| RAVES, FAVES AND OH...BEHAVE! (THE REVIEWS) |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| August 2nd & 3rd 2008 |
| The Peoples' Prom |
| June 2008 |
| Recommended Links Platinum Music Magazine Germantown Radio Nu Waters at the Nile Soul Patrol The Peoples' Festival Urban Beat Movement |
| ©2008 Love Child Media Works |
| The following reviews were either written or submitted by Mr. Bob Davis of Soul Patrol.com |
Teena Marie over the years has managed to become a "cult artist" within the Black
community ever since she first burst on the scene in 1979 with the double sided hit: "I'm a
Sucker For Your Love" & "Deja Vu (I've Been Here Before"). And in today's environment
where on a daily basis we see new young white singers being artificially promoted as
being "soul music artists", the accomplishment of Teena Marie and her astounding
connection to Black America stands as the overwhelming example that these "wannabe
soul artists" (ex: Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse, Justin Timberlake, etc.) should aspire to.
To read the whole review click here
community ever since she first burst on the scene in 1979 with the double sided hit: "I'm a
Sucker For Your Love" & "Deja Vu (I've Been Here Before"). And in today's environment
where on a daily basis we see new young white singers being artificially promoted as
being "soul music artists", the accomplishment of Teena Marie and her astounding
connection to Black America stands as the overwhelming example that these "wannabe
soul artists" (ex: Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse, Justin Timberlake, etc.) should aspire to.
To read the whole review click here
When it comes to Mandrill I am no longer in a position to be un biased.
Not in any way shape or form.
In fact I'm not sure that I am even capable any longer of writing an objective concert review
or album review of any of their shows. It's been quite a while since I have even tried. The
last few times that I have attended a Mandrill show, I have always made sure that someone
else from Soul-Patrol.com has been available to actually write the review.
You see I have truly been adopted as a full fledged member of the "Mandrill Family" over
the years and have quite literally become a part of the group. As someone who strives to be
an objective journalist, it is in many ways the worst possible position to be placed in.
However as a person, I couldn't be happier to be included as a part of the "core team" of
such a collection of individuals. If you ever got to meet these folks, you would want that for
yourself as well. It is a collective of musicians, family members, friends and more that is a
"throwback" to something from the past, while at the same time represents and ideal for the
future of Black music & culture.
Read More click here http://www.soul-patrol.com/funk/mandrill.htm
| WE LOVE THE DELL EAST |
By Jeff Shields
Inquirer Staff Writer
The Robin Hood Dell East 2008 summer concert series will go on whether or not the
long-deteriorating venue is closed for repairs, Mayor Nutter's top aide said yesterday.
Nutter's chief of staff, Clay Armbrister, told City Council that the administration would find a
venue other than the Dell East to hold the concerts or would consider a construction schedule
to allow the Dell East to still play host this summer.
"It is our commitment to have entertainment - somewhere," Armbrister said.
No decisions will be made, Armbrister said, until an engineer's report determines whether the
outdoor amphitheater, which holds 9,000 people, is safe. The most urgent question: whether
erosion to the concrete and the ground underneath has created a safety hazard. That report is
expected in three weeks.
Council members were up in arms when Armbrister told them in a budget hearing last week
that the Dell East would close for the summer while the city made $3 million worth of repairs to
concrete, drainage and lighting, and replacement of all 5,800 seats. (The lawn area has
capacity for 3,000 people and there is room for 200 wheelchairs.)
Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, chair of the Committee on Parks, Recreation and
Cultural Affairs, said that she had had a private conversation with Nutter about the lack of
notice Council had received, but that he had assured her that the series would find a home.
"The question is: What venue?" she said.
The city-owned facility, built in the 1930s in East Fairmount Park, has been beset by structural
decay and managerial problems but remains an affordable ticket for top acts, which last year
included Aretha Franklin and other top rhythm and blues, funk and gospel acts.
In addition to Brown, Council members Jannie L. Blackwell, Bill Green, Curtis Jones Jr., Donna
Reed Miller and Marian B. Tasco were briefed by Armbrister yesterday, and they said they
were grateful that the new administration was undertaking the repairs.
"The real story is that, after 30 years, the Dell is going to get repairs," said Jones, whose
Fourth District includes the Dell East. Jones said he would introduce a bill today to rename the
amphitheater the Georgie Woods Outdoor Entertainment Center, after the city's famed radio
personality and activist.
They suggested, however, that the 2008 concert series could be saved, with construction
beginning in September and residents having plenty of notice that the Dell East would be
closed in 2009. Tasco warned that, otherwise, unforeseen delays could wind up closing it for
two seasons.
grand old lady of north Broad St. (The Uptown). Having been backstage at the Dell East I've
been privy to some of the posters announcing up and coming shows from the past. Frozen
visual time capsules of black greatness in a city always torn along racial lines,
these posters tell a story that embody a city that always played a huge role in the
maintenance and presentation of all music and especially that created by African
American artists. Everyone from Duke Ellington and Count Basie to Kool and the
Gang and Mandrill were and have been well represented there in the past. This venerable
instit ution is too great to get lost in the political/burocratic 'sauce' that it is. Anything that I
need to do to keep the Dell alive can be considered done. This venue is that important to me.
Hire A Band
Peace
LP
You were quite eloquent in your comments. The care and nurturing of Black institutions is
something that we should do just on "GP." But we don't. We think that it's supposed to be
"someone else's job." But never ours.
Our job is supposed to be only to complain, and ONLY COMPLAIN after it's too late and the
institution is no longer in existence. Then we get "nostalgic" an wish that things were the way
they "used to be."
The very first time that I went to the Dell East, I saw people clustered against the fence outside
of the venue. One of the truly unique qualities about the Dell East is that you can actually see
& hear the concert from outside of the fence which surrounds the venue, without having to
pay an admission. You can see everyone from little kids who rode to the Dell East on bicycles,
to young couples laying on a blanket even whole families with BBQ grills set up. All of these
folks came out to the Dell every time there is an event there. They don't come because
of advertising, or because their favorite artist is there. They come because it is a part of their
tradition, it's a habitual multi generational tradition. It's a true phenomena, that I can only
compare to stories I've read about old time ballparks where little kids would watch the game
for free thru knotholes in the outfield fence. However the fact that they don't says a whole lot
about the connection that they want to have between the entertainment which is provided and
the folks who might not be able to afford to buy a ticket. I'm quite certain that the management
could prevent that from happening if they wanted to. And I'm just as certain that if the Dell
East were to become "privatized", this tradition along with many others would be eliminated.
Somehow the availability of this "free" option doesn't have any impact on ticket
sales.
This is only a small part of the kind of tradition that surrounds the Dell East. As you indicated
the "buzz" about the summer schedule at the Dell East usually starts around now, with people
starting to ask "have you heard anything yet about the Dell's schedule yet?" I have had
complete strangers come up to me and ask me that question, simply because they know that I
"have something to do with music." Once people know this information, they memorize it and
they act on it accordingly. Admission is usually $20 for the regular seats and $10 to sit on the
grass. The mood is like that of a huge block party, complete with bad parking, food vendors,
clothing vendors, local politicians and local "knuckleheads."
Backstage at the Dell East, everyone there is "somebody's cousin", security is tight and you
can't get back there unless you are supposed to be there. I've seen major artists, with
recognizable names & faces not be able to get backstage at the Dell East. Obviously the
people backstage all know who I am by either name or face, yet I am not always able to get
backstage and neither is anyone else that I know of. Getting a "backstage pass" at the Dell
East is something like acquiring "gold." However once you are backstage, it feels like you are
at your cousins house. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. I have conducted many
am usually watching the show, standing on the stage, where the worst possible camera angles
are. However it provides the very best view of the audience an d it is really the audience that
is the true star of a show at the Dell East. On some nights there are 20,000 people in the view
that the performers have and they don't need to see a "written review" to know how they
house at the Dell East, and when you are standing on that stage, it feels like you can see did
either at the Dell East.
every one of their faces. And as a reviewer, THAT is what I want to see. I want to see their
faces, because THAT tells me everything that I need to know about the show. It is the same
view that the performers have and they don't need to see a "written review" to know how they
did either at the Dell East.
I am not a native of Philadelphia, however some of the best concerts I have ever seen took
place at the Dell East. All of the traditional big name artists play there from the world of Black
music. And all of those artists know that they had betta not be half steppin. You bring your "A
game" with you to the Dell East, or stay home. And if you are a "new artist", you had better be
good (I mean really good). Because if you aren't your name will be "mud" in every bar, barber
shop/beauty parlor, street corner, bus stop, etc in Philadelphia. It will be "mud" as in
"why did they waste my time last night with that mess, they need to put me in charge so we
can get some decent people up in that place." As a person who writes concert reviews, it's a
demonstration of just how truly meaningless my reviews are to folks who live in the "real world."
What makes these concerts so great has little to do with the music, but has everything to do
with the community that is created each time a concert occurs. It's a "community" that exists
just for the night of the event. However it is a community that is very much needed because it
makes Black people of all ages, economic levels, etc. come together and unify. It's a very
fleeting thing, but you can guarantee that it will occur every time there is an event at the Dell
East. If there was an event every night of the week at th e Dell East, Black Philadelphia would
be a far different kind of a place than what it currently is. The Dell East is a Black institution
that in my mind is the kind of thing that needs to be preserved. It is a big positive for "quality of
life."
I am not a native of Philadelphia, nor do I live in the City of Philadelphia. I am just someone
who from the outside looking in, has hopes that the Black people of Philadelphia, don't
destroy what they have for the sake of "progress." I hope that before they set out to
purposly and willfuly...
DESTROY ONE OF THE
MOST IMPORTANT BLACK INSTITUTIONS
IN THE UNITED STATES
That they get the public involved in making whatever the descions are that need to be made.
It needs to be preserved, not for the sake of "nostalgia." It needs to be preserved so that
young people will have a tangible example of...
HOW BLACK PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE
My fear is without that tangi ble example.... (we won't EVER be able to get there again)
I realize this is a "local issue", but the world will be watching...
been privy to some of the posters announcing up and coming shows from the past. Frozen
visual time capsules of black greatness in a city always torn along racial lines,
these posters tell a story that embody a city that always played a huge role in the
maintenance and presentation of all music and especially that created by African
American artists. Everyone from Duke Ellington and Count Basie to Kool and the
Gang and Mandrill were and have been well represented there in the past. This venerable
instit ution is too great to get lost in the political/burocratic 'sauce' that it is. Anything that I
need to do to keep the Dell alive can be considered done. This venue is that important to me.
Hire A Band
Peace
LP
You were quite eloquent in your comments. The care and nurturing of Black institutions is
something that we should do just on "GP." But we don't. We think that it's supposed to be
"someone else's job." But never ours.
Our job is supposed to be only to complain, and ONLY COMPLAIN after it's too late and the
institution is no longer in existence. Then we get "nostalgic" an wish that things were the way
they "used to be."
The very first time that I went to the Dell East, I saw people clustered against the fence outside
of the venue. One of the truly unique qualities about the Dell East is that you can actually see
& hear the concert from outside of the fence which surrounds the venue, without having to
pay an admission. You can see everyone from little kids who rode to the Dell East on bicycles,
to young couples laying on a blanket even whole families with BBQ grills set up. All of these
folks came out to the Dell every time there is an event there. They don't come because
of advertising, or because their favorite artist is there. They come because it is a part of their
tradition, it's a habitual multi generational tradition. It's a true phenomena, that I can only
compare to stories I've read about old time ballparks where little kids would watch the game
for free thru knotholes in the outfield fence. However the fact that they don't says a whole lot
about the connection that they want to have between the entertainment which is provided and
the folks who might not be able to afford to buy a ticket. I'm quite certain that the management
could prevent that from happening if they wanted to. And I'm just as certain that if the Dell
East were to become "privatized", this tradition along with many others would be eliminated.
Somehow the availability of this "free" option doesn't have any impact on ticket
sales.
This is only a small part of the kind of tradition that surrounds the Dell East. As you indicated
the "buzz" about the summer schedule at the Dell East usually starts around now, with people
starting to ask "have you heard anything yet about the Dell's schedule yet?" I have had
complete strangers come up to me and ask me that question, simply because they know that I
"have something to do with music." Once people know this information, they memorize it and
they act on it accordingly. Admission is usually $20 for the regular seats and $10 to sit on the
grass. The mood is like that of a huge block party, complete with bad parking, food vendors,
clothing vendors, local politicians and local "knuckleheads."
Backstage at the Dell East, everyone there is "somebody's cousin", security is tight and you
can't get back there unless you are supposed to be there. I've seen major artists, with
recognizable names & faces not be able to get backstage at the Dell East. Obviously the
people backstage all know who I am by either name or face, yet I am not always able to get
backstage and neither is anyone else that I know of. Getting a "backstage pass" at the Dell
East is something like acquiring "gold." However once you are backstage, it feels like you are
at your cousins house. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. I have conducted many
am usually watching the show, standing on the stage, where the worst possible camera angles
are. However it provides the very best view of the audience an d it is really the audience that
is the true star of a show at the Dell East. On some nights there are 20,000 people in the view
that the performers have and they don't need to see a "written review" to know how they
house at the Dell East, and when you are standing on that stage, it feels like you can see did
either at the Dell East.
every one of their faces. And as a reviewer, THAT is what I want to see. I want to see their
faces, because THAT tells me everything that I need to know about the show. It is the same
view that the performers have and they don't need to see a "written review" to know how they
did either at the Dell East.
I am not a native of Philadelphia, however some of the best concerts I have ever seen took
place at the Dell East. All of the traditional big name artists play there from the world of Black
music. And all of those artists know that they had betta not be half steppin. You bring your "A
game" with you to the Dell East, or stay home. And if you are a "new artist", you had better be
good (I mean really good). Because if you aren't your name will be "mud" in every bar, barber
shop/beauty parlor, street corner, bus stop, etc in Philadelphia. It will be "mud" as in
"why did they waste my time last night with that mess, they need to put me in charge so we
can get some decent people up in that place." As a person who writes concert reviews, it's a
demonstration of just how truly meaningless my reviews are to folks who live in the "real world."
What makes these concerts so great has little to do with the music, but has everything to do
with the community that is created each time a concert occurs. It's a "community" that exists
just for the night of the event. However it is a community that is very much needed because it
makes Black people of all ages, economic levels, etc. come together and unify. It's a very
fleeting thing, but you can guarantee that it will occur every time there is an event at the Dell
East. If there was an event every night of the week at th e Dell East, Black Philadelphia would
be a far different kind of a place than what it currently is. The Dell East is a Black institution
that in my mind is the kind of thing that needs to be preserved. It is a big positive for "quality of
life."
I am not a native of Philadelphia, nor do I live in the City of Philadelphia. I am just someone
who from the outside looking in, has hopes that the Black people of Philadelphia, don't
destroy what they have for the sake of "progress." I hope that before they set out to
purposly and willfuly...
DESTROY ONE OF THE
MOST IMPORTANT BLACK INSTITUTIONS
IN THE UNITED STATES
That they get the public involved in making whatever the descions are that need to be made.
It needs to be preserved, not for the sake of "nostalgia." It needs to be preserved so that
young people will have a tangible example of...
HOW BLACK PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE
My fear is without that tangi ble example.... (we won't EVER be able to get there again)
I realize this is a "local issue", but the world will be watching...
