Wow!

We return to The Palms...

Dressed a little spiffer -- eclectically so (in keeping with the dress code thang started at The Trop, LOL).

Nothin' like a two-month hiatus to stoke the fires of funk on the stage and the need for The Healing in the seats. Yikes! The place was packed, and I mean packed! An absolute crush of people. Thank you all for coming.

A bunch of the Fat City Horns were away, so we were graced by our jaw-dropping friends Tom Delibero subbing on trumpet, Dave Phillipus on trombone, and Dave Stambaugh and Brandon Fields on alto and tenor respectively. It was sax ride heaven all night; alto, tenor and bari (Eric Tewalt on the latter).

2:04 a.m., gonna upload this and continue to blog incrementally. Got a lot of shots to review. Stay tuned...
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I thought, given all the subs and the long dry spell, that there might be a bit of rust here and there tonight. Wrong! The Fat City Horns' ensemble chart work was screamin' and in the pocket from start to finish, Rochon and Pepe just thundered all night long, and the vocals were off the hook.

They didn't shy away from anything in the book, either. Notable tunes: Pack It Up, Brother to Brother, Greazy Thing, Si Te Vas, Come With Me, Love Is Gonna Find You, Soul Trilogy, Living For The City. They set the tone for the evening by opening with Esta Noche, and stomping the crap out of it.

More scenes from a great hang:

Cheryl is home for the week (lucky me). She's not been able to see the band since December. She sure picked a good night.

So, the cats all started takin' pics of each other during the show, and of me, while I was takin' pics of them!

Above, Gabe and Tyriq hit the catwalk to throw down some steps.

If some of my shots look kinda hazy, chalk it up to the smoke machine. I don't know who turned that on, but it was a bit much.

Again, thanks to all of you for coming out. Let's do it again next Monday night.
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TUESDAY CRACK-OF-NOON UPDATE

A few more shots (I'm home today)...

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CODA

We have a new and talented addition to the extended tribe, Wanda Plimmer. My bro' Howard Arthur introduced us last year. She emailed me yesterday:

Hi Bobby,

To refresh you memory, I was a singer in the Navy Big Band in Seattle. I served our country (active duty, US Navy) for 10 years. And, now, I live in Las Vegas. Just moved here a couple of weeks ago. I have several big band charts including the ones I'm sending you now.

Back in February, I did a show that I wrote called "American Sweetheart" with the Federal Way Symphony, Big Band and I've been asked to return to sing with the full 55 piece orchestra in 2011.

The Santa Fe guys are amazing and I look forward to seeing you tonight at the gig!

See you tonight,

Wanda

Nice, eh?