Thursday, March 5, 2009

Stevie Wonder, Steel Pulse & Stokely of Mint Condition



This was the best Weds. nite ever! After a busy day at work I had the pleasure of going to the Stevie Wonder's Live at Last screening. The turnout was great and the Stevie fans had a blast. There was singing, dancing and clapping so I give it 5 stars. The visuals and the music were top notch. The lucky audience at the 02 Arena in in London where it was filmed gave Stevie and his band all kinds of love and it translated back to the viewing audience. This is a must have of the concert DVDs this year.

After the screening my husband and I turned into the Bonnie & Clyde of music junkies and hurried over to the House of Blues to catch Steel Pulse. They had a groovy, vibe going when we arrived and their fans transported me to another place. They energy in the room was beautiful and Steel Pulse not only gave the fans what they wanted, they were raising funds for the restoration of New Orleans. A signed guitar was being raffled off to raise the funds and awareness that New Orleans stills needs help.

Next stop the Prophet Bar. Wednesday nights are becoming an addiction for me. I love the open mic artists. They get up there with a captive audience and go for it. American Idol ain't got nothing on the Jam Sessions. This week's stand outs for me were Versus who performed a Dave Hollister tune and Lola who showed out with her cover of "Prototype" (Andre 3000). I'm a R&B chick so anytime you can carry the weight of another person's song like it was yours I'm good. The crowd was there to see Stokely but appreciated all the performers. After giving the up and comers their shine R.C. finally brings out Stokely and man was I not prepared for him. Stokely, R.C., Sean, Braylon and one of the baddest drummers in the country Chris Daddy Dave came out and smoked the stage with the illiest improvisation set I've seen in a while. This was not a mini Mint Condition set, this was all about Stokely using his voice as a instrument in tune with band. We all stood in awe during this musical journey. I'm posting their performance of "Blackbird" as I don't have the words to decribe what his performane was all about. He ended the set with "What Kind of Man" but this was after he and Chris Daddy Dave had a battle of the drum sticks that was violent! Don't sleep on Weds. nights in Dallas, if you come out you might just reconnect to your love of live music. Attendees included Lina, King Ashoka and the Dallas Conventions & Visitors Bureau who where filming a segment for www.visitblackdallas.com. The site will be designed to be an online magazine for the African American community locally and abroad, showcasing the wide variety of events, attractions, hotels, restaurants and night life interviewing Stokely on what he loves about Dallas. Nanette Lee is doing a monthly article on nitelife, Chris Arnold will cover sports, their first feature story is on Erykah and the new baby. They will also feature a variety of short video blogs of their team going to different events and interviewing artist and asking them why they love Dallas. Their first interview was with Stokley last night at the Jam Session.

Next up Atlanta's DJ Jamad @ the Zubar for Brown Sugar 1st Fridays, Frank McCombs on Sat. at the Loft and Estelle and Solonge on Monday @ the House of Blues. I know ya'll jealous because off all this good music fun I'm having.


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