EU & Chuck Brown featuring Tony Fisher at Mirrors
Mirrors, 33 New York Avenue N.E. Washington, DC 20002

I found out about this show when I looked a Mirrors' website for details on Thursday's show.

Mirrors had lights outside the entrance on a cart.

I saw Flo on my way in. She had a new hairdo and braces.

While the show was on both floors, the upstairs just had a DJ, so I stayed downstairs except when I just went up to look during the break.

I talked with Big Tony Fisher of Trouble Funk. I told him I had seen singles for their upcoming album Cold Millennium and I asked him when the album was dropping. He said it would be on the radio in a month and would drop at the beginning of the year.

The crowd was dressed up and mostly old.

John was there.

Bobby Smoot's team set up the sound equipment - I saw D and Vincent.

I said hello to Sherray (Always Showtime!!) working.

EU

Sugar Bear, Mya, Junie, Derrick, Devlin?, Tony
The line up was: Sugar Bear (vocals & bass), Mya (vocals), Junie (vocals & cowbell), Devlin? (vocals & cowbell), Tony Cothran (guitar), keyboard player, Milton Smith (drummer), and Derrick (congas).
Sugar Bear did birthday announcements.
Sugar Bear said, "We're dedicating this song to Gerald Levert. A dynamite young man, we toured with him a couple of years."
1) Mya-led "This is the way you love me baby" - Sugar Bear called for Tony to play a solo
2) Alternating Sugar Bear-led 50 Cent's In Da Club - it cranked / "Party with your body baby" - the frontline danced / "Do you ___ ?" / "I got no step" / ? / "I like your style, so listen to me on the count of three" / Um Bop Bop / "Do it for the fellas, Oh my God!" / "If you're sexy and you know it, raise your hands" / Percussion solo - "Hold up wait a minute" / Freak a Deak All Night Long / Funkadelic's Undisco Kidd (tease) "Girls are Bad" / Cops Theme (tease) "Bad girls" / "Eya uh ha na na na" / Pop the Coochie / "Beat your feet everybody" / Ludacris Number One Spot (tease) / "Eya yah yah" - Derrick played the toms / ? / "Booty, booty booty" / OutKast's The Way You Move (tease) / Hues Corporation's Rock the Boat (tease) / "When are we going to get to the good part?"
3) Junie-led Ne-Yo's Sexy Love / Percussion solo - it cranked
4) Mya-led Mary J. Blige's Enough Cryin' - Junie played the cowbell, it cranked
5) Sugar Bear-led Nelly's Flap Your Wings (tease) - Junie played the cowbell
Sugar Bear said, "___ this is for you"
6) Junie-led "Baby, baby, what's it going to be... or is it me... you make me so... 'cause I want you" (sounded like Prince) - Mya wiped sweat off with a paper towel
7) Sugar Bear-led "That you so..." - Sugar Bear said, "I'm going to really party now, Scorpios / Alternating "Gimme that beat" - Junie played the cowbell, it cranked / Kanye West's Gold Digger / "Shake it, shake it, shawty" / "Look at these women" / Sugar Bear pulled a girl onstage who was celebrating her birthday, she danced onstage, Junie played a conga with a stick while Derrick played the toms / 50 Cent's In Da Club - at the end the girl left the stage / Lil Scrappy's Money in the Bank (tease) - Derek went back to the congas, Devlin? rapped
8) Sugar Bear-led "Are the Redskins better than the Cowboys? Who's going to the Super Bowl?" - crowd response / "hold up, wait a minute" / Notorious BIG's Crush on You (tease) / Um Bop Bop / Sweet Cherie sat in, Lil Kim's Crush On You - she left the stage after the song / Sugar Bear-led "Hey ay, Ho oh" / Rare Essence's Do You Know What Time It Is?
9) Sugar Bear-led "Don't you play with Sugar" / "Get low, how low can you go?" / R. Kelly's Snake (tease) / "Good googlie moogly... that thing you do" / ? / "Get your freak on" / "Is that my chick? Sho ya' right" / "Turn around, let me see your..." / "Don't you play with Sugar" / "Y'all tired yet? Can you stick with this?" / "Tell me what you feel like doing y'all?" - the crowd responded, "Feel like moving that body"
10) Mya-led "Love you long time...We going down like..." / Percussion solo
11) Devlin?-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back - it cranked / Sugar Bear-led "Gimme that beat" - Percussion Solo / Ooh La La / "I feel it, I feel it in my bones" / "Get, get, get on down"
12) Sugar Bear-led ? - it cranked
Mirrors was packed by the end of the set - wall to wall people.

Bryan Mills talked with me. I told him I was at last night's show.

James Funk was the DJ downstairs.

Mousie and Kim were there.

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers

Bryan Mills, Sweet Cherie


Little Benny, Big Tony


Bryan, Sugar Bear, Big Tony


Sugar Bear, Big Tony, Little Benny, Chuck


Sugar Bear and Big Tony


Sweet Cherie, Bryan, Sugar Bear, Junie


Brad, Little Benny, Chuck



Sweet Cherie, David Dyson, Bryan, Brad, Greg, Little Benny
Line up: Chuck Brown (vocals & guitar), Sweet Cherie (vocals & keyboard), Little Benny (vocals & trumpet), Bryan Mills (sax), Brad Clements (trumpet), Greg Boyer (trombone), Vince Evans (keyboard player), David Dyson (bass), JuJu (drums), and Mighty Moe (congas).
Sweet Cherie flexed her arm, showing off the muscles.
1) Chuck-led "Everybody come and kick it with me... Oh, uh oh"
2) Earl Hagen's Harlem Nocturne? - Brad played a trumpet solo, Bryan played a Sax solo, Greg played a trombone solo, Sweet Cherie played a solo, the other keyboard player played a solo
3) Chuck-led "When the sun goes down, we're going to party all over town" / Slick Rick's La Di Da Di (tease) / ?
4) Chuck-led Hoochie Coochie Man / "When I was a young man" - Bryan played a Sax solo
5) Chuck-led R. Kelly's Fiesta - Chuck played a nice guitar solo, Chuck said, "Go JuJu" and JuJu played a drum solo, Chuck announced a lost ID
6) Alternating Little Benny-led "All the old school get your hands up" / "Hey ay, Ho oh"
7) Little Benny-led Rare Essence's Body Moves - Little Benny said, "Hold up, wait a minute", the frontline danced
8) Little Benny-led Cat in the Hat / "We buggin'" / "I'm a..." / Lil Wayne's Stuntin' Like My Daddy / Dem Franchize Boyz' Lean With It Rock With It (tease) - Little Benny said, "Gimme them hits", the frontline danced the ride out dance
9) Littlie Benny-led Rare Essence's Lock It - multi-colored dance lights came on
10) Little Benny-led Freak a Deak All Night Long
11) Little Benny-led Rare Essence's One on One
12) The crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Funk!" / Chuck-led ? / Chuck-led "When you walk in the door..." - the crowd responded, "Hello, hello" / "Tell me what you feel like doing y'all" - the crowd responded, "Feel like moving that body"
13) Sweet Cherie-led "Where y'all from" - Big Tony Fisher, Sugar Bear and other members of EU were onstage
14) Sweet Cherie-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up
15) Sweet Cherie-led Beyonce's Check on It
16) Big Tony-led "What you wanna do" / "You wanna drop the bomb?" / "Put your hands in the air and move them like this" / Trouble Funk's Lets Get Small (tease) / "We're going to start this thing off right" / "Fee Fi Fo Fum, where do y'all come from?" - Big Tony said, "Nice to see all the old school in the house" / Trouble Funk's Supergrit (tease) - Sugar Bear was playing the bass, then handed it to Big Tony
Big Tony said, "Hey Sugar Bear, come up here".
17) Sugar Bear-led "Short or tall people in the hall, roll call" / "Hey ay, Ho oh" / "Do it for the fellas" / "If you're sexy and you know it, raise your hands" / Nelly's Flap Your Wings (tease) - Junie was on backup vocals / "Look at that..." / the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Chuck!"
18) Chuck rapped "So the ladies like to call me" / Duke Ellington's Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That GoGo Swing) - the crowd responded, "Doo wop doo wop woo wop"
19) Chuck-led Lionel Hampton's Midnight Sun / "Hit 'em with the good stuff"
20) Little Benny-led Yung Joc's It's Going Down
21) Chuck-led outtro

The Funky Meters & Chuck Brown at Strathmore Hall
The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Ln, North Bethesda, MD 20852

This was my first time at the Strathmore Hall (the current concert hall is new and is home to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra) and my first time seeing the Meters.


The Funky Meters

Art, George, Brian, Russell (in back)
The Meters were formed in 1965 (with members Art Neville (vocals and keyboard player), Leo Nocentelli (guitar), George Porter, Jr. (bass). and Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste (drummer)). They not only were one of the pioneer Funk groups, but one of the few really small Funk groups that could really crank (the smallest successful ones were Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies (with Billy Cox on Bass, and Buddy Miles on drums) and the second version of the Jimi Hendrix Experience (with Billy Cox on bass, and Mitch Mitchell on drums)). They broke up in the late 70's due to a trademark dispute over the band name with their former producer Allen Toussaint. They re-formed as the Funky Meters in 1989. Nocentelli and Modeliste were replaced by Brian Stoltz and David Russell Batiste, Jr. eventually. Art Neville also leads the Neville Brothers, and the three other members have played without Art as PBS (Porter-Baptiste-Stoltz).
They started on time. Although I am a fan of the Meters, I got the setlist from another attendee who taped their performance.
1) Instrumental/Welcome to Strathmore Hall (2:27)
2) Jam > (1:38)
3) Funky Miracle > (2:50)
4) Sly & the Family Stone's Sing a Simple Song > (1:53)
5) Bob Dylan's Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 > (2:50)
6) "George, what is it?" Jam > (1:09)
7) Just Kissed My Baby > (7:29)
8) Chug A-Lug > (6:55)
9) Africa - Brian took off his jacket and briefly left the stage > (6:28)
10) Russell Batiste drum solo > (2:18)
11) Cissy Strut - the crowd recited lyrics / Cissy Pickup (tease) > (3:56)
12) Louis Jordan's Saturday Night Fish Fry > (2:20)
13) Cardova > (3:10)
14) Look-Ka Py Py (2:16)
15) banter - I couldn't hear most of what Art said (2:17)
16) Fire On The Bayou / Dr. John's Walk On Gilded Splinters / Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine lyrics / Neville Brothers' Poppa Funk (tease) > (14:09)
17) Art introduced the band. Art fell over and needed to be helped up, he said, "Pay me no attention."(2:55)
Encores:
18) They All Ask'd For You (tease) > (2:10)
19) Hey Pocky A-Way (3:53)
I enjoyed it a lot, I just wish it was longer.

The house lights came on and they had a formal intermission.

The congas were set up on top of felt.

Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers

Chuck Brown (vocals & guitar), Sweet Cherie (vocals & keyboard), Little Benny ((late in set only) vocals & trumpet), Kay Kay ((late in set only) rapper), Bryan Mills (Sax), Brad Clements (trumpet), Greg Boyer (of P-Funk, trombone), David Dyson (bass), Vince Evans (keyboard), JuJu House (drummer), and Mighty Moe Hagans (congas).
1) Keyboard intro
2) crowd "Wind me up, Chuck" / Chuck-led "Feel alright?" - the audience responded, Chuck had a bright spotlight on him / Chuck rapped
3) Earl Hagen's Harlem Nocturne - Chuck introduced the band and they soloed after being introduced Greg, Brad, Bryan, Sweet Cherie, Vince, JuJu "JuJu House in the house", David, Mighty Moe (I couldn't make out his name, but I got it from a Washington Post review of the performance)
4) Chuck-led Rodgers & Hart's My Funny Valentine - Greg played a trombone solo
5) Chuck rapped / "When you walk in the door" - the crowd responded, "Hello hello" / "Tell me what you feel like doing, y'all" - the crowd responded, "Feel like moving that body" / "Hey ay ay ay, Oh oh oh"
6) Chuck-led Sho Ya' Right (tease)
7) Chuck-led Barry White's Playing Your Game, Baby - Brad played a trumpet solo, the crowd recited the lyrics, Greg played a trombone solo, Bryan played a Sax solo
8) Chuck-led Louis Jordan's Run Joe
9) Chuck-led Hoochie Coochie Man
10) Sweet Cherie-led Fergie's London Bridge - Bryan played Cherie's keyboard
11) Sweet Cherie-led Mary J. Blige's Enough Cryin' - Sweet Cherie had the spotlight on her, she really moved her body around, She said, "Hold up, wait a minute" / "Shake, shake shake"
12) Sweet Cherie-led Beyonce's Check on It - Little Benny joined in, Little Benny said, "Work that beat", Sweet Cherie went back to her keyboard, she still had the spotlight on her briefly
13) Little Benny-led "Hey ay, Ho oh" - the spotlight went back on Chuck
14) Percussion solo - Kay Kay went onstage
15) Little Benny-led Cat in the Hat - Little Benny walked around
Chuck thanked Little Benny
16) Kay Kay rapped "Give me a little piece of that... what's go into that cat" - the spotlight went on Kay Kay
Chuck asked for, and received, applause.
17) Chuck-led Duke Ellington's It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That GoGo Swing) - the crowd shouted, "Doo wop, doo wop, doo wop
18) Chuck-led Lionel Hampton's Midnight Sun
19) Chuck-led Moody's Mood for Love - Brad played a trumpet solo
20) Chuck-led Louis Jordan's Woody Woodpecker
21) the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Chuck!" / Chuck-led "Tired yet, ready to quit" - the crowd responded, "Hello no!"
22) Chuck-led Sho Ya' Right
23) Chuck-led Bustin' Loose
The house lights came on and Chuck said, "Oh my goodness! I didn't know how many people were here. I could play all night here."
24) Chuck acapella "When you walk in the door" - the crowd responded, "Hello, hello" / "What do you feel like doing?" - the crowd responded, "Feel like moving that body"
Chuck said, "I feel good when people ask me for my autograph."

I left and headed for J's.

Friday at J's
J's Sports Cafe, 12617 Laurel Bowie Rd (Route 197), Laurel, MD 20708

Sam (Black Heart), Sweet P, Sweet B (with a nice new hairdo), Audrey (Da Remixx), Buffy (Sweet Buff/YoungOne), and Netty were there.

Jammin' Jeff & The Band
?) Jay-led ?
?) Allison-led "How can I know somebody else when all I see is you"
Allison said, "I need to know where all the lovely ladies are, you're too quiet."
?) Allison-led Michael Jackson's PYT
?) Jay-led "that's when... your heart... we don't know how to stop"
Allison said, "Last Friday, we tried to explain how we do this and why we do this. You can't appreciate it on the radio..."
?) Allison-led Rose Royce's Car Wash
?) Allison-led A Taste of Honey's Boogie Oogie Oogie
?) Jay-led ?
?) Jay-led "I remember when I lost my mind... Let me be crazy"
?) Allison-led Toni Braxton's Take This Ring

Tasha, Danielle (Pink), Ro'chelle (Toosweet), Sherray (Always Showtime!!), Nita, SaVern, Kelly (Keisha's cousin), Sanisse, Yolanda, Shante (Stacey's Cousin), Peg Leg, Alena, Los, Shawn, Ian, Maya, and 6'9.

Damont (02), April (JuJu), Alexis, Tamiko (celebrating her birthday), Pinkey, and RE Angie were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - Gerald Levert had died of a heart attack earlier in the day / Percussion solo - Donnell said, "Give me the wah wah Dwayne Lee", Donnell sang, "You've never heard a pocket like this, we ain't going nowhere"
Tiffany, Janetta, Tyrell, Kim (don't know), and Shameika (new hairdo) were there.
2) Sean-led Omarion's Entourage / Percussion solo
Nikia was there.
3) Donnell & Sean-led "On the small of her back, she got a tattoo" - it cranked
Pooh and NeeNee were there.
4) Halima-led Christina Milian's Say featuring Young Jeezy / Aaliyah's I Need You Tonight (tease) / Donnell chanted, "Killazoo" / Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine chant" -->
James was there.
5) Halima & Donnell-led Shareefa's Need a Boss featuring Ludacris / Percussion solo
6) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - verses for Scorpios and Tamiko
7) Alternating Donnell-led Nicole the Bartender - it cranked / "Drinks up, whoa whoa whoa"

Melanie, Jazzy Layse, Kay, Trea, Chevy of Fatal Attraction, and Mitch were there.

Nicole (the bartender) wore a shirt that had printed, "Black women are the sh*t." Sherray wore a shirt that had printed, "Chunky is the new black. I love fat boys."

Second Set
Halima tripped over the monitor getting onstage.
1) Sean-led Brian McKnight's Find Myself in You / Trey Songz' Gotta Go / Percussion solo - it cranked
2) Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back - it cranked, the people from TMOTT shouted, "Hey hey hey" / Percussion solo
Skaci was there.
3) Donnell-led "Talk to me... Gangster... Walk with me"
4) Donnell-led "Party, party everybody" / "___ Hooray" - it cranked / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick - Donnell chanted, "Eya eya" / Percussion solo - Donnell said, "Hey D-O-C"
5) Donnell & Sean-led "Unh, unh unh"
6) Donnell-led "___ Is Yes" / "Keep it low"
7) Kay Kay rapped "Know my name"
8) Donnell-led "Reggae" / "But is it really like that" - the house lights came on, it cranked / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful / Shawnna's Getting Some (tease)
9) Halima-led Beyonce's Ring the Alarm - Los danced really silly (and had done so earlier with another woman) with Sherray, who was pushed right back into him by Danielle, Donnell said, "What you doing Showtime?" / Donnell sung announcements
10) Sean-led Jay-Z's Show Me What You Got - Godfather played the flugelhorn, it cranked
11) Donnell & Halima-led It I What It Is
12) Donnell-led D-I-P
Donnell said, "Rickea got dumped on the highway."
Donnell taunted Pinkey about the Cowboys.

Crossover Band, L!ssen Da Grew^P, and Proper Utensils at Mirrors
Mirrors, 33 New York Avenue N.E. Washington, DC 20002

I had missed Proper Utensils before, but I wasn't going to miss this: I really wanted to see Mike Muse sing again especially.

Crossover Band
Tony, Ms. Co-Co, Slick Rick
The probable line up was: Slick Rick (lead talker), Tony (vocalist), Ms. Co-Co (vocalist), Joe (guitar & rapper), Battle (bass), Marky (keyboard), Moses (Keyboard), Miles (keyboard), Slim Jim (percussion & vocalist), Rock Steady (congas), and Gerald (drummer).
They weren't on the advertisement, and this was my first time seeing them, so I didn't know who they were until they identified themselves.
When they first started performing, the line up was: Tony, Ms. Co-Co, Battle, 2 keyboard players, and Gerald. I sat at one of the couches on the right side of the dance floor and a woman in another couch next to mine was filming Crossover's performance.
Sashay Shaunte came over and said hello.
1) Tony-led Blackstreet's Before I Let You Go
2) Tony and Ms. Co-Co left the stage and the band jammed.
Slim Jim came over and said hello before he got onstage.
The full band went onstage. They cranked.
Darrell was there. T-Bird was there (working).
They also performed: Mary J. Blige's Enough Cryin', a nice percussion solo, Lil Kim's Lighters Up, Rick James' Mary Jane, Sly & the Family Stone's Family Affair, Jay-Z's Show Me What You Got, Aretha Franklin's Rocksteady, and Busta Rhymes' I Love My Chick featuring Kelis. They were good, but I need to see them again to form a more full opinion.

Delano was there.

L!ssen Da Grew^P

I noticed D and Vincent from Bobby Smoot's sound company were setting up equipment; they must have come here from Zanzibar tonight.
L!ssen performed: Ne-Yo's When You're Mad and Jay-Z's Show Me What You Got - it cranked.
Darrell introduced me to Machelle; she was there with Gwynn, whom I already knew.
Nephew was there.
Tuffy had the towel on his head in his mouth.
They also performed Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back - I couldn't hear the lead lyrics, which was an improvement for that song (its lyrics are awful).
Michelle Blackwell got onstage and rapped.
They performed Busta Rhymes' I Love My Chick featuring Kelis, Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot, 50 Cent's In Da Club, Sunshine, they played a sample of Shawnna's Getting Some, D4L's Laffy Taffy, and Dem Franchize Boyz' Lean With It Rock With It.
This was their best performance I've ever been to - I wasn't bored at all and they did crank.

Buzz, Patrice Bowie's manager, and Ron Moten were there.

Tasha, the promoter, talked with Darrell and me.

Proper Utensils

Donald and Mike (during Eric Benet's The Last Time)


Roy and Donald (during Eric Benet's The Last Time)


Donald, Little Benny, James Funk (during Anthony Hamilton's Change Your World)


Little Benny, James Funk, Mike
James Funk said, "If you're looking for go hard, you're in the wrong place." (I prefer the throw down crank myself).
He did band introductions: Dynamite Mike (Michael Muse) (singer), Little Benny "Been in the business for 30 years" (vocals and trumpet), Donald Tillery (vocals and trumpet), Roy Pitchback (spelling? Sax, flute, cowbell), John "JB" Buchanan (keyboard player), another keyboard player, bass player, Foxy Rob (congas), drummer (to be honest, I can't read all my notes on the line up).
Funk did birthday announcements.
Funk did shout outs to Gwynn and Machelle.
1) Mike-led Eric Benet's The Last Time
2) Donald-led Anthony Hamilton's Change Your World - James Funk was doing the air guitar (a trend he's famous for starting in GoGo, this was the first time I've seen him perform. I went to a Rare Essence show he performed with, but it was dark and I didn't see the band)
3) Percussion solo - it cranked, the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Funk!" / Mike-led Toto's Georgy Porgy
4) Percussion solo / Funk-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
5) Mike-led Gerald Levert's How Many Times
6) Percussion solo / Funk-led "Feel alright now?" - the crowd responded, "Hell yeah!" / "Tell me what you feel like doing" - the crowd responded, "Feel like moving that body" / the crowd shouted, "Wind me up Funk" - Funk held his mic to fans
7) Little Benny-led Yung Joc's It's Going Down / Funk-led ?
8) Funk-led 50 Cent's In Da Club - for Scorpios
9) Mike-led "Let me show you"
10) Instrumental
11) Little Benny-led Lil Wayne's Stuntin' Like My Daddy - the houselights came on, Little Benny said, "Randy Watson" (a reference to Coming to America)
12) Instrumental
I enjoyed their performance. They did crank, but not as much as I prefer

I had some of the usual treatment as a white guy, people asking if I owned the club or was a reporter.

On my way out of the club, I asked the cover taker when Saturday's show started. She pointed to a flyer on the opposite wall - it said it started at 10 PM.

Shawn & Nikia's Birthday Celebration
Phish Tea Cafe, 1335 H St NE Washington, DC 20002

There were search lights aimed at the sky in the alley between the Phish Tea Cafe and the Atlas Theatre next door.

Mona, Pee Wee, Nikia (her actual birthday is Monday, but she was celebrating today), Skaci, Yolanda, Sanisse, Shawn, and RE Angie were there.

Halima had a new hairdo.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Omarr said (off the mic), "Whose birthday is it?" Donnell parroted him (on the mic), "Whose birthday is it?" Shawn screamed, "Omarr!" Donnell said, "Who's got the freak me dress on?"
1) Grover Washington Jr.'s Mr. Magic - Donnell played his Sax on the dance floor, it cranked
2) The Stylistics' People Make the World (Go Round) (Instrumental) - Lorenzo played a nice solo
Ebony and BY of the Junkyard Band were there.
Donnell did birthday announcements, including for Shawn.
3) Sean-led Burt Bacharach & Hal David's A House Is Not a Home / Happy Birthday (to Shawn) - Sean sang on the dance floor
4) Sean-led Raheem DeVaughn's You
5) Sean-led Justin Timberlake's My Love / JB's Doing it to Death (tease)
6) Halima-led "Never free?" - it cranked
7) Halima-led Cheri Dennis' I Love You - it cranked / Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease)
8) Alternating Halima-led Erykah Badu's Cleva - it cranked, Donnell said, "We got... sweating up here" / Percussion solo
Peg Leg was there
9) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized - it cranked
Mousie and Los were there.

Halima's hairdresser Keisha, Tiffany, Janetta, and Darlene were there.

Second Set
Donnell talked about the upcoming Positive Black Men Coalition's Night of Elegance. He said, "Halima's going to be absolutely naked. We're going to post the pictures on Rearview2.com". Nephew laughed.
1) Alternating Sean-led Omarion's Entourage / Percussion solo - it cranked
2) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
3) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club - verses for Scorpios, April, Angel, and others
4) Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back - it cranked (I still hate it though) / Percussion solo / Donnell-led "You make me feel like this... I see... we ain't going to go nowhere. Make a... Smoke, Stomp"
5) Halima-led Christina Milian's Say I featuring Young Jeezy (tease)
6) Alternating Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" - Sanisse was making "Whoo whoo" calls repeatedly / "Keep it low" / Sample "What?"
7) Rare Essence's Get on the Wagon - referring to the heat "Turn on the air conditioning, turn on the air"
8) Alternating Donnell-led "Reggae" - more "Whoo whoo" calls by Sanisse / "But is it really like that, Is it really like that?" / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Must Be Like That (tease)
Slick Rick was there.
Donnell said, "I know what I forgot"
9) Alternating Donnell-led Public Enemy's Welcome to the Terrordome - RE Angie sat in on congas, the crowd shouted, and Donnell responded, "What y'all say? What do you want?" / "RE-Angie" chant / Rare Essence's Get on the Wagon (tease) / Percussion solo
10) Halima-led Beyonce's Ring the Alarm - it cranked
11) Sean-led Jay-Z's Show Me What You Got - it cranked
12) Donnell acapella The Supremes' Does Your Mama Know About Me
13) Donnell acapella Tavares' Remember What I Told You to Forget
Donnell said, "Halima wasn't even a concept when these songs were written."
Donnell said, "Halima's so scared because I'm learning"

Trea & Kay's Birthday Celebration
J's Sports Cafe, 12617 Laurel Bowie Rd (Route 197), Laurel, MD 20708

The pool tables all had covers on them.

Natalie, Tanya, Tamara (Ms. GEM_In_I), Sashay Shaunte, Shante (Songbird), Sam (Black Heart), and Audrey (Da Remixx) were there.

Jammin' Jeff & The Band
?) Male rapped
?) Tamara sat in and sang Jill Scott's It's Love
?) Jay-led "Let me be Crazy" - it cranked
Jazzy Layse and Chevy of Fatal Attraction were there.
?) Jay-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back, Packy played the cowbell
?) Allison-led ?
Sanisse and Yolanda were there.
?) Cleophus rapped over Junkyard Band's Sardines - it cranked
?) Cleophus-led Rare Essence's Going to Hollywood - it cranked
Trea (celebrating her birthday), her sister Tamika, and Javonne were there.
?) Allison-led Ashlee Simpson's Pieces of Me

Peg Leg, Dianya, SaVern, Nikia, NeeNee, Kia, and James were there.

Familiar Faces
Sound Check
Donnell acapella "Greatest story never told"

Kay (also celebrating her birthday) was there.

First Set
Donnell said, "Like I said last week, this party isn't for everyone: this isn't the Amazon. That's okay; we can tell you where to go."
1) Sean-led Jay-Z's Show Me What You Got / Percussion solo - it cranked / Donnell-led Nicole the Bartender (tease) / Donnell-led Slick Rick's La Di Da Di (tease)
Donnell did birthday announcements, including for Trea.
Donnell said, "Here comes Halima. I told you she didn't quit."
6'9 was there.
2) Instrumental (tease) of Omarion's Entourage / Alternating Percussion solo / Sean-led Omarion's Entourage
3) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease)
Ray and Darlene were there.
4) Alternating Donnell-led Nicole the Bartender / Lil Scrappy's Money in the Bank / Donnell said, "Drinks up, whoa, whoa, whoa"
Mousie was there.
5) Halima-led Christina Milian's Say I featuring Young Jeezy / Aaliyah's I Need You Tonight (tease) / Donnell chanted, "Killazoo" repeatedly / Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant / Donnell-led "Hands Free, they're f*cking with me" chant
6) Alternating Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / "Keep it low"
7) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's My Life

Damond, Ron Moten, Tyrell, and L-Boogie were there.

Second Set
1) Alternating Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back / Percussion solo - it cranked
Donnell talked about the Dallas Cowboys and called their quarterback Tony Homo.
2) Sean-led B.G.'s I Know - it cranked
3) Sean-led India Arie's There's Hope
4) Alternating Donnell-led "Party, party, everybody" - it cranked / Percussion solo / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick - Donnell said, "Hey D-O-C", Donnell said, "Get with him, Lee"
Jay Gotti was there.
5) Donnell & Sean-led "On the small of her back, she got a tattoo" - it cranked, Sean held his mic to Jacques playing the cowbell
6) Halima-led Shareefa's Need a Boss - it cranked
7) Alternating Donnell-led "Reggae" - it cranked / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful
Skaci was there.
8) Halima-led Beyonce's Ring the Alarm - it cranked
9) Donnell & Halima-led It Is What It Is - the house lights came on
10) Donnell-led D-I-P / Percussion solo - Donnell said, "Swear to God, you never had a pocket like this", the cowbell was really prominent
11) Stomp drum solo

I planned to go out on Saturday night, but I lost my voice during the day (it didn't help that Maryland's win over Clemson was so close).

T-Bird and Nita's Birthday Celebrations
Tradewinds Night Club, 5859 Allentown Way, Camp Springs, MD 20748

The clocks rolled back at 2 AM, so they played extra long.

Simone, Nece, JoJo, Marquita, Tracy, Delano, Tasha, James, Monica (Ms. Mo), Los, Lashan, Keisha, Nita, Boo, Ray, Troy, DeeDee, Sweet Chelle, DJ, and Peanut were there.

Familiar Faces
Sound Check
Donnell acapella Slick Rick's La Di Da Di
I recognized Doc and Dwayne playing a riff from a Weather Report song.

Shawn, NeeNee, Kia, Gwen, and SaVern were there.

First Set
Donnell did birthday announcements
1) Alternating 6 Minutes percussion solo - it cranked / Donnell-led "On the small of her back, she got a tattoo" - Donnell said, "I'm going to give the rules... Grown & Sexy", Donnell said, "Where's Halima? She might have quit. She'll say, 'I had trouble with my car, my outfit, my man..."
Nicole and Peg Leg were there.
2) Alternating Sean-led Omarion's Entourage - it cranked, Donnell saw Halima and said, "I told you she didn't quit" / Percussion solo
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Alternating Donnell & Sean-led Nicole the Bartender - girls sang along / Donnell-led Lil Scrappy's Money in the Bank (tease) / "Whoa whoa whoa" / Percussion solo
5) Alternating Halima-led Christina Milian's Say I featuring Young Jeezy - it cranked / Aaliyah's I Need You Tonight / Donnell chanted, "Killazoo" repeatedly / Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine chant" / Donnell-led "Hands Free, they're f*cking with me"
6) Donnell-led Rare Essence's All Da Time (yell)
Tracy S., Angie, Keisha, and Jan were there.
7) Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back - Halima sang, "Ooh ooh" repeatedly
8) Alternating Donnell-led Notorious BIG's Warning - it cranked, Stomp played the dial tone / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes / Scarface's I Seen a Man Die (tease) / Tupac's Hail Mary (tease)
L-Boogie and Shadonna were there.
9) Donnell-led "Reggae" - it cranked / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful
10) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's My Life

During the break, Doc talked about working a Weather Report tune in.

Stomp had been at Sharmba Mitchell's party, EU was performing and Ivan Goff was with them.

Tasty, Gary, RE Angie, Ebony, Mona, Mousie, Mia, Yolanda, Sanisse, Mary, Slick Rick, Vic, and Nicole (Classics) were there.

Second Set
Donnell did birthday announcements.
Donnell did his "Public Service Announcement"; telling people "that if someone steps on your foot, it's alright", etc.
6'9 and Rece (celebrating her birthday) were there.
1) Percussion solo / Donnell rapped / Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - it cranked
Stacy (Choo Choo's cousin) was there.
2) Sean-led Ne-Yo's Sexy Love - it cranked / Michael Jackson's Human Nature (tease) / Percussion solo
3) Sean-led India Arie's There's Hope - Donnell sang "Michelle my belle", Godfather played the flugelhorn
4) Alternating Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / "Keep it low"
5) Halima-led Shareefa's Need a Boss - it cranked / Percussion solo
6) Alternating Donnell-led Welcome to the Terrordome - RE Angie sat in on congas, it cranked / "RE-Angie" chant
7) Halima-led Beyonce's Ring the Alarm - it cranked -->
8) Donnell & Sean-led "Unh, unh unh"
9) Sean-led Jay-Z's Show Me What You Got - Godfather played the flugelhorn, the house lights came on / Percussion solo
10) Donnell & Halima-led It Is What It Is - it cranked
11) Donnell-led Trina Was Great - it cranked, either Godfather or Lorenzo played different keyboard riffs
12) Donnell-led Hey Tasty (Miss Keta) Do Your Dance for Me - verses for Mona, RE Angie and others, Doc told me "Fire!": Dwayne's amp had smoke coming out of it, Donnell said, "We better get you up here SaVern, what you did last night, we need to enter you in a contest" / Percussion solo

Nita's Birthday Celebration (Part 1)
J's Sports Cafe, 12617 Laurel Bowie Rd (Route 197), Laurel, MD 20708

It was raining real hard (before during and after), but there was still a large crowd - I was really surprised when I got to the parking lot how crowded it was given the rain.

Jammin Jeff & the Band
Set (in progress)
?) Smokey-led Prince's Purple Rain
?) Jay-led ?
Shante (Songbird), Peg Leg, Nita, Lisa of the World, Keta, Tasty, and Pinkie (a friend of Nita's) were there.
Allison talked with me. I told her I noticed on Tuesday that she didn't smile much (which she normally does a lot). She said she's sick and she was really sick on Tuesday. I asked her how long she'd been singing with Patrice Bowie (since she was obviously well rehearsed). She said two weeks. She said it was "something different."
?) Jay-led "Let me be..." - it cranked
Dana, Renee, and Mousie were there.
?) Allison-led ?
June, Britney, Toya, Tasha, Beverly, and SaVern (Nita's sister) were there.

Duane Face introduced me to his friend Dwayne. Duane Face said that Dwayne had gotten him started in an elective music class they took together, Dwayne had it all down. He also had let Duane use an old keyboard as a "starter set". In return, when Duane bought his Motif, he gave his latest keyboard to Dwayne. Dwayne plays for Neo-Soul bands in Philadelphia, but came down to see Duane Face.

Shadonna, Pooh, Skaci, Danielle (I told her I liked the way she contorted her body to the music last night, she smiled), Tiffany, Los, Kim (the one I don't know), 6'9, Tony, DeeDee, and Marvin were there.

Halima had a new hairdo.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Donnell did birthday dedications to Kim and Nita
1) Alternating Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back - I really hate that song, Donnell said, "Tasty's back in the building, Frankie Knuckles", it cranked / Percussion solo
Nikiya and RE Angie were there
2) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - verses for DeeDee, Nita, and others
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Donnell-led "___ Is in the house"
5) Halima-led Christina Milian's Say I featuring Young Jeezy / Aaliyah's I Need You Tonight (tease) / Donnell chanted, "Killazoo" repeatedly / Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant / Donnell-led "Hands Free, they're f*cking with me"
6) Alternating Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / sample "What?" / "Keep it low" / Percussion solo - it cranked, the crowd shouted, "GoGo Smoke-ay" and Donnell responded, "Say what? Do what?", Donnell said, "Wave to 'em, Smoke"
Ray was there.
7) Alternating Donnell-led "Party, party, everybody" / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick / Percussion solo - it cranked, Donnell said, "Hey D-O-C", Donnell said, "Get with him, Lee"
L-Boogie was there.
8) Donnell-led Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes / Percussion - it cranked and was long -->
9) Donnell-led Rare Essence's How Can I Know?
Donnell said, "Fellas, we're not at the Black Hole, the Metro Club, or the Ice Box. Let the ladies be in front and calm down."
Angie, Lashonda, Rickea, and James were there.

Pinkie, Lisa of the World, DeeDee, Nita, SaVern

Second Set

Nita, Toya (behind Nita), Beverly, SaVern (bottom right)


Danielle (orange shirt in background), Pinkie, Patrick (in background), Tasty, Nita, DP (behind Nita), Dwayne


Packy, DP, Jacques, Nita, Smoke, Tasty, Tony, Kim

Donnell said, "If you don't feel right here, you're probably in the wrong place. Put some (nice) clothes on."
Halima said, "And use a breathe mint".
Boo was there.
1) Sean-led Jay-Z's Show me what you got - Godfather played the flugelhorn / Percussion solo - it cranked, Donnell said, "If it ain't rough enough for you, this might not be your party"
2) Halima-led Shareefa's Need a Boss - it cranked
I was dancing with a woman, so I may have missed a song.
3) Sean-led Busta Rhymes I Love My Chick featuring Kelis - it cranked / Percussion solo
4) Halima-led Beyonce's Ring the Alarm - it cranked
5) Donnell-led Trina Was Great - it cranked
6) Donnell-led "Reggae" - interrupted by an argument / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful
7) Donnell-led Hey Miss Keta Will You Dance For Me - verses for Keta, Tasty, Nita, Lashonda, Danielle, Beverly, Tiffany, SaVern

DeeDee's Birthday Celebration at Zanzibar
Zanzibar on the Waterfront, 700 Water Street SW Washington, DC 20024

They took away my pen, so this is off the top of my head.

Little Benny and Bryan Mills greeted me.

Cookie was there, she introduced me to her boyfriend,  Kirby. Sharika, John, Matthew, and DeeDee were there.
Dee introduced me to her sister, and her brother.
DeeDee's cousin Michelle was there.

The crowd was very different from the last time I was here to see Familiar Faces in July.

Cookie, Kirby, DeeDee


DeeDee, Me, DeeDee's Cousin Michelle


Donnell and DeeDee


Sharmba Mitchell, DeeDee, Big Don Pimp


Monica in front, Gaylynn, Nita, DeeDee, Sweet Chelle



Donnell, Sean, Dwayne, Lorenzo


Nicole (used to take covers for Familiar Faces on Fridays)

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Grover Washington Jr.'s Lock It in the Pocket
2) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Didn't Cha Know
3) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's Be Without You / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
4) Sean-led Peabo Bryson's Feel the Fire
5) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Cleva - first song that cranked / bassline to Stevie Wonder's Superstition
6) Sean-led Ne-Yo's When You're Mad
7) Sean-led R. Kelly's Slow Wind
Nicole, the former cover taker for Familiar Faces on Fridays, was there. I asked her how she was doing, she said, "I'm retired."
Ayanna, India, Los, Ro'chelle (Too Sweet), Danielle (Pink), Sherray (Always Showtime!!), Mo (Slim Goodie) and her cousins Toonie, Weenie, and Keisha (celebrating her birthday), Big Don Pimp, Sharmba Mitchell, Danielle, Nita, Michelle, and Monica were there.

Second Set
1) Percussion solo
2) Sean-led Brian McKnight's Find Myself in You / Trey Songz' Gotta Go / 6 Minutes Percussion solo
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "wait a minute" echoes" / Tupac's Hail Mary (tease)
Chris "Rah" of WHAT? Band was there.
5) Donnell-led Rare Essence's All Da Time (mostly the yell) - Donnell stopped it because Ayanna was arguing with another woman in the front
6) Halima-led Christina Milian's Say I featuring Young Jeezy
7) Donnell & Sean-led Nicole the Bartender / "Whoa whoa whoa" - Donnell stopped it because Patrice was arguing on the side
Nicole the bartender was there.
8) Donnell rapped / Donnell-led "Party, party, everybody" / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick
9) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease)
10) Donnell & Sean-led "On the small of her back, she got a tattoo"
11) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's My Life

Tiffany was there.

Third Set
1) Sean-led Jay-Z's Show Me What You Got / Percussion solo
2) Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back
3) Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / "Keep it low"
4) Donnell-led "Reggae" - Danielle (in the front0 was contorting her body to the music, DeeDee danced with Donnell onstage / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful
5) Halima-led Beyonce's Ring the Alarm / Percussion solo
6) Halima-led Shareefa's Need a Boss
7) Donnell acapella Nicole the Bartender (tease)
Tiffany smiled the entire third set.
Donnell did a shout out to Rah and told audience to buy WHAT?'s album from legitimate vendors.
Donnell said, "Cookie's off the market"
Donnell said, "Nita invented a man. Has anyone seen him? He's a man that comes with batteries..."

Ayanna and Patrice were having a heated discussion outside - the police told them to move along.

Shadonna's Birthday at Phish Tea Cafe
Once again, there were protesters at the Gallaudet University on my way to the club, however they won they following week: the President Elect was fired.

Phish Tea Cafe, 1335 H St NE Washington, DC 20002
Shadonna was there. She said it was her actual birthday. Sam (Black Heart), Darrell, Tim (LJ), Mary, Yolanda, Sanisse, Renee, June, and Los were there.

Familiar Faces
Sound Check
Donnell acapella Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

First Set
1) Mother's Day - Donnell played his Sax on the dance floor, the various band members played solos
Dana and Darlene were there.
2) Miles Davis' Tutu - the various band members played solos
Nikiya was there.
3) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Didn't Cha Know - Halima sang on the dance floor
4) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's My Life - Sean ad libbed
Pinkey, RE Angie, and Mousie were there.
5) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Heaven - Sean sang on the dance floor
6) Sean-led Marvin Gaye's I Want You - Yolanda played the "air Sax"
Stacy (Yvette's friend) was there.
7) Halima-led Jill Scott's Whatever - it cranked, the dance floor filled, Donnell did a special dedication to Iceberg Slim, Donnell said, "Happy birthday, Shadonna"
Iceberg Slim was there. I didn't recognize him for sure until he started dancing, there's no mistaking that!

Iceberg Slim
L-Boogie was there.
8) Sean-led India Arie's There's Hope - it cranked / Percussion solo
9) Sean-led Raheem DeVaughn's You
10) Doc played riffs from Trouble Funk's Don't Touch That Stereo - Donnell said, "Do you hear what he's trying to play?"
A young woman named Tasha was really excited and clapped after every song.

Tony and Tasha
All pictures taken by and Copyright - Darrell Foster

Jermaine and then RE Angie played the congas during the break.

Slick Rick was there.

Second Set
1) Alternating Sean-led Jay-Z's Show Me What You Got "Show me what you got... oh baby... just ignore them... hands up and wave" - Godfather played the flugelhorn / Percussion solo - it cranked
2) Alternating Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back - it cranked (I still hate the song though) / Percussion solo
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Sean-led B.G.'s I Know
5) Halima-led Shareefa's Need a Boss - the stage went pitch black, Donnell stopped their playing to ask for the lights to be turned back on
6) Alternating Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / "Keep it low" - the house lights came on
7) Donnell-led "Reggae" / 50 Cent's In Da Club "Go Shadonna, it's your birthday!" / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful - Darryl the manager, had them stop
Donnell razzed a guy wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey, talking about how Bledsoe threw 6 interceptions and is 70 years old... Donnell said, "I know how these cowards became Cowboy fans. If their friends are in a fight and they're winning, they'd join in. If they were losing, they would run to their car."

Patrice Bowie at South Beach
South Beach, 7904 Woodmont Ave, Bethesda, MD 20810

The Patrice Bowie Project was upstairs again.

Patrice had a new hairdo.

The Patrice Bowie Project
I noticed that Allison of Jammin' Jeff & the Band had replaced Cindy as backup singer.
The complete lineup was: Patrice Bowie (lead singer), Kanika & Allison (backup singers), Stan Cooper (vocals and guitar), Dennis (bass), Dawoud (keyboard), Ricky Wellman (drums), Little Benny (vocals and trumpet, second set only).
First Set
1) Miles Davis' Tutu - nice, but strange without a trumpet player
Buzz asked Stan to do another song. Stan said, "Another one for Ricky"
2) Stan-led William DeVaughn's Be Thankful for What You Got - nice Dawoud solo, Stan changed the lyrics a little (adding lines about metro cards, and "Be thankful for public transportation" / Terror Squad's Lean Back (tease)
3) Patrice-led Alicia Keys' Unbreakable
4) Patrice-led Mary J. Blige's Be Without You
5) Patrice-led Alicia Keys' Diary
6) Patrice-led Butterflies (an original from her album)
7) Patrice-led Letoya Luckett's Torn
8) Patrice-led Give It to Me (an original from her album) - I saw Little Benny was outside / Patrice did band intros and the band did solos - in order: Dawoud, Dennis, Stan, Ricky
9) Ricky outtro

Second Set
1) Guitar intro / Patrice-led Fingalickin (an original from her album) - it cranked, Allison & Kanika rocked and leaned
2) Patrice-led Say Yes (an original from her album) - Patrice said, "This is one of my favorites. Let me tell you why: I don't like to hear the word no when I want something", Patrice held her mic to Holly? (I think she's a relative of Patrice's, she sat across the table from me at the first Patrice show I attended) and another fan, Patrice said, "Give me a little Caribbean music", Kanika and then Allison did vocal solos, the band stopped, but Stan asked for a solo himself, he sang "The ladies say yes", Patrice said, "Stan wants some attention"
3) Patrice-led Heather Headley's In My Mind
4) Patrice-led Amazing (an original from her album)
Mary was there.
5) Patrice-led Beyonce's Deja Vu featuring Jay-Z - Patrice asked for just bass, then hi-hat, Dawoud played horn hits until Little Benny arrived, Little Benny rapped
6) Patrice-led Mary J. Blige's Enough Cryin'
7) Patrice-led Little Benny-led Yung Joc's It's Going Down - it cranked, the frontline did the "ride out" dance
8) Little Benny-led Jeannie's Juice Theme / Little Benny-led "You feel alright?"
9) Patrice-led Close to Me (an original from her album)
10) Patrice-led Shareefa's Need a Boss
11) Patrice-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up - Little Benny said, "If you got some lighters, then light 'em up, put 'em up"
12) Little Benny-led Rare Essence's Lock It - it cranked, Little Benny jumped up at the end note

Allison didn't smile much, which is very different from when she performs with Jammin' Jeff & the Band. She talked with me on Friday; she said she was really sick (on Tuesday).

Saturday at Tradewinds
Tradewinds Night Club, 5859 Allentown Way, Camp Springs, MD 20748

Vic, Julia (with a new hairdo), Los, Delano, Shawn, Tata, Felecia, Nita, Keisha, Lachelle, and James were there.

Familiar Faces
Clarence "Boolah" Roper sat in on guitar.
First Set
1) Cheri Dennis' I Love You (instrumental) - Donnell said, "Special dedication to the Libras", Donnell said, "Gimme a little bit Boolah while we get this thing warmed up" and Boolah played a nice solo / Percussion solo - with modulation and Donnell said, "Guess who's back y'all? (Googie)", Donnell said, "I didn't know she (Halima) was here" / Halima-led Cheri Dennis' I Love You - it cranked, Donnell said, "That the problem, he (Boolah) starts to do his own thing", Boolah smiled
Troy was there.
2) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar - it cranked / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood" - the frontline danced
6'9 was there.
3) Alternating Donnell-led Nicole the Bartender - it cranked / Lil Scrappy's Money in the Bank (tease) / "Whoa who" / Percussion solo
Ray was there.
4) Donnell-led "Party, party, everybody" / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick (tease) - it cranked, Halima chanted, "Eya eya", Donnell chanted "Eya eya" and the crowd responded, "Ho!", Donnell said, "Hey D-O-C", Donnell said, "Come on, Boolah"
5) Donnell & Sean-led "Unh, unh unh" - it cranked
6) Alternating Halima-led Christina Milian's Say I featuring Young Jeezy / Aaliyah's I Need You Tonight (tease) / Donnell chanted, "Killazoo" / Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine" / Donnell-led "Hands Free, they're f*cking with me" / Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - "Go Libras, it's your birthday"
7) Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back - it cranked (I still hate the song though) / Percussion solo - Donnell said, "Hit me one time" repeatedly
8) Donnell & Sean-led "On the small of her back, she got a tattoo" - it cranked / 6 Minutes percussion solo
I danced with Julia.
9) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's My Life
Mama Chelle, March, and TT were there. TT introduced me to her cousin Lia, here for her bachelorette party. Nicole, Renee, Ariel, MeChelle, and Shannon, NeeNee, Kia, Mara, April "JuJu", Alexis, Keisha, Jan, Tanya & Ashante (whom I met at the Labor Day show), Choo Choo, Matthew, Shaunte (Stacey's cousin), Boo, Kelly, and Peg Leg were there.

Second Set
Donnell gave a speech about, "If someone steps on your toes, it's alright... If someone is drunk and touches your girlfriend's @ss, it's alright..."
1) Percussion solo
The "Familiar face" was there again.
2) Sean-led Ne-Yo's Sexy Love / Michael Jackson's Human Nature (tease) / Percussion solo - it cranked
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Sean-led B.G.'s I Know / Percussion solo
Kiana was there.
5) Halima-led Shareefa's Need a Boss / Percussion solo
6) Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / "Keep it low"
7) Donnell-led "Reggae" - it cranked / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful / Donnell-led "But is it like that, is it really like that?"
8) Halima-led "Been doing it so long" - it cranked
Big Don Pimp and Shameika were there.
9) Halima-led Beyonce's Deja Vu featuring Jay-Z - the houselights came on, it cranked / Percussion solo
Bam was there.
10) Donnell-led Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes
11) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda - it cranked, John stopped it
Donnell announced they were going to Miami for the Super Bowl and they had a ski trip in January.
Stacy (Choo Choo's Cousin) was there.
Donnell said hello to Kiana and her friend "Trouble (Nicole)".

RE Angie, Ray, Shadonna, and Britney's Birthday Celebration
J's Sports Cafe, 12617 Laurel Bowie Rd (Route 197), Laurel, MD 20708

It's starting to get really crowded at J's: I had to wait in line to get in.

There were sales reps (beautiful women) there hawking an energy drink called Sum Poosie.

The promter Tomeaki on the left, Sum Poosie sales girls in the background

Reynetta (spelling?) stopped me and said, "Don't walk past me without saying hello." She said she sees me at Phish Tea every week. I introduced myself to her. She's friends with Skaci.

Darrell, Pinkey, Tia, Kim, Rachelle, Tony, Skaci, and Ray were there.

Familiar Faces
Sound Check
Donnell-led Rare Essence's I'm Getting Ready (tease)

"Original" Nikki, Shawn, Sam (Black Heart). Shameika, Netty, Britney, June, Chevy of Fatal Attraction, Dianya, NeeNee, and Kia were there.

A girl called me over said, "Don't you recognize me?" I said your face is familiar, she said, "A familiar face."

Steve was working the PA tonight.

Jammin' Jeff Warren sat in on drums.
First Set
1) Instrumental / Percussion solo - it cranked, Donnell said, "I'm in love with the pocket", Donnell did a birthday shout out to RE Angie
Val "Tina Turner" was there.
2) Sean-led Brian McKnight's Find Myself in You - Jammin' Jeff tossed a drumstick in the air, it cranked, the congas sounded really crisp / Percussion solo - with modulation, Jammin' Jeff again threw a drumstick in the air
RE Angie was there
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Halima-led Floetry's Supastar (instrumental) / Percussion solo - it cranked, the frontline danced / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood" - Doc was on backup vocals
5) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - verses for Libras, RE Angie, and others
6) Donnell-led "Party, party, everybody" / Percussion solo - it cranked / Donnell chanted, "Langston Lane love" / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick - Sean held his mic to a fan
7) Halima-led Christina Milian's Say I featuring Young Jeezy / Aaliyah's I Need You Tonight (tease) / Donnell chanted, "Killazoo" / Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant / Donnell chanted, "Hands Free, they're f*cking with me"
8) Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back - it cranked (I still hate the song though) / Percussion solo - Donnell said, "Happy Birthday, Ray!"
Angie W., 6'9, and Peg Leg were there.
9) Sean-led Chingy's Pulling Me Back featuring Tyrese
Jay Gotti, Tracy S. (new hairdo), Janetta, Shadonna, Damond, Boo, Kay, and Nikiya were there.

A guy came up to me and said, "What do you know that I don't? You're always smiling as if you know something I don't, what do you know?"

Second Set
Darrell took pictures, and was onstage doing so for most of the set.

Me, Tracy, Pinkey, (don't know the other guy), Angie, and RE Angie
1) Halima-led Cheri Dennis' I Love You - Sean held his mic to fans, Stephanie (formerly? of EU) took the mic and went onstage, she continued the song, Donnell said, "Not yet, Stephanie" / 6 Minutes Percussion solo
Archie was there.
2) Sean-led India Arie's There's Hope - Godfather played the flugelhorn
3) Donnell-led Public Enemy's Welcome to the Terrordome - RE Angie sat in on the congas / Rare Essence's Body Snatchers riffs / DP-led "RE-Angie" chant - it cranked

Packy, Jacques, RE Ange, Smoke
4) Alternating Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / "Keep it low"
Tata was there.
5) Donnell-led "Reggae" / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful / Donnell-led "But is it like that, is it really like that?"
6) Sean-led Busta Rhymes' I Love My Chick featuring Kelis / Percussion solo
7) Donnell & Sean-led Nicole the Bartender - Donnell said, "Libras in the house"
8) Stephanie-led 50 Cent's In Da Club / Stephanie rapped / Percussion solo
Double D of Submission Band was there.
9) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda - it cranked, Halima sang, "Uh oh" repeatedly, Packy played the Cowbell
10) Alternating Percussion solo - it cranked / Donnell-led "On the small of her back, she got a tattoo" / 6 Minutes Percussion solo - Halima held her mic to Jacques playing the cowbell / Donnell-led "This is how we party in my neighborhood" - RE Angie sat in on vocals
James and Ian were there.
Donnell said, "When you party with us on your birthday, that's special to me"
11) Donnell acapella Rare Essence's How Can I Know (tease) / "Come back, baby come back" / "Here we go again"
Donnell said, "My baby Tracy got the new 'fro, ready to go"
We called Donnell over for a group picture, "He said, "You know I need to talk. Halima don't let me sing, this the only time I can sing"
12) Donnell acapella "The greatest story never told"

Front: Donnell, Angie, Tia, Kim Back: Sean, Nephew, Pinkey, RE Angie, Jacques, Me, Rachelle, DP
All pictures taken by and Copyright - Darrell Foster

June's Birthday Celebration
Once again, there were protesters at the Gallaudet University on my way to the club.

Phish Tea Cafe, 1335 H St NE Washington, DC 20002

June, "original" Nikki, Darrell F., Tamara, Kimberly, Darrell, and Shawn were there.

Tamara told me she is now singing and rapping (which I've never heard her do) for the Firm Project.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Blueprint (instrumental) - Donnell did his speech on how they started from elementary school, Donnell played his Sax on the dance floor / Sean improved, "We are Familiar Faces, we are doing our thing for you tonight" - it cranked
2) Sean-led Brian McKnight's Anytime - Sean sang on the dance floor
3) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Heaven
4) Halima-led Sade's Pearls
5) Sean-led Peabo Bryson's Feel the Fire - Sean & Halima sang on the dance floor
6) Halima-led Sade's No Ordinary Love - it cranked, either Godfather or Lorenzo played different keyboard riffs / Percussion solo - it cranked, Donnell did a shout out to Little Benny in the audience: "We got Little Benny in the house, this is where the stars be partyin'" -->
Peg Leg and Mousie were there.
7) Sean-led Ne-Yo's Sexy Love - it cranked / Percussion solo - it cranked / Michael Jackson's Human Nature (tease)
Los was there.
8) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease) - verses for June and Rico -->
Yaquim was there.
9) Halima-led Shareefa's Need a Boss - Tamara sat in / Percussion solo
10) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's My Life - Halima said, "Thank you, Tamara"

Sharmba Mitchell was there.

Tomeaki gave me a flyer for their Halloween costume party. She said, "You're everywhere."

A guy talked to me about seeing me at so many shows.

Second Set
A woman was filming the second set with a camcorder. I talked with her after the show. Her name is Natalie Hopkinson and she is doing a doctoral thesis on GoGo. Donnell said, "The Washington Post is in the building, keep rolling, just no fights". Natalie does write for the Washington Post, and is a visiting professor at my alma mater, the University of Maryland.
1) Sean-led Brian McKnight's Find Myself in You / Trey Songz' Gotta Go (tease) / Percussion solo
2) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
3) Sean-led B.G.'s I Know
4) Halima-led Christina Milian's Say I featuring Young Jeezy / Aaliyah's I Need You Tonight (tease) / Donnell chanted, "Killazoo" repeatedly / "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant
6'9 was there.
5) Donnell-led "Party, Party, everybody" - Donnell stopped their playing to watch a guy's dancing, Donnell said, "He's been with us since the Market Lounge. I love you, but now we gotten buttons on our shirts and sh*t." / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick / Percussion solo, Donnell said, "Hey D-O-C, Get with him Lee"
6) Halima-led "I've been doing it so long"
7) Donnell-led "Reggae" - it cranked /Percussion solo / Donnell-led "___ Is in the house" / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful
8) Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / "Keep it low"
9) Donnell-led acapella Rare Essence's Hey Tamika (tease)
10) Donnell-led acapella Sade the Bartender (re-wording of Nicole the Bartender) (tease)
11) Donnell-led acapella "On the small of her back, she got a tattoo" (tease) - Shawn was covering her ears, for some reason she doesn't like that song
12) Donnell-led acapella Vinnie D's Porno Star? (tease) - Donnell said, "He (Googie) pressed the Halima button. He's just jealous from back in the day when I tried to have him fired"
I introduced myself to the promoters Tomeaki and Teresa, both of whom danced with me in the second set.

I talked for a while with Natalie and Nico, one of her two colleagues. He asked me a number of questions about my blog saying, "GoGo is really fragile right now (which I know and is a shame) and I've known a lot of whites who have said they were trying to help GoGo and have hurt it". I found some of his questions a little strange like, "Why did you decide to write the blog in first person?" I understand his concern, it's a damned shame that authorities are trying to eliminate GoGo.

Patrick's Birthday Celebration
Tradewinds Night Club, 5859 Allentown Way, Camp Springs, MD 20748

Vic, Tracy, MeCelle, Shameika, Shonda, Shauny, Britney, Sanisse, Mary, Los, Nita, Keshia, Ariel, Gwen, and Shawn were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Donnell did a special dedication to Reggie.
1) Instrumental / Alternating Percussion solo / Sean-led Brian McKnight's Find Myself in You / Trey Songz' Gotta Go - fans sang along
Donnell said, "We're doing this for all the Libras".
2) Sean-led Omarion's Entourage / Percussion solo - Donnell sang the words "Nicole the Bartender"
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Donnell-led "___ Is in the house" / 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease)
5) Donnell & Sean-led Nicole the Bartender / Percussion solo / Lil' Scrappy's Money in the Bank (tease) / "Whoa" chant
Ray was there.
6) Halima-led Christina Milian's Say I featuring Young Jeezy - it cranked / Aaliyah's I Need You Tonight (tease) - Donnell chanted, "Killazoo" / Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant / Donnell-led "Hands Free, they're f*cking with me"
Mona, "original" Nikki, Renee, and Ebony were there.
7) Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / "Keep it low" / sample "What?" / Percussion solo - the crowd said, "Wind me up, Smoke!" and Donnell responded, "Say what? Do what?"
8) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease)
Simone was there.
9) Donnell-led "Reggae" / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful
10) Sean-led R. Kelly's Slow Wind - Donnell said "Happy Birthday Nicole (the Nicole I met at Classics)"
11) Sean-led Chingy's Pulling Me Back featuring Tyrese - Sean held his mic to fans to sing and Donnell said of one, "She really can sing", Halima said, "When she's not smoking", they called her onstage to sing, her name is Ianna (spelling?)
Ian was there.

Patrick, of band security, was celebrating his birthday; he had a cake in the kitchen.

Julie, NeeNee, Kia, Yolanda, Tiffany F., Keisha, and Jan were there.

Second Set
1) Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back / Percussion solo
2) Sean-led India Arie's There's Hope - Godfather played the flugelhorn / Percussion solo - with modulation
3) Alternating Donnell-led "Party, party, everybody" / Percussion solo / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick - Donnell said, "Hey D-O-C", Donnell said, "Get with him, Lee"
4) Halima rapped "I've been doing it so long, I'll be damned... What you think of this song?"
5) Donnell-led "25, 25, 25" / Rare Essence's Work the Walls - it cranked, Charlie was on backup vocals, Halima played on a conga
6) Donnell-led Rare Essence's What N*gga What? - Doc was on backup vocals
7) Alternating Donnell-led Rare Essence's All Da Time / "Southeast, South, Southeast" chant / Shawnna's Getting Some (tease, same music) / Halima sang Kanye West's Gold Digger
Janetta was there.
8) Donnell-led D-I-P
9) Donnell-led Trina Was Great - the houselights came on
Jackie was there.
10) Donnell & Halima-led It Is What It Is
11) Donnell-led "Go back to me... Unh unh (not to be confused with Unh Unh Unh also known as We Get It In or We Put it In)"
12) Alternating Donnell & Sean-led "On the small of her back, she got a tattoo" / Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine" / Percussion solo / Donnell said of Mia, "Mama Mia, it's so good to see ya" repeatedly / Rap "Superfly Snooka..." / Rap "Get me started..."
13) Halima-led Beyonce's Deja Vu featuring Jay-Z (literal tease)
14) Instrumental - Halima sang, "I am..." repeatedly
Kiana was there.

RIP Scotty Beats
Today I was saddened to hear of the death of Raymond Scott "Scotty Beats" Brown II in an attempted carjacking.  I met Scotty when I sat in on some recording sessions for Familiar Faces' album Evolution in July 2004 at Night Flight Studio.  He was a very nice, personable guy who had a love for music.  Here is an article on his death.

Scotty's Funeral

Friday October 20, 2006
Viewing 9 AM
Funeral 11 AM
Reid Temple A.M.E Church
11400 Glendale Blvd
Glendale, MD 20769
Here is an article on his funeral.


Scotty Beats with Donnell Floyd at Night Flight Studio on July 25, 2004
Picture taken by and Copyright - Jordan Rich

Familiar Faces at J's
J's Sports Cafe, 12617 Laurel Bowie Rd (Route 197), Laurel, MD 20708

Jazzy Layse and Chevy of Fatal Attraction were right ahead of me in line to get in.
Val "Tina Turner", Danielle (Wellfhed), Simone (Stallion), and Sashay Shaunte were there. Danielle introduced me to Chris from L!ssen Da Grew^P who had played for Jammin' Jeff & Da Band tonight.
Nikki, Lashonda, Big Don Pimp, and Ytee (celebrating his birthday, which was October 6th, this was the first time I've seen him in a long time) were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Donnell said, "We lost a family member last night." He asked for a moment of silence for Scotty Beats. Afterwards, he said, "Rest in peace, Scotty Beats"
1) Instrumental / Percussion solo - Donnell said, "Give me a pocket just to get warmed up" / Donnell did special birthday dedications to me, Alicia, and Libras / Sean-led Brian McKnight's Find Myself in You
Tim (LJ), 6'9, Shawn, Dana, and Kim were there.
2) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go / Percussion solo - with modulation, Donnell said, "Go Ytee, it's your birthday! Go Libras, it's your birthday!"
Donnell Jr. was there.
3) Sean-led Omarion's Entourage / Percussion solo
Audrey (Da Remixx) was there.
4) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
5) Alternating Donnell-led "Party, Party, everybody" / Percussion solo - Donnell chanted, "Eya, eya" / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick - Donnell said, "Hey D-O-C"
Candylady and John were there.
6) Donnell & Sean-led "Unh, unh unh"
Mousie was there.
Donnell said, "I'd like to wish all the Libras a happy birthday"
7) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease)
Damond, "original" Nikki, and Ebony were there.
8) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's My Life

Rickea, Derek Floyd, Renee (a friend of Ebo's), Peg Leg, Suri, Sharmba Mitchell, Janetta, Kiana, and Tiffany F. were there.

Second Set
1) Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back
RE Angie and Angie W. were there.
2) Donnell-led Nicole the Bartender - Donnell chanted, "Whoa, whoa" / Lil' Scrappy's Money in the Bank (tease) - Donnell stopped it chastise a fan
3) Sean-led India Arie's There's Hope - it cranked / Percussion solo - Donnell stopped the song and said, "This ain't the Metro Club. We done grown up. We got shirts with buttons on and sh*t."
Darlene was there.
4) Alternating Donnell-led "___ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / Sample "What?" / "Keep it low"
Tyrell was there.
5) Halima rapped "I've been doing it so long, I'll be damned..."
Big Buck of Publicity Band was there.
6) Alternating Donnell-led "Reggae" / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful - Jazzy Layse danced onstage / Donnell-led "But is it like that, is it really like that?"
7) Alternating Donnell-led Rare Essence's Lock It - the house lights came on, Packy played the cowbell, Ytee danced onstage (and did until the end of the set), Donnell said, "Hey Ytee, it's your birthday" / "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant / Rare Essence's How Can I Know? (tease, music to Lock It)
8) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Geraldine (tease)
9) Donnell-led What Would You Do? (For the Money) - RE Angie sat in on congas
Skaci was there.
Peg Leg saw I was wearing an Orioles jacket, he said, "You need to get a Yankees jacket" - no way!
10) Donnell sang, "Chevy to the levy and the levy was gone"
11) Donnell-led Slick Rick's La Di Da Di (tease)
Donnell was still talking when I left.

Mambo Sauce at the State Theatre
Mambo Sauce was interviewed on the TMOTT radio show on GoGoRadio.com. You can listen to the interview here.

The State Theatre, 220 N. Washington Falls Church, VA 22046

I bought my ticket in advance, but it unfortunately turned out it wasn't necessary, as it didn't sell out. Mambo Sauce was opening up for the Skatalites.

I said hello to Red up front.

All the tables were reserved for eating; I picked a table front and center. This venue has a really nice stage; I've never been here before.

Most of the members of Mambo Sauce came out a little after 9 PM. The house lights dimmed and the stage lights came on.

Mambo Sauce
Kevin "Kali" Kalifornia was sitting in for Drew on guitar.
Their performance was being filmed by 2 cameras - one hand-held on stage and on the dance floor, another on a tripod next to the PA.
1) Instrumental
Black Boo and Yendy came out. Black Boo said, "Anyone got chicken wings? I we're about to put some Mambo Sauce on that". I gave a further intro speech.
There outfits the various members wore varied in formality: Barry had a shirt and tie.
2) Black Boo-led Things Will Get Better
3) Black Boo-led Sweet Baby - Yendy said, "This is my personal favorite", it cranked
Black Boo said, "If you feel like dancing like the beautiful woman I just saw, do what your body tells you to do. That's what this music is all about."
Black Boo did a shout out to Moe, "the other Moe".
4) Black Boo-led sung intro - Black Boo pulled out the cowbell, it cranked
5) Yendy-led No - it cranked -->
6) Yendy-led Fairweather - Black Boo played the cowbell, it cranked -->
7) Black Boo-led Damn Joe - Black Boo played the cowbell, it cranked
Black Boo said, "We got one more for you, we got to get out of here a little earlier than we expected."
8) Black Boo-led Long Time Comin' - Kali played grinding riffs, Kali had a really nice solo, the song went to being laid back, Black Boo introduced the band, then Yendy introduced Black Boo saying, "Sexual Chocolate!"
The set was about an hour.
Pep just played congas the whole set, no toms (fine by me).
Left to right: backline: Chris, Pep, Kali, Barry (on a riser in the back middle), Khari, frontline: Black Boo, Yendy
The audience was mostly white. They applauded after every song. A number of people danced.
Red was on the dance floor at the end. He said Drew was in Atlanta. Red introduced me to another fan who attends most of their shows.

Up front, Ro'chelle (toosweet) was minding Mambo Sauce's t-shirts for sale. Disco Earl (formerly Spearchucker) introduced himself to me, a fellow Whitman graduate. He said he mostly posts on TMOTT between classes (he's a teacher), he takes out his frustrations on TMOTT, which explains his sarcastic posting style. He asked me why I wasn't at Familiar Faces' show; I said they don't play until after midnight.

V's Mix Tape Release Party
Sky Club, Zanzibar on the Waterfront, 700 Water Street SW Washington, DC 20024

Patrice Bowie's brother, Vernon "V", invited me to his mix tape "I'm Here" release party. He's a rapper. I saw Bryan Mills out front, he said, "See you inside". This was my first time at the Sky Club. They took my pen, the same one I had just bought at 7-11 Friday. Jade, the event organizer, took me up. I was one of the first guests to arrive - I watched the VT-BC game for a bit. I was a little disappointed Maya wasn't bartending up in here. I went into the VIP area, where you could see into the stage below. Dali was there, taking pictures.

I had a long conversation with Buzz, Patrice's manager. He talked about DC's "secret" conspiracy against GoGo - it's really not secret, just not written as it is illegal. He said that PG County's government and police forces have close ties to DC, and that they will get rid of GoGo too. He believes that when Chuck Brown dies, GoGo will be exterminated unless they become national and don't just play in one place. I told him about Mambo Sauce and how I think they have the best business model to go national. He said Chuck is the only GoGo artist allowed to perform at a lot of DC venues, including the Lincoln Theatre. He said the city owns Zanzibar and H2O and they will soon become condos. He said the city gets rid of GoGo from venues through not allowing renewal of liquor licenses. He also said the service at these clubs is terrible, including having to be frisked. I think frisking people is a necessity.

He said he intentionally is having Patrice's performances be outside the city (Bethesda). He talked about his plans for her - the current band is just a few months old, as he fired a number of band members, keeping Ricky Wellman. He said that Patrice is very successful hair stylist (she owns her own salon), so she can afford to be patient about signing a record deal. He called her his 100 million dollar baby. I said I wished she didn't sing covers, but he said they are a necessity, since she isn't known and that people wonder if she can sing in such a such manner... He said they will be careful about signing: he talked about how at Raheem DeVaughn's release party in DC, no one from Sony was there, he said that was a punk move. He made a point of Patrice being able to perform live and in the studio: he said that track singers' careers don't last long. He said she is a fully packaged product. He said that had Patrice told him earlier about my birthday, he would have razzed me on the mic on Tuesday. He said he wants to put Little Benny and Sugar Bear in a group together and make it GoGo Rock. He also talked about putting Little Benny together with other artists like: "What if I put you together with a 19-year old white rapper?" He said that Da Butt is played at a lot of clubs across the county, but that if Sugar Bear walked in that club, he wouldn't be recognized. We were watching Soul Spnge, he also talked about Bryan and Brad since he's a horn player. Buzz said he hasn't played in 18 years. We talked about Rich Harrison and Scotty Beats, who ironically was killed that night. Buzz talked about hooking me up with a woman who has worked in public relations with Arista who wants to do a documentary on GoGo.

A woman named Dawn who had sat next to me at Patrice's show 2 weeks ago introduced herself to me. She introduced me to her sister Jenny; they are cousins of Vernon & Patrice.

I saw Familiar Faces take the stage; it was weird watching them and not being able to hear them. I haven't seen them perform at Zanzibar's on a Thursday in three months. During the break after their first set, Dwayne and Sean came upstairs. Dwayne said of Vernon, "This is my little brother". I was going to leave around then (due to the lateness), but Vernon asked me to stay longer. He said he really liked my writing, and he wanted me to do some writing for/on him. He gave me a copy of the album - some of which was being played. The party had a DJ and an MC.

Patrice pointed out family members to me; she said she has 5 sisters. She said it's (the party) really a family affair. She said a cousin she hadn't seen in years was there, she didn't know he was in the NFL. Patrice asked me if her brother had contacted me on myspace. She said he's always going through her friends on myspace, but she said to him, this is someone you should look up.

Buzz introduced me to Mustafa. 

I saw Omarr and Stomp briefly before I left, Stomp asked me who the party was for.

Vernon had treated me very well. When I walked out, Renee was outside. She asked me when FF had started. I told her and said I was actually at a different show, she said, "I'm telling! I'm putting it in the paper."

Tony's Birthday Celebration
I passed by the Gallaudet University protesters on my way to the club. 

Phish Tea Cafe, 1335 H St NE Washington, DC 20002

Tonight was a celebration for Tony of Familiar Faces' band security.

Halima had a new hairdo.

Skaci, Angie, and Chanel were there. I introduced myself to Rita. "Original" Nikki, Ebony, Renee, India, and Shawn were there.

Familiar Faces
Dwayne Lee was back.
First Set
1) Alternating Sean-led Bernard Ighner's Everything Must Change - Donnell played on the dance floor, Sean sang on the dance floor, Halima sang along in the second go round / Halima-led Rodgers & Hart's My Funny Valentine (same music) - Halima sang on the dance floor, her movements were quirky
Tracy S. was there.
2) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's My Life - Halima took her mic stand on the dance floor, later she went back on stage / Instrumental - Godfather came in, Halima said, "Sometimes he's on time"
Los and Ras Lidj were there.
3) Sean-led Brian McKnight's Find Myself In You - Donnell did a birthday shout out to Tony, it cranked, Donnell did a special dedication to Pee Wee (dancing onstage): Donnell said, "That's how Lock It got started", Donnell said, "They fixed the air conditioning, it was a little warm when we was celebrating my man Jordan's birthday"
4) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club - verses for Tony and Libras
5) Halima-led "ah ah, I need you... Drive me crazy"
6) Donnell-led "___ Is in the house"
7) Donnell-led "Party, party, everybody" / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick - Sean sang on the dance floor, Donnell chanted, "Eya, eya" / Percussion solo - Donnell said, "Hey D-O-C"
8) Halima rapped "I've been doing it so long, I'll be damned..." - it cranked
Donnell said, "Something new right off the radio"
Mike Smith, Mousie, Yaquim, and Tasha (T-Bird) with Cory (spelling?) were there.

Sound Check
Donnell acapella Yung Joc's I Know You See It

Donnell joned about Los and the Dallas Cowboys, saying, "We'll watch the Redskins game at Carlos' house.
What did TO say, "What the f*ck am I here for? He got it started already..."

Second Set
Donnell said, "Something new"
1) Sean-led Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back - I really hate that song, it's not FF's performance of it, the song is just awful
2) Halima-led Cheri Dennis' I Love You - it cranked / Percussion solo -->
3) Alternating Donnell & Sean-led "On the small of her back, she got a tattoo"
4) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
5) Alternating Donnell-led "__ Is yes!" / "You make me want to see, just how freaky you can be" / "Keep it low" / sample "What?" / Percussion solo - it cranked, Jacques played the cowbell
6) Halima-led Christina Milian's Say I featuring Young Jeezy - it cranked / Percussion solo
7) Alternating Donnell-led "Reggae" - Donnell said, "For real?" about India's dancing / Sean-led Damien Marley's Beautiful
8) Donnell & Sean-led "Unh, unh unh" - Donnell added "unh unh" grunts and there was heavy percussion, it cranked
9) Halima-led Beyonce's Deja Vu featuring Jay-Z - it cranked, the house lights came on
10) Instrumental - false start, Donnell asked Googie to turn the bass drum back on, Donnell said, "Something new right as you leave"
Donnell said, "Happy birthday Kiana, Happy Birthday Tony"
Shante (Songbird) was there.

LiveNLearn said she was there, but I didn't notice her.