Post by tempfan on Aug 19, 2007 23:52:21 GMT -5
The First Annual Bay Area Barbeque Cook Off Music Festival at The Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, California came to a rousing close when fans both old and new danced, clapped and sang along to Dennis Edwards and The Temptations Review who gave the crowd all they wanted and more during a fabulous 90 minute performance Sunday Night August 19th.
Right before show time I was relieved when the groups limo pulled up to the side of the outdoor stage and Ali Woodson Jumped out!!!!
The group came out in a good mood smiling and laughing with the crowd and each other throughout the show. The concert was held in an Orchard Grove making for a nice mellow setting. However soon as they came out in their White Short Sleeve Suits the group was firing on all cylinders starting with "Standing on the Top" which had many in the crowd running up in front dancing on the lawn most of whom never sat the entire show!
Dennis was very chatty noticing a lady half way back with a little video cam and told her to make sure she shot the wonderful crowd cause they were the stars of the show Then came the medley "Get Ready", "Ain't to Proud to Beg", "Lady Soul", and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" This was my first time seeing Ali in the Review and when he sang Lady Soul it brought back memories of when he powered The Temps those many years his voice is as strong as ever and he Takes the Review to a higher level than they already had.
Following this set things were slowed up with Dennis playing around with lead guitarist Ric Archer asking him to play something nice for the ladies which he did leading into two georgeous ballads "Rainy Night In Georgia" in which Mike Pattillos voice was very strong tonight and Ali's show stealing "Some Enchanted Evening" which received a big ovation.
Then Ali introduced Dennis as the grammy winning Hall of Fame member and we were treated to a medley of some of his biggest Temps hits "Cloud Nine", "Can't Get Next To You" and "Ball of Confusion" When Dennis takes the mike he still delivers a strong presence especially the way he gets the crowd involved.
The surprise of the night came when Dennis said they had a special surprise for us and boy did they when they performed a stirring version of Old Man River. I hope this becomes a regular part of the show!
The Review then called on its Motown fans for "Beauty's Only Skin Deep" and other temps classics "Way You Do The Things You Do" and "Wish It Would Rain which David Sea blew the crowd away with. It was neat where he does sounds offs with the crowd. This is something The Review does very well as I stated earlier keeping the crowd feeling their part of the show.
Ali then followed with "Treat Her Like A Lady" showing why he was the one chosen to follow Dennis in leading The Temptations with his showcase hit song. Dennis when doing the tributes also thanked the crowd. He was really appreciative this night and the love between him and the audience was really geniune.
The group then took the crowd home to the Temptations Walk by ending the show on a high note with "My Girl", "Just My Imagination" and "Stay" sending all home happy with smiles all around.