Hot-Blooded

Though I had recently seen the Motown tribute band, The Big Sound, opened for Bettye Lavette, I went to their show Friday night anyway. Prior to the Lavette show, I was becoming a bit jaded with their bi-monthly gigs: the performances were becoming a bit ragged around the edges and seemed under-rehearsed. Their strong showing opening for Betty convinced me to give them another try.

I was pleasantly surprised at the Friday show. They have grown ever larger, topping out at 26 members. First, it was impressive that their set-list was almost all "underrated" or less well-known tunes. No "Dancing In the Streets" or "Stop In The Name of Love" to give the capacity crowd that instant recognition. But the music was excellent enough to keep everyone entertained and dancing. They did sprinkle a few better known hits here and there include Maylee's take on The Love You Save.

Second, the calibre of all the singers have improved markedly. I have maintained previously that Maylee Todd was, by far, the strongest performer with her soaring alto and explosive stage confidence. It was sometimes a let-down when someone else steps up to the mic. But new singers added to the line-up gave her a run for the money tonight. Aria Zenua and Edward Dottin had strong voices and smooth presence. Andre Edwards-Roderique blew the crowd away with a powerful rendition of "A Change Is Gonna Come". And regular Tanika Charles grabbed the mic, let loosed a towering a capella intro, and sent the crowd home dancing deliriously to a high-energy cover of "Shout!"

The Great Hall had recently installed some industrial air conditioning units. Either they were not turned on or were insufficient to the task because everyone came out of that show drenched in sweat. Well, it might also have been all that dancing.