Gonna Have A Funky Good Time

WHOOOOOO!!! Well, as you all know, Funkfest in Baton Rouge was a week ago. Man, I gotta say. That was an interesting day. Highs, lows, and everythign in between. The gates opened at 2:00, and the concert didn't start until about 4:45 or so. I got there at about 3:00 (damn misleading Ticketmaster), and I'm glad I did. With it being in a fair ground setting and all seating just general "wherever you can find a space", getting there early helped. I was able to get a spot about 2 rows back from the "general seating area", because there was a VIP area that had barricaded closer access to the stage. It was also HOT AS THE DICKENS outside!!! I had to put a paper towel under my cap to get all the sweat (baldies sweat out the HEAD!!). The fair grounds DID allow digital cameras, but I got nervous and left it in my car. Anyway, onto the artists in the order they appeared:

1. Rude: Apparently, this is an old act based out of Baton Rouge that was a part of Gerald Levert's "Rude Boys" (remember Written All Over Your Face?). Well, there were two people with him, one a woman, the other a man. I gotta tell ya. These two were like those sketches that David Allen Grier and Kim Wayans did together on In Living Color as a singing duo. He was yelling all incoherently and trotting about the fairgrounds like a drum major. She was yelling something distorted into the mic that I couldn't make out, because I couldn't stop being entertained by the guy. I mean, this guy was on stage pretending to be Michael Jackson ("I swear I didn't do it!!") and passing out teddy bears and plastic roses to the women. All this while the man who was ACTUALLY SINGING was trying to move around in that black and white suit he had on (damn, it was hot outside!!) and singing his songs. I remember at one time, he even got on one of the VIP tables and started grinding and singing like a stripper. It was entertaining, but I was quite comfortable with letting them get off stage.
   
   
2. Midnight Star: Now, onto the promoted acts. They did a lot of jams that I didn't know they did, like Freakazoid. Of course, they did Curious and Slow Jam (that one dude can BLOW!!), which is the main reason I wanted to check for them. They even did this little group juke number to the Missy Elliott "Work It" instrumental. THAT was hot! Still, with it being early in the concert and with it being so early and that sun being out and in effect (DAMN, it was hot!!), I couldn't get into it like I wanted to.
   
   
3. Sounds of Success (S.O.S.) Band: I gotta tell ya, it wasn't until that day that I found out what the hell S.O.S. stood for. I just thought it was a cool name somebody came up with. ANYWAY, they came out and started rockin' it. They worked through a couple bad microphones, which were switched out promptly. They did "Just Be Good to Me", which I kept screwing up by singing "Just Be Straight With Me" (damn Silkk the Shocker!!). They played a few other jams, but I wasn't really feeling their set. Not because they weren't good (they rocked it), but because by that time, I had been sitting in the hot sun for about 4 and a half hours, and I was getting fatigued. I sat out most of their set and bobbed my head to the songs that were familiar to me.
   
   
4. Doug E. Fresh: My friend Starburst TOLD me how good Doug E. Fresh was in concert, but I couldn't grasp it until I actually saw him myself. Man, he ran the dang GAMBIT on that crowd. From talking about old ghetto TV's to playing TV theme songs from popular black shows from back in the day to doing his beatboxing to playing a "finish the line" game with the crowd. Doug did the damn thing. I wasn't expecting much from him, truth be told, because the only thing I remember being big from him was his song "The Show" and "La Di Da Di"(which of course, he did, minus Slick Rick). Dude was like crazy amped because he hadn't performed in Baton Rouge in 8 years, so he was going to make it up to the crowd. If that's what we've been missing, keep coming back, Doug. Also, the sun had pretty much gone DOWN by this time, so the cool of night set in, and I was comfortable again.
   
   
5. Frankie Beverly and Maze: FINALLY, around 9:30 or so, it was time for the act I came for. I found out that there had been a contest on the dang radio to MEET Frankie Beverly. I was pissed that I didn't know about it, but I brushed it off. I knew I'd get to see him perform We Are One, and that's what I was focused on. They came out and started doing "Laid Back Girl", and some assholes in VIP started fighting!!! Front row, in the VIP crowd. I've been in Kenny's enough to know that when a crowd of people moves in a particular direction TOO fast, there's a fight going on (security running and jumping over barricades gave it away, too). Frankie came out saying "y'all calm down" and got into the song (didn't miss a beat). He came in and got right into it. I had seen them live enough times (this was my 4th time seeing them live) and I've watched their live concert DVD's enough times to pretty much know what their set was gonna be like, so there weren't too many song surprises. I was able to guess what song We Are One came after (I Want To Feel That I'm Wanted), so I was already in position. I tend to go for broke when I see him do We Are One live. There's this breakdown he does when the "That's the way it is" part kicks in. He fits 3 of them in the same time he would do one (if you don't know what I'm talking about, buy the Live in Los Angeles CD/DVD). I love it when he does that. He did the others, all of which I knew by that point. I was sweating and getting raspy-voiced, but dammit, I was having a good time. I made some calls, sang some songs, danced, and just loving the energy. I was tired by the time Before I Let Go ended, though, so I didn't stay for their traditional encore performance of "I Wanna Thank You" (I did hear it as I was walking back to my car, though).
   

All in all, it was a WONDERFUL event, and I'm glad I went. From the acts to DJ Captain Charles pumpin' us up during the intermissions, it was a joyous event of African-Americans joined for a good cause. THIS is what a concert should be. THAT'S old school!!!

-B