One of my long-time Dubai homeboys, Georgio, recently had a birthday, the celebrations for which spanned a couple of days as all the best celebrations should! On one glorious Thursday night, we all descended on Trilogy Rooftop to enjoy an English DJ called Gilles Peterson.
He is a long-time hero in the game for championing a mix of old soul and funk, rhythmic hip-hop and drum 'n' bass, and an eclectic selection of Brazilian house.
The cherry on top of that particular balmy night was that Gio's dad was also in town and flexing with the rest of us. I have long considered GI-George to be the epitome of cool, despite being much younger than me. We connected immediately through our love of music and we actually run parties ourselves as The Three Amigos along with my other blood brother, Nino.Anyway, upon meeting his father Joey, it was easy to see that coolness was in the genes for real.
In his sixties, former Lebanese pop singer Joey was more hip than a hippopotamus who spent the night grooving with the best of them, drawing glamorous girls around him like moths to a night light! The magic of Thursday spilled over to an early evening barbecue the following day, where a more intimate clique of family and friends ate cake and made plenty merry!
The true magic started to flow when Baby G and yours truly started to mix a cocktail of music for the festivities. Big Daddy Joey was tolerant of the music that he had been subjected to over the party period but it was clear that he wasn't really feeling it, because let's face it, he had his true swerve to a totally different beat way back in the day. But like I have said before, if you have the rich musical background that we are blessed to share as a group of tight padres, there will be a soundtrack that can bring all of us together.
As soon as I spun Family Affair by Sly & the Family Stone, Joey was up on his feet with the most beautiful smile on his face and spring in his step, and from that moment the generation gap disappeared like Liverpool's chances of beating Chelsea in the Champions League!
I have waxed lyrical before about how shared passions can break ice like an axe, and it wasn't just Big Joey that I bonded with that night. An out-of-towner called JJ was also present on the night and when I took a break between sets, we sat and buddied about the classic years of hip-hop (which sadly ended in the late '90s, in our humble opinion). We sat there indulging each other with our knowledge and love of Biggie Smalls, classic soul like Marvin, Stevie & Otis and I'm sure we drowned out the rest of the conversation at the table with the sound of our musical anoraks rustling!
I mused a few weeks back about how connections and friendships flourish and this was proof if ever it were needed.
By the end, JJ was at the mic freestyling, numbers were being exchanged, and I am sure that The Three Amigos have now expanded their ranks to become The Fantastic Four. It's a very commonplace happening I know, but it still remains one of the most life-affirming experiences to feel that vibe growing and spreading between good people.
In the words of Soul to Soul, 'A smiling face and a thumpin' bass make for a happy race!'
Full of Birthday-Cake-ingly Yours
