Editor’s note – This concert review, is mostly unedited. I made an “executive decision” that the Concert Review, should be as “raw/organic” as the concert itself (Bob Davis)

 Cutting to the chase…

• IT WAS THE BEST R&B/ROCK N’ ROLL SHOW I HAVE SEEN IN at least 10-15 YEARS. (bar none.) I danced all over the Ardmore Music Hall tonight. The front, the back, the balcony, backstage and more….lol
• DISCLAIMER: I’ve been a huge fan of these two groups, for the past several years, via their YouTube video’s. I am not the least bit objective when it comes to their talent or their music.
• I can’t write a full review right now, it’s waaaay too much for me to analyze, distill & document at the moment.

That will have to wait till tomorrow.

from my notes…

THE ALTONS (Listen while you read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0RqfvE6_eg)

• Some songs reminded me of the Miracles, some reminded me of Brenda & the Tabulations, some reminded me of Sam Cooke, some reminded me of the Beatles, some reminded me of The Saphires, some reminded me of Ruby & the Romantics.
• They also did an absolutely SLAMMIN cover of William DeVaughn’s classic “Be Thankful for What You Got.” That was the only cover that they did. The rest were all originals. Didn’t matter, all of the songs had that classic “vibe.”

THEE SINSEERS (Listen while you read: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ijwTXfwGO8)

• Keep in mind the “Thee Sinseers” use the same singers from “The Altons.” They also did more covers and fewer originals.
• They reminded me of a combination of James Brown’s 1950’s – 1960’s band and The King Curtis Band w/vocals by the Harptones + Dion & the Belmonts + Sam Cooke + Curtis Mayfield.
• Some of the snippets of covers I heard during the show included “I Put a Spell on You,” “The Horse,” Please Please Please Please.”
• They also jumped off the stage and played/sang alongside the audience!

I’ll attempts to write something more comprehensive tomorrow….

In short, it’s the music of my parents. It’s the music they played around the house and listened to via NYC radio stations WWRL, WLIB & WMCA during the years 1955-1970. It’s the music you hear in movies like Cooley High, Goodfellas, TAMI Show and others. It’s fast jams and slow jams. However, it’s not an “oldies show, in fact it’s as far from an “oldies show” as it could possibly be. Every song was brand new (except one.) You won’t recognize any of the song titles in the set list. However, when you hear them, especially live, you will immediately recognize the “style” and the “groove.” It’s unmistakable, that’s because “style” and the “groove,” are buried within your DNA and you will immediately be comforted by it’s familiarity.

The singing and the instrumentation were magnificent. Multiple lead singers, male & female bring to mind some of the best Classic Soul/Doo Wop and the powerful bass/guitars & drum, augmented by an out of sight horn section will have you on your feet dancing up a storm.

Thee Sinseers (Set List)	The Altons (Set List)
The Horse	Going Nowhere
I Don’t Mind	Darling Girl
Love Me Like u used2	Over & Over
JAH Block	Tangled
There Must Be	I’ll Be Around
Give It Up	Be Thankful For What Cha Got
Right Girl	Medley/Banter Radio
Gone For Good	Cancion
Seems Like	Gotcha
What’s His Name
No Need

NERVOUS ENERGY

I gotta stop doing this to myself. I am full of “nervous energy,” and can’t possibly sleep  

• Last week it was that off the hook show with John “Cougar” Mellencamp.
• This week it was a nuclear show with The Altons and Thee Sinseers.
• One thing BOTH shows had in common were that they were for “the woke among us.”
• Last week it was the audience that was “woke,” for John “Cougar” Mellencamp.
• This week it was the group membership of The Altons and Thee Sinseers, that was “woke.”
• It was Hispanics, Blacks, Whites (including several undefined “mixes”) plus young (all under 30) men and women singing (in harmony) & playing instruments (in the pocket,) all single minded in purpose, to give you RAW R&B/ROCK n ROLL (the way its ORIGINATORS created it, with no marketing/media filters.) If nothing else the group membership resembled that of Sly & the Family Stone.

They were a walking/talking advertisement of what America’s future is going to look like, not it’s past!

PREDICTION: “ONE DAY IN THE FUTURE, PEOPLE WILL PAY $500.00 PER SEAT TO SEE THIS CONCERT IN PERSON.”

It is now 8 hrs later. So there is now a little bit of “time and distance,” from the show and I still have no earthly idea how to put together a coherent review of this concert. Except to continue to document how the show made me “feel” and maybe an actual review will pop out from somewhere?

I did some real quick backstage interviews after the show, as the musicians were trying to get out of the venue and the city. This had been their first trip to the east coast and this was the last show on a tour that included NYC, Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia and other places.

Nevertheless, they were very pleasant and cordial to “Mrs Eathjuice,” Randall Grass and myself amid all of the surrounding chaos.

One of the questions I asked Joey Quinones (“leader” of both groups,) was “who are your musical influences?”

He said; “James Brown, Ray Charles and Ritchie Valens.”

• I smiled and said; “Back in the early 2000’s I covered the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame Inductions, over the course of an entire weekend leading up to the actual induction ceremony. One of the artists being inducted that year was Ritchie Valens (posthumously,) and thru an odd series of circumstances, I was able to spend a whole lotta time with the family of Ritchie Valens (Valenzuela.) It was an eye-opening experience for me.
• Bobby Valenzuela (You will remember his character from the Hollywood “docudrama” “LABAMBA!”) told me “Bob, you gotta understand, the neighborhood we grew up in LA, was adjacent to Watts. What you heard from Ritchie Valens on those recordings, was a watered-down version of his actual musical vision.
• He then pulled out a family album and showed me a picture of Ritchie Valens and Jackie Wilson and said, “I can’t really describe it, but this picture represents what his vision was and what his actual music, that his record company suppressed, actually sounded like.”
• Bobby then added; “You got to hear what Carlos Santana sounded like in 1967-1968. If Ritchie Valens had lived, that’s what he would have sounded like in 1962-1963 timeframe.”

When I told this story to Joey Quinones, he said without hesitation, “That’s exactly where I am trying to go.”

I could easily spend an entire day talking with Joey Quinones about music, culture, the past, the future, etc. When you speak with him, you realize that he is equal parts visionary, musical genius, humble soul, and you know that you are in the presence of greatness.

HOW DID THE SHOW FEEL?

Difficult to put into words.

In thinking about it, here is what comes to mind…

• The look in the kids’ eyes in the audience at a UPTOWN, REGAL, ROYAL, HOWARD, APPLLO SHOW anytime from 1950 – 1980
• The glow in his eyes, as John B. Sebastian described to me growing up in Greenwich Village, as a teenager and sneaking out at night to attend shows at the Apollo Theatre.
• The look in the kids’ eyes in the audience at the TAMI SHOW
• The look in the kids’ eyes in the audience at an ELVIS SHOW in 1954
• The look in the kids’ eyes in the audience at an PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC SHOW in 1978
• The look in the kids’ eyes when the NY METS (1969) NY KNICKS (1969-1970) won their FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
• The look in YOUR eyes the FIRST TIME you saw DR J, MAGIC JOHNSON, MICHEAL JORDAN, BO JACKSON {insert your favorite sports superstar here}

That’s how the concert “felt” to me….

I CANT WRITE ANYMORE

I can’t write anymore about this at the moment. I am now several hours late in getting out the latest edition of the Soul-Patrol Newsletter, which is also power packed, as you will see when it reaches your email box. If you are reading this and aren’t subscribed, you should be! My review of this show will appear in the next edition, there isn’t time to stuff in into the one you will get today! I’ll put a bookmark here for now, by saying that if you ever get a chance to see this show live, please move “heaven & hell” in order to do so. You will thank yourself….

Today, as I write this, right in the middle of BLACK MUSIC MONTH & JUNETEENTH, I can rest easy, in the knowledge that the music/culture, created by my ancestors in the 1950’s, spawning a multimillion-dollar juggernaut of an industry starting in the 1960’s continuing to this day, is in good hands going into the future. Everyone should be happy about that!

NOTE: Props to the management & staff at the Ardmore Music Hall. This was my first time there. I (and my wife) was impressed with how things were organized/managed all evening.