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I have attended a few of Maceo's concerts at outdoor venues that were extremely energetic and conducive to "getting you boogie on". The set, although thoroughly worth the price of admission, was somewhat subdued in order to conform to the supper club type atmosphere The Birchmere provides and I anticipated that. However, anytime a performer of Mr. Parker's stature comes to play, it's a must see event
Maceo Parker and band were unforgettable. The night ranged from Jazz to hard funk to R&B & soul and included musical shoutouts to everybody from Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Parliament Funkadelic and even Star Wars.
I was sooooo looking forward to seeing Maceo play. I'd gotten a couple of tickets to DC area venues the past couple of years, but because of last minute conflicts, had to give them up or just do a no-show. As a sax player myself of a couple of years, I love his music and wanted to see what he sounded like up close and personal. So this time at Birchmere I was incredibly psyched for! Unfortunately, I walked away a bit disappointed...and his concert not meeting up with my high expectations of the night. I found that he relied heavily on his other band mates during the concert to take long solos (which often times he and others left the stage), and obviously he was having problems with his alto saxophone. He must have tinkered with his reed or mouthpiece a half-dozen times looking like he was trying to fix something, and the last half of the show was essentially him playing the flute...which is not why I came to see him. It was a rarity during the show to actually hear him play an extended "blow" on his sax for longer than 30 seconds. I don't know if that was related to the problems he was having with the sax...or it was by design. He's got a great backup band and absolutely incredible trombone player (a local MD musician, btw), but I came to see Maceo and listen to his repertoire of funk songs...and only got that in the first initial 30 minutes of the show. The rest of the show actually lacked Maceo's presence and not much "funk". By the way, one of the things that I picked up from being close to the stage, was that he very rarely smiled when he was hanging back on the side listening to others taking their riffs. Subtly or not, his look, more times than not, showed a lack of chemistry or happiness with what was happening on the stage...or even being there at Birchmere. I know from his comments at the end of the show, he thanked everyone -- the audience, Birchmere staff, his band mates, etc...but for some odd reason, that excitement and passion for playing didn't seem (to me anyway) to match his presence on the stage. There were also a couple of times during the show, he left the stage unexpectedly with his other players just jamming to fill space...and came back a couple of minutes later. Just odd. Presume to work on his sax..or take a break? So all in all, pretty disappointed.....but expect I will try and catch him another trip into DC in the future ...and see if this show was just an aberration to the experience I was expecting to get from concert goer reviews to his other shows around the world.
Maceo is my 16 year old son's favorite artist so I was so excited to see he was playing at Birchmere. It was my first time there and the venue was great. I would definitely see another show there. Maceo and his band were all unbelievably amazing. Excellent excellent musicians. He played a solid 2 1/2 hours. He was very personable very funny. A great showman. He highlighted all the band members one at a time and they were all great. Just a great show.
Who knew? Maceo Parker was fantastic and his band was "tight"!!! Maceo may have been featured with James Brown but he is a talent in his own right. He's still got that "it" factor and so do his backup singers and the band members. Maceo's nephew played the drums like his Daddy used to do when he played with James Brown. He may be young but he is definitely phenomenal. The show is a must-see.
At the outset let me be totally honest about this, I grew up between Kinston and Greenville, NC, heard Maceo and his brother Melvin at a very young age, followed their careers with JB and all the others that they played with over the years, so all I say is the brother still has it and has gotten better with it. Totally enjoyed the show and fully recommend it to everybody that knows good music when they hear it and enjoy watching a true profession work his craft.
Great show 2 1/2 hours of Fun and Funky Stuff. The band was tight and the vocals were on point. The sound crew at Birchmere did a fantastic job. The food and service was great. I have never had a bad experience at the Birchmere. And Maceo what a performance WOW! A true professional showing folks how it's done.
Masterful. From raw funk to supposedly ironic ballads (but not really) back to funk. A great little band with alumni from the James Brown Band, various of George Clinton's ventures, etc. Marvelous.
Love the Birchmere for shows and Maceo Parker was fantastic. Food was surprising good and drinks were not overlypriced.
Another great experience at the Birchmere!! Maceo continues to "bring it" and get it done with lots of funk for all!!!
Maceo and his group are super fun and super funky. They really enjoyed playing and sounded great. The two lady singers can belt it out! And his trombone player is especially talented. They put on a great show - very enjoyable!
Great show. didn't know he could siing like that. Band was over the top. back-up singers each did a solo, again, over the top.
As usual Maceo and his band put on a fantastic show. Maceo is famous for getting his audience involved which pumps up the show to another whole level. A great and enjoyable time was had by all.
Maceo's band was fantastic. He allowed all his members to perform a solo and each was better than the other! When he introduced his nephew the drummer - it was all over. My favorite instrument has always been the sax but after that performance, I may have to switch to the drums! The audience was on their feet dancing and having a great time.
I was expecting the Blues and ended up getting nothing but earsplitting noise. I walked out after enduring 1/2 hour of Maceo's concert. Maceo is awful on the saxophone!
The entire evening was enjoyable, the music was great, Maceo is a talented horn player and the place was rocking! The opening act was fantastic!
Excellent performance we enjoyed it. The music was fun and upbeat. We had a good time.
Macro puts on an excellent show! The band was phenomenal because every single musician was excellent. He played many James Brown tunes plus his originals. The value was great. Ecause be must have played for at least 2 and a half hours. The band and show was so funky, I had to take a shower when I got home! LOL!
I didn't know quite what to expect -- a funk band at Villa Montalvo?! Not Maceo Parker's usual venue I'm sure, but he put on a great show. He has a band full of talented people and the program was varied and well-paced (definitely not just a bunch of recycled James Brown stuff). Maceo is one cool dude -- amazing musician and winning personality. Highly recommended!
It was great! The best funky saxo player, amazing groove, we loved it
