Loving the sound of Motown

Well keeping up with the growing tradition of live music every week, last night I went for a slightly different type and went to the theatre to see the Motown musical, “Dancing in the Streets”. Lynne had a spare ticket as someone who was supposed to be going was ill and I stepped into the breach. I rarely take much notice of what’s playing at Chatham Central Hall, but obviously a lot of people do as it was pleasingly well filled.

The premise is as simple as the set – a recording studio in downtown Detroit filled with the house band and a run through of the greatest hits and hitmakers of the Motown catalogue - the Marvelettes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, The Supremes and Diana Ross, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Glady’s Knight and the Pips and more.

I love Motown and for me the chance to see the sort of dance routines that groups like the Temptations would have used was the real pleasure, as was hearing all those fantastic songs again. All the cast were thoroughly excellent, although I personally wasn’t keen on the girl who played Diana Ross (although to be fair to her she did come into her own on ‘Love Child’, one of my favourite Supremes songs) and actually cringed during the singing of ‘Endless Love’ which I think the show could have done without (actually the whole Lionel Ritchie thing seemed a bit out of kilter with all those other fantastic songs).

As with all the best musicals there was loads of scope for the audience to sing and dance and Lynne and I took full advantage of the opportunity. It really was a very good musical and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes that type of music.

As I was there I thought I’d pick up the leaflets for upcoming productions having spotted the wonderful Dara O’Briain on the cover (unfortunately he’s on the same day that we go to Chelsea Flower Show), however something that did catch my attention was Diesel Park West’s Marrakesh Express Tour which is hitting Chatham Central Hall on 19th June.

Now Diesel Park West are one of those resurgent psychedelic bands that I loved in the early ‘90s but, as I’m sure you’ll be astounded to hear, didn’t do as well as they should have done. After early promise (EMI actually bought the record label (Food) they were on as they wanted them so badly) with their first album ‘Shakespeare Alabama’ they disappeared, never to be heard of again (except by die hard fans I expect). Now, suddenly here they are doing a tour covering the songs of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Freakily, I had a conversation about Diesel Park West only last week at the I Am Kloot gig as it turned out that one of the two women I chatted to after the show’s sister lives with the lead singer John Butler. She was amazed that someone had actually heard of DPW, let alone actually knew any of their work and we had quite an interesting discussion about what they’d been up to over the years.

Anyway this seems like an interesting evening so I may have to go for it, however plenty of time between now and then to decide as I can’t see it being sold out.

Oh and IAK have announced that they’re supporting Elbow at Delamere Forest in Cheshire while Mrs H3 and I are on holiday. I’m thinking a trip up that way could be in order …