(You can also check out this report including pictures at nEws - the Sheila E/Escovedo Family website under the news section: http://escovedo.freeyello...dex3.html)



Sheila E. & Fifth Element at Mr. E.’s Spotlight on the Square

Alameda, CA



Saturday, 08 July 2000

First Show: 8.30 – 10.00 pm

Second Show: approx. 11.15 pm – 1.00 am



THE BAND



Sheila E.: Drums, Percussion & Vocals

Rhonda Smith: Bass

Kathleen Dyson: Guitar

Renato Neto: Keys

Lynn Mabry: Vocals

Eddie M.: Sax & Vocals



[Editor's note: We haven't heard from Eddie M. in a long time! - MWC]



SET LIST (second show):



ITP (with Sheila, Eddie and Lynn on vocals)

Writes of Passage track (possibly Protocol)

Band introduction

Instrumental with Rhonda S. bass solo

Happy birthday

Slow song with Lynn on vocals

Street life

Medley: When doves cry, Girls and boys

A love bizarre

One nation under a groove

Thank U falletinmebemicelfagain

Lost in you

Percussion and drum solo

Virtuosity

River God (for Tito Puente)

Raffle

The glamorous life

Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing

Salsa jam with the Escovedo Family



PROLOGUE



To start off the evening our group went to Jack’s Bistro at Jack London Square in Oakland for dinner. When entering the restaurant I noticed a woman with sunglasses sitting by the bar. I immediately thought she looked like Sheila but did not say anything as everybody else already headed for our table and no one seemed to notice her. So we sat down, ordered our dinner and started talking about the concert. A little later we found out that it had indeed been Sheila who had ordered food to go and was waiting for it at the bar!! Of course, by then she had already left!!! Aaahhhhh!



THE CONCERT



Mr. E. opened the concert by telling us about the new club and that he was happy that Sheila took time out from her busy schedule to perform there. He mentioned that Sheila was getting better every time and that she learned everything from him!



The band kicked off the show with a funky riff (ITP from Rhonda Smith’s cd Intellipop) while Sheila, Eddie M. and Lynn Mabry walked to the front of the stage singing and dancing. Then Sheila moved over to the drums, changing her high-heeled shoes to white sneakers (she always changed her shoes whenever moving from the drums to singing up front or back to the drums throughout the concert). Next was a song from the “Writes of Passage” cd (possibly Protocol) and Sheila took time out to introduce the band.



Another funky instrumental song followed with Rhonda soloing on the bass (possibly another song from Rhonda’s cd). Sheila and the band then sang “Happy birthday” to someone in the back of the club. The tempo slowed down and Lynn Mabry showed off her vocal talents before the band kicked into “Street life”, a cool and jazzy mid-tempo song.



Then: Flashback!!! Sheila made us scream and holler before kicking into a Prince medley (When doves cry, Girls & Boys and A love bizarre) still playing the drums and singing. The Bay Area Prince Freaks in the audience did the up-in-the-air-hand-cross for “Girls & Boys” and even got Lynn to pick it up and do it. Lynn also copied Prince’s dance moves for “When doves cry”.



“Love bizarre” was played kind of slow with the band breaking it down a couple of times and Sheila calling for the horn parts “Jazz, Strawberry and Whip Cream”. The whole Prince medley was similar to the one played at the House of Blues in Los Angeles in March 1998 and really brought the house down!



A short break followed with Sheila asking whether Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, San Jose, San Francisco or the Bay Area was in the house!



Next were covers of “One nation under a groove” and “ThankUfalletinmebemicelfagain” before the band slowed it down again for “Lost in you (from the album “Garth Brooks in The Life and Times of Chris Gaines”). Sheila had been playing drums so far but came out to the front of the stage to sing this song. She remained there for a percussion solo. While Sheila was trying to drink water, Renato Neto made some keyboard sounds of running water and Sheila was cracking up on stage. She continued playing electronic percussion and then went back to the drums to do her infamous drum solo before giving us “Virtuosity” from the “Writes of Passage” album. She also mentioned that the new Pete E. album E Music as well as Rhonda Smith’s and Kat Dyson’s cds were on sale that night.



During the second show Sheila also excused for everything which did not go right that night as the club had just opened and asked people to remain friendly when they had to wait for their drinks. She also thanked the radio stations for being there and supporting her.



Sheila was back center stage and started talking about the death of Tito Puente and that she was dedicating the next song to him because they had been very close (she called him grandpa!). She sang a slow song called “River God” and it moved her so much it brought her to tears and she could hardly continue singing. But she tried and the whole audience appreciated it so much that Sheila got standing ovations!!!



Sheila then left the stage and Pete E. came back on to ask us to give it up for Sheila so that she would play one more song and we did! Sheila returned and told us about the raffle tickets they were selling that night and that she wanted more money!! She asked for big money not just one dollar notes as a donation for a foundation in Fremont called Rubicon that takes care of abandoned and abused children. The money was intended for buying a couch and furniture for the kids in need. This obviously meant a lot to her as Sheila, her mom and sister were selling the raffle tickets themselves from the stage. Sheila shook everybody’s hands, hugged people and thanked everyone personally for their contribution! A bongo set from Sheila’s new percussion line for kids was raffled off and Sheila mentioned that if kids weren’t taught at school they’d take it to their homes. During the first show some of the kids joined Sheila on stage but they had already left for the second show which started late.



Sheila then told us she couldn’t leave without playing THAT song and started singing “Glamorous Life” up front stage. During the second show she slowed the song down to ask if there were any drummers in the house. There was a snare drum next to her she had been playing on and Sheila said she would give it away to anyone who would bring her $200 right away to raise more money for the foundation. A woman came to the stage and starting writing out a check when GiGi walked up and handed Sheila two $100 bills. She got the snare drum, a hug and Sheila promised to sign the drum later.



The next song was “Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing”. Sheila was back behind the drums and timbales and congas were set up on stage. A couple of minutes into the song Pete E., Juanita, Juan and Zina all hit the stage and gave it up for the finale salsa jam! The whole audience was on its feet, dancing and having a great time!



The first concert that night was very similar to the second concert, just a little shorter. Sheila was wearing white pants, a long dark sleeveless shirt and black high-heeled shoes or white sneakers. She was wearing the same clothes for the second set and did not change during the show. Sheila had her dark brown hair long and in soft curls.



The band had only been playing together for about a month but sounded tight and funky, all excellent musicians. A special mention goes to Eddie M. for tearing the songs apart with his sax playing. The concert was very energetic and Sheila looked fabulous, confident, happy and relaxed.



After the concert Sheila signed autographs and talked to fans. She seemed a little shy and still moved from the concert but was extremely nice and even posed for photos with fans.



One more thing to mention is how extremely nice & friendly the Escovedo family is. At the first show we were kind of disappointed because the whole front and center sections were reserved for the press and family so that we got a table off to the side. But when we saw Sheila’s mum and talked to her (we had met her a couple of times at the club and other concerts the past two weeks) she said we could move over for the 2nd show and we got the best table in the house, directly in front of Sheila’s drums!!!!! Pete E. was walking around the club all night, talking to fans and signing autograph and Juanita, Sheila’s mum, hugged everybody in our group to say “Hi” and show us how welcome we are!



This was an awesome concert and hopefully Sheila will consider touring with this band!



Andrea Lotz



Special thanks for helping with this report to GiGi, Val, Yamina and the Bay Area Prince Family!