Much love to MATI. As hot as it was mid-September, I still had the time of my life at MATI. That’s how you know it was on point…not even a heat advisory could keep your girl away! For those who missed, you really missed out. It was like mid-2000s ESSENCE Festival…well, if it was held inside of an air fryer instead of the Superdome. But enough about the temperatures, let’s talk about the heat that was coming from those stages! Oh, and whoever curated that baby Taste of St. Louis food walk, thanks to you I will now have to be chained to an elliptical machine to make sure I can fit into my Salute dress. (It’s going down Nov. 1 at America’s Center! Visit stlamerican.com for more info). If I had to pick a favorite performance, it’s really neck and neck. I’m torn between Weedie and The Baylor Project. I also have to give Keyon Harrold a hand for being the hardest working man at MATI. I got life every time I saw him – especially with Weedie, Common and his own set. Common got it in, too. I have to give it up for the SOS Band for living through their set in those dresses and suits. I liked Lucky Daye. And I actually really enjoyed Leon Thomas, he just kept singing about the same ole NSFP (not safe for Partyline) thing and that got boring. I can’t wait to see what the MATI folks cook up next year. I just hope Mother Nature doesn’t try to cook us again by showing us what her hot flashes feel like.
Patti at MATI. Now y’all know I love me some Patti LaBelle. She is always a good time, and typically gives a good show. Folks still seemed to have an absolute ball with her closing set at MATI on Sunday night, Sept. 14, I’m going to go ahead and say that her performance was a bit atypical. She looked phenomenal, but I’m going to give her the grace she deserves and blame the heat for whatever that concert was. I know I’m right about it, because she was asking for water and ice. She also kept sneaking over by the fan, so the breeze could hit up under that bedazzled moo moo. And why was she spraying perfume…did y’all get musty up front? That being said, can we talk about how phenomenal she looked?! She took me out when she switched wigs on us for her wardrobe change! She left the stage looking like a potato salad making auntie and returned as a China doll. I got a cute cackle at the audience participation. A gentleman said he lost a gang of weight by following Ms. Patti’s cookbooks and recipes. Those Patti Pies and cobblers had the opposite effect on me. I was one slice away from “My 600 LB Life!” And where did they find Eldraco Nick Ashford Jr.? He had a Jheri curl bang, y’all! He definitely made the most of that moment with Ms. Patti. She clutched her pearls after his six o’clock kick. I just hope his chest, back and thigh meat wasn’t falling off the bone like those Jive Turkey legs when he peeled off that gold aluminum foil suit.
Ain’t no party like a Steve and Kut party. We are literally partied like it’s 1999 thanks to Steve Lacy and DJ Kut. They turned Treasures (4517 Olive Street) up like we did when we were taking over the 99 and the 2000s. Their Kearbey’s Reunion Party took place Sunday afternoon, Sept. 21, from 3 p.m. – 8 p.m. It was a vibe and a problem at the same doggone time. I had Salonpas lidocaine patches, Icy Hot and an extra dose of sciatica medicine on deck in a special recovery bag. Steve’s parties have the kind of energy that went back even further than the late 1990s. And you already know how Kut gets down. I’m talking peak Kennedy’s, The Polynesian Room, The Max and Spruills. Back when you had one of three looks for your going out clothes – the En Vogue body dress, the Luke dancer biker shorts or executive secretary. My midsection has been hating on me since the mid-80s, so I had to leave the catsuits to Oaktown 357 and B Angie B, but my SLPS main office administrative assistant swag had every single uncle and play daddy out here folding like origami! No man with an open face front and solid side gold tooth combo was safe. I truly believe my polka dot silk blouse with the shoulder pads, rayon shorts with the L’eggs everyday control top sheer pantyhose and Bakers black mules still slaps.
An animal at the intersection. It’s a bit out of sequence, but I have to tell y’all what happened when I made my way to Midtown to kick off my annual MATI (Music at the Intersection) mixing and mingling Friday night, Sept. 12. At Grand and Washington, a commotion started out of nowhere amongst the group of three or four young ladies who had been calmly walking ahead of me. This girl was on the sidewalk trying to save a sprawled out baby possum! “We have to call a mobile vet or something,” the girl said to her crew. “I can’t let him die alone out here like this.” Possum whisperer got a napkin and picked the possum up off the sidewalk. She brought it close to her face. If she had started doing mouth to mouth on that thing, they would have needed to call a human ambulance for me! As she picked it up, she felt his heartbeat. They were relieved. When they told her to put it down so they could get to the concert, the possum whisperer refused to leave him. Y’all, when did we start caring about animals like that? Because…well…I’ll just say if it had been my little friend group, there might have been some pepper spray involved. In all fairness to us, in my day that block used to be sketchy as a mug. Back then, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the mama possum made that poor thing lay out like that so she could catch us off guard and snatch our purses. Hopefully they took him down to check out Weedie and Coco and Breezy. Because if he was on his way to animal heaven, I’m sure the vibes brought him all the way back to life. And I’m basing my proposed remedy on how Weedie, Keyon Harrold had Lyah LeFlore up in the Big Top audience putting her familiarity with the Dunham technique to good use.