Kleinhans rocks with Motown hits
Funny, even in historic Kleinhans Music Hall, someone can still figure out a new trick to pull off. Saturday, Spectrum singer Cushney Roberts hit on something I have never seen anyone do.
In the middle of “Backstabber,” singing about people who say one thing to your face and another behind your back, he went airborne. He jumped off the stage and into the aisle. The big crowd gasped. Then, as it became evident that Roberts was fine, that he was sashaying up the aisle, the hall went crazy. The lights went up, so we could follow Roberts’ antics.
Spectrum is based in Las Vegas, and its mission is to take you back in time to the golden age of Motown, whether or not you remember it. They wear natty, look-alike outfits. The red jackets with the sparkly lapels they flaunted after intermission were especially arresting.
Between songs, they reminisce about record players, 45s, arcane groups like the Delfonics and the Stylistics, and feelings about various songs. After “Just My Imagination,” Roberts brooded, “So many people in high school, listening to that song, thinking about that romance that you wish you had.”
In the best Motown tradition, there was no dead air. Right when one guy stopped singing the other three started. Harmonies were smooth and polished. The dancing, carefully synchronized, never stopped.
Roberts, who founded the group, is an especially graceful dancer, but all these guys can hold their own. Just in the first song, “Get Ready,” all four were jumping in unison, turning this way and that, playing patty-cake, miming the lyrics. In “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” they formed what amounted to a chorus line. Thanks to the sophisticated arrangements, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra was put to better use than it is with some other genres of pop music. Conductor Matthew Kraemer presided with a smile over the orchestra and the sizable Spectrum combo, anchored by music director Tex Richardson. David Prescott also stood out as a singer, exhibiting a glorious falsetto. Darryl Grant and Pierre Jovan also contributed powerful vocals. They could have used a bass voice. But it seemed wrong to wish for that, because there was so much else. Hit after hit came at us — a riveting “It’s a Man’s World,” “Uptight,” a lovely “Under the Boardwalk” and “Reach Out, I’ll Be There.” We also heard “Rubberband Man,” made famous by Office Max commercials. And “My Girl,” of course.
Concert Review
Buffalo Philharmonic
Orchestra
Pops concert featuring Motown band Spectrum, Saturday evening in Kleinhans Music Hall.
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