A few days ago I skidded back into town from Kentucky just in time for An Evening of Funk with Lakeside, SOS Band and Morris Day & The Time live at Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre. When I got to the ticket entry section, I told them who I was and that we were there to cover the show. Some sort of email or phone call kerfuffle had happened and no one knew anything. It was a 7 hour trip to get to Atlanta and it was a Saturday and no one was answering phones or text messages. Along comes a super hero named Jason and sifted through all the mess and set everything straight.
So, let’s get to the show. Get all the way down to press row and get all situated and set up. Lakeside is on and they were incredible. They have not lost a single step since the 1980’s! They were just bad ass! And, yes-they ROCKED Fantastic Voyage!
Then comes the reason we wanted to cover the show in the first place-The SOS Band. They come out and there are two new lead singers. Everyone is dressed really great for that show and that venue. They looked just fabulous. And then the music starts really kickin! The band is great, the singers are fantastic and the set list was pretty good. Then comes “Just Be Good To Me,” and they absolutely slayed it! And then, the surprise of the night-Mary Davis comes out!!! I haven’t seen her in years and years. She came out with a cane, and I thought she was just there to send the crowd some love-and lo and behold she absolutely rocked the entire place singing “Take Your Time.” It was a glorious moment in a great evening of live music.
Now we get to Morris Day and The Time:
You could tell they are very experienced with big stages all over the world, they are a pro act for sure. Their set was pretty tight, and Morris acts like a star. The on stage skits with combing (or make believe combing) of his hair with the mirror that kept coming to him every other song or so was very reminiscent of the old days. They were good entertainment. A solid act.
Somewhere in the middle of their set they had a video and audio tribute to Prince. It was very well done, and it definitely won the crowd over big time. It was so nice to see Morris still showing the world how much he loved Prince and very much appreciates everything he ever did for him. Yeah, that was a very heartfelt moment in the evening.
My overall assessment of the evening:
Lakeside was the best band of the night, by a long shot. They. Were. Bad. Ass! Lakeside did not come to play around. They ROCKED.
The SOS Band was really good. Seeing them alone would’ve been great. Getting to see Lakeside and Morris Day and The Time with them was just very good icing on the cake. SOS was very good, and they definitely took you back to the days when you first heard them on the radio. Mary Davis made the whole night worth while in one stage appearance and in one song-full stop.
Morris Day and The Time were a very big stage experienced act, with the music pretty much as you would remember it. The tribute to Prince was a tear inducing tribute that was heartfelt by the entire crowd.
Jason is better than Superman, and I look forward to seeing him and working with him again in the future. He knows how to handle a live music venue, and any situation that should arise. He is the definition of a true professional. And-his staff rocks too! Particularly the ticket lady and the lady to my left where I was stationed for the show (I had THE best spot), she was just up the steps to my left. My over all experience was an A+, which is wild given how it started.
I definitely want to see more shows at Mable House, it’s not every day you get a venue so good, with seating and tables all with a great vantage point of the stage, with a staff so good and a Meyer sound system too! On the note of the sound system: The DJ was severely over-driving those unbelievably expensive speakers repeatedly in between band sets. I was concerned he was going to blow some and have the remainder of the show limping and sounding like crap. Somehow the Meyer’s shrugged his abuse off. On another note, the Concert’s Host was really entertaining, funny, quick witted and hyped up. He definitely knows how to engage and hype up a crowd.