Maceo Parker
(with Bernie Worrell & the WOO Warriors)
At Hammerjacks - Baltimore, MD (5/27/01)
At
8:50pm, Bernie Worrell & the WOO Warriors were onstage, doing a jam session
that was just so funky, thanks to the WOO-derful, magical, synthesized riffs of
Bernie Worrell & Gregg Fitz!!! "Gamin' on Ya" featured more of Bernie's crazed
synthesized riffs, some fierce guitar licks by Flash (from Clip Payne's band,
4:20 Funk Mob), and bombastic bass grooves by the ever-so-lethal Donna
McPherson!!
"Red Hot Momma" was the introductory song for the
lead vocalist.....the pretty-soulful vocal stylings of Jen Durkin (formerly of
Deep Banana Blackout).......the best part, besides the mean guitar wails, was
the kick-ass drumbeats by the super-powerful man on da skins, Gary Sullivan!!!! "Me and My Folks, You and Your
Folks" featured cowbell percussion by Jen and a psychotic drum solo!!!
"Supergroovalistic" segued into "Comin' Round The Mountain",
which preceded a new song to Bernie's set......from the first Bernie album on
Arista Records......that
song is "WOO Together"!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe my
ears......Bernie was actually doing stuff from the debut album.....OH SHIT!!
The WOO version was really close to the LP version, with some extra spaced-out
funk keys by Bernie!!! Gregg and Jen provided sensational lead vocals for the last
song, "Cosmic Slop". The WOO show was over at 9:50pm.
The master of the "2% jazz, 98% funky stuff" music, MACEO PARKER!!!
I went outside to look for a store that sells
photography film and couldn't find at that hour.......when I returned to the
club, Maceo Parker was already playing at 10:20pm......the song was
"Uptown Up". The sound was, of course, serious 2% jazz, 98% funky
stuff!! "Pass The Peas", "Rabbits in a Pea Patch" and the
"Ooh Yeah!" show chant followed. The "Ooh Yeah!" section
featured a snippet of Fred Wesley & the Horny Horns's "We Came to Funk
Ya"! "Shake Everything You Got"
featured some amazing solos by Greg Boyer (trombone), Ron Tooley (trumpet), Wil
Boulware (keyboards), and Bruno Speight (guitar), all done to the smokin',
P-funky bass romps of the big man himself, Rodney "Skeet" Curtis!! Martha High stepped to the front to perform the Lyn
Collins classic "Think (About It)".....her voice is magnificent!!
Skeet's bass licks were da shiznit and the drumbeats (by Jamal Thomas) were
PHAT!! "My Baby Loves You" preceded the JB's "Doin' It To
Death", which included the old classic "Charlie Brown".......it
was funny to hear Greg Boyer sing the bass vocal, "Why's everybody always
pickin' on me?" Maceo slipped into his Ray Charles persona on
"Georgia on My Mind"! Corey Parker slapped his wonderful lyrical flow
on "Maceo's Groove" and "Black Widow". The funky drummer
Jamal threw down big time with some funky drumwork on "Cold Sweat"!! Bernie
Worrell made a guest appearance on keyboards during one of the
songs.......sorry, I can't remember the song's name. "I Got to
Getcha" was the song where Maceo had fans singing the chant in different
octaves. "Make it Funky" and "Sing a Simple Song" were
good, but the medley was HOT.......the medley
was "Red Hot Momma", "Do That Stuff", and "Standing on
the Verge of Gettin' It On"! "Red Hot Momma" was smokin' with
some lead & bass guitar intensity!!
Click here for pictures of Maceo
Parker
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