Alexandria, VA
September, 2005

For whatever reason, I keep missing Kim Waters when he comes to town. I decided I had to make it to this show. After the little teaser of his talents I witnessed as part of the Sax Pack up in Berks, I anticipated a great night of music.

Kim brought his “A” game to the Birchmere that night.

The dapper Mr. Waters was completely in his element amongst the largely hometown crowd who came to see and hear this Maryland native son and local favorite perform.

He opened the show with “Hudson River Nights” and “Secrets Told” from his last album. The crowd really got into it when he played “Easy Going.” Kim playfully interacted with the audience during this song while his brother, James, got the crowd further into the groove with his funky bass licks.

The show continued with “In the House” and “What's Going On” featuring a keyboard solo by Alan Smith. It was easy to see how relaxed Kim and his band were amongst the Birchmere crowd. When he played “Waterfall,” he had the crowd totally in his hands. People were clapping and grooving in their seats. He finished off the night with “All I Wanna Do Is Please You” and “In the Groove.”

Then it was time for the rest of the band to show their stuff. James Waters reached back to the old school jams and broke into riffs from P-Funk and the O'Jays “For the Love of Money.” Not to be outdone, Alan Smith played “Creepin'” and “Reasons” and the rest of the band soon joined in while Kim responded on sax. And finally, Greg Grainger took center stage to play his old school riffs from “Brickhouse” and “Not Just Knee Deep.” It was interesting hearing Greg perform in this environment, so different from how I'm used to hearing him. He's immensely talented, and his creativity and personality really came through.

Kim and the band encored with his hit “Stop In The Name of Love,” with Greg doing the background vocals.

Kim informed us that there is a live DVD in the works, and as of this writing, his new CD All for Love (Shanachie) should be released on 9/20.

Sax – Kim Waters
Drums – Greg Grainger
Keys – Alan Smith
Bass – James Waters

- Mary Bentley