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Dawn Silva – Harlow’s – Downtown Sacramento, CA. March 8, 2007 --- It didn’t seem to be what Dawn Silva wanted it to be but nevertheless her quick one hour performance at Harlow’s Thursday night was enjoyable to me. “The funk is dysfunctional tonight” said Silva who did her best to merge guest musicians with her own band. But what can you do when Hall of Fame cats like Gary Shider, Michael Hampton and Bernie Worrell drop in to play?

The set started with a funky stretched out cover of Vanity 6’s “Nasty Girl”. The show was in jeopardy early when Shider grabbed the guitar from Silva’s musical director. Shider soloed on “Red Hot Mama” and broke a string. That left the band waiting for guitar repair, as they vamped through a couple jams. Ultimately – the guitar string broke again which prompted Michael Hampton to the stage with another guitar. Hampton has been in Parliamant/Funkadelic since 1972. His guitar playing was phenomenal during a solo of Silva’s “Break Me Off Some Old School Funk”. All the while – Silva was adlibbing her way through whatever she could. She called Worrell up to play chords while she sang a “sad song” with just his accompaniment.

Silva was born in Sacramento. She started her career as a background vocalist for Sly and The Family Stone – later joining the P-Funk movement in 1977. Worrell, an unquestioned funk music icon, was a pleasure to meet. I quickly thanked him for his contributions and he said “Thank you. It’s all a gift from God.” …I also chatted with Shider very quickly.

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