NAPPYHEAD FUNK ARMY
At Da Funky Phish - Bay Shore, NY (Long Island)
(11/02/01)
At
11:55pm, the Nappyhead Funk Army started their warm-up tune of "P-Funk
(Wants to Get Funked Up)", with some strong, stanky bass licks of Carlton and
a HOT lead guitar solo by John Willis!! Then, the army launched a full FUNK
attack on the club patrons with their original "Funk Y2K Infection",
a nastier version of the funk cut, thanks to John Willis's guitarisms.....the
sound was more lethal than some airborne anthrax (sorry about that!)!!
"Fly on the Wall" was followed by the ultra-funky "Let It Flow".....a
song with a sinister-sounding synthesizer riff by Eric Wilson & matching
guitar riffs by John.....its feel reminded me of Parliament's "B3M (Blind
3 Mice)--Sir Nose D'Voiddoffunk"!!!!! Let's not forget the freakish
keyboard riffs bouncing off the wall, provided by Prez!!
"America" was a welcomed addition to
the set.....a Prince song that the group dedicated to the events on September
11, 2001! John provided some tight rhythm guitar licks, along with mo' of
Carlton's strong bassisms!!
"Red Hot Momma" featured some good
drumming by Ainsley Taylor. Vocalist Eric-Jay surprised the audience by
appearing in a Garry Shider-type nappy (diaper)......his vocals were strong and
his stage presence was definitely felt!! GO ERIC-JAY!!! That was followed by
"Up For the Down Stroke" and "Cosmic Slop", the latter
benefiting from some great lead vocals by the ever-so-beautiful Tanya Thillet!!
"Jungle Boogie" was followed by "Atomic Dog/Pumpin' It
Up".......this is where leader Zack Roberson came to the stage on his
knees like a dog, sniffing around Tanya and Carlton! Zack's lead vocals and
showmanship was definitely on the one! Add to that the funky keyboard riffs of
Mr. Prez!! "Cholly (Funk Getting Ready to Roll)/Undisco Kidd" was
followed by "One Nation Under a Groove", which segued into "Knee
Deep"......John's lead guitar solo was da shit!! Tanya performed an old
R&B song.....(I can't remember the name of it.) Eric provided a funky
keyboard solo during "If Anybody Gets Funked Up, It's Gonna Be You/United
We Stand"!! The band went into the Joan Osbourne's "One of
Us"......their version was close to the Prince version. Prince hits like
"1999" and "Sexy M.F." were included, as well as
Nappyhead's chant "Reach Out and Touch Somebody". The show was over
at 2:45am.
Submit suggestions or comments to david.brooks@brookenstein.com