Familiar Faces

"We're under construction, but we're almost fully built," said Donnell "D-Floyd" Floyd, saxophonist and talker for the go-go band Familiar Faces, to the Friday night crowd at Mirrors on New York Avenue NE.

Floyd's statement alluded to the transition the group is going through. Guitarist Dwayne Lee, bassist Doc Hughes and vocalists Halima Peru and Sean "Kal-El" Gross recently departed; guitarist Wendell Bacon, bassist Sean Geason and singers Damila Adams and Marquis "Quisy" Melvin have arrived as replacements.

Familiar Faces, who appeared with 360 Band, may be adjusting to a new lineup, but they still sound great and . . . well, familiar. The group is sticking with the formula that made it one of the most popular bands in the city: mixing original music and smooth covers into sets of go-go for grown folks.

The new Familiar Faces, featuring Scooby, hit everything from a smoothed-out version of Playaz Circle's hit "Duffle Bag Boy" to percussive versions of adult contemporary tracks from artists such as Jill Scott ("A Long Walk," "Hate on Me"), Babyface ("Whip Appeal") and Sade ("No Ordinary Love").

The band finished with a couple of originals, including its newest single, "We Don't Need These Phones," which sported an extremely catchy hook: "Baby, I'm-a give you my number/And you gon' give me your number/But we ain't gotta use these phones if you follow me home right now." And by the looks of things, more than a few people in attendance took that hint at the end of the night.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/20/AR2008012001906.html