The singers were better prepared and less reliant on lyrics sheet than last time, except for a female singer who substituted for Tanika Charles who was away because of a family emergency. However, there were a few songs where the band missed their cues and stopped raggedly. There were a couple of regular singers who have been lackadaisical at every performance, though they have great pipes, and need to step up their game.
The two stand-outs were Todd (Rod) Skimmins who threw down the gauntlet with a thrilling "Shotgun" and my favourite singer Maylee Todd. It looks like they are starting to recognize her stage presence and gave her 4 songs to sing including the opening number and the 2 encores. But truthfully, she wasn't quite up to her usual standard when she started the show with a tepid rendition of the less familiar "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)". But she and Todd got the groove on with "You're All I Need To Get By". She also closed off the night with two great songs: "I Want You Back" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
The night was filled with Motown favourites such as "Dancing In The Streets", "You Can't Hurry Love", "Stop In The Name of Love", "Tears of a Clown", and "Mickey's Monkey". For the next show, I might have to abandon the front row. As much fun as it is, I have to wonder if I'm missing out on some subtlety. The horns, singers, and guitars came through fine. But I really couldn't hear the strings, percussions, or glockenspiel. But they wouldn't be on stage if they couldn't be heard right?
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