Classic Soul Events, Baltimore, Patapsco Arena, THE MIRACLES, THE EBONY’S & THE MOTOWN ELGINS, Motown Elgins, Mad lads, Intruders, Bradley Alston, Daisy Brown

BALTIMORE: OLD SCHOOL CLASSIC SOUL SHOW & DANCE w/THE MIRACLES, THE EBONY’S & THE MOTOWN ELGINS @ PATAPSCO ARENA, SATURDAY DECEMBER 19 (PLUS YOU CAN WIN A NEW CAR!!!)

Soul-Patrol is proud to present this evening of Classic Soul in Baltimore, featuring the classic sounds of SOUL MUSIC.

Some of yall might just recall the fun we had last time out at the We will be in the house that night to party our azz off. Hopefully some of yall in the Baltimore area will come on out and experience some of the CULTURE that the “mass media” keeps telling us doesn’t exist anymore. If you missed it the last time out in June, go to the following link and check it out: http://www.soul-patrol.com/soul/elgins.htm Once again We will be traveling to Baltimore and will have a Soul-Patrol Informational booth at the event, so come on out and say hello to me and Baltimore Soul-Patrol Coordinator Bradley Alston & Daisy Brown at the Soul-Patrol Booth…

NEWS FLASH: all people attending the event December 19th, upon entering will be given a raffle ticket free of cost for a 2010 Chrysler 300 fully loaded. The winner will be responsible for title, taxes, tags, insurance and warranty. Delivery upon proof of the above. All vital information relating to the automobile will be obtained on the spot so as to effectively establish ownership.

Inquire about both tickets & bus transportation @ the link below…

EVERYONE IS INVITED!!!!

For tickets and bus information call 215-747-2431.
Round trip bus included in cost of ticket – total cost $60.00.

Tickets are available at the Patapsco Arena box office (410.354.1338), or at the following link:
BALTIMORE: OLD SCHOOL CLASSIC SOUL SHOW & DANCE w/THE MIRACLES, THE EBONY’S & THE MOTOWN ELGINS @ PATAPSCO ARENA, SATURDAY DECEMBER

Event Review: BALTIMORE MD: OLD SCHOOL CLASSIC SOUL SHOW & DANCE W/MAD LADS, PHILLIES INTRUDERS & MOTOWN ELGINS @ PATAPSCO ARENA

–If you are a person who digs Classic Soul music and considers themselves to be a “musical purist”, you may want to STOP reading this right now and hit the delete button. That’s because some of what you are going to read will make you cringe.

–If you are a person who is perhaps more interested in the overall “vibe” of Classic Soul, then keep reading. That’s because some of what you are about to read will put a smile on your face that is the size of Montana.

This event provide some big clues to where Classic Soul may be going in the future and some big clues about what the audience for it is going to be.

One of the major issues facing Classic Soul in the future will be the struggle between “musical purity vs. vibe.” In the past it was easy to always have both. In today’s world and increasingly the two things are going to be separate. That is simply a function of time and money.

FLAWLESS RE-CREATION OF THE MUSIC:
As we get further and further away from the time when the music was originally created, it may become far too expensive to flawlessly re-create the original music in it’s “pure form.” And even when it’s possible to flawlessly re-create the music, it’s likely to be done by people who have little if any connection to the “vibe.”

FLAWLESS RE-CREATION OF THE VIBE:
This is in fact easy to do, the ability to do is contained inside of the “Cultural DNA” of Black Americans. Bobby Byrd said it best; “you know you got soul, or else you wouldn’t be up in here.” The implications of that simple statement of Bobby Byrd, are highly complex and not well understood by those “who shouldn’t be up in here.” It’s a DNA thing, because it seems to span the huge generation gap that currently exists within the Black community. However the people best equipped to provide the “flawless re-creation of the vibe” are often least able to provide “flawless re-creation of the music.” except via electronic means.

This whole “conflict” has been weighing on my mind of late….

The crowd itself was quite interesting. It was an integrated/multi generational after work crowd that wasn’t there to see a concert. These folks were there, just to be there. They wanted to be somewhere with other people, eating, drinking, socializing and most of all dancing in a friendly and safe environment on a Saturday night. I met a whole bunch of folks who I can only describe as “local characters” and of course I danced my azz off. There is something to be said for our society where even in the worst of times that the simple activity of dancing to great music from the past can be the cure for what ails us. The dance floor was packed for most of the evening and I certainly had a blast.

–BALTIMORE MD: OLD SCHOOL CLASSIC SOUL SHOW & DANCE W/MAD LADS, PHILLIES INTRUDERS & MOTOWN ELGINS @ PATAPSCO ARENA

This was one of those times that I traveled to an event and took my family. I wasn’t certain exactly what this event was going to be like, however as time rolls on, “Mrs. Earthjuice” and I feel that it’s she and I spend as much time with 16 year old Rachel as possible, as a “family unit.” You see in just two short years from now Rachel will (hopefully) be off to college far away from us, where she will truly become the person that she is destined to be. We know that she will return to us completely “new & improved”, which is what we want. However we also know that our little 3 person “family unit”, will be forever changed whenever that occurs.

For this event, all I really knew beforehand was that the three artists would perform, there would also be a DJ and that Soul-Patrol would have a table there. This event was promoted by Virgil of the Motown Elgins, longtime member of Soul-Patrol and also the leader of the Motown Elgins. The event was to take place at the Patapsco Arena is a 30,000 square foot facility located just minutes from downtown Baltimore, is a venue that I was totally unfamiliar with, but was told that it had a large seating capacity. There were to be busses coming from Philly and folks coming from DC, Boston and all points in between.

I had contacted Bradley Alston, Soul-Patrol’s Baltimore Coordinator and longtime Soul-Patrol member Daisy Brown (also the “all world” coordinator for the Chi-Lites), invited them to the event and to also help out with the Soul-Patrol table. I had not seen either of them in several years, so I knew that it would be good to see them again as well.

**WARNING: IF YOU ARE A MUSICAL PURIST IT IS NOW TIME TO DELETE THIS EMAIL

Whenever an event features artists whose names have some type of “prefix”, that is always a good thing, because it’s telling you as a consumer that 100 percent of whomever the original individuals were that were originally associated with that “group name” was, are not going to appear at the event. This is a good thing (truth in advertising) and not unusual to see these days, since in most cases the original individuals are unlikely to be still performing with that entity 40-50 years after that entity first entered into the public consciousness. I had never seen any of the three artists perform live before, so I was anxious to see all three, especially the Mad Lads.

Here is how they sounded (to my ears)

PHILLIES INTRUDERS – they were awful, they opted to perform to tracks, they failed to engage the audience and seemed like they were “phoning in” their performance. Good thing they were on first, the crowd was more interested in standing on line for the free buffet. “Mrs. Earthjuice” who is VERY familiar with the music of the Intruders after years of me bombarding her with the album “Intruders Super Hits” cringed during every song. (rating “2” on a scale of 1-10)

MOTOWN ELGINS – medium, performed with a band, did a show that contained Elgins hits, covers and a few originals were cut short due to some “unforeseen personnel issues.” They did a good job of engaging the audience, but in the end probably could have done a better show. (rating “5” on a scale of 1-10)

MAD LADS – these guys were outstanding, they performed with the same band as the Motown Elgins, did a show comprised of songs that were hits for the Mad Lads on the STAX label, some of which I was very familiar with (“I Found a Girl”) and some that I was not. The group harmony was like something out of this world and something I had not personally witnessed since the last time I saw Pookie Hudson & the Spaniels perform live. It was worth the price of admission and the drive to Baltimore, just to witness their performance. (rating “10” on a scale of 1-10)

THE DJ – He played a set that I probably would not have played. My set would have been strictly an “oldies set” of music from the 60’s & 70’s. His set included equal parts music from the 60’s & 70’s + rap music from the 1980’s + current r&b + what I like to call “electric slide music” (almost it’s own genre at this point). And now you know why I won’t ever be a good DJ at a live event, because this brotha kept the dance floor packed all night long.

And that really is the whole point of an event like this. It’s not really a concert at all. That’s why it’s billed as a “show & dance”

It’s a multi generational music oriented event, that is designed more than anything else to provide the “vibe” of Classic Soul for whomever wants to catch a piece of that vibe. The vibe is one of “eat, drink (BYOB) and be merry”, with a group of friends, strangers and those in between for a few hours that will certainly be cause for nostalgia, but also at the same time provide some hope for the future.

I was certainly glad to be there and to be there with both my wife & daughter. It reminded me of times when I had attended “dances” with my own parents way back in the previous century. I was perhaps “too young” to be there, but my parents knew that nothing was going to happen there that would be harmful and I was “old enough” to absorb the culture that I would soon be old enough to fully partake in. “Mrs. Earthjuice” & I danced when the DJ played “oldies music from the 60’s & 70’s” and Rachel got up and danced when the DJ played the “electric slide music.” There was a wide range of ages of people at the event and I was glad to see that, because it means that the “DNA” of Classic Soul that I spoke of earlier would continue to be passed down to younger people like Rachel, although certainly “Classic Soul” isn’t her first choice in music and never will be.