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Sly & the Family Stone play 1st full gig in more than 20 years

Posted at 2:35 PM on April 26, 2008 by Bill DeVille (7 Comments)

Sly & the Family Stone played their first full on gig in umpteen years last night in Anaheim.

They are performing next Friday night at First Avenue. Last nights House of Blues show started a little late and was just an hour long. The good news is it appears that Mr. Stone was on stage for the duration of the performance!

Comments (7)

Hmmm... that makes me more tempted to go Bill... I've been afraid the show was going to turn into an extended instrumental jam session with only an occasional and brief appearance by the mohawked hermit. Which would still be a great show, I know, but I want the full experience!

Posted by ALi Lozoff | April 27, 2008 10:50 AM

I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go!!! The sacrifices I make to live in a nice climate (Miami) sometimes seem to out weigh that reward. Knowing what happens in the music scene "at home" kills me sometimes. What a great opportunity (and at First Ave too)!!!

Posted by Travis B | April 28, 2008 10:23 AM

Travis B - I hail from Miami, and let me tell you, especially during weeks like this, it gets hard to remember why I don't live there now. Luckily I can visit anytime I want, which softens the pain greatly. But I agree, weighing the options of a good music scene and a wealth of independent stores and restaurants against 12 months of fresh air, blooming flowers and temperatures that don't require socks is tough. For the last 20 years, the music scene has won out!

Posted by Ali Lozoff | April 28, 2008 12:39 PM

Travis, you can rest easy....

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE
Minneapolis date cancelled
Due to scheduling conflicts with some of the members of Sly & The Family Stone the concert slated for this Friday at First Avenue has been cancelled. The date will not be rescheduled. Refunds at point of purchase. (Please note: the concert on Saturday May 3rd at the Vic Theatre in Chicago IL will take place as scheduled.)

Posted by Ali Lozoff | April 28, 2008 1:35 PM

HA! I think I know why the show's cancelled . . . because Sly Stone can't get his act together! I had the misfortune to buy tix to see Sly & Family at the House of Blues in L.A.

Showtime was scheduled for 11pm. I heard the band warming up at about 9:30pm while dining at the club's restaurant. I was excited knowing that I was about to witness a musical icon in the flesh.

11pm came and went with no Sly. Nearly TWO HOURS LATER, the crown was becoming restless and began to yell & boo. Finally, a strange looking figure creeped out from behind the curtain. It was a strange, feeble looking Sly. He was wearing large shades that covered most of his face. He was hunched over with a posture resembling the Elephant Man. Sly sported a huge curly black mohawk that was cinched with a black satin head band. He was wearing a long Jimi Hendrix-type coat and a huge Chesire Cat grin was permanenty plastered across his face. Truly a Twilight Zone moment.

Now mind you, it's now about 1AM, and Sly has just slithered out from behind the curtain. So what does he do next? He starts to blame the venue for being so late! The crowd was beginning to turn on him and a smattering of boos began again. Then Sly announced that he had to pee and that he'd be right back!

About 5 minutes later, the curtain finally opened and the band took off. Sly slumped behind a keyboard and looked like an 90 year old in a wig and shades pretending to be a rock star. He attempted to solo on the keys but was so weak that the band's two other keyboardists took up the slack for him. Sly's vocals were equally weak. A young cat in the band sang most of the hits and he constantly had to carry Sly's less than impressive vocals.

Giving credit where credit is due, the band was for the most part tight and played all the hits note for note. The horn section was impressive with at least two original members. And one of the keyboardists was Sly's sister Rose. She totally rocked both vocally and on the keys.

Sly left the stage numerous times during the performance. He kept saying he was old and he had to pee. Maybe he can snag a gig as a Flomax spokesman. The last time he left the stage, about 20 minutes before the end of the show, he promised to return but never did. The band closed the show without the legendary Sly Stone. No good byes, no thank yous.

When the band shut down, one of the members tried to blame the venue again by saying that they'd like to play more but the venue had to close. Well, what do you expect when the headliner shows up 2 hours late and starts his show at 1AM?!?

In short, the gig was a glorified tribute band performance (albeit a good one) with Sly Stone propped up to sell tickets. Huge disappointment. And this is coming from a big Sly Stone fan.

Surely management at the House of Blues was not happy. They were handing out $30 itunes gift certificates to everyone as they walked out. I'm sure it was a gesture to help hold off a flurry of people wanting their $50 bucks back!

It was a strange, sad send off to a musical legend that was not even a shell of his former drug-hazed self. Believe it or not, the fact that the show's cancelled in Minneapolis is a silver lining to the cloud. Go out and buy a Sly & the Family Stone Greatest Hits cd with the money you saved from buying tickets . . . that's a better bet than throwing away hard earned money on a musical has-been.

Posted by Bummed in L.A. | April 29, 2008 7:29 PM

By the way, the Sly Stone show I just reviewed was on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, California.

Posted by Bummed in L.A. | April 29, 2008 7:33 PM

Bill, the Anaheim show wasn't Sly's first full gig in more than 20 years... not even close actually

he played a bunch of shows last fall/winter

Posted by Jeff | April 30, 2008 9:57 AM

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Sly & the Family Stone play 1st full gig in more than 20 years

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