Fantastic Negrito at Mather Redwood Grove, June 27, 2024

UC Botanical Garden presents Fantastic Negrito
Mather Redwood Grove, UC Botanical Garden
200 Centennial Drive, Berkeley, CA 94720-5046 USA
5:30 PM, Thursday, June 27, 2024

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2024 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2024 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[5:39 PM] {Welcome from Christine Manoux; band out}
[5:40 PM] {Greetings from FN}

1. [5:42 PM] Run Away From You »
   [5:45 PM] {FN picks up the guitar‚ introduces this one as an Oakland tune} »
2. [5:45 PM] Working Poor »
   [5:48 PM] {FN takes off the guitar} »
3. [5:48 PM] I'm So Happy I Cry
   [5:53 PM] {FN picks up the guitar‚ introduces this one as a BART song}
4. [5:53 PM] Night Has Turned to Day
   [5:57 PM] {banter about learning about his ancestors in Virginia}
5. [5:58 PM] Oh Betty
   [6:02 PM] {FN takes off the guitar; takes off his coat too; swaps to Valente electric piano}
   [6:03 PM] {banter about growing up in Berkeley}
6. [6:04 PM] I Hope Somebody's Loving You
7. [6:07 PM] Chocolate Samurai
   [6:11 PM] {banter about learning from the streets}
8. [6:11 PM] An Honest Man
   [6:16 PM] {very brief pause for applause}
9. [6:16 PM] Devil in My Pocket
   [6:20 PM] {FN introduction of the next tune, a new one, titled as given on the stage setlist}
10. [6:20 PM] California Loner
    [6:25 PM] {FN swaps back to guitar; talk about the strength of black single mothers}
11. [6:26 PM] In the Pines »
    [6:33 PM] {FN messes up the wireless mic: musical chaos while it gets fixed} »
12. [6:33 PM] (chaotic improv? 'Whatever happened to America?“) »
13. [6:34 PM] Trudoo
    [6:38 PM] {FN: I gotta change the lyrics to this next one: too many kids here today!}
14. [6:39 PM] My Only Friend (Side Bitch)
    [6:42 PM] {FN takes off the guitar}
15. [6:43 PM] Plastic Hamburgers »
    [6:46 PM] {band introduction}
    [6:47 PM] {FN can't find his place in the setlist; guitar and bass player to the rescue; FN swaps back to the Valente}
16. [6:47 PM] Son of a Broken Man
    [6:51 PM] {FN tells his NPR Story}
17. [6:53 PM] Lost in a Crowd
    [6:58 PM] {FN: we have time for one more cracked-up cover tune!}
18. [6:59 PM] This Little Light of Mine
    [7:02 PM] {final applause}
    [7:03 PM] {show ends}

Fantastic Negrito

• ?: bass, harmony vox;
• Xavier Dphrepaulezz: guitar, Valente electric piano, vox;
• Scott Keller: drums, harmony vox;
• Andrew Levin: guitar, harmony vox;
• Bryan Simmons: keyboards, harmony vox.

By way of making an excuse for running 30 min overtime on sound check (and making the audience wait out in the hot parking lot), FN told us that today's gig was a warm up for his European tour that starts next week. Seemed like a very solid set to me: folks over there in the old world are in for a good time!

I thought the energy of today's show was magnitudes higher than his Frost show a few years ago, and I'm really glad that Christine managed to sign him up for today's gig.

Another really cool thing about attending shows in the grove here is experiencing the change in the quality of light as it shifts from shady daylight to golden sun-dapples blazing across the amphitheatre. Not quite golden hour light, but close enough! I bet Ting got some great pictures: hopefully they'll be ready to share before too long.

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2024 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2024 event list! ☸ On to the next event!