Last Saturday, Mint Condition was at Bourbon Street in Baltimore and you know who was there. Me of course! This was my second time seeing the awesome band! They were one of the lucky performers to open for the one and only Prince while he was in New York for his Welcome 2 America tour last December.
Just like I suspected, the crowd was mostly 35 and over for sure. I might've been the youngest whipper snapper there, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. While the crowd was filling in, everybody was whispering to each other what song they wanted to hear. Perhaps I was too eager, but I made a "must hear list" in my Blackberry and they sang all my favorites but one and much more. Not bad at all. No complaints from me.
The DJ was playing all the oldies but goodies of the 90s to get the fans ready. Every now and again you'd see a couple two stepping and yelling "yesssss" when they apparently heard their JAM. At this point, the crowd was on fire from anticipation of hearing Stokley's unique voice and live instrumentation that only Mint Condition can deliver. As the house lights grew dim and smoke filled the stage, the band members Ricky, O'dell, Jeffrey, Brandon Commodore, and Larry got in position while Stokley talked to the crowd from backstage.
The R&B funk band opened their concert with Look Whatchu Done to Me and then went straight into You Send Me Swinging and ladies and gents went crazy! The love, admiration, and energy that filled Bourbon Street was indescribable. There were at least 3 different generations all grooving with the same intent to just enjoy themselves and have a good time. What a sight to see!
Stokley is a big ball of energy! This brother was getting down like he was trying to shake the beat out his body but couldn't. I've seen tons of concerts and this show definitely has been added to my top 20 concerts. After twenty years and seven albums in the music business, the band still enjoys performing and its plain to see. They could teach a class called "How to put on live shows: keeping the audience engaged". I know a lot of artists that should be enrolled this semester. Don't you?
They didn't sing many songs from their latest album 7, but don't fret, the fans were satisfied with the hits. When they sang So Fine I damn near got knocked over by the lady that was jamming SO HARD behind me. Moments like that just make me laugh because she couldn't help herself. The live instrumentation was A-MAZ-ING. Every member put in work for sure.
Stokley and drummer Brandon Commodore battled each other on the percussions. Brandon was jamming so hard he lost one of his sticks and kept playing without missing a beat. That's what you call a true musician. Keyboardist Jeffrey played the hell out of his sax solo. The band broke into a Carribean beat while Jeffrey channeled his carribean roots and killed the sax.
The crowd went wild as soon as they heard the chords on Mint Condition's latest single Caught My Eye. Everyone sang along with Stokley "baby you caught my eye, caught my eye". Throw in some classics like What Kind of Man Would I Be and You Don't Have to Hurt No More and you have an awesome set.
Pretty Brown Eyes was the most anticipated song of the night, and rightfully so, it was the encore. It was going to be a serious problem if Mint Condition left without singing their most famous song. My section started screaming "Pretty Brown Eyes", just in case the guys forgot they were sent to sing just that song if nothing else. The band left us chanting "I gotchu, you got me, I gotchu you, you got me too, I gotchu you, you got me, we got us". Bottom line is...20 years later these guys are still going strong and we've got each other. Their latest album entitled 7 is in stores now. Go get it!
Set List
Look Whachu Done to Me
You Send Me Swinging
Rollercoaster
So Fine
Why Do We Try
Nothing Left to Say
Sometimes
Jeffrey's Sax solo
Caught My Eye
Atomic dog/Love and Happiness medley
You Don't Have to Hurt No More
Breaking My Hear (Pretty Brown Eyes)
*Some songs missing
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