Motown, Motown!

Aretha, Marvin, The Temptations, who else could you want? The Four Tops, maybe? How about Stevie Wonder? I got to see and hear them all on Saturday night! It was the best 5 hours I've spent in a club, EVER, and though Ms. Franklin and Mr. Gaye were obviously not really there, it sure seemed like it. There was a live Motown review at a club here in Indianapolis, and Wandaful's friend had a good friend in the show. So we got invited. Eight smacks to see the Temptations? Baby, I'm there.

I absolutely adore good amateur performers. Are you someone with the stones to get up and sing your ass off? My admiration goes to you, my friend. I will cheer you on, I swear! The performers were wonderful. I promise you if you'd closed your eyes, you'd have just barely known the difference between the amateurs and the Motown greats, themselves. I was actually worn out when I got home from cheering and dancing and clapping and laughing myself silly for five hours. One of my favorite parts of the evening is everyone who came by our table to tell us "hi." I guess I should include the part of the story where this club's clientele is pretty much all Americans of African descent. And we were a table full of Anglos. Some of us real blonde, even.

The emcee of the event was having a wonderful time and doing an excellent job telling jokes, introducing acts, and running funny contests like 70's dance, comdey, and acting. And during his second break he just pipes up with "Oh, look, we got some white people in the house. Hi, white people." I don't know when I've laughed so hard in my life. "Hi, white people" is my new favorite greeting. OF ALL TIME. We waved and smiled at the emcee.

The acts kept coming one after another, and pretty soon it's five hours later and I've heard Sexual Healing, Papa Was a Rolling Stone, RESPECT, and Ain't Too Proud to Beg. Brick House made it in there for dancing purposes, as did Play that Funky Music, White Boy. My Girl made it's way into the show, too. The guys who did the Temptations were especially talented, I thought.

I've rarely felt more welcome among folks I didn't know. We made a bunch of friends at neighboring tables and lots of people came over to say "Hi, white people." I need to laugh that hard every day!

Next Motown Review, you can come with me!