Post by janebse on Dec 30, 2006 19:55:37 GMT -5
Sensational is hardly the word. Unbelievable won't do it.
Perhaps a man walking out of the theatre behind me expressed it best in very simple words. "They are REALLY good." Obviously unused to superlatives, he stated in a very quiet, low-key tone that all he had ever heard about the Tempts was indeed true. Or perhaps the person who expressed it best was the one who went with me and left the theatre stunned and delighted with what the Temptations had done and returned home to say, "The Temptations justified every extravagant claim Jane has ever made about them."
As for me, it was apparent that The Temptations were what the sold-out audience was waiting for. When Theo said, "The Tempts will be on in a few moments" as the Four Tops left the stage, the murmur and hand clapping told it all. The bands quickly changed places, and then that awesome introduction came on. And from those moments on, the Tempts left no doubt as to who was in charge.
The dance steps were intricate, the feet moved quickly, the hand gestures, the voices--all in perfect synchronization and harmony. It was amazing, it was perfect.
The whole performance was awesome, but if I had to pick one feature, I think it would be the sense of a group of 5 men in perfect unison, whether in dance steps, singing, or whatever aspect one wanted to choose. There was no sense of five separate men, one of them a lead singer doing his own thing. The lead singer was always close to the others, and all five seemed to be much closer physically. And then all five sang lead at some point or other. The feature the Tempts have long been famous for---all five sing lead---was part of the show. From the first second the Tempts were on stage, the sense of unison was there. I wanted to shout, "Way to go, Tempts," because the unison I felt was so much stronger than any other group I had ever seen. And I thought, "This is the perfect group. They should stay together forever." And the dancing was impeccable.
It was as if the whole show had been tightened. The credit card joke was out. Comments were more meaningful. And the show never stopped. Or just for a few seconds to introduce everyone by name. But it didn't stop the flow of movement. A pause was very brief and seemed meaningful to the flow of the show.
There was a technical problem with the first song. Midway through "How Sweet It is" the Tempts could not be heard. Sound system technical problem. But they continued dancing and singing (no one heard anything but we could see the twinkling feet). And everyone enjoyed the dancing. Happy feet! The problem was quickly corrected and everything proceeded smoothly.
They wore black pants, the dark blue satin looking jackets with white shirts. The outfits too added to the professionalism of the show.
The songs and order of some of the songs had been changed, and I was quite impressed with the placement of some of them in terms of keeping the flow and excitement going.
Everyone in the audience was really impressed with "MY Girl." At the first note everyone stood up. I could see the heads of the Tempts but had to watch those twinkling feet on the big screen. While some people danced, what intrigued me was that the minute the audience heard those first notes, I was immersed in a sense of love and respect for the song which came from the audience. Watching the feet on the screen, I could see that the Tempts themselves were not doing anything slip shod. Every step was perfect. Although some in the audience danced, all paid the song the respect a great song deserves. You could feel it. The emotion was so powerful it was tangible.The concert ended with "Losing You" which is always a crowd pleaser. They had no time for the tambourines which saddened me, but the Tempts had been so active through the whole show I had no right to expect more. When I say "so active," I have never seen a singer or a group sing and dance so actively and constantly without resting.
From this performance alone the legendary Temptations would deserve the title of "The World's Best Male Vocal Group for All Time."
I got the distinct feeling this audience recognized they had seen the world's best male vocal group. This was professionalism at its highest level.
Perhaps a man walking out of the theatre behind me expressed it best in very simple words. "They are REALLY good." Obviously unused to superlatives, he stated in a very quiet, low-key tone that all he had ever heard about the Tempts was indeed true. Or perhaps the person who expressed it best was the one who went with me and left the theatre stunned and delighted with what the Temptations had done and returned home to say, "The Temptations justified every extravagant claim Jane has ever made about them."
As for me, it was apparent that The Temptations were what the sold-out audience was waiting for. When Theo said, "The Tempts will be on in a few moments" as the Four Tops left the stage, the murmur and hand clapping told it all. The bands quickly changed places, and then that awesome introduction came on. And from those moments on, the Tempts left no doubt as to who was in charge.
The dance steps were intricate, the feet moved quickly, the hand gestures, the voices--all in perfect synchronization and harmony. It was amazing, it was perfect.
The whole performance was awesome, but if I had to pick one feature, I think it would be the sense of a group of 5 men in perfect unison, whether in dance steps, singing, or whatever aspect one wanted to choose. There was no sense of five separate men, one of them a lead singer doing his own thing. The lead singer was always close to the others, and all five seemed to be much closer physically. And then all five sang lead at some point or other. The feature the Tempts have long been famous for---all five sing lead---was part of the show. From the first second the Tempts were on stage, the sense of unison was there. I wanted to shout, "Way to go, Tempts," because the unison I felt was so much stronger than any other group I had ever seen. And I thought, "This is the perfect group. They should stay together forever." And the dancing was impeccable.
It was as if the whole show had been tightened. The credit card joke was out. Comments were more meaningful. And the show never stopped. Or just for a few seconds to introduce everyone by name. But it didn't stop the flow of movement. A pause was very brief and seemed meaningful to the flow of the show.
There was a technical problem with the first song. Midway through "How Sweet It is" the Tempts could not be heard. Sound system technical problem. But they continued dancing and singing (no one heard anything but we could see the twinkling feet). And everyone enjoyed the dancing. Happy feet! The problem was quickly corrected and everything proceeded smoothly.
They wore black pants, the dark blue satin looking jackets with white shirts. The outfits too added to the professionalism of the show.
The songs and order of some of the songs had been changed, and I was quite impressed with the placement of some of them in terms of keeping the flow and excitement going.
Everyone in the audience was really impressed with "MY Girl." At the first note everyone stood up. I could see the heads of the Tempts but had to watch those twinkling feet on the big screen. While some people danced, what intrigued me was that the minute the audience heard those first notes, I was immersed in a sense of love and respect for the song which came from the audience. Watching the feet on the screen, I could see that the Tempts themselves were not doing anything slip shod. Every step was perfect. Although some in the audience danced, all paid the song the respect a great song deserves. You could feel it. The emotion was so powerful it was tangible.The concert ended with "Losing You" which is always a crowd pleaser. They had no time for the tambourines which saddened me, but the Tempts had been so active through the whole show I had no right to expect more. When I say "so active," I have never seen a singer or a group sing and dance so actively and constantly without resting.
From this performance alone the legendary Temptations would deserve the title of "The World's Best Male Vocal Group for All Time."
I got the distinct feeling this audience recognized they had seen the world's best male vocal group. This was professionalism at its highest level.
