Friday at Safari
Safari Steakhouse, 9430 Annapolis Road Lanham MD 20706

I arrived at about 9:40 PM. I saw FF's manager, Baba, outside in the parking lot talking to Packy. I was a little tired. I hung out in the lounge. It turned about to be really early as Familiar Faces didn't go on until 11 PM. I watched people playing pool, including using the same type of custom pool cues with flashing blue lights. There was a fireplace on in the corner that I had never really noticed before. When it got to be 10:30 PM, I walked over the dance area to wait for them to start up. There were fewer tables in the dance area then there were during the summer.

Familiar Faces
FF didn't actually start performing until 11 PM. During the first set, Mike mentioned giving aid to the Tsunami victims. He also said, "If you won't give to the Tsunami victims, give to your brother. Don't just give to your parson, give to your brother." Crankindrumma from the TMOTT board said hello, and then Marly Marl (also from the TMOTT board) came by. He asked me where my camera was (I didn't bring it) and then posed with his hands on the breasts of Juanita Radden. Donnell had Lysette from Backyard Band come up and sing a song (don't remember which song, but it was a cover). People danced during the first set and Donnell repeatedly said, "Why are you dancing during the happy hour set?"

During the first break, I saw one of the differences because of the larger crowds - band members had to compete with the audience for seats in the lounge. Dwayne and Juanita were discussed Xcalibur - he said their last date there was in September, but I told him it was actually in July (specifically it was July 29th). I said hello to Teago, who actually wore a shirt that didn't have Jimi Hendrix on the front. Crankindrumma hung out with Donnell Jr., RE Angie, and Nita. Godfather introduced me to a guy named Tony, who used to play with Little Benny. He said Tony was trying to go national. Tony said they were in the most recent TMOTTGoGo issue. Other regulars were there, including 6'9. I said hello to Supa Dan. Towards the end of the break, I went over to the bar to get a soda.

I watched the second set from over by the bar. Early in the set, Donnell asked Supa Dan or anyone else to turn off the main fireplace - "It's 100 degrees in here!" I noticed Charlie had taken over the cowbell from Packy. During the set, which cranked, they performed Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot. Mike sang Happy Birthday to Toya. They started to perform Rare Essence's Marinda, but only played a few bars before going into the second break. During the second set, a fight apparently broke out while a police officer played pool.

Before the third set started, I talked with the guy working the side mixing board (Vincent) asking him why there are two mixing boards. He said his board controls the onstage monitors; the other board controls the big speakers. I danced over by the side mixing board for the whole set. DJ Flava (aka GoGo Rudy) came by and said, "Hi." Michelle came by, and danced directly behind the mixing board. Telly stood over to the left of me. James sang backup during the set, and Jay Gotti guest rapped. Charlie played the timbales and roto-toms throughout most of the set. They did perform Rare Essence's Marinda during this set. Another girl came by and grinded with me during the performance of DIP. She actually asked me if I was having fun - of course! The heat of the crowd was palpable - I sweated a bit. Lysette sang another song during the set, then took off her all red sunglasses and Charlie put them on, hamming it up. BJ took pictures during the set. Donnell went over announcements: "It's just ladies at the Tradewinds, all you need is soft shoes, leave your tennis shoes behind one night, never mind: we've got it covered." He also announced their Ski Party in March and their upcoming performance at Bud's 501 Club on Martin Luther King's Birthday Sunday. I talked with Michelle, she asked about getting a copy of her interview. Donnell advised everyone "When they leave, walk directly to their cars and drive home."

There was an incident outside and the police blocked off one of the exits to the parking lot. When I said goodbye to Donnell, I asked how much of the order of the songs they perform is pre-planned. He said, "None of it." He has hand signals for each song.