Sly And The Family Stone's Stand Performed Live in SF

The Independent was packed wall to wall on Sunday night by people of all walks of life paying tribute to the music of Sly and the Family Stone.  Vocalist Zakiya Harris was on stage with her large troupe of singers, dancers and musicians putting their take on the Sly classic "Higher".  The energy was high as the producers UnderCover presented this unique tribute to Sly with different bands from all genres of music each taking turns playing one song from a classic album.  The crowd roared with approval as they heard funky, hard rock, jazzy and latinized versions of the classic "Stand" album.  The Marcus Shelby Quartet was a crowd pleaser.  Mission district's own Bayonics came on next with a crowd rousing version of "Sing A Simple Song".  They flipped the song to bring in the Latin flavor and took the crowd to a higher place. Sly alumni Rusty Allen, who took Larry Graham's place in the 70's was practicing and taking in the groove happening on stage from his spot in the VIP mezzanine section.  KPFA's Rickey Vincent from the History Of Funk program was the emcee.  He took the opportunity to make his own comments and recall classic moments.  It was a groove thang!