24-7 SPYZ
(w/ TM Stevens's Shocka Zooloo & Phunkyman)
At The Khyber - Philly (10/3/08)
UPDATE: HELLO, FUNKATEERS...............PLEASE ENJOY READING THIS AND LOOKING AT THESE PICTURES BECAUSE THIS IS THE LAST REVIEW YOU WILL SEE FROM DR. BROOKENSTEIN........IT'S TIME FOR THE "GOSPEL OF FUNK"!!! THE NEW WEBSITE WILL BE UP AND RUNNING IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO. TIME TO MOVE ON TO BETTER THINGS....THINGS FOR THE LORD!!!
PHUNKYMAN, PHUNKYMAN.....ROCK THE PHUNK LIKE NOBODY CAN!!
At 10:15pm, the PHILLY FUNK-ROCK EXTRAVAGANZA started off
with the Philly funk-rock sound of the one and only PHUNKYMAN. The band had
fans rocking to and fro with the songs "Testify" and "Here Comes
De Funk", featuring the nasty stank force of hard slap-bass technique from
Warren Davis and a nice sax solo by Jay Davidson!! "Guitar Slinger"
was a showcase for nasty, hardcore Hendrix-style rock guitar shredding by PM
(PhunkyMan himself).....during this song, everyone else got a chance to show
off on their solos! "Trance" was a reggae-flavored ballad, featuring
the very angelic voice of Dora Eaton. "Give Me Something I Can Use"
was another rock guitar blast. "Funky Sunshine" was followed by the
GOSPEL-ROCK/FUNK BLAST of "I Don't Know You", a cautionary song that
warns everyone to get it right and learn to love Jesus AND one another! (THANKS
PM, FOR THAT GOSPEL MESSAGE!) The Phunkyman set was over at 11:00pm.
THE INSANE TM STEVENS, BABA!!!
Click here for pictures of
Phunkyman
MIKE "MASTER BLASTER" BARNES & TM STEVENS!!
TM Stevens and Shocka Zooloo began at 11:40pm with a
little bit of African rhythm music before the HEAVY CRUSHING, FUNK-ROCK BLAST
of "What?" ALL THE FANS IN THE ROOM WAS ROCKIN' TO THIS HEAVY-DUTY
STUFF....TM, YOU ARE DA BOMB, BABA!! Fans assisted TM with chanting the line
"We Will Never Do That Again" for the song of the same name. Next was a long performance of "Go My Way",
featuring Carlito on congas, a chant of "AFRICA - OBAMA", some fiery,
smolderin' guitar wailing by The Master Blaster (Mike Barnes), and the
lightning-fast, earthquakic, mind-bendering bass licks of TM Stevens!!!!!! "Mama Said So" was followed by the tribute to
James Brown, "Sex Machine"...2 girls were invited to the stage to
shake their moneymakers to the tune of Prince's "Sexy MF". The last
song was the super-funky "Thumb", featuring the thunderous,
lightning-fast, insane bass slappin' of TM (WHOA!!!!!!!!!!) and a powerful drum
solo by a guest Zooloo member, Howard!!! The TM set was over at 12:20am.
The spiritual, lovely Ms. Carrie Trystette, along with friends Jay Medley
(formerly of Betty Whitetrash) and Mike "The Master Blaster" Barnes!!
Click here for pictures of TM
Stevens & Shocka Zooloo
JIMI HAZEL, of 24-7 SPYZ!!
At 1:00am, 24-7 Spyz (from Da South Bronx, NYC)
performed for the first time in Philly since 1996....unfortunately, this set
was plagued with some technical problems, mostly from Jimi's guitar pedals
and/or amp. The band started with "Face the Day", off their latest
album of the same name. The fans that were left in the room (remember, they
started at 1:00am) were totally into the hard-hitting funk-rock force of this
NYC-based trio! Rick Skatore gave acknowledgement to TM Stevens for his
incredible energy by trying to play bass like him (VERY THUNDEROUS,
LIGHTNING-FAST SLAP BASS TECHNIQUE)....(I'm sure that TM was lovin' it!) Next
was the popular tunes from the 1996 release HEAVY METAL SOUL BY THE POUND...the
songs were "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" and "Love and Peace".
"Soul Sucker" was another loud, crushin' funk-rock force but Jimi's
guitar went out during the breakdown of the song. Tobias Ralph was a force to
be reckoned with, with some flashy, chaotic drum riffing during "Soul
Sucker" and "Waiting For the Sun"!! "The Saturday
Song" was nice.....yeah, because of the beautiful melodies & lyrics,
but also because TM came out and planted himself on one of the speakers in
front of the stage and watched Jimi play and sing. "Grandma Dynomite"
was a crowd favorite....inciting three guys in the audience to start moshing
(well, not for more than 10 seconds!) BY THE WAY, JIMI....IF YOU ARE READING
THIS, YOU DID A GREAT JOB WITH "Heaven and Hell".... the intro was
great and the rest of the song was great, BUT I HAVE ONE CRITICISM: You forgot
to do P. Fluid's rapping during the chant "It's your time, it's up to you,
now it's time to..." HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! (Yeah, I know......YOU
PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BUTCHERED IT!! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!) "John Connelly's
Theory" was nice, and so was "New Superhero Worship".....every
fan in the audience was LOVIN' IT!! "Room #9" was the last funk-rock
song in 24-7 Spyz's arsenal, before they had to vacate the stage at 2:05am.
JIMI HAZEL!!
Tobias Ralph & Rick Skatore, of 24-7 SPYZ!!
Drummer/vocalist Mary Harris!!
Hollen "Butch" Stewart and his wife
Click here for pictures of 24-7
Spyz
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