IT HAD BEEN six years since singer-guitarist Raphael Saadiq left Tony Toni Toné – the most successful Bay Area R&B group of the past decade – but for a quarter of the 36-year-old neo-soul architect's sold-out two-hour Ruby Skye performance, the old gang was back doing their funky Oakland stroke. Not only were the two other Tonys – Saadiq's brother, singer-guitarist D'Wayne Wiggins, and their cousin, keyboardist Timothy Christian – on hand for a handsomely harmonized reunion that included such favorites as "(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow," "Whatever You Want," "It Never Rains (in Southern California)," and "Anniversary," but longtime TTT sideman Elijah Baker was also back popping the bass and offering a bit of his signature slapstick break dancing. And for "Let's Get Down," they were joined by Compton rapper DJ Quick, who delivered some old-school rhymes and sprayed the crowd with a celebratory blast of champagne.

It was a nearly blow-by-blow replay of the show Saadiq recorded July 3 at House of Blues in Los Angeles. Set for release as a double CD in October and as a DVD early next year, the performance combined TTT's hits with much of the material from last year's brilliant Instant Vintage, a solo CD that was a relative commercial failure but earned Saadiq such respect from his peers that they nominated it for four Grammys. (He won none for the album, though he did land one for a song he wrote and produced for Erykah Badu.)

The evening's most stunning aural and visual moments came when band member Kelvin Wooten left the keyboard he'd been manning, hoisted a sousaphone over his shoulders, and strutted to a stage-front mike. Wooten, wearing a blue-and-white marching band uniform, gave a nicely syncopated bounce to Saadiq's lilting "Still Ray."

"You'll never have to beg me, baby," the thin singer moaned during the tune's vamp in reedy tenor tones dripping with gospel-imbued urgency. Saadiq seems determined to restore the tuba to its place in African American popular music, much as the banda music that inspired him has found a niche in Mexican pop. Such a move places Saadiq on the cutting edge of R&B, and even though radio was cold to his solo album, the fact that he remains in demand as a producer for such artists as Badu, D'Angelo, Nappy Roots, and Angie Stone affirms his continuing relevance.

Saadiq, who made his entrance in black formal attire and a red bow tie, sadly played little guitar during the show due to technical difficulties, but Wiggins (on the TTT segment) and sidemen Rob Bacon and Charlie Berell gave his songs just the right gospeldelic edge with their rippling rhythm guitar patterns, as did Dean Charles with his churchy B-3 organ. The tight seven-man band was joined throughout by three harmony singers (including Millie Jackson's daughter Keisha) and, on three selections, by vocalist Joi, the sassy Saadiq protégée who'd replaced Dawn Robinson in his short-lived group Lucy Pearl. Other guests from the L.A. date – including D'Angelo and Bay Area divas Ledisi and Goapele – were missing from the San Francisco lineup.