Thursday at Zanzibar
Zanzibar on the Waterfront, 700 Water Street SW Washington, DC 20024

Jalila, Gene, and Pee Wee were there. "Original" Nikki, Ebony, and their friend Kee (celebrating her 21st birthday) were there. Ro'chelle (toosweet), Sherray (Always Showtime!!), Danielle (pinkprincess), Mitch, Shawn, and Peanut were there. Michelle introduced herself to me. Kimberly was there. Matthew introduced himself to me, he talked bout our mutual interest in the band. Pinky, Tracy (from the bus trip), and Jay113 were there.

Halima had a new hairdo.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Donnell said, "Please pray for Tim, he's having a serious operation in the morning. Tim is one of the Positive Black Men."
1) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Heaven
2) Halima-led Rodgers & Hart's My Funny Valentine - Halima started singing offstage by the PA
Tyrell was there.
3) Donnell & Halima-led (Sade's) Cherish the Day
4) Sean-led Toto's Georgy Porgy - intro / Bobby Valentino's Slow Down
Darrell F. and Tony were there.
5) Halima-led Faith Evans' Again
Nikki was there.
6) Sean-led Eric Benet's I Wanna Be Loved / Teddy Pendergrass' Love TKO (tease)
7) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself / Floetry's Say Yes
Natalie and Ebo were there.

Tiffany F., Cherie, T-Bird, Ian, Peg Leg, Kim, and Kintrea were there. Ebo introduced to me to a guy named Javon.

Chris, a female bartender at the Icon, was there.

Second Set
1) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's Can't Hide from Luv
Darlene and Big Don Pimp were there.
2) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
Mona was there.
3) Alternating Donnell-led "___ Is in the House" / "When you walk in the door and you're going to GoGo" - the crowd responded, "Hello, hello"
4) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized / Percussion solo / Donnell-led "You may want to see... easy as one, two, three..."
Shameika (new hairdo) and Mousie were there.
5) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Donnell did birthday shout outs to Pinky and DP
6) Donnell-led Vinnie D's Porno Star?
7) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh" - Sean sang
8) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable
Slim Goodie, Lachelle, Weenie, Cookie, Britney & Shelly, Tamiko, RE Angie, Shannon, Tia, and Steve were there. Darrell F. introduced me to Tracy, his former babysitter. She is friends with the other Tracy (from the bus trip).

Third Set
1) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go
2) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
Tijuana and Nikiya were there.
3) Alternating Donnell-led "Party party, everybody" / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick - it cranked
GoGo Mickey was there.
4) Donnell-led "___ on the floor" / NORE's I'm a G - Sean rapped
5) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hook Me Upa (tease) - GoGo Mickey sat in
6) Donnell-led "Hey GoGo Mickey" - the crowd shouted, "GoGo Mickey", Donnell said, "Say What? What y'all say?", Donnell said, "A reunion y'all", Donnell shouted, "Mick-ay!" repeatedly
Imani was there.
7) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Body Snatchers (tease)
Danielle, Kim and Lolo's friend, was there.
8) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Geraldine
Tracy (Darrell's babysitter) introduced me to her cousin Angie.
9) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda
10) Donnell-led "25, 25, 25" / Rare Essence's Work the Walls - different keyboard riffs, it was interrupted by a fight
11) Donnell-led "This is how we party in my neighborhood" - someone (male) rapped
12) Donnell-led Rare Essence's What Would You Do (for the Money)?
Donnell said, "I'm sorry about the hairdos (it was hot because of all the people), we're not going to do that next week. We're going to keep it grown & sexy.
I teased Imani, "Your hairdo wasn't affected." She said, "Not at all."
Donnell said, "Happy birthday GoGo Mickey (his actual birthday is Sunday). Mickey tell your boss I said happy birthday. Sorry about putting out this tape, I hope nothing bad happens. I hope he fires you."

Outside, some guy said to me, "Hey, don't write anything on this one." I have no idea why he said that.

Wednesday at Safari Lounge
Safari Lounge, 9430 Annapolis Road Lanham MD 20706

Kim and June were there.

Halima had a new hairdo.

They had changed their configuration back to the Bike Week configuration.

Peg Leg, Ian, Tony, and Netty were there.

Sherray (Always Showtime!!) was tending bar.

Shawn and Maya were there. Krystal was there (celebrating her birthday, not working) as was her sister Karina (spelling?), also celebrating her own birthday.

They had their light show set up.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Donnell did birthday shout outs to Krystal and Karina.
1) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Heaven (debut) - there was mic distortion, it was laid back: Dwayne, Smoke, and Jacques didn't play and there were no backup vocals
2) Donnell & Halima-led (Sade's) Cherish the Day - Donnell did a shout out to Darrin X in the audience
Marvin and Chris were there.
3) Halima-led Faith Evans' Again - Halima sang on the dance floor, she walked around to the tables
Lashonda was there.
4) Halima-led Mary J. Blige's Can't Hide from Luv (debut)
5) Sean-led Eric Benet's I Wanna Be Loved - Sean, Donnell, and DP went on the dance floor / Teddy Pendergrass' Love TKO (tease)
6) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - Halima sang on the dance floor / Alternating Floetry's Say Yes / Lionel Richie's Hello (tease)
6'9 was there.
Tim (LJ), Shaun, Donnell Jr., Stacey, Slick Rick, and Ron Moten were there.

Steve was there.

Second Set
Donnell did a birthday shout out to Cherie.
1) Alternating 6 Minutes percussion solo - Donnell said, "Darlene, you cheatin' on me?" with a guy named Craig, Donnell announced that DP's birthday celebration was Saturday, but his actual birthday was Monday past / Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - it cranked
2) Donnell-led "___ Is in the House"
3) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
4) Alternating Donnell-led "Party, party everybody" / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick
Nikiya was there.
5) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That
Tiffany G. and Lima were there.
6) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Uh Oh (Heads Up) - Darrin X sat in on Lorenzo's keyboards (Lorenzo was still also playing) / "You may never see my face again, you don't know me, oh no..." / "Bling bling bling" / Rare Essence's Where My Troopers At? (tease) / Donnell & Sean-led Dem Franchize Boyz' Lean With It Rock With It (tease) - it cranked
7) Donnell-led Miss Keta Will You Dance For Me - Donnell called up Cherie, Krystal, Tiffany G., Nikki (not one I know), and Lima to dance
Nece, the promoter, was there.
8) Donnell-led Trina Was Great / "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant
9) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - Donnell went on the dance floor / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes / Scarface's I Seen a Man Die (tease) / Tupac's Hail Mary (tease) - the crowd sang along
10) Donnell-led Can We Touch Tonight (tease) / Percussion solo - the house lights came on / Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - Donnell was joking with Nece, "You're my number two.", She gestured and he responded, "Oh, my number one. I'll be home in about five minutes.", Donnell did a shout out to Curtis Malone, Sean rapped / Sean-led Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (tease) - altered lyrics
Donnell said, "Hey Ian, Saturday take him (Peg Leg) to the Neon before you come to the Tradewinds. Who's there? TCB? All you are going to the Neon, you're on probation."
Donnell said, "Nece, who're you hugging? Give him a handshake from a distance."

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

Sharon, Sanisse, Yolanda, BY, Big Cat, Vic, Tracy S., LA, Pinky (celebrating her birthday), Tia, RE Angie, Britney & Shelley, Trea, Javon, Tamika, Jackie, and Natalie were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Familiar Faces had their regular Saturday Tradewinds line up (Charlie on second percussion).
Donnell said of Trea, "I like to watch the young & the restless. You got to dip on time"
1) Percussion solo - Donnell joked, "I'm waiting for Halima to get her courage up... in the land of the Geechee Dan, it's a DC thing."
Tracy and Peg Leg were there.
2) Halima-led Alicia Keys' Unbreakable - Halima said, "Hey Pinky", Donnell said, "Turn her off when she's not singing, she's trying to take my job, even though I can sing", there was distortion from Doc's bass
3) Sean-led Toto's Georgy Porgy - intro / Bobby Valentino's Slow Down
4) Donnell-led Prince's Take Me With You - Natalie sang along
Kay and Renee were there.
5) Alternating Donnell-led Hold the Note - it cranked, the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Smoke!", Donnell said, "Say what?", Halima said, "Say it again", Donnell said, "I knew it, she ain't got no more, that's all she got" / Halima-led Sade's No Ordinary Love (tease)
Rachelle was there.
6) Donnell-led "___ on the floor" / NORE's I'm a G - Sean rapped, Donnell chanted, "Eya, eya" and the crowd responded, "Ho"
7) Donnell & Halima-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up
8) Donnell-led 50 Cent's In Da Club (tease)
9) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
10) Sean-led Eric Benet's I Wanna Be Loved - Sean said, "Ladies, sometimes you got to dig deeper" / Teddy Pendergrass' Love TKO (tease)

Mousie, Slick Rick, James, and Los were there.

Shameika, Tijuana, Mama Chelle, Jessica, March, Ebony, Nikki, Shawn, Steve, Nita, Tasty, and Tamika (whom I met on Thursday) were there.

Second Set
1) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh" - Sean sang
2) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable
Nicole, whom I met at the Classics, was there.
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!"
5) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar - Halima said of something, "Don't put that on the website, Jordan", Donnell said, "Where you at, Jordan?" / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood" / Donnell-led Rare Essence's One on One (Footz version, tease) - Packy played the cowbell
6) Alternating Donnell-led "Party, party everybody" / "___ Is in the House"
7) Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick
8) Donnell-led Trina Was Great - it cranked, it was ended by a fight, the house lights came on
Donnell said, "I know some people don't think they can have a party without a fight. I haven't seen a fistfight between grown men in a long time. The Neon's down the street if you want to beat your feet. This is the grown & sexy, not the young & the restless. Take their pictures. Don't blame me if the age limit goes up. Sorry, we're going to end early, one more song."
9) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - Donnell said, "Thirty-five and older next week" and laughed, Donnell said, "You say forty?", Donnell said, "That's it", Donnell said, "Hey Lorenzo, can you hear me over there?"
Donnell said, "If you see any children outside, please stop them at the door."
Donnell said, "Forty and over, starting next week."
10) Stomp played a sample of a motorcycle pealing out.
Tony was there.
Donnell said, "I forgot the Tasty story. Stay tuned for next week."

Derrick Parks' Birthday Celebration
Cranberries, 5740 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, MD 20747

This was the birthday celebration for Derrick Parks, the owner of Cranberries.

I arrived at around 9:30. Googie was in the parking lot when I parked. There was a pickup truck with a trailer that had rotating spotlights pointed skyward. There was also a tent setup outside; it was connected to the side exit of Cranberries. When I was inside, I saw that it had tables, it was a VIP room. There was DJ music in the VIP room.

Mia took the covers when I walked in. Sherray (Always Showtime!!) was tending bar.

Whop-N-Em
Whop said that they were short handed. He said they would play for thirty minutes, and then Familiar Faces would play for an hour.
The line up had changed a lot since I last saw them: Whop (vocals and Sax), Tony Blunt (rapper), a female vocalist, a double keyboard (left), bass player, drummer, a conga player, and a timbale player.
Whop said they would perform some originals.
1) Whop-led Rick Ross' Everyday I'm Hustling - Whop said, "We've never play this joint before", it cranked, Whop stopped it due to mic distortion / Percussion solo - Tony freestyled
2) Whop-led 50 Cent's Have a Party - it cranked even more
3) Whop-led Purple Ribbon All-Stars' Kryptonite - Tony freestyled / Slick Rick's La Di Da Di (tease) - Tony kept saying, "This is not a rock band"
4) Whop-led Sunglasses - Whop played his Sax, a second keyboard player arrived and brought his keyboard, Tony freestyled
5) Whop-led "I wanna see your body wet work that let me see you drip sweat, don't play with me"
6) Whop talked about NORE's I'm a G, about people performing it and not being a G / Whop-led "Game tight" - the back stage lights came on
Whop mentioned they would be playing afterward at the Louisiana Bar & Grill. Female bartenders kept walking back and forth in front of the stage throughout the performance. There were about thirty people there in the audience. This was much better than the last time I saw them. This time, they were clearly a GoGo band and cranked.

Familiar Faces
Familiar Faces had a different line up: there was no second percussion, neither the instruments (timbales, cowbell, etc.), nor the person.
The instrument set up was basically the same as with Whop-N-Em, Doc was on the left, Dwayne on the right.
Tony was there.
Donnell said that the tent was a VIP room; he said he believed it was $20, free drinks all night.

Sound Check
1) Donnell acapella Rare Essence's I'm Getting Ready (tease)
2) Donnell acapella Tyrese's Sweet Lady (tease)

Set
1) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You - Halima sang on the dance floor, fans put their hands up at the appropriate time in the lyrics / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes - Halima went back onstage
2) Sean-led Eric Benet's I Wanna Be Loved - Sean said, "Sometimes you got to go back", Sean went on the dance floor, Sean said, "Sometimes you got to go further back" / Teddy Pendergrass' Love TKO (tease) Donnell said, "My man Kal'el and my baby Halima. I think we're going to have her get a mi with a cord, I don't like all that moving around. A short cord."
3) Alternating Percussion solo - Donnell said, "You got to head bob" and demonstrated / Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - Donnell said, "Not since the 501" about Shaquita, Sean went to the edge of the monitors, Sean rapped, Dwayne went on the dance floor
Mama Chelle was there.
4) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar - it cranked, Donnell said, "Erica, damn the skirt, you know how to shake a leg", Halima went on the dance floor and walked over by the buffet, Donnell said, "Come on back", Donnell said, "Hey Googie, turn her off", Halima said, "Just another hate crime" / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood" - Some guy was talking to Smoke while he played
TT was there.
5) Alternating Donnell-led "__ Is in the House" / "Party, party, everybody"
March was there.
6) Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick / Percussion solo - Donnell said, "Right there Doc, make it real good" repeatedly, Donnell said, "Get with him Lee" repeatedly
7) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut - Sean sang / Notorious BIG's Warning - Dwayne went on the dance floor / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes
RE Angie was there.
8) Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm a G - Sean rapped, it cranked
9) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Donnell made fun of Halima's "ooh hoo"
Jessica was there.
10) Donnell & Halima-led It Is What It Is / Halima & Sean-led Luther Vandross' So Amazing (tease)
Donnell said, "Happy birthday to my man Big Derrick, Derrick Parks." Donnell said, "Where my man Benny at? He said he had something special, some dance steps." The audience had grown to over fifty by the end of their set.

Lil One said, "Are you on TMOTT?" to me, when I walked by her booth.

I said hello to Little Benny in the parking lot on my way to Tradewinds. I decided to leave despite the fact that Natural Soul with Little Benny, L!ssen Da Grew^P, and Publicity Band would be performing.

Friday at the Icon
The Icon, 2106 Crain Hwy, Waldorf, MD 20601

Lashonda was there.
The sign "& the Icon" on the wall behind the stage was all that remained from the live DVD recording alterations.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Percussion solo - Packy played the cowbell, Donnell was joking about Tiffany, "She can sing too. She'll sing, "Guess who stole your boyfriend."
Darrell, Stacy, Yvette, Tiffany F., and Tasty were there.
2) Halima-led Alicia Keys' Unbreakable
Tyrell and Shawn were there.
3) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable
4) Percussion solo - Donnell joked, "Tyrell must got something down here, she ain't missed a Friday yet.", Donnell called for DJ Flexx to shine a spotlight on the dance floor
Kimberly talked about how "Smokie on the congas, Baby Huey on the drums", the bass player (Doc), and the keyboards are locked up in synch.
5) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny
6) Alternating Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm a G - Sean rapped, it cranked, they had speaker problems that Markel worked on
7) Donnell-led Brown & White / "Who's that girl?" (tease) / Ride Out - the frontline did the Ride Out dance, Donnell had Halima do the Ride Out dance, Donnell said, "You'd never know she was from the dirty south, by the land of Geechee Dan, way down by Louisiana", Donnell teased Nita, "Wearing the shortest dress on the rack"
8) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You - fans put their hands up at the appropriate time in the lyrics / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
Tamiko was there.
9) Sean-led Eric Benet's I Wanna Be Loved - Sean said, "Ladies can I talk to you for a minute, it's serious, sometimes you gotta go back", the stage lights went darker / Teddy Pendergrass' Love TKO (tease) - really laid back
Tony, Nece, and Simone (her actual birthday) were there. Danette (I haven't seen her in a while) was there. Ebony and Nikki were there.
Donnell said Tasty, "Slick it up. I know your government name; your Mama didn't name you Tasty. Who gave you that name? The Good Humor man?"

Second Set
1) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes
Donnell said, "Tomorrow we're going to give out the real names, we're going to tell the story behind the name.", Donnell said of Tasty, "They should call you window basher.", Donnell said, "Write all this down Jordan, we're going to talk about the real names tomorrow."
2) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar - it cranked, Donnell chanted, "Eya eya" and the crowd responded, "Ho" / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood" / Donnell chanted, "Party, party, everybody"
3) Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick / 6 Minutes percussion solo - it cranked
Jay Floyd was there.
4) Donnell-led 911 - Packy was on backup vocals
6'9 was there.
5) Donnell called Lashonda up onstage / Donnell-led Lashonda (Miss Keta) Do Your Dance for Me - He called up Tasty, Tiffany, Tay, T, Nikki, they again had speaker problems, Donnell thanked all the girls, Donnell said, "Still looking for my baby, Tyrell, she must be scared" (I think she had already left)
6) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - Donnell joked, "Sweet Nikki, you cheatin' on me?", Donnell joked, "I'm not going to say... but you were obviously with someone else before, you live down the street", Donnell said, "Too late Simone (to dance onstage), but if your mother was here...", the house lights came on / Percussion solo - Halima stood onstage with Dwayne's guitar, Donnell said, "She got the look, but she ain't playin' nothing. She trying to take over the band y'all."
Donnell said of 6'9, "Listen to his excuse why he was late. 'You was at the Georgetown game in Minneapolis?' 'Oh, you was watching the Georgetown game.'"

Thursday at Zanzibar
Zanzibar on the Waterfront, 700 Water Street SW Washington, DC 20024

Jalila, Lolo, Kim, Mitch, Nece, Simone (celebrating her birthday), their Mom Faith, Missshaunte, Gene, and JoJo were there. I introduced myself to a woman named Melissa. Darrell F. and Sharika were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Halima-led Rodgers & Hart's My Funny Valentine
Tony was there. A woman named Tamika introduced herself to me.
2) Sean-led Eric Benet's I Wanna Be Loved / Teddy Pendergrass' Love TKO (tease)
3) Donnell & Halima-led (Sade's) Cherish the Day - Donnell did a birthday shout out to Simone
Peg Leg was there.
4) Sean-led Toto's Georgy Porgy - intro / Bobby Valentino's Slow Down / 6 Minutes percussion solo - it cranked
5) Alternating Halima-led Alicia Keys' Unbreakable - first time in a while (although they could have performed it last night) / Percussion solo - Halima said, "Wait a minute", Donnell laughed and said, "Oh my goodness"
Dynomite was there.
6) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
Donnell said, "She okay... Big John, we can't give her too much. She's not from here; she's from down south, the land of Geechee Dan."

I introduced myself to Alena. She only would dance with me during the ads as she was watching the basketball game. She introduced me to her female friend Shawn.

Ron, Lolo's husband, introduced himself to me.

Mousie was there.

Second Set
1) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - Sean rapped
Imani, Jimmy Parker, and Cookie were there.
2) Percussion solo / Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant
Tyrell was there.
3) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
4) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!"
5) Donnell-led "___ Is in the House"
6) Halima-led Beyonce's Check on It
7) Donnell & Halima-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up
8) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - more lights came on in the stage area
9) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable
10) Donnell & Sean-led Rare Essence's Lock It - Sean's been working on it, Pee Wee danced in the stage area / Donnell & Sean-led Dem Franchize Boyz' Lean With It Rock With It (tease)
11) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda (literal tease)

DJ Mello T, who was talking with Godfather, introduced himself to me.

Shadonna was there.

I introduced myself to Tarika, who looked familiar to me, but she insisted she's never seen Familiar Faces before.

A friend of Darrell's named Paula talked with me about my thesis.

Roe, Nikiya, James, Ayisha, Renee, and Tiffany F. were there.

Third Set
1) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - I may have missed a song as I was talking to someone, Donnell said, "DJ Kool is here (celebrating his birthday), this is where the stars be partyin'"
2) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood" / Donnell chanted, "Party party, everybody"
Big Sixx was there.
3) Alternating Donnell-led "___ Is in the House" - it cranked, Donnell chanted, "Eya, eya" and the crowd responded, "Ho" / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick - it cranked
4) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes / Scarface's I Seen a Man Die (tease) / Tupac's Hail Mary (tease)
5) Alternating Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm G - it cranked, Sean rapped / Donnell chanted, "Familiar Faces is for the grown & sexy..." Donnell said, "Every Thursday night, this is where we're going to be. This is where the stars be partyin'."
6) Donnell & Halima-led It Is What It Is
7) Donnell-led Trina Was Great - it cranked / DJ Kool-led "If you're a Redskins fan, put you're hands up, If you're twenty-five and older, put your hands up, If you're from DC, put your hands up, If you got a birthday, put your hands up, If you a Pisces, put your hands up, What's your zodiac sign, I'm a Pisces", DJ Kool said, "You at it Donnell, Uh oh, uh oh oh, one more time, let me know", DJ Kool chanted, "Hold up" and the crowd responded, "Wait minute" / Let Me Clear My Throat (tease) / DJ Kool said, "If you're ready and you know it, clap your hands"
RE Angie was there.
8) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh"
Strike a pose was there.

A woman outside referred to me as "Court reporter."

Wednesday at Cranberries
Cranberries, 5740 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, MD 20747

I had pmed the Firm Project's manager Rod and asked which night was best to see them, they said Wednesday. So I finally made it out this week. Cranberries wouldn't let me bring my camera in. GoGo PAs were played before the Firm Project performed. A litte before 10:30 the Cranberries staff took the tables and chairs on the dance floor away. I bought an advance ticket for Saturday from Mia, the bartender. Ceiling fans came on, even thought it was cold anyway. Rah came in, said hello to me, and sat down by me.

The Firm Project
The keyboards (Jay (co-manager) a triple keyboard in front and Brian, a double keyboard behind it) were on the left, Tyrese (female vocalist), the lead talker, Candice (female vocalist), the male lead singer, Larry (the guitarist) all the way on the right, in back was Jesse (the drummer) and two percussionists Eric (congas), Chico (roto-toms) (percussion was on the right).

Manager me Rod. Front line is B.O., DeVon, Tyrese, Candice, drummer Jesse, congos Eric, roto toms Chico, keyboards & [co manager] Jay and Brian. Led Larry and Bass Nick. And that's the Firm Project

The bass player started off behind the vocalists, but quickly moved on to the dance floor to the left of the monitors, leaning his back on the left big speakers. They started at 10:40. They had a very nice sound and cranked too. It's hard for me to come up with a setlist, not just because I didn't recognize most of the lyrics, but: They did not play the music behind the songs (to my ears), with what I played, the fact that they played continously, and the lack of noticable transitions (to me), all but the last song was essentially one long medley. This was something very different and I liked it. The lead talker started off by saying, "Damn, it's chilly y'all.", then he said, "Tyrese isn't going to be with us much longer, she's certainly going to be missed." (I had already read that she was leaving.) Among the the songs I recognized the lyrics to were Salt N Pepa's My Mic Sounds Nice and Erykah Badu's Cleva. I also recognized riffs from the Bar-Kays' Holy Ghost. The lead talker joked, "The Firm Project got designated drivers for all the drinkers." The lead talker also did shout outs to Rah and Funky. The lead talker kept saying one more song, but they kept playing beyond that. The final song, definitely with the original music to it, distinguishing it from the rest of the set, was Floetry's Supastar. Starting in the middle of the set, multi-colored spotlights came on from behind the right side of the stage. Virtually everyone I saw sat down during the performance (I was at a booth), but my waittress danced. I didn't realize ahead of time that it wasn't going to just be the Firm Project performing. After the peformance, I went and introduced myself to the lead talker, he introduced me to the two managers. Rah and his friends left after the Firm Project's performance.

L!sen Da Grew^P
L!ssen Da Grew^P was the head liner. Some new fans came in, including a couple of girls who sat at my booth. One asked me if I was having a good time. I couldn't tell it was L!ssen until I saw Songbird, partly because the combination of the mostly darkness and the spotlights in back that were now only yellow and white (which made it so your eyes couldn't adjust to the dark), it was hard to see the stage. This was only my second time seeing them, the first was on New Year's Day. Quite frankly, they bored me, so after talking with Black Heart briefly, I left during the third song.

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

It was really cold outside.

Big Cat, Peanut, Lolo, Kim, Sanisse, Ray, Peg Leg, Ebo, Candy, James, Archie Paige, Tony, Ria, Tiffany F., Janetta, and Mousie (spelling?) were there. Kintrea was there with Tamika and Kintrea's sister Javon for the first time since Tamika's birthday. Choo Choo, Keisha, Los, Keisha, Jan, Slick Rick, Nita, Tasty, Jamaica Steve, Ebony, "original" Nikki, and Shawn were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable - it cranked
2) Alternating Halima-led Beyonce's Check on It / Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
3) Donnell-led "___ Is in the House"
4) Alternating Donnell-led NORE's I'm a G - Sean rapped, it cranked, the crowd shouted, "GoGo Smokey" / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hey Tamika (tease)
5) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda
Renee and Joanna were there.
6) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Geraldine - Donnell initially did the keyboard sounds vocally, Halima sang something, Donnell did a shout out to Trina Boo
Darlene was there.
7) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
Mona, Monique, Dee, Shante (Stacey's cousin) were there.

Second Set
1) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go
2) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar / Percussion solo - the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Smoke!", Halima said, "Say what? One more time?" repeatedly / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
3) Alternating Donnell-led "Party party, everybody" chant / Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick - the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Smoke!"
4) Donnell-led Rare Essence's What N*gga What?
5) Alternating Donnell-led Rare Essence's All Da Time - Trina Boo? sat in, lots of crowd response / Donnell-led Dem Franchize Boyz' Lean With It Rock With It (tease)
6) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Uh Oh (Heads Up) (tease)
7) Donnell-led Trina Was Great
8) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh" - the lights dimmed
9) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes - the house lights came on
10) Alternating Donnell-led Rare Essence's Work the Walls / "___ (women's names) yeah!"
11) Donnell-led 911 - full lyrics, Donnell said, "Hands up, side to side"
12) Alternating Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - Peanut was playing a tambourine, Donnell announced they wouldn't be playing at the Classics tomorrow / 6 Minutes percussion solo - Donnell sang, "You don't need to saw a word", Halima said, "Don't nobody say nothing", it cranked
Donnell said, "I done told 'em to stop"
I talked with Markel from the sound crew.

It was warmer outside after the show than it had been before the show.

Mambo Sauce at Iota
Iota, 2832 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201

The directions I got from yahoo weren't totally correct, but I did find Wilson Blvd. I parked and walked to Iota. Members of Mambo Sauce were outside, leaning against a car. Black Boo said hello. I teased him saying, "I guess you won't start at 9:30 (it was 9:29)." Black Boo said they had just done a sound check and would be playing shortly. I went inside to buy a ticket, but it was sold out. Like the previous Mambo Sauce show, I needed Red's intervention to get in.

Junior and Sam (Black Heart) were there.

The crowd was once again overwhelmingly white, but not as much as the last show. The audience was a little older than the last show, that one had people under twenty-one. This looked like a college, especially fraternity/sorority, crowd. Most wore green for St. Patrick's Day. It was a smaller club then Jammin' Java. There was equipment stored on lofts to the left and right of the stage.

Mambo Sauce
The configuration was: in front: Lil Pep (wearing a wife beater), Black Boo (wearing a t-shirt), Thi Lai (wearing a Harley Davidson shirt), Khari (wearing a collared shirt), in back: Chris (too far back for me to see what he was wearing), Barry (wearing a t-shirt), and Drew (wearing a t-shirt).
They passed out a t-shirt or two.
Thi Lai said, "Tell the DJ I got his drink."
Black Boo said he want to grow up to be like George, an older man in the audience. They did shout outs to George throughout the performance.
Black Boo said of the crowd, "You're not acting like it's Friday."
Thi Lai said, "And it's St. Patrick's Day, I know y'all drunk."
Black Boo said, "Welcome to the Mambo Sauce Experience. This band has been two years in the making. We're trying to win a Grammy, you know, an MTV award."
1) Black Boo-led Things Will Get Better - Thi Lai played a tambourine, it was laid back
Black Boo said, "Are there any single mothers out there?"
Thi Lai said, "There's some single mothers-to-be out there, I overheard in the bathroom"
2) Black Boo-led Sweet Baby - the crank started, the congas had a nice distinct sound, Black Boo did shout outs to Delano and Junior
Kato and Preston Blue were there.
3) Percussion solo - Black Boo played the cowbell, it cranked, Drew played guitar riffs similar to a Familiar Faces' song
4) Thi Lai-led Fairweather - Black Boo handed a tambourine off to Thi Lai, Black Boo played the cowbell, it cranked
5) Black Boo-led Love Them Jeans - Keyboard driven, it cranked, Pep played the timbales/roto-toms, Black Boo said, "Hey Chris, play the part I like. I like that", Thi Lai played the cowbell
6) Black Boo-led Damn Joe - Thi Lai played the cowbell, it cranked
7) Black Boo-led Senorita - Black Boo announced that Black Heart was collecting the mailing list, the song sped up in the middle
8) Thi Lai-led Cool Points - keyboard driven, Lil Pep played the timbales/roto-toms - increasing the crank -->
9) Black Boo-led Oh Lawdy? - Lil Pep went back to the congas, it cranked
Black Boo said, "This is a mix of R&B and GoGo, Hip Hop, however you want to call it"
Black Boo said, "There's only two thing you can only find in DC: GoGo and Mambo Sauce (actually Mumbo Sauce was invented in Chicago)" - there was applause. Black Boo said, "Oh, you've heard of Mambo sauce?"
10) Thi Lai-led Go - it cranked, -->
Black Boo said, "I want to see everyone moving on this one, even the cool dudes up in here"
11) Black Boo-led Longtime Comin' - guitar driven, Black Boo and Thi Lai were swaying from side to side, nice Drew solo, it cranked, there was applause, they were done playing at 10:40
I liked how the songs and especially transitions were extended like I've come to expect at other GoGo performances.
Black Boo introduced the band, people screamed when he introduced Thi Lai and himself.
Thi Lai said, "Give it up for George."
Black Boo said, "Also give it up for SOJA."
I was planning to watch SOJA perform this time, but the cigarette smoke bothered me so much that as they were setting up, I went outside, talked with Black Heart and left.

Thursday at Zanzibar
Zanzibar on the Waterfront, 700 Water Street SW Washington, DC 20024

Nita, Tasty, Lolo, and Kim were there. I introduced myself to Gene, a friend of Vincent's. Sharika, Darrell F., Slim Googie, and Lachelle (celebrating her birthday) were there.

Simone, Nece, Ro'chelle (toosweet), Danielle (pinkprincess), and Mitch were there.

I introduced myself to Jalila (spelling?) the "dancing machine".

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Miles Davis' Tutu
2) Halima-led Jill Scott's Whatever
Tony was there.
3) Sean-led Dave Hollister's One Woman Man
Gary and 6'9 were there.
4) Donnell & Halima-led (Sade's) Cherish the Day - nice Dwayne solo
Michelle (DeeDee's cousin) was there.
5) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
Cookie was there.
6) Alternating Sean-led Eric Benet's I Wanna Be Loved / Teddy Pendergrass' Love TKO (tease)
Britney and Shelly, Tyrell, Yolanda, and Nikki were there.

Second Set
1) Alternating Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - the first time they started a set with this / Percussion solo
2) Alternating Halima-led Beyonce's Check on It / Donnell-led "___ Is in the House" / Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
Tamiko was there.
3) Donnell & Halima-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up
Tiffany F., and Cyangela (spelling?) were there.
4) Donnell & Halima-led Rare Essence's One on One (Footz version) - more lyrics, especially "Freak a deak", the crowd responded loudly
5) Donnell-led Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love (tease) - Godfather played a riff from Rare Essence's Lock It? / Rare Essence's Get on the Wagon (tease)
6) Donnell & Halima-led Lisa Stansfield's All Around the World (tease)
7) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Overnight Scenario (tease)
8) Donnell-led Vinnie D's $55 Motel -->
9) Donnell-led Rick James' Mary Jane
10) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Lock It - the crowd sang along, it cranked / "Familiar Faces is for the grown & sexy, if you're grown & sexy put your hands in the air"
Slick Rick was there.
11) Donnell-led Brown & White / Ride Out / Northeast Groovers' The Water
Robin and Ayisha, whom I had met Sunday at the Classics, were there.

Missshaunte, Tasha (T-bird), Mousie, and Shannon were there.

Some guy who was talking with Shannon and her friend called me over. They thought I was a cop. The guy introduced me to Shannon's friend Tia. He said she and Shannon, whom he referred to as "Peaches" were strippers. I asked where they perform at; they said he arranges private parties (I'm sure they were joking.)

Third Set
1) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable
2) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
Jimmy Parker was there.
3) Alternating Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick / Percussion solo - it cranked, Donnell chanted, "Eya eya" and the crowd responded, "Ho", they played riffs like from Rare Essence's Body Snatchers
4) Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm a G - interrupted by a fight, Donnell said, "I don't care if you're my brother; I'm not going to let you miss this up. I can play slow songs forever. We'll have you show your social security and your birth certificate, better be over twenty-five", it cranked
Peg Leg was there.
5) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That
Imani was there.
6) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh" - Sean sang
7) Alternating Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny / 6 Minutes percussion solo / DIP - Donnell said, "Don't act like that sh*t ain't funky", Donnell called out women's names
Quita was there with her sister. Quita asked me if I had become addicted to GoGo.
8) 911 (tease) - instrumental
Donnell said, "I thought Halima could sing, it's all Googie."
9) Donnell acapella "You don't have to say a word"

First Wednesday at Safari
Safari Lounge, 9430 Annapolis Road Lanham MD 20706

Ron Moten, Kevin Lee, Shauny, Chris, and Archie Paige were there.

Tee Bone was there, they are using Reo's sound system. They are using a different configuration than their Fridays at Safari: five mics up front (one for Mike?), the percussion was on the left and not up front and Lorenzo was on the right and caged in on three sides by amps. Also, Googie ran the PA from what used to be the DJ booth. The DJ now has a table in front of the booth.

Tim (LJ), Kim, Dana, and Gary were there.

They continued to use their light and smoke show.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Donnell called it the Safari Lounge, which he had discussed before (but the signs outside still have Safari Steakhouse printed)
1) Alternating Sean-led Eric Benet's I Wanna Be Loved / Teddy Pendergrass' Love TKO (tease)
Ray was there.
2) Halima-led Fantasia's Free Yourself - Donnell did birthday shout outs to Shauny, Halima sang on the dance floor, then went back on stage, went back on the dance floor to do her talk / Floetry's Say Yes
Stinky Dink, RE Angie, and Nikiya were there.
3) Sean-led Toto's Georgy Porgy - intro / Bobby Valentino's Slow Down / Percussion solo
Darlene, Darrell F., and Tracy S. were there.
4) Halima-led Beyonce's Check on It - it cranked
6'9, Angie W., Damond, and Delano were there.
5) Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm a G - Sean rapped, it cranked, Donnell said, "It's my man Footz' birthday, somewhere around today, March 15th"
GoGo Mickey, Tyrell, and Nita were there. Nita introduced me to her co-worker Latisha.

DJ Flava (aka GoGo Rudy) was there.

Second Set
1) Donnell acapella Rare Essence's I'm Getting Ready - warm up
2) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - I noticed Donnell's white bandana had written, "R.I.P. Footz"
3) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar - it cranked / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
4) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes / Donnell did shout outs to GoGo Mickey, Shorty Corleone, and Miss Kim in the audience / Scarface's I Seen a Man Die (tease) / "Shauny, it's your birthday"
5) Alternating Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That / Percussion solo / Donnell-led "___ Come on"
6) Alternating Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick / Percussion solo - Donnell said, "Where you at ___? All hands on deck", Donnell did a shout out to Tony Blunt in the audience
7) Donnell-led Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love (tease)
8) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Overnight Scenario (tease)
9) Donnell-led Vinnie D's $55 Motel
10) Alternating Donnell-led Rare Essence's One on One (Footz version) - this was one of the times Mike's absence was so obvious: Sean and Halima are nowhere near as familiar with the Rare Essence lyrics and Donnell can't do the vocals and play his Sax at the same time, Donnell said, "Can you believe that none of these youngsters know this sh*t?", then came crowd response, Donnell said, "Oh, now you do know it?", Jacques played a nice timbale solo, Donnell said, "You want to back it on up? Do it again? One more time?" / Parliament's Night Of The Thumpasorous Peoples (tease) - "Gaga googa ga ga googa"
Tracy (the one I met at Zanzibar) was there.
11) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - the house lights came on, Donnell did shout outs to Fat Cat, Killa Cal and Jay Gotti in the audience, it cranked, Donnell said, "This is where all the stars are partyin'" / Donnell-led Rare Essence's Used to Let the Pocket Ride / Donnell-led Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (tease) / Doc played his bass - Donnell said, "Doc's still going; I got to think of something to say" / Donnell-led Lisa Stansfield's All Around the World - Donnell said to someone, "You say I can't sing? That's what you're saying? I'll find something that work." / Donnell-led Michael Jackson's Billy Jean (tease) / Donnell-led "If you've got to believe in something, why not believe in me?" / Donnell-led Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (reprise) (tease)
Donnell said, "Turn her off Googie"
Mousie (spelling?) also wore a white bandana with "R.I.P. Footz" printed on it
Halima said, "Wait a minute"
Donnell joked, "I'm holding auditions for a new female singer." Halima responded, "I'm looking for a new bandleader."
Donnell said, "Who's your friend Ray? Raymond, James, not Langston Lane, more the Bladensburg side, Gaithersburg, Blair High School... When he got off the porch?" Ray said, "Every day."
Donnell said, "I didn't know you had a tongue ring, Tracy (not one I know). I thought the mic was off."
Donnell said, "Dana, I love when they fall in love at the GoGo."
Donnell said, "Look at Halima on the old microphone with all the wires, not the 2006 mic."
Halima said, "I think you've talked long enough."
Donnell said, "Hey Googie, don't let her touch my microphone, there's going to be repercussions.”
Donnell said, "Curtis Malone, he wouldn't let me son his (AAU basketball) team. Said he wasn't good enough."
Halima said, "Are you still on?"
Donnell said, "Oh, you turned me off."

Sunday at the Classics
The Classics 4591 Allentown Rd., Camp Springs, MD 20746

Tiffany F. and Joanna were there.

Familiar Faces
Sound Check
1) Donnell acapella Rare Essence's I'm Getting Ready
Tony was there.
2) Donnell acapella Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (tease)

Like last Sunday, it took a while for the crowd to build, but eventually it was about the same size as last week.

First Set
1) Donnell-led Rare Essence's What Would You Do (for the Money)? - Donnell stood on the right speaker, there was an equipment case in front of the stage, blocking fans on the metal dance floor from getting right up to the railing
2) Halima-led Jill Scott's Cleva
Danielle (pinkprincess), Rochelle (Too Sweet), Nora, Shaun, and Peg Leg were there.
3) Mike-led Bobby Valentino's Tell Me - I was zoning out and completely missed the transition in songs, nice Dwayne and Smoke solos, it cranked
4) Donnell & Halima-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up - Donnell used his cell phone to signal the song to the band
5) Donnell-led Trina Was Great
6) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute", Donnell said, "Goddamn Jacques, rock the bell", Jacques played the cowbell up front, it cranked, Mike sang something, Donnell held his mic to the cowbell
7) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You - Dwayne played rougher guitar riffs / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
Tijuana, Shameika, Gary, and 6'9 were there.

I noticed Mike had put out his jacket and headed to the front entrance. It turns out that he left the band. Donnell later said, "We recognize Mike's important contribution to the band, we wish him well in his future endeavors."

Peg Leg told me, "I'm going to buy three of those DVDs. One for my man, one for my mom, and one for me."

Second Set
The entire second set really cranked from beginning to end.
1) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny
2) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable - this was when I really noticed that Mike had actually left (and not just gone outside) because two Sean songs in a row was unusual -->
3) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar / 6 Minutes percussion solo / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
4) Donnell-led Prince's Take Me With You
RE Angie was there.
5) Alternating Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That / Percussion solo
6) Alternating Sean-led Ne-Yo's So Sick (debut with Sean singing) / Percussion solo - really long, the house lights came on / "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant
7) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - Donnell said, "I'd like to be right in the middle of a heart attack, we'll be just like that", Dwayne played grinding guitar riffs

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

There was a line to get in for the first time I've noticed. Dee was in line. A guy named Josh introduced himself to me. Sharon, Ebo, Natalie, Monique, Tracy S., LA, 02, Black Heart, Sanisse, Yolanda, Big Cat, BY, James, Tiffany G., Shawn, Nia, Nita, and Tasty were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Alternating Mike-led Marvin Gaye's I Want You - first time in a while / 6 Minutes percussion solo / Donnell-led Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) - Donnell said, "We ain't even warming it up, we just parking the car.", Donnell called on Packy (who was playing a tambourine) to turn on the ceiling fan
Keisha, Jan, Tracy, MeCelle, Tiffany F., Ria, and Janetta were there.
2) Mike-led Anthony Hamilton's Since I Seen't You
3) Halima-led Beyonce's Check on It
4) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable
5) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
6) Donnell-led "___ Is in the House"
7) Donnell-led "Just another hate crime"
8) Donnell & Halima-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up - the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Smoke!", Donnell said, "They're doing it by themselves, they don't need me..."
Peg Leg and Pinky were there.
9) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh - Sean sang
10) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You - fans put their hands up at the appropriate time in the lyrics / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
11) James-led R. Kelly's Slow Wind - Donnell said, "James want to sing something for his birthday.", Donnell joked, "Not that mic, that’s a brand new mic."
Donnell said that ladies are buying James drinks for his birthday, they're passing them up to him. Donnell joked that 6'9 got too much face time, the camera men couldn't soot over him. He also joked about how Los was all dressed up on Friday.

RE Angie, Stacy, Keisha and NeeNee were there.

Second Set
1) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - Donnell said, "NeeNee, please don't stand there, we might have to dip out the door, she got the come get jeans on"
6'9 and Los were there.
2) Halima-led Floetry's Supastar - DP held his mic to fans so they could sing / Percussion solo - the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Smoke!", Donnell said, "Say what?" / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
3) Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm a G - Sean rapped / "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant / Percussion solo - "Can we... tonight" / the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Smoke!", Donnell said, "Say what? What you want to do?", Donnell joked about James, "That's the problem, five minutes and he's done"
4) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That
5) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda - it cranked
6) Donnell-led "25, 25, 25" / Rare Essence's Work the Walls - the house lights came on
7) Donnell-led Trina Was Great
A girl named "Keisha pose" was there.
8) Donnell & Halima-led It Is What It Is / Halima-led Luther Vandross' So Amazing (tease)
Angie W. was there.
9) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - Donnell said, "We waiting for Tasty, she got everything back but the camels", Donnell joned on James, "He in the middle of the floor acting like a fool" / 6 Minutes percussion solo - Dwayne played guitar riffs from Trillville's Some Cut, Donnell said, "Let's see how long they can hold it," Halima sang, "If you call my name, I'll come running."
Shanti was there.

Live DVD recording
The Icon, 2106 Crain Hwy, Waldorf, MD 20601

I arrived at 7:45 - the additional travel time due to rush hour traffic was more than I thought. I watched a lot of set up work, then some rehearsing.


Setting up: Doc, Dwayne, Donnell, and DP

Doc had both his basses and had a discussion with Dwayne and Googie over which one (or both) he should use. Doc said that Dwayne changed his story over playing one of the models.

Doc, Googie, Dwayne, and Vincent


Video monitors


Setting up the lights: Packy, Donnell, Googie, and DP


The cameras: Jacques and Googie


Dwayne, DP, and Omar


Lorenzo and Godfather

Don Johnson of the film crew introduced himself to me. I also recognized the guy who had shown us at the Tradewinds the DVD of the video release party at the Fur. The cameras were DR DV5000s.

Halima had changer her hairdo.

Dave, Jay Floyd, Tony and his brother Ron were there.

Jamaica Steve, whom I hadn't even heard of before, was doing the opening monologue. He rehearsed it.


Lorenzo, Dwayne, Godfather, Jamaica Steve, Smoke, and Jacques
After I took his picture, he asked me to come back to the back dance room and take his picture with the DJ. There were fans back there; I guess they didn't want to let in all the fans while they rehearsed. Sharon, Danielle (Wellfhed), Imani (working), and Lashonda were there. The band rehearsed their step moves.


Lorenzo, Donnell, Godfather, Stomp, Mike, Smoke, DP, Doc, and Sean

James and Nikiya were there.

After they started letting people into the main performance room: Nita, her co-worker Roddy, Lisa of the World, Shawn, Jay113, Deezo, That44Dog, 02, Rochelle (Too Sweet), Misshaunte, Michon, Candy, lady$tyle$06, Tiffany F., Ria, Trina (of TMOTT), "original" Nikki, Ebony, Mona, Archie Paige, Peanut, and June were there. I introduced myself to regulars Keisha and Jan. KO was there.


Ria, Rickea, and Tiffany F.

Familiar Faces
First Set
The stage consisted of three levels: the frontline was on the floor, guitars (Doc and Dwayne) on the second level, and the keyboards and percussion on the highest level.
For the first set, the male members of the band wore the Seek Abundance dashikis they wore to the Night of Elegance and jeans. James was nice enough to bring his so that Sean could wear it. Doc and Dwayne wore the hoods.
The DJ (can't remember if it was Flexx or Rico) called for ladies up front.
Tracy S., Angie W., Chanel, and Mara were there.
1) Jamaica Steve did the opening monologue - onstage at the time were Jamaica Steve, Doc, Dwayne, Lorenzo, Godfather, and Stomp.

Lorenzo, Dwayne, Godfather, Jamaica Steve, Stomp, and Doc (Note: The Seek Abundance logos reflected the light)
2) Halima-led Sade's Pearls - Halima went onstage
3) Farafina Kan played marched with the rest of Familiar Faces from the front of the club to the stage
4) The frontline and Doc and Dwayne did step moves to samples played by Stomp
5) Alternating Mike-led Marvin Gaye's Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) / Percussion solo
Tamara was there.
6) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - Sean rapped
7) Donnell-led "___ Is in the House"
8) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh" - the crowd responded
9) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!"
10) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized / Percussion solo - the crowd shouted, "Wind me up, Smoke!", Mike held his mic to fans
RE Angie, Pinky, Mama Chelle, and March (celebrating her birthday) were there.
11) Mike-led Stevie Wonder's Tell Your Heart I Love You
Janetta was there.
12) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You - Donnell said, "By yourself ladies" and the ladies sang it / Prince's Sexy M.F. (tease) -->
13) Donnell-led Hold the Note / "___ Is here" / Smoke conga solo
Britney & Shelly were there.
14) They did dance moves
15) Sean-led R. Kelly's Slow Wind - the red curtains came down and Donnell asked for two female fans to volunteer, Lisa of the World was in the left curtain, Chrissy (I introduced myself to her in the second set) was in the right curtain, Sean sang to Chrissy for a little bit
16) Donnell did announcements
Julia and Tata were there. I asked Tata about her band Reminisce. She said they play once a week and they play all genres; they are not a GoGo band.

Tijuana and Shameika were there. Kevin Lee was there, I said, "I found out you were Dwayne's older brother, I thought you were his younger brother." He laughed. L-Boogie, Peg Leg, Los (in a suit), Shadonna, Delano, 6'9 (who told me Maryland was beaten badly by BC), Ray, and Mia were there.

KO told me that people who hate GoGo really hate themselves. They don't want to acknowledge their own connection to Africa.

Second Set
It started late due to technical difficulties. The left camera also fell off its tripod and the camera man put it back on. The male band members changed their outfits, most wore blazers and fedoras.
1) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable - there were problems with Sean's mic - at times you could see him singing, but not hear anything
2) Halima-led Floetry's Supastar - Halima went to look for a supastar and brought Nikiya up onstage, he sat in the left chair
TT was there.
3) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes / Scarface's I Seen a Man Die (tease)
4) Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm a G - lots of crowd response, many fans put their hands up, Sean rapped
This was when I talked with Chrissy.
5) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh" - Sean sang
6) Donnell-led Trina Was Great
7) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - the room lights brightened
8) Donnell & Halima-led It Is What It Is - Donnell invited fans to dance on stage (really the stage floor), prior to this the only fan dancing onstage was a guy I noticed dancing to the left of Lorenzo on the top level, the house lights blinked then came on / Sean-led Luther Vandross' So Amazing (tease)
TJ was there.
9) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - they fired the confetti cannon
Donnell said, "They're mad 'cause we did a little overtime."

The PA of this performance:

CD1
1) DJ intro :15
2) Steve monologue 1:09
3) Halima-led Sade's Pearls 5:02
4) Farfarina Kan 1:30
5) Drum samples / Alternating Mike-led Marvin Gaye's Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) / Percussion solo 7:31
6) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny 6:50
7) Donnell-led "___ Is in the House" / "Hey ay, Ho oh" / "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!" 2:10
8) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized / Percussion solo 7:56
9) Mike-led Stevie Wonder's Tell Your Heart I Love You 3:37
10) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You / Prince's Sexy M.F. (tease) --> Donnell-led Hold the Note / "___ Is here" / Smoke conga solo 9:51
11) Sean-led R. Kelly's Slow Wind 6:40
52:31

CD2
1) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable 6:59
2) Halima-led Floetry's Supastar / Percussion solo 6:40
3) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes / Scarface's I Seen a Man Die (tease) 7:26
4) Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm a G 4:33
5) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh" 2:53
6) Donnell-led Trina Was Great 4:10
7) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That 3:33
8) Donnell & Halima-led It Is What It Is 5:28
9) Sean-led Luther Vandross' So Amazing (tease) 3:30
10) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go 4:59
50:11

Thursday at Zanzibar
Zanzibar on the Waterfront, 700 Water Street SW Washington, DC 20024

I talked with Yvette while waiting along. She talked about going to see Prince again on Sunday. They charged before 9 PM for the first time. You bought a ticket, which they took at the door. Yvette said she had gone with Donnell to see Prince in 2004. Candall was there.

The same female with striking dance moves who was here two weeks ago was here. The DJ said, "The dancing machine is back." Jalila wore the same outfit as last time and danced the whole night that I saw. Packy said, "That's not dancing, that's shadow boxing." Vic was there. Pinky and Tia were there. Felecia was there. I discussed the upcoming live recording and the recent Cleveland road trip and last year's Miami trip with her and Yvette. Darrell F., Kim, Junior, Danielle (Pinkprincess), and Rochelle (Too Sweet) were there. Rochelle introduced me to her friend Mitch. D Ball was there - this is his last week here. JuJu was there, celebrating her 24th birthday. Trina was there. I met a woman named LeeLee (spelling?). Missshaunte was there.

Familiar Faces used their light show again.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) The Roots' You Got Me - instrumental, different keyboard solos
James, Tony, "original" Nikki, Ebony, and Delano were there.
I may have missed a song as I was talked to Ebony and Nikki.
2) Mike-led Toto's Georgy Porgy
3) Alternating Halima-led Jill Scott's Whatever / Percussion solo
4) Alternating Mike-led Ruff Endz' Someone to Love You / Percussion solo
Shadonna was there.
5) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
Ebo and Kintrea were there. Darrell introduced me to Dawana (spelling?) and Kim. Shauny, the bartender, was there.
6) Mike-led O'Bryan's Lady I Love You
Donnell said they were going to do one more, going to old school.
7) Mike-led Prince's Condition of the Heart / Prince's Purple Rain
6'9, RE Angie, and Slick Rick were there. I met a woman named Dia who already knew my name.

Renee and Gary were there. I met a woman named Shawnie (spelling?). Shannon, Cookie, and Nikki were there.

Second Set
Donnell said about their upcoming live DVD recording tomorrow, "Fellas, Halima says she's going to... Halima says she's going to do something real exciting, it involves nudity."
1) Mike-led Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
2) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny
Peg Leg was there.
3) Donnell-led "___ Is in the House"
4) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
5) Donnell-led "Do it for the ladies/fellas, Oh my God!"
6) Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant
7) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized
8) Mike-led Stevie Wonder's Tell Your Heart I Love You / Percussion solo
9) Mike-led Prince's Take Me With You
10) Donnell-led Hold the Note - Donnell chanted "Eya eya" and the crowd responded, "Ho"
Kay and a friend of hers also named Kay, and GoGo Mickey were there.
11) Sean-led R. Kelly's Slow Wind - Scooby sat in

Renee introduced me to her friend Tammy, who was celebrating her birthday.

Mona was there, with her friends, Stephanie, and Tasha were there. Tamiko and Imani (now with black hair) were there. Darrell introduced me to his "next wife" Gwynn.

6'9 called a friend and confirmed Maryland won their opening ACC Tournament game.

Lorenzo introduced me to Arvell, the drummer for Soundproof Band.

This was the most packed I've ever seen it. It was so hot with body heat that I spent most of my time under fans. My hair, as people pointed out to me, was heavily affected by the heat.

Third Set
1) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable
2) Halima-led Floetry's Supastar - it cranked
3) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / Scarface's I Seen a Man Die (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes
Another woman named Keisha was there.
4) Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm a G - it cranked, Sean rapped
Choo Choo, Keisha, and NeeNee were there.
5) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That
Roe was there.
6) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh" - Sean sang
7) Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - GoGo Mickey played a fixed cowbell on Jacques' set up
Stinky Dink was there.
8) Donnell-led It Is What It Is - Donnell said, "We got to get out of here, just a quick rehearsal" - Mickey played timbales / Sean-led? Luther Vandross' So Amazing (tease)
9) Mike-led Ne-Yo's So Sick (tease)
10) Dwayne guitar solo
Packy told me that Jermaine is his cousin.

As I walked down the steps, Lisa (who often frowns) walked up the stairs. I said, "Smile" and the guy with her laughed.

Familiar Faces' last show at Takoma Station
Takoma Station, 6914 4th St NW, Washington, DC 20012

Darrell F., Paulette, Baba, June, Sharika, Monique, Dee, Jazz, Tony, DJ Flava (aka GoGo Rudy), Gary, Netty, Darrell, Kimberly, Stacey, Tamara, Tim (LJ), Chris, and Angie W. were there. Darrell gave me a CD-R of photos he took on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bus trip. I have updated those entries with the new photos.

They started late because Googie was late. They revived their light and smoke show. Part of the reason for that is that Donnell announced that this would be their last show at Takoma Station as they would be playing Wednesdays at Safari Steakhouse starting next week.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Halima-led Sade's Pearls
2) Sean-led John Legend's Ordinary People

Smoke, Jacques, Doc, Sean, Stomp
Tracy S. was there.
3) Mike-led Stevie Wonder's Golden Lady

Smoke, Jacques, Mike, Stomp, Donnell
Kato was there.
4) Mike-led O'Bryan's Lady I Love You - first time in a while, Mike said to the ladies, "For twenty-four years, you have been my inspiration. Without you, I would feel nothing at all. I love you and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.", Mike sang on the dance floor
5) Halima-led Jill Scott's Golden - this was the first song that the whole frontline participated in
Tiffany F. (first and last time), Rochelle (Too Sweet), Neita, and Marvin were there.
6) Mike-led Toto's Georgy Porgy
Donnell called up Tamara "a member of the family" to sing.
7) Tamara-led Vivian Green's Emotional Roller Coaster
I introduced myself to Tiffany S. (she had changer her hairdo and color)
Donnell said, "We'll pull put all the stops in the two years we've played here. We're going to play all our favorite songs here. It's our last week here, next week we'll be at Safari Steakhouse."
8) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - I danced with Tiffany F., Sean rapped
9) Halima-led Rodgers & Hart's My Funny Valentine - Donnell said, "This is where Halima knocked us off our feet. Do you remember that Tamara?"
Nikiya, Nora, Causcasi (spelling?), Crystal, Shaun, and Dana were there.

Second Set
1) ? - I talked with Tiffany S. about our efforts to promote GoGo, so I didn't catch what they performed
2) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Cleva / Mike-led Stevie Wonder's Superstition
3) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable - Sean sang on the dance floor
4) Halima-led Floetry's Supastar - it cranked / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
5) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes - Donnell said, "We've been playing here for two years. This is where we met you Angie, etc.", Caucasi said to me, "This is the picture right here (a girl sleeping with her head on the table). She needs to stay home with the children." / Scarface's I Seen a Man Die (tease)
GoGo Mickey was there.
6) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Roll Call - Sean's improved at the Roll Call dance, GoGo Mickey played congas, first standing on the dance floor with Smoke also playing, then went onstage and sat in, the house lights came on (I was surprised it was so late already)

Smoke, GoGo Mickey, Jacques
7) Mike-led Rare Essence's Take Me Out to the Go-Go
Roe was there.
8) Mike-led Rare Essence's Lock It - Packy said to me, "Mickey f*cked up"
Trina was there.
9) Mike-led Lap Dance - Smoke played congas, GoGo Mickey played timbales, Jacques played the cowbell

Smoke, GoGo Mickey
10) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Used to Let the Pocket Ride - Donnell said, "Hey Andre!", Donnell said, "I want to thank my man Mickey" / Percussion solo
11) Mike-led Ne-Yo's So Sick (debut)
Shaun, Caucasi, Crystal, Nora
All pictures taken by and Copyright - Jordan Rich

Sunday at the Classics
The Classics 4591 Allentown Rd., Camp Springs, MD 20746

Ronald and Tony were there. The crowd was very small at the beginning, but eventually it was as big as last week.

Donnell was listening to the prerecorded music. He asked, "Who is this? Ms. Kim? Yeah!"
Halima sang along with William Devaughn's Be Thankful for What You Got during her sound check.

Tracy S. was there. She told me she had been there on Wednesday, but had left early. Ro'chelle (Too Sweet), Danielle (Pinkprincess), Sherray (Always Showtime!!), and Joy were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
1) Mike-led Toto's Georgy Porgy - intro / Alternating Bobby Valentino's Slow Down / Percussion solo
Sanisse and Yolanda were there.
2) Halima-led Faith Evans' Again - it cranked -->
L-Boogie, June, and Shawn were there.
3) Alternating Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - Donnell stood on the right speaker / Percussion solo - it cranked
Slick Rick was there.
4) Donnell-led "___ Is up in Here" / "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant / "Just another hate crime" - Dwayne played prominent guitar riffs, Jacques played the cowbell, it cranked
Britney & Shelly, and Kim were there.
5) Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm a G - it cranked, Sean rapped
Peg Leg was there.
6) Sean-led R. Kelly's Slow Wind
Lolo and Sheena were there (with Kim). Chris, Choo Choo, and her friend Keisha and her cousin Stacy, and Nicole, the bartender at Tradewinds was there. I talked with Nicole, she said she doesn't want a reputation as giving really stiff drinks that knock people out, she doesn't want to hurt anyone. Julie, Joy's friend, introduced herself to me.

Doc talked about how he felt uncomfortable - he had forgotten his bass, so he was playing with Lorenzo's.

Second Set
Donnell immediately stood on the right speaker again.
1) Halima-led Beyonce's Check on It - Too Sweet, Pinkprincess and Always Showtime!! were joning on the dancing of men and women, Always Showtime!! said of a man's dancing, "He better be drunk"
2) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable -->
3) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar - Donnell said, "L-Boogie, it's your birthday!", Halima said, "Wait a minute" and Donnell responded, "Do you hear your girl trying to imitate me?", it cranked / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
4) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - Too Sweet said to me, "They need to give you a tambourine."
5) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh" - Sean sang, Donnell rapped
6) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Marinda - Donnell said, "Who sold him that" about the dancing of the same guy Always Showtime!! was making fun of, the house lights came on
7) Alternating Donnell-led Trina Was Great - Donnell said, "Is it like that, is it really like that?" / Donna Summer's Love to Love You, Baby (tease) / "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant
8) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
9) Lorenzo played something on his keyboards

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

Tony, BY, Fat Cat, Mike Smith, Godfather, Stomp, Packy, and Omar were standing outside. Kintrea, Natalie, Ebo, her friend Angie, Tyrell, Arielle, Shawn, "original" Nikki, Archie Paige, Mama Chelle, March, and Kay were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Donnell talked about their upcoming live DVD recording, "Don't be late, Halima's got a hello of an intro, it involves nudity..." Halima protested. Donnell said, "Halima's... yes, she was already collecting dollars last week."
Sharon was there.
1) Mike-led Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - it cranked -->
2) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny - Sean rapped, it cranked
6'9 was there.
3) Donnell-led "___ Is in the house"
4) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
5) Alternating Halima-led Beyonce's Check on It / Donnell-led "Brandywine, friends of mine" chant / Percussion solo
James was there.
6) Donnell-led "___ on the Floor" / NORE's I'm a G - Donnell said, "Oh my my my", it cranked, Sean rapped
L-Boogie, Ray, Tiffany F., and Tamika were there.
7) Donnell & Halima-led Lil Kim's Lighters Up - Donnell shouted, "Yes!" repeatedly, Donnell chanted, "___ is Yes!"
Peg Leg was there.
8) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes
9) Mike-led Raheem DeVaughn's Ask Yourself - first time in a while - the dance floor cleared
RE Angie, Los, and Slick Rick were there.

Tracy was there.

Second Set
Mike talked about how packed it was, he said, "Someone grabbed my ass." DP (in an altered low deep voice) said, "It was me."
1) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable
2) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar / Percussion solo - Donnell said, "L-Boogie, it's your birthday!" / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
3) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes
Joanna and Delano were there.
4) Donnell & Mike-led Rare Essence's Working the Walls
5) Donnell-led Rare Essence's What N*gga What?
6) Alternating Donnell-led Rare Essence's All Da Time / Slick Rick's La Di Da Di (tease) - "La di da di, we likes to party, Hey Slick Rick, Familiar Faces likes to Party", Peg Leg chanted, "Southeast, South, Southeast" / "Brandywine, Friends of Mine" chant", Donnell said, "I wish I could be this feeling", Donnell said, "Throw your hands up"
7) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh" - Sean sang, Donnell rapped, Donnell said, "Let the beat work, let it ride"
8) Alternating Donnell-led Trina Was Great / Donna Summer's Love to Love You, Baby (tease) - the house lights came on / Mike sang something
9) Alternating Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - it cranked / a female fan sang Ashlee Simpson's Pieces of Me - Lorenzo played music from Tom Browne's Funkin' for Jamaica
10) Donnell acapella Ashlee Simpson's Pieces of Me - Mike said, "When motherf*cker's got a sensitive ear and someone's singing off-key, it sounds like a dog whistle", Sean laughed
Donnell said, "Turn it back on: Tyrell's got a phone call, you know what, supposed to be home at 2:50, it's three o'clock."

4Sho at the Louisiana Bar & Grill
Louisiana Bar & Grill, 14933 Baltimore Ave, Laurel, MD 20707

I introduced myself to Tidy, he introduced me to Dogpound. Rockin' Ron was there, he said we met at the CFE for the Little Benny reunion. Ms. Minnie Me was there, I didn't recognize her because she was laid back. Adia was there, I didn't know she was no longer with 4Sho. She told me she is now with Soul Sponge. She was there to support one of the vocalists, Tyreke, a friend of hers. Nataki (~butterflies~) and Dey were there.

They were late starting because Sean forgot his bass.

4Sho
First Set
The line up was: Wayne "Showtime" (lead vocals), Tyreke (vocals), Keith (guitar and vocals), Tamarkia (female vocals), Tidy (lead talker and trumpet), KO (sax), Sean (bass guitar), Tom Tom (keyboards), Juan (drummer), Lefty (congas), and DeAngelo “Dogpound” (toms and blocks).
Tidy and Keith wore 4Sho shirts that were obviously made by Ras Lidj.

Keith, Lefty, Tyreke, Showtime, Tamarkia, Dogpound, KO, Tidy, Juan


Juan, Sean, Tom Tom, Tidy
They had spotlights on the left side that alternated: red, green, and yellow.
1) Showtime-led "Lady, you..." - nice harmony
2) Tamarkia-led Erykah Badu's Cleva - very different from the original
3) Showtime-led "Love is supposed to be..." - Showtime went on the dance floor, it cranked
D Ball was there.
4) Showtime-led Snoop's Drop It Like It's Hot - it cranked
5) Tyreke-led Dru Hill's In My Bed - Dogpound had a vocal mic as well (and sang)
6) Keith-led "If you love... changed to a stranger, but if you had..."
7) Tamarkia-led Alicia Keys' a Woman's Worth
8) Tamarkia-led Alicia Keys' Unbreakable - Tamarkia said, "Clap your hands everybody" repeatedly, it cranked
9) Tamarkia-led Erykah Badu's On & On
10) Tyreke-led ?

The crowd grew larger.

Second Set
Tidy called them 4Sho Band & Show

Keith, Tyreke, Rockin' Ron (with camera), Lefty, Tamarkia, Showtime, Dogpound, KO


KO, Tidy, Tom Tom
All pictures taken by and Copyright - Jordan Rich
1) Tidy-led "Roll with it" - it cranked, Tidy said, "Tell them we got to party, all we want is to party", Dogpound played the cowbell
2) Showtime-led "Three, Four, One... Three, Three, Three
3) Showtime-led "The In Crowd" - Dogpound played timbales
4) Alternating Tyreke-led Kanye West's Gold Digger / Tidy-led Rare Essence's Roll Call - that was a surprise to me
5) Keith-led Lil Wayne?'s Fireman, Tidy said, "We on fire tonight", Tidy said, "Let the beat work, rock with it"
6) Alternating Terror Squad's Lean Back / Showtime-led Usher's Yeah! - Showtime stood on a chair on the dance floor / Purple Ribbon All-Stars' Kryptonite - it cranked
7) Trillville's Some Cut - Tidy held his mic to fans, He did shout outs to me and others from TMOTT, He said, "Pop the clutch, beat the hell out of the clutch"
8) Instrumental - horns and guitar outtro
I like how they definitely have their own sound - in the covers they perform, they definitely have their own musical stamp, not trying to play the covers as they are. They do crank.

A thread on this and the next night's 4Sho performances

Thursday at Zanzibar
Zanzibar on the Waterfront, 700 Water Street SW Washington, DC 20024

Yvette, Big Don Pimp (celebrating his birthday, with also a private party upstairs), Cookie, and Darrell F. were there. Darrell F. introduced me to Pinky's sister Rachelle. I recognized her as a regular (and as looking like Pinky). I talked with Vaughn "Drunk" who works with Packy on setting up the equipment. He said he plays drums for Unity, the band that Packy plays congas for. Ras Lidj was there. He said he was waiting for his category as the DC Reggae Awards were downstairs. Again guys were playing chess the whole evening. Pinky was there with two young ladies I'd never met before - April "JuJu", and her (Pinky’s) god daughter Tia. Kim, RE Angie, and Keisha were there.

Familiar Faces
First Set
Donnell said, "Happy Birthday to Don Pimp."
1) Mother's Day - Donnell played his Sax on the dance floor
Tony, Blue of Y2K, and Stacy were there.
2) Halima-led Erykah Badu's Didn't Cha Know - Halima said, "Happy birthday Googie!"
Michelle (DeeDee's cousin) and Felecia were there.
3) Mike-led Ruff Endz' Someone to Love You
Shanti was there.
4) Mike-led Glenn Lewis' Don't You Forget It
5) Halima-led Faith Evans' Cleva? / Mike-led Stevie Wonder's Superstition
6) Halima-led Mary Blige's Be Without You / (Jamie Foxx's) Mother's Finest's Love Changes

Yvette talked with Dwayne and me about how she had seen Prince in Philadelphia last night, promoting a singer named Tamar.

Second Set
Donnell said, "This is the Grown & Sexy. If you ain't grown or sexy, we'll have security take you out."
1) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Hey Tamika (tease)
2) Alternating Halima-led Beyonce's Check on It / Percussion solo
Thi Lai was there.
Nora and Shaun were there. Shaun told me she was Chocoltchp's older sister.
3) Sean-led Gerald Levert's Funny
I talked with Thi Lai. She was very appreciative of my helping to promote Mambo Sauce and has read my website.
Ebo and Slick Rick were there.
4) Alternating Donnell-led "___ Is in the House" / Percussion solo - Dwayne played power chords
5) Donnell-led "Hey ay, Ho oh"
6'9 was there.
6) Halima-led Faith Evans' Mesmerized
Natalie and Kintrea were there.
7) Alternating Donnell-led Trillville's Some Cut / Notorious BIG's Warning / Keith Murray's Call My Name (tease) / "Wait a minute" echoes
Sharmba Mitchell and Tiffany F. were there. Tiffany said to me, "My name's not Tiffany, it's Kal'el." I was introduced to her friend Joanna.
8) Alternating Donnell-led Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love / Rare Essence's Spotlight
9) Donnell-led Rare Essence's Overnight Scenario (tease)
10) Donnell-led Vinnie D's $55 Motel
Nece was there.
11) Donnell-led "Unh, unh unh" - Sean sang
12) Sean-led R. Kelly's Slow Wind
A woman named Ebony introduced herself to me.

Darrell, Simone, Nece and I further discussed the bus trip.

Third Set
I was talking to someone so I missed at least one song.
2) Alternating Halima-led Floetry's Supastar / Donnell-led Rare Essence's "Going to Hollywood"
3) Sean-led Jamie Foxx's Unpredictable
4) Alternating Donnell-led NORE's I'm a G - interrupted by a fight / "___ on the Floor"
Kay was there.
5) Halima-led Mariah Carey's It's Like That - they added an intro
6) Donnell & Halima-led It Is What It Is
Donnell did a shout out to someone from Rare Essence there, but I didn't catch who it was
7) Alternating Sean-led Trey Songz' Gotta Go - Donnell said, "Fellas, if you can leave a little early we'll play for the ladies" / 6 Minutes percussion solo - it cranked
Donnell said, "I don't know what you done to my voice. I might have to sing it (not sure what he referred to), Kal'el won't, I might have to sing it. I want to play it, Halima told me not to sing it. Shut her down." Halima said on Donnell's mic, "Shut him off." Donnell joked, "We might need a new singer."
BY was there.
Donnell said, "Tiffany, you're through. That's your third week on that side of the stage."