Phish Tea Cafe, 1335 H St NE Washington, DC 20002
I was looking forward to seeing Heaven Sent again. They were performing upstairs.
They had a big banner at the back of the stage: it had written, "Heaven Sent Band. Because everyone has something to give thanks for."
Keith and Stan Cooper were there. Googie worked the PA and Telando recorded it. They also had a cameraman who wore a shirt that had printed, "I am the son of a field negro.
Darryl, the owner (or manager?) said to me that I go to all the shows.
David led a word of prayer.
A rapper, King Solomon, was the host.
Doc of Familiar Faces was there, he was sitting in as their regular bass player, also nicknamed Doc was not able to make it for the start. BJ also brought his bass. I said to him, "How many basses do you need?" He said he was happy that Doc was there since it meant he could play the keyboard instead of the bass.
Nephew, Shante (Songbird), a woman I recognized as "Francheyez" on myspace, Scottie Jay of ASAP were there.
King Solomon did announcements and a stand up comedian, Antonio Blackman (who jokingly called himself Steve Harvey) also performed.
They only served non-alcoholic drinks.
Almost all of the band members wore Heaven Sent shirts.
Heaven Sent Band
The line up was: David (vocals), Yannie of L!ssen Band (vocals), Kimise of Suttle (vocals), Sean "Kal-el" of Familiar Faces and ASAP (vocals), Little Benny (vocals & trumpet), TonySax (Sax & cowbell), Doc Hughes of Familiar Faces (bass, first set only), Doc (their regular bass player, second set only), BJ of Rare Essence (keyboard), Rojoc (keyboard), Kenny "Kwik" (drummer), and Rick (congas).
First Set
It is difficult to pick out a sole lead vocalist, so the vocalist mentioned is whoever started off the song.
1) Instrumental
Kimise said, "We have a lot of friends and family out here"
2) Yannie-led God Is Unbreakable (Alicia Keys' Unbreakable with changed lyrics) - Little Benny arrived
David made a speech about Jesus.
3) Kimise-led Jill Scott's He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat) - David spoke
4) Yannie-led "God is good" - it cranked
Kimise said, "There's always hope"
5) Sean-led India Arie's There's Hope - Little Benny joined in on vocals, David played the cowbell, it cranked
6) Little Benny-led Rare Essence's One on One (with altered lyrics, "Put your hands in the air and do it for Jesus") - it cranked, Little Benny played the trumpet
7) Little Benny-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
They thanked Doc for sitting in with them.
David talked about Kimise and Yannie being nominated for the upcoming GoGo awards.
Yannie said her son (wearing a Heaven Sent shirt) was a roadie and "a musician in training".
King Solomon asked people to come up front, including "Jason from Submission Band" - Scottie Jay.
Second Set
David, Yannie, Kimise, Sean
1) Yannie-led "You're the one I need... Jesus you're the one" / "Say yeah" - call and response
2) Yannie-led "My salvation for you" / David rapped, "I want to be a man of God"
3) Sean-led "I'm trying to be... I can't understand why"
4) Sean-led "Lord, hear my cry"
5) Sean-led "Got to find a way... Don't miss his chance to give praise everyday"
6) Kimise-led Victory - it cranked
7) Yannie-led "If you've got to pray, he'll lift you up" - Little Benny joined in
8) Little Benny-led "Feels like having a little church in here" - King Solomon played the cowbell, it cranked -->
9) Little Benny-led Yung Joc's It's Going Down (altered lyrics) - King Solomon played the cowbell, it cranked / 911's Ride Out (tease) / DJ Unk's Walk It Out (tease) - the frontline dance in sync
David led a prayer.
Heaven Sent has the best vocals of any GoGo band I've heard and they crank too. I prefer hearing them in this intimate setting. I definitely plan to be a regular.
Hatee was there, but I didn't know her by sight.
