The
opening band, The Mark Boyce Combo, started their performance at 9:00pm. The
keyboardist was just superb......he had the soul of James Brown and the fierce
power of Bernie Worrell! His keyboard riffs were somewhat along the line of B.
Worrell/Funkadelic circa 1972 ("America Eats Its Young" era). The
drummer was pretty tight and the bassist was good. The rhythm guitarist was
okay, but I just wish that he was a bit louder. Actually, I think that the
fellas need a lead guitarist to complete the band. The Mark Boyce Combo ended
their set at 9:40pm.
At
10:15pm, Maceo Parker's band started with an opening tune to the chant,
"Come on Maceo!" Maceo came out about five minutes later and the
first official tune was "Uptown Up"......Mr. Greg Boyer gave the
funky folks a hot trombone solo. Greg soon engaged in a fierce duel between him
and Maceo....I would say that Greg won! "Pass The Peas" was done at a
slower tempo, but it was just as good......uh-oh, somebody was doing some funky
"bass plucking"....OH, that's Rodney "Skeet" Curtis!! In
the middle of the song, the music stopped and Maceo started dancing like James
Brown and the audience began chanting "Pass The Peas! Pass The Peas!"
Maceo was so elated that he wanted every person in the room to "Shake
Everything You Got"......monstrous bass licks from Skeet and enough hot
funk from the 'bone (Greg) to melt the TLA into thin air! Will Boulware played
some funky piano and Greg Boyer did his Ray Davis impersonation! "House
Party" was the jam, with the kick-butt drum solo. That was followed by
"Sing a Simple Song", with some cool moves from the fellas who struck
poses during the breakdown (in the middle of the tune)! The guitar solo was on
the one (with some funky scratching effects) and Skeet provided the earthquakic
bass! "Tear The Roof Off The Sucka" featured more Ray Davis
impersonation by Greg. Maceo did a little bit of "Mustang Sally",
before Sweet Charles Sherrell took over and incorporated a little bit of Kool
& The Gang's "Celebrate". He did his sexy dance during the
performance. "Doin' It To Death" was excellent, with Maceo's flute
solo which was basically note-for-note to the album version! The song ended
with a very tender flute solo. "Georgia on My Mind" featured a Ray
Charles impersonation by Maceo (complete with the sunglasses) and Greg provided
some muffled 'bone riffs! The end of "Georgia on My Mind" was more
uptempo and energetic! "Maceo's Groove" featured the "Tear The Roof
Off The Sucka" horn intro. Maceo and the fellas did a bit of
"Stretchin' Out (in a Rubber Band)", followed by a great guitar solo
which sounded a little like "Nappy Dugout" (from the Funkadelic
COSMIC SLOP album). The show ended at 12:15am.
The encore started at 12:17am with a jazzy version of "Uptown Up",
complete with Corey Parker's rap. "Got To Getcha Up" included a bit
of "Elephant's Foot", which was the low moment of the show!!
(Lyrically, "Elephant's Foot" is pretty weak) "Cold Sweat"
was hot, and it featured a little bit of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"
(sung by Sweet Charles). "Let's Get It On" featured a rap by Corey.
The next tune was a reggae tune......I think it's called "No Woman Don't
Cry". (Please correct me if this is wrong!) "Make It Funky"
featured the rumbling bass solo, followed by "Soul Power" which
included a rap by Corey. "Red Hot Momma" was the surprise of the show
since I have never seen Maceo do this tune......it was pretty good, but no one
can beat the WOO Warriors live version. The last tune was "Do That
Stuff" which incorporated a little bit of "Standing on the Verge of
Getting It On". The show was officially over at 12:50am.
Submit suggestions or comments to david.brooks@brookenstein.com