Event: Cameo in concert at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut
Date: Saturday January 15th, 2005

Gi Dussault, co-host of the "Upper Room" and myself traveled up to the Mohegan Sun Casino to see Cameo this evening. I thought back to when I first saw Cameo in Hartford, Connecticut on a double bill with Rick James. Great show back then and tonight was no different.

Players:

Larry Blackmon: Vocals
Tomi Jenkins: Vocals
Charlie Singleton: Guitar and vocals
Aaron Mills: Bass and vocals
Jonathan "Sugarfoot" Moffett: Drums
Kevin Kendricks: Keyboards
Second keyboardist (my apologies for not catching his name)

The Wolf Den at the Mohegan Sun Casino was packed to the gills. Funk gems like (Not Just) Knee Deep and Bounce played over the house sound system prior to the concert. Cameo hit the stage right at 8pm. Opening jam was "She's Strange" with some amazing funk and Cameo's stage presence was stellar and this lasted throughout the show. Then, Larry Blackmon announced to the crowd that they were about to play their funk national anthem. It turned out to be "Flirt" . I flashed back to when R&B radio was not afraid to play songs with guitar in them. Jesse Johnson on a "New York Hot Tracks" interview said that Sly Stone's music had a black bottom and a pop top. Cameo brings the funk, rock and R&B into timeless music. On "Flirt", Charlie Singleton laid some nifty and funky "Chicken Grease" guitar.

Cameo made several comments onstage about their band's longevity and were truly thankful to God and their fans for allowing them to play music together this long. You can really see that besides being talented musicians, they enjoy performing together. Lots of interaction between bandmates. In fact, Larry made a funny comment that Tomi Jenkins always makes comments onstage to each other that has nothing to do with what is happening musically.

Next up, Jonathan Moffett and Aaron Mills received huge spotlights on solos. Mills strode to the front of the stage and laid down some deep funk. But I was most impressed by the jazz riffs that he blended in his solo. This cat is so deep with his playing and it is a joy to watch. What can I say about Jonathan Moffett? World-class drummer and he really had his game on. Ferocious drumming and he had a technique where he would grab the back cymbals and stop them on the fly.

The Connecticut crowd absolutely loved the ballads that were played in the concert. Word for word they sang with Cameo. I always take note of the crowd's reactions from the different cities and countries where Gi and I see concerts and Connecticut seemed partial to the love songs. Tomi Jenkins and Larry Blackmon really shined on these ballads. Their voices were in top form and they are to be commended for keeping the energy strong from opening note til last jam.

Larry Blackmon said that they were going to play a couple songs for the old-time Cameo fans. Hmmm-hmmm. I guess I know now I fall into this demographic as they broke into "Flirt" and "Talkin' Out The Side of Your Neck". I had the goosebumps on "Flirt" . Much props to the keyboardists for laying those quirky and funky keyboard riffs on this one. And doesn't "Talkin's..." lyrics still hit right on nearly 20 years later?

After a crowd-pleasing "Word Up", Cameo returned for a 2 song encore. First up, "Alligator Woman" which was a benchmark album for me when I first started my radio show back in 1982. I wore that record out and it was great to see Cameo play this new wave/funk. But I could tell the Connecticut crowd probabaly missed this train when it pulled into town as they seemed to not be too familiar with it. Much respect to Aaron Mills for freakin' and dekin' all over the floor playing his bass on this one. "Shake Yo Pants" pulled them back in for a great funk finale. Many great dance steps and the crowd kept yearning for more Cameo. But alas, the house lights went up and the show was over. Amazing night.

Afterwards, I went back to see Tomi Jenkins but the band did not come back upstairs for a long time. I sent a stagehand back to relay a message that I was there to seeTomi. But not sure if the guy told Tomi. Sorry Tomi, we really wanted to meet you but I am sure there will be many more times and you have to make an appearance on the radio show. I did have a nice conversation with Jonathan Moffett who is a kind person and he is hard at work on his own albums. In fact, he did say he will be in the studio on Monday to record more trax.

Cameo is a great group that I still have not had the pleasure of seeing live yet. I hope they come to my area soon.

I'd love to see them live, but I doubt they will ever visit Holland...