Funkadrill Mandrill Experience Weekend Review (8/18 – 8/19)

Editor’s Note

I realize that most of you came to this web page, expecting to see a “concert review,” I assure you that one is coming, and it’s an excellent one from our friend David Brooks (Dr. Brookenstein.) But first a little context:

• The photo you see above, is of myself and Neftali Santiago (Funkadrill.) You know him best as the longtime drummer (par excellence) of the legendary Funk band Mandrill. Neftali and I have been friends, from almost the beginning of Soul-Patrol, in the mid 1990’s. He like me has had to deal with serious health issues over the past few years, that have brought him to this point. In fact, at the bottom of this web page, you can find an interview I conducted with Neftali, just a few days ago, and he discusses his “journey.”

• The reason I bring this up here is that this weekend’s events came about soley because of the vision and intestinal fortitude of Neftali Santiago.

• You see, he wanted to do a final live performance of what he considers the “Best of Mandrill,” in order to close out his association with those songs and move forward with his life & career.

• As a part of this event Neftali announced that he had a brand-new album of brand-new music from Funkadrill “in the can,” and that there would be a film documentary of the weekend featuring the concerts, participants along with his journey coming to

• He also wanted to do this live performance (which he calls “Journey to Love,”) here in the Delaware Valley area, at a venue close to where he grew up and started his musical career in Willingboro, NJ. He selected a wonderful intimate venue (Riverfront Theater, Bristol PA,) right across the Delaware River from Willingboro. This beautiful physical setting is not unlike that ugly Montgomery Alabama riverfront brawl that took place a few weeks ago. Only nothing ugly happened in Bristol PA the weekend of 8/18/2023 – 8/19/2023. In fact, quite the opposite occurred.

• What started off as a “farewell concert,” turned into something more along the lines of a “harmonic convergence,” for the attendees. It actually reminded me a great deal of the “Soul-Patrol Convention.” There were people (“Funkateers”) from all over the United States. I would later find out that I knew many of them and those that I did not know, knew me (and each other) from online. As a part of the kickoff to the first concert on 8/19, Neftali asked me to address the audience. Of course, I rambled on for far too long (as I am often prone to do :)) But it enabled me to talk with many of the attendees one on one throughout the course of the weekend. For me it was the first time I had spoken from the stage at a concert (last time was that Hendrix tribute in 2017,) since I had gotten sick. It restored my confidence in my ability to do so and made “Mrs. Earthjuice,” who was in the audience smile.

• I often see things in “threes.” And I see this event as being one of at least three things that are occurring as we speak, that are bringing together “Funkateers” all over the country:

1. The release of Dawn Silva’s book “The Funk Queen” and her upcoming “Author Talks Tour.” – (Stay Tuned for more information.)

2. The annual “Funkateers Ball” event in Wahington DC. on 9/28 – (Stay tuned for more information.)

3. The Funkadrill Mandrill Experience – This should become an annual event in Bristol Pa. I know that Neftali has stated that he doesn’t want to perform any more Mandrill music going forward. However, I found the mixture of “old music” and “new music to be both invigorating and inspirational to me on a personal level. The old music was of course familiar and comforting. The new music was awe inspiring and lifted me up a’ la Prince or the Band of Gypsy’s. Hopefully he can find a way to do both?

(Once again I have rambled on for too long :)) Soul-Patrol will obviously be involved in all of the above so stay tuned….Now for that excellent series of concert reviews from our friend Mr. David Brooks!

–Bob Davis (earthjuice@prodigy.net)

(FYI – these are all the pictures I have. If anyone else has pictures, I’m happy to post a few. just email them to me, for consideration.)

THE FUNKADRILL MANDRILL EXPERIENCE Review (DAY ONE)

(w/ Joe Keyes & The Late Bloomer Band)

At the Bristol Riverside Theater – Bristol, PA (8-18-2023)

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My brother and I arrived at the Bristol Riverside Theater at 7:35pm, to hang out with a couple of funkateers. We were in for a special treat tonight as Mr. Funkadrill Santiago(Neftali Santiago) was performing the first of two farewell shows, before he moves into the next musical phase of his life.

At 8:00pm, Joe Keyes & The Late Bloomer Band started the show with a song called “Willing”, a horn-driven funky song with lead vox by Joe Keyes, some fiery guitar soloing and a strong drum ending. The next song was kind of a medley of “If Anybody Gets Funked Up (It’s Gonna Be You ” and “All Sons of B**ches” [both from P-Funk Allstars] [we are the lb band], with a chant of “We are the Late Bloomer Band”, some nice synthesizer riffs, and a sweet sax solo that tickles the ear so nicely. The next song was a mid-tempo funk tune with lead vocals by Melanie and an opening rap by Joe Keyes of “If You Don’t Like the Effects, Don’t Produce the Cause” [Funkadelic].

Melanie performed a rap called “Loving Consciousness”, backed by some more funk with the horns. The “Pink Panther” Theme was nice and jazzy, but better was the performance of George Clinton’s “Airbound” with the band jamming their butts off. Trombonist John did a rap on the song, which featured some really funky bass), following by a great trombone solo by John and a trumpet solo. The song “Oh, I” was very funky with a wicked synth axe solo! The Late Bloomer Band set was over at 8:50pm.

The host Kenny Green came out to give away prizes to anyone that can answer a few trivia questions. Following him was the Soul-Patrol.com CEO Bob Davis who came out to share his story about Neftali FUNKADRILL Santiago.

At 9:15pm, it was time for the main event to start!! A film was shown, which featured mandrills in the wild [with the music of Mandrill’s “Drill in the Bush”]. The members of the Funkadrill band strolled into the theatre room from the back, down the aisles and onto the stage. When the lights came up, NEFTALI “FUNKADRILL” SANTIAGO appeared center-stage! It was time to start the party, with the funky instrumental “Fat City Strut”, featuring Neftali on drums, The Late Bloomer Band horns in effect [with Joe Keyes directing them], the nasty synthesizer riffs! “Mango Meat” sounded so funky, like the record…with the funky horns and Zack Roberson (#9) doing the lead vocal parts! ToNY CaMM, Jacqui Camm and Joe Keyes joined in on group vocals. Badd Kitti (Dianne Brieze Thompson) was one of two keyboardists playing on the Funkadrill set. “Don’t Mess WIth People” was great with the tight drumming of Neftali, #9 on lead vocal parts, and some funky bass by Marc Rey!

“Folks on a Hill” featured the harmonica intro and some serious lead guitar work by the one & only Tracey Spacey T. Singleton! #9 was on vocal ad-libs and the part “Where the hell is Jill…”! The lead guitar solo was just blazing, the synthesizer riffing was nice and the horns were tight!! For the next song, the band went into a funk tune with a bit of country feel to it called “Funkafied”, featuring rock guitar riffing by Spacey T., some strong bassisms by Marc, and lead vocals by Tony CaMM. The “Funkadrill Slide” song featured some vocals by Neftali and a red-hot lead guitar solo. [Both “Funkafied” and “Funkadrill Slide” are from the new FUNKADRILL album.]

Neftali began to talk about the blight conditions of the world (the problems with politics, the wars, the violence, COVID, etc.) and then he confessed that He is a faith-based/follower of Jesus Christ. He also said that Christians need to practice what they preach…get rid of the hatred and judgement, and begin to exhibit the teachings of Christ in their lives. He spoke about putting the Mandrill music behind him, so he can focus on the path that God has for him.

The next song was a song that set fire to the Bristol Riverside Theater. “Armageddon” featured backing vocals by Tony CaMM, Jacqui CaMM, #9 and Linda…the song sounded like Jimi Hendrix & the Band of Gypsys “Who Knows”. Spacey T. represented the spirit of Jimi Hendrix too well as he was totally shredding the hell of his lead guitar….the lead guitar solo was beyond pyrotechnic!! That raw guitar power, matched with the odorous bass riffs and the energetic drumming nearly shook the theatre to its foundation!!!! WOW!!!!!

You say what else can happen? Well, the next song was the song that sent fans into a dancing frenzy, running to the small dancefloor at the front of the theater room…it was “Suzie Ceaser (Can You Get It?)” featuring the pulsating bass lines of Marc, the tight horn section and the lively synthesizer riffs of BaddKitti!!! “Hang Loose” continued the funky dance party with the spacey synthesizer riffing, tight drumming & the tight horn section. “Git It All” was another ultra-funky tune that had everyone dancing like there is no tomorrow! Love the energetic drumming and the horns on this song! I KNOW ONE THING…BRISTOL WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AFTER TONIGHT!! I BET THEY NEVER IN THEIR LIVES HAD SOMETHING THIS FUNKY IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD!

The encore performance of “Fencewalk” was certainly welcome, as it kept the funkateers on their feet dancing!

The Funkadrill Mandrill Experience set was over at 10:30pm.

THE FUNKADRILL MANDRILL EXPERIENCE Review (DAY 2)

(w/ Joe Keyes & The Late Bloomer Band)

At the Bristol Riverside Theater – Bristol, PA (8-19-2023)

———————————————————————————–

My brother and I arrived at the Bristol Riverside Theater around 6:30pm, to meet up with some of the bandmembers & funkateers. We were there to witness the last Funkadrill show, performed by Mr. Funkadrill (Neftali Santiago) and his band.

At 8:00pm, Joe Keyes and The Late Bloomer Band started with a funky intro song, with a mean lead guitar riff and Joe Keyes “rapping” over the music. “It’s Time” was a song where Joe Keyes testified about his substance abuse issue and how he has been clean now for 8 years. It was some subdued funk, but turned into a lively funk blast, punctuated by the tight horn section and the spicy synthesizer riffs of keyboardist Paul! The next song started with a really nice slap-bass solo and morphed into a song with the refrain “Music is the Answer”. “Loving Consciousness” featured Melanie on lead vocals & rap and Joe rapping about “If You Don’t Like the Effects, Don’t Produce the Cause” [Funkadelic]…the song featured the refrain “I Can Tell Where the Answer is, It’s in Your Loving Consciousness” and a really nice trumpet solo by trumpeteer Ron.

It was on to a funk groove with some tight horns, bass & drum work and Joe rapping lines from “If Anybody Gets Funked Up (It’s Gonna Be You)” and “All Sons of B**ches” [P-Funk]. The next song was a groove reminiscent of Gil Scot-Heron’s “Angel Dust” with the horns blasting the famous horn riff of “Sweet Down, Sweet Chariot” [P-Funk] and Joe singing a little bit of “Grandma’s Hands” [Bill Withers]. “If the Whole World was Africa” spoke of the philosophy that if life started in one place on Earth, we are all black. The song was taken up a BIG NOTCH with the wicked synth axe work of keyboardist Paul and the inclusion of the famous funk groove of “Chameleon” [Herbie Hancock].

The Late Bloomer Band set was over at 9:00pm.

The host Kenny Green came out to give away prizes to anyone that can answer a few trivia questions.

At 9:30pm, it was time for the main event to start!!

[NOTE: The set list for this show was almost the same as last night!!]

A film was shown, which featured mandrills in the wild [with the music of Mandrill’s “Drill in the Bush”]. The members of the Funkadrill band strolled into the theatre room from the back, down the aisles and onto the stage. When the lights came up, Neftali Funkadrill Santiago appeared center-stage! It was time to start the party, with the funky instrumental “Fat City Strut”, featuring Neftali on drums, The Late Bloomer Band horns in effect [with Joe Keyes directing them], and the nasty synthesizer riffs! “Mango Meat” sounded so funky, like the record…with the funky horns and Zack Roberson (#9) doing the lead vocal parts! ToNY CaMM, Jacqui Camm and Joe Keyes joined in on group vocals. “Don’t Mess WIth People” was great with the tight drumming of Neftali, #9 on lead vocal parts, odorious funk bass by Marc Rey, nice rhythm guitar work by Tracey Spacey T. Singleton and some beautiful synthesizer riffs by Paul.

“Folks on a Hill” featured the harmonica intro and some serious lead guitar work by the one & only Spacey T! #9 was on vocal ad-libs and the part “Where the hell is Jill…”! Unfortunately, Funkadrill’s bass drum kick pedal died. Someone had to go and fix it. Thus, the music stopped and Neftali began to speak about the significance of these 2 shows in Bristol and the fact that God has a bigger work for him, instead of this Mandrill music. He began to speak about the medical struggles that he had and how the Lord has delivered him from death and the loss of a leg.

With everything said and the bass drum kick pedal fixed, it was back to the music. A REPEAT OF “Folks on a Hill” — The lead guitar solo was just blazing, the synthesizer riffing was nice and the horns were tight!! For the next song, the band went into a funk tune with a bit of country feel to it called “Funkafied”, featuring rock guitar riffing by Spacey T., some strong bassisms by Marc, and lead vocals by Tony CaMM. The “Funkadrill Slide” song featured strong funk bass riffs and a red-hot lead guitar solo. [Both “Funkafied” and “Funkadrill Slide” are from the new FUNKADRILL album.]

The next song was a song that set fire to the Bristol Riverside Theater AGAIN!! “Armageddon” featured backing vocals by Tony CaMM, Jacqui CaMM, #9 and Lindy…the song sounded like Jimi Hendrix & the Band of Gypsys “Who Knows”. Spacey T. represented the spirit of Jimi Hendrix too well as he was totally shredding the hell of his lead guitar….the lead guitar solo was beyond pyrotechnic!! That raw guitar power, matched with the odorous bass riffs and the energetic drumming nearly shook the theatre to its foundation….AGAIN!!!! WHOA!!!!!

“Ape is High” was a funky tour-de-force with spicy synthesizer riffs by Paul!! Of course, the next song was the song that sent fans into a dancing frenzy, running to the small dancefloor at the front of the theater room…it was “Suzie Ceasar (Can You Get It?)” featuring the pulsating bass lines of Marc, the tight horn section and the odorious synthesizer riffs of BaddKitti (Dianne Brieze Thompson)!!! “Hang Loose” continued the funky dance party with the spacey synthesizer riffing, tight drumming & the tight horn section. “Git It All” was another ultra-funky tune that had everyone dancing like there is no tomorrow! Love the energetic drumming and the horns on this song! “Fencewalk” was the perfect funk ending to this night. I KNOW ONE THING…BRISTOL WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AFTER THIS WEEKEND!!

The Funkadrill Mandrill Experience set was over at 10:55pm.