I saw Sly and the Family Stone last weekend at the House of Blues.

He was of course 2 hours and 20 minutes late but that was to be expected. Waited for him that long in 1970 too…

Now if you expected Sly to be the Sly of 1970, this is not that Sly. But if you hoped for a Sly that was at least able to communicate (which he did not do at the Grammys a few years back), this night was kinda fun.

The set lasted about 45 minutes and he played 6-7 songs. He had Cynthia and Jerry from the old days but Larry Graham was missed.

He remembered about 70% of the lyrics and the rest we all sang for him.

In the middle of Family Affair, he jumps up and yells “I gotta go to the bathroom!” Which he did. Right in the middle of the song. The band just kept on playing…

He had trouble with the equipment the entire show, but interestingly enough, he smiled throughout the whole show. He clearly was enjoying himself.

At one point near the end, he left the stage and reappeared in the audience singing and dancing. At one point he cruised right in front of me (he’s maybe about 5′7″). I wasn’t sure he could do it but in Dance to the Music, when it was time for him to sing “You might like to hear my organ, ride Sally ride!,” it was definitely Sly. He’s an icon.