but not the performance area. Unlike last time, all of the performances were in the larger area. The blue room stage had couches and tables on it, but it was roped off anyway.

I sat in a chair and waited for the performance area to open up. The security guard who works the front door of Takoma Station came by and talked to me.

The guy who had been behind me in line came and said hello to me again. He told me he lost his tooth.

A girl at a couch several feet away waved, apparently to me.

Packy came by and said hello. Chi Ali went to the bar.

Sometime after 11 PM, they let us in.

When I walked in, I spotted Jacques with Michon. I said hello to him. I asked him how the anniversary party that Familiar Faces had performed at earlier in the evening had gone. He said it was good. I asked if he was the only one in the band here. He said, No, that DP was here.

I went over to the bar and got a Coke. DP came by and teased me about not wearing white.

Nephew was there.

Soundproof Band came on a little before 11:40 PM. They were all dressed in white, and a number of them wore t-shirts with the band logo on them. I noticed the lead female singer from the last time I saw them was not there. I asked Packy about her (I knew that his cousin Danni is the other female vocalist), he said she had left the band. They have three male vocalists (lead talker, lead singer, and backup singer), and two female vocalists
1) Male-led ?
2) Female (not Danni)-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - not bad
The lead talker said, "Going to have a good time tonight"
The crank started with
3) Male-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down - nice harmony, but the lead vocals weren't really distinct
4) Male-led "Bad Girl, If You Want to Party"
5) Danni-led Amerie's 1 Thing
6) Male-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl (tease)
7) Danni-led "Some Guy is spending on me"
8) Lead talker-led "Bam Ban, do it like this, wait and I show you this"
9) Lead talker-led "Peek a boo to ya"
10) Lead talker-led "All the _____ in the club" - it had a repeating keyboard phrase
The lead talker did announcements then the set ended.
I thought they were not bad, but their vocals and music aren't very distinct to me.

Arielle, Angie, Tamara, Tracy Smoot, Darrell, and Shadonna were there. I told Angie that I had seen her last night. I asked her if she was along that night. She said Tracy was there too. Tamara asked me about the crowd, she said it was smaller than last time. I told her that at the previous show, the first two bands had already performed in the other area (which she didn't know), so it was too early to make a comparison.

I spotted Dey and Slim Goodie in the mezzanine level. Dey waved to me.

Mike Muse said hello to me.

A guy came and said to me, "I see you at every Familiar Faces show. Are you their manager?" I told him that I wasn't.

After Hours Band
Before they performed, the members of After Hours Band joined hands in a circle and spoke to each other (we in the audience couldn't hear what they said- whether it was a prayer, a motivational speech, etc.)
Chi Ali addressed the TMOTT members on the mezzanine level, including Blak, whom I hadn't spotted.
1) Sean (Kal'el)-led "TLE say oh no, they don't know"
Chi Ali addressed the audience
2) TJ-led (Tom Browne's) "Funking for Jamaica", "All night long"
3) Chi Ali & TJ-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl
4) Alternating Sean-led Bobby Valentino's Slow Down - Sean stood at the edge of the stage / Chi Ali-led "Step front, step back" - Sean stood on the speaker in front of the stage, Chi Ali tapped his tambourine against Pretty Nikki's leg
Sean went back onstage
5) Chi Ali-led "Drop ___" - Pretty Nikki sang "oh"
6) TJ-led Jill Scott's He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat) - the band members held their hands palms up - with the index fingers up and the tips touching and the thumbs down and the tips touching making a diamond shape
7) Chi Ali-led ?
Chi Ali went on a speaker in front of the stage. He talked to a girl in the audience. Sean also stood on a speaker.
8) They played the bassline to Rare Essence's Body Snatchers / Chi Ali-led Kanye West's Gold Digger
Chi Ali and Sean returned to the stage
9) TJ-led S.O.S. Band's Just Be Good to Me - Pretty Nikki and TJ stood on the edge of the stage
10) TJ?-led Gloria Estefan's Rhythm Is Gonna Get You (tease)
TJ and Pretty Nikki returned to their regular spots on stage
11) TJ-led Michael Jackson's Thriller - TJ went onto the speaker
12) Chi Ali-led "2ing to the 2"
13) TJ-led All aboard the night train"
14) Chi Ali & TJ-led "Everybody in the club, put your hands up, make it bounce"
Chi Ali said I'm going to do a public service announcement: he thanked the crowd, for without them, they wouldn't be there.
Chi Ali would call out for TJ or Pretty Nikki to sing during the set.
I liked After Hours' performance. Pretty Nikki wore a very flattering short skirt.

Stacey and RE Angie were there. David and Jauhar walked past me, with Godfather right behind them.

I went up close to the front to watch Familiar Faces' performance. Tracy said, "I can't read your handwriting, it is chicken scratches." I said, "I can't always either."

Tata and L-Boogie were there.

Nephew played on the congas during set up.

Familiar Faces
Halima said, "A lot of things are going on"
1) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - she took off her shoes and got on the speaker - she gave a great performance, the crowd, which I noticed was packed, sang along, almost as loud as Halima on the mic, she bounced up and down, Donnell played both his soprano and alto Saxes for this song
2) Halima & Mike-led Floetry's Say Yes - Halima gave a similar speech to the night before, saying "Sometimes you need to say what you need to say", She later said, "Sometimes your man is telling you stories, you don't believe him, he won't let you out", She sat on the stage, with her legs on the speaker - again excellent and the crowd responded accordingly
3) Mike-led John Legend's Used to Love U - Mike stood at the edge of the stage, the frontline danced
4) Alternating Halima-led Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl - really strong crowd response, Donnell stood on the speaker, Halima mimed some of it and let the crowd sing / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa - the crowd danced harder in a way I hadn't seen before
5) Donnell-led "Tired yet, ready to quit?" - The crowd was yelling their response
6) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh" - he lead it, but the crowd was a backup singer
7) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" - Halima and Mike posed for the ladies/fellas lines
The lights went off for the start of:
8) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - the frontline danced, again strong crowd response / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / Donnell-led "Wait a minute" echoes - the crowd shouted "Go-Go Smoke-ay"
9) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - the ladies response when Donnell said, "by yourself ladies" was loud
10) Donnell-led Hold the Note - first Halima, then the entire frontline danced
11) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That
12) Donnell-led Rare Essence's What N*gga What? - Donnell stood on the speaker
13) Donnell-led Rare Essence's All Da Time - again strong crowd response
They paused, Halima bowed, but they weren't done yet
14) Donnell-led "Southeast, South, Southeast"
15) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Uh Oh (Heads Up) - Donnell stood on the speaker, Halima mimed "I can't hear you" and danced
16) Donnell & Halima-led Djayz's It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp
17) Donnell-led Kanye West's Gold Digger "Get Down" - Halima mimed
18) Donnell-led Family
Donnell said, "Good evening"
19) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Stars Be Partyin'
Donnell said "That's it, we got to go before I have to beat up Stomp".
20) Donnell-led chant "Brandywine, friends of mine"
Donnell announced it was Jacques' birthday.
I have never seen Familiar Faces work the crowd better than they did tonight. They controlled the crowd throughout the performance. I knew Donnell said they were going to really put on a show, but I was really impressed. Onstage with the band during the set were: Nephew, Los, RE Angie, Sixx, and Tijuana. At the end, as they were leaving the stage, Tasty and Nita were there.

JoJo was there.

I talked with Doc for a little. I asked Michon what number birthday it was for Jacques.

I helped Doc by carrying one of his basses for a bit. Tasty and Nita teased me.

This time it was easy to get out of the street, L-Boogie directed people out of my way for me.