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Living Daylights got the Two night silver Wrapper party started right, and when Jessica Lurie and Fareed Haque joined Robert Walter's 20th Congress on stage, you knew the Silver Wrapper vibe was in full effect! Thanks to everyone for coming out to the show! Full show review below.

If you've got more memories or photos of this particular evening, send an email to: heynow@silverwrapper.com.

Setlist
Living Daylights
Good Cup Bad Cup, Tri-Monk, Pecker Pine, Duka, Homo Volans, "Groove du Jour"
E: Electric Rosary

Robert Walter's 20th Congress
Hornets, Quantico Va, He's Really Gone, Ain't it Funky Now, To the Bitter End Macando, X , Orange Peel , What I Say
E: Chickaboom

Hornets by Herbie Hancock from Sextant (1973).
Quantico, Va by Karl Denson from Greyboy Allstars A Town Called Earth (1997).
He's Really Gone by Cochemea Gastelum.
Ain't it Funky Now by James Brown with a Grant Green arrangement.
To the Bitter End by Chris Stillwell.
Orange Peel by Reuben Wilson from Blue Mode (1969).
What I Say by Miles Davis from Live-Evil (1970).

Band Members

Robert Walter's 20th Congress
Robert Walter — keys
Cochemea Gastelum — Sax, Flute
George Sluppick — Drums
Chris Stillwell — Bass
Chuck Prada — Percussion

Guests:
Jessica Lurie — Sax
Fareed Haque — Guitar


Living Daylights
Jessica Lurie — Sax
Dale Fanning — Drums
Arne Livingston — Electric Bass

Band Information

For more info on Robert Walter's 20th Congress see www.robertwalter.com.
For more info on the Living Daylights see www.livingdaylights.com.
For more info on Fareed Haque see www.fareed.com.

Show Review

The Living Daylights opened the evening off, featuring Jessica Lurie's incredibly soulful sax. Amidst the disco ball and flashing light, the Living Daylights delivered everything from jazz to funk to an afro-beat jam that Lurie described as, "The groove du jour." Encoring with 'Electric Rosary,' the Seattle trio were all smiles, psyched about the venue, the crowd and the incredible music to follow.

What better way to start off a funk fusion set than with Herbie Hancock? Once set up and ready to go, Robert Walter's 20th Congress slammed right into 'Hornets' off of Hancock's SEXTANT album (1973). Bassist Chris Stillwell, formerly of Greyboy Allstars, led in with a solid head-bobbing beat and drummer George Sluppick followed quickly behind with heavy backbeats. Saxophonist Cochemea Gastelum supplied a jazz groove that Walter countered with futuristic keyboarding, adding an experimental flavor to this otherwise hard-hitting funk.

Taking a page from their Greyboy Allstars days, Walter and Stillwell led the group next into 'Quantico Va,' a tune by Karl Denson from the 1997 Greyboy Allstars album, 'A Town Called Earth.' The tune began slow and bluesy, starting with a long soulful keys solo, but tempo picked up quickly. As Walter began to look around, smiling and nodding at each member of 20th Congress, the beat picked up, and from the blues went straight back to the funk. Heavy keys and drums make this song a popular among jazz bands, not to mention the sax solo that tears the roof off.

Drums and bass crept the funk in on the next tune, an original by saxophonist, Cheme, called, 'He's Really Gone.' Reminiscent of the famous Isley Brothers' tune, 'It's Your Thing,' this arrangement blends funky sax blasts with an afro-beat percussion to produce a kind of latin funk. Walter did his part on this one with some crazy keyboards sounds that lifted the vibe into outerspace.

A funk show is hardly a funk show without some sort of reference to James Brown. Giving their version of the Grant Green arrangement of 'Ain't It Funky Now,' the band was tight and in full effect. Sluppick's drums were nicely complimented by the cowbells sounds of Chuck Prada's percussion, while Walter moved into fast-moving finger tricks. Screams from the audience led the group to new heights as the drums got heavier and heavier.

Chis Stillwell's 'To the Bitter End,' slowed the evening down a bit and allowed Walter to experiment with some of his higher ranged keys. Percussion held a big part of this tune as the group pleasantly jammed out for a while.

"Trying out a new one," the Congress next tried 'Macando' on for size. With a New Orleans-style jazz/funk sound this was perhaps a warm-up for the jazzfest that remained less than 2 weeks away at this point. The down and dirty rawness of Walter's keyboards proved a great mood-setter for inviting guests Fareed Haque and Jessica Lurie to the stage.

The show went off the hook with the addition of local guitar legend, Fareed Haque, and Living Daylight's saxophonist, Jessica Lurie. Beginning the sit-in with a song written by Cheme called simply, 'X,' Fareed and Jessica added intensity and soul to the already powerful group. A lot of communication between band members led for an interesting show to watch as well as listen to. It was pure music in the making.

As Fareed sported a 'Godfather of Soul,' tee shirt, it was only appropriate that some 60's soul be played so that he could practice his dance moves. Reuben Wilson's 'Orange Peel' allowed the whole group to let loose with an old familiar. While effortlessly jamming out beautiful funk, Fareed jumped all around the stage. His hands danced similarly over the strings, eventually even picking up a beer bottle and using it to play. Jessica Lurie and Cheme spoke to each other through their horns while Walter did his thing on the keys. It was an intense collaboration of talent and energy to be maintained throughout the rest of the set.

A Miles Davis tune off of 1970' 'Live-evil' called 'What I Say' seemed an appropriate closer for this super-jam as it allowed the group to play their asses off before dividing again. A fast and furious experimental jam, this tune gave each person on stage a moment to shine, or maybe just to go off a little.

'Chickaboom' as an encore was an interesting pick, as Walter prefaced it with the warning that they would, "try to avoid disaster," while playing it. While Prada's shaker kept the beat, the tune included a 'What It Is' teaser and plenty of Skerik-like horns blasts. Walter and Cheme maintained a fast-paced melody together throughout the tune, ending on a high note to be picked back up the following night.

Round two of the weekend Congress shows at the Double Door was looking promising already.