Lee Hartgrave Reviews April 15, 2009
Martha Reeves – “Thrilling!”
GROWN UP BLUES WITH SOUL
Reeves is a great singer. The Rrazz Room has pulled off a real coup to get this talented singer to come to San Francisco. The great thing about Reeves is not only is she a fabulous singer, but she has tons of charisma. At the opening night at the Rrazz, Room, Reeves kept the audience rocking and dancing with ‘Heat Wave’. It was so hot that the audience got up and danced in the aisles. Reeves invited them to come up on the stage and dance with her – and many did. They were having a marvelous time. Looking out at the audience I saw a sea of happy faces.
Seeing and hearing her live is really a treat. What you get is pure Reeves, there are no gimmicks, no echo chambers – just the best bluesy songs ever written. All in all, this great legend has never sacrificed her art. She’s the real deal. Talk about ‘Blues’ she served up a big plate of that in the song “Mood Indigo”.
Reeves rose to the top of Motown. You may be interested to know that she started out a secretary and managed to get beyond the turmoil at Motown and some pretty vicious attacks by one of Motown’s most volatile Diva’s.
In between songs Reeves tells us some backstage stories about Motown and dinners with Barry Gordy, the Prez of Motown. Then to get things swinging again she took off with a rambunctious rendering of “Jimmy Mack”. Now who could hold still with that? No one did – even I was clapping and jumping around in my seat.
Reeves styling technique is one of her best assests. It is her unique styling and presence that gives her that sparkle on everything that she sings – from Funky blues to brilliant ballads. Some she wrote herself.
Take my word for it – Martha Reeves puts on a thrilling, moving and emotionally rich evening of song and entertainment. There are winners and losers in the music biz – Martha is a huge WINNER! By the way – each night is a little different. Reeves likes to change the venue. So, some of the songs I heard may or may not be in the next show. And, that’s another reason to go back to see Reeves – each night is a NEW SHOW!
WHERE TO GO: The Rrazz Room, Hotel Nikko, 229 Mason St., SF. www.therrazzroom.com When: April 14-17, April 18, 7 and 9:30 PM. April 19, 3PM.
TO HEAR MARTHA REEVES
CLICK HERE>>> Miss MReeves
(((Lee Hartgrave has contributed many articles to the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Datebook and produced a long-running Arts Segment on PBS KQED)))
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