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April 29, 2008 - Fan Concert Review: House of Blues shows
First of all…I did not get a chance to meet Sly. My backstage access was good only after the show and Sly left at the end (or during the end) of each performance.
At the Disneyland gig, the band was scheduled for an 8p start but didn't begin until almost 10p. In some fairness, the opening act started late and that caused a trickle down effect. But there was a long wait between the acts and the crowd was NOT happy. When the show started, all was forgiven. The place went bonkers when the band started to play. They went through a set that was comprised mostly of the usual suspects. Thank You, Simple Song, Stand, If You Want Me To Stay etc…nothing like NY when they added gems like Sex Machine and In Time. The one exception was "Thank You…Africa". That seems to have become a staple in their recent shows. They were great in NY, but the band has progressed. They tore the house down.
There were some problems with Sly's mike and synthesizer gizmo keyboard thang that marred certain parts of the show. About midway through the set a technician came onstage to fix the problem. Sly says: "hey c'mon man…these people paid good money get this fixed. Respect your elders!" Sly says this in a joking way and everybody (including the technician) laughs. Then Sly says (also jokingly), "If you don't get this fixed I will thrust upon you many devastating kicks to the head with each succeeding kick being more devastating than the previous one!" The guy still has that quick wit and can turn a phrase at a moment's notice. Did I mention Sly was wearing a kilt?
Hollywood Swinging: Again my backstage access was "aftershow" so I decided to get a spot right up front. Again the band was scheduled for an 11p start but things did not get underway until 12:45 or so. And again, the crowd was NOT HAPPY. Sly steps out from behind the curtain around 12:40 and tells the audience that there was a conflict about monies and that he told management to refund everybody's money. He said he decided that they would play anyway. I'm gonna take a piss, I'll be back in 5 minutes. Guess what, he returned in 5 minutes. Sly comes out and asks the audience what they'd like to hear. Everybody's screaming different songs, so Sly says I'll start you off…let's start with something simple…do you know Simple Song? The band breaks into Simple Song. The rest of the show was built around Sly taking requests from the audience…like when he was a DJ. During the wind-down of a sizzling version of Hot Fun In The Summertime, Sly says he has $100 for anyone who can sing. A guy to my left reaches for the mike and belts out a soulful refrain of the song. Sly reaches in his pocket, crumbles up a hundred dollar bill (I'm 2 feet away from Sly…I could see that it was indeed a $100 bill) and throws it to the guy. Sly says "Who else?" A woman right next to me sings a not-so-soulful refrain but Sly tosses her a $100 bill anyway. After a third person sings Sly just took the remaining hundred dollar bills (I think there was 3) and tosses them into the audience. Now Sly needs another pee break, so in the meantime Lisa and the band belt out Somebody's Watching You. One of the highlights. Another highlight featured Rose and Lisa doing some vocal improvisation during Family Affair. Lisa is scatting while Rose takes everybody to church. Sly introduces his children to the audience. He coaxes his daughter Novena to come out and play. She performs a short classical piece that delighted the audience.
Sly took very little time off the stage. It is obvious he is feeling more comfortable performing. It was more than obvious he had a good time watching the audience have a good time. He seems more and more like the Sly of old…
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