90s baby nostalgia

90s baby nostalgia. The Boys For Life Tour should have been called the Y2K mixtape by the way it flung the 90s babies’ favorite acts together in the best possible way Thursday night at Chaifetz Arena. I’m talking LimeWire, burning CDs and BET 106^th & Park. And I was checking for every single minute of it.  Bow Wow and B2K had top billing, but all 50 11 acts – especially the home team heroes who popped out on us as surprise special guests – did their thang (yes, thang!). And while I’ll never forgive him for that conk phase that had him out here in these streets looking like the 6^th Heartbeat, but Yung Joc got everybody’s attention with his snatched and youthful appearance. He was looking as young as his little son, who joined him on stage. I would need the whole doggone Partyline if I were to single out everybody on the lineup. But all the folks got it in! I must say that Spectacular’s antics in that towel had my face all twisted up, but other than that I had a ball. Now what I am gonna do is give the STL legends and veterans who popped out and showed us! Nelly and (most of) The St. Lunatics, Chingy, J-Kwon, KOKO C’vere, Murphy Lee and Pretty Willie did us proud while repping the Y2K era.

Floetry’s forgiveness tour. When I tell you Floetry’s Say Yes: The Tour was absolutely everything at the Stifel was utterly everything. I know what you’re thinking – and yes, I can be in two places at one time!  I went up in there with caution based on my experience at their reunion tour ten years ago at The Pageant. They were standing so far apart on that stage that I thought the Floacist was gonna fall off. But whatever issues they had in 2016 are clearly ancient history. Because they were not only work besties, they looked like biological sisters on that stage. Well not literally, but still. Their show was absolutely everything! And the show was good even before they hit the stage. I’m so glad that The Black Promoters Collective is out here dispelling myths about janky promoters for urban shows. The show was billed to start at 8 p.m. and Teedra Moses was on that stage by 7:56. If Floetry hadn’t taken their sweet time to give us all the hits, I probably would have been home in time to catch the last few minutes of “Law and Order SVU!” Teedra Moses is clearly sick of y’all comparing her to Phylicia Rashad. Because instead of Claire Huxtable, she hit the stage looking like Sandra from “227” in a totally 80s body dress, a big ole belt and some crimped bangs. It was cute too– and so was her et. I was a nervous wreck when host Clint Coley came out on stage in that purple sweatsuit looking like Barney on Ozempic, but he gave us some wonderful intermission moments. And DJ Active was a little overactive if you ask me. His playlist was top tier, but he didn’t even let the tracks play through to the chorus before he hopped on to the next one. And speaking of hopping, if your elderly millennial or Gen X coworker was limping to the break room or you noticed a knee brace under their outfit Friday morning, it is because they had the whole Stifel vibrating with the Dru Hill “Tell Me” hop. I know my body regretted it. And I guess Raheem DeVaughn is just gonna give us some raunch for the rest of his career. His vocals are still giving, so I will give him a pass. Floetry was the best I have ever seen them, I’m so glad I didn’t let that last show they did here keep me from giving them another chance.

Ladies of STL soul. And since I’m talking about voices, I might as well let y’all know that I stopped by the Ladies of Soul show featuring Cherise Louis-Mason and Truenessia “Tru” Combs Saturday night at the St. Nicholas Parish Center. When I tell you they sang the roof off that place! And let me take a second to talk about how sickening that band was! The band usually doesn’t get the credit it deserves during a live show that features stone cold singers like Reesie and Tru, but not even Prophet Brian Carn would have been able to call the band out with a nasty read. I know the worldly folks are like, “What? Who?” Well the church folks who secretly read Partyline are catching a real cackle. Trust me. Anyway, that band was throwing down – and the work they put in didn’t go to waste thanks to Reesie and Tru! 

Jokes with the smoke. When I tell you I had a time at Kyjuan’s Smokes and Jokes 50^th birthday set at The Pageant Sunday night, don’t take my word for it. Ask the elderly lady with good intentions who hemmed me up at the Stelmacki’s Monday morning. I was minding my business trying to see what their turkey rib prices were talking about, when I heard a voice say, “It’s a way you can do what you gotta do without everybody knowing your business.” Because I’m so nosey, I look around to see what the fuss was about. Y’all! She was talking to me. “I smelled that stuff on you as soon as you walked in the door – and I’m all the way over here by the produce.” The gag is that I don’t smoke But the little shacket I wore smelled like it was used as rolling papers thanks to Smoke and Jokes the night before. I really hope nobody in there works someplace that does random drug tests. If so, by the time y’all read this, they are already unemployed. But enough about the smoke, let’s get to the jokes. Kyjuan used his birthday to remind us that St. Louis comedians can hold their own against any name brand comic you can think of. I see you filling out St. Louis Slym! It looks good on you, too. We might need to change your name to St. Louis Medium. Just a thought. And Jessie Taylor tore that stage down to the studs! I was cackling so heavy that my head popped like when the pressure drops in an airplane during the landing. I legit thought I had laughed myself into a stroke. Happy birthday Ky-weezy! Thanks for using your big 5-0 to give STL funny folks a platform to give us the best that they’ve got!