Audience dedicated to Gladys Knight and the Pips
Sunday’s rainy, dismal weather did not dampen the spirits of the overflow crowd at the Saratoga Performing Arts
Center.
Nor did it dampen the enthusiasm of Gladys Knight and the Pips as the group and the crowd joined together to make one of the most enjoyable nights the center has seen all summer.
Singing their hits, which ranged from “Midnight Train to “Georgia” to their recent smash “The Way We Were,” Gladys and the Pips put on an hour-and-a-half concert which saw some fans standing more than sitting and screaming more than listening.
Saying to the crowd, “let yourself go”, Gladys came back for two encores as the crowd clapped its hands and stamped its feet to the beat of her music.
Gladys obviously enjoyed working the Saratoga center with a crowd which she described as “beautiful.” A better word to describe the crowd would have been “dedicated.” The people who came to see Gladys and the Pips knew them, their works, and their style like all avid fans do about their stars. The crowd clapped on the first measure of a song before it was even recognizable and yelled out praise at will during, after, and before songs.
Leaving the stage after four songs, Gladys gave the crowd a scare when they thought it was all over, but she returned to sing for another 45 minutes to the delight of the audience. Her repertoire also included such hits as “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me,” which she dedicated to the crowd, and “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.”
The star attraction did not get onto the stage until 9:45 Sunday night, but the hour and a half of entertainment before them did not bore the crowd.
Jimmy Witherspoon sang the blues for 45 minutes to the delight of pockets of dedicated fans throughout the audience. They too knew what he was all about and responded with yelling, clapping and dancing at the seats.
Rounding out the evening was Aaron and Freddie, a ventriloquist and his black dummy from California. The two were on the stage for more than half an hour, doing a routine which at times had three people talking at once, probably the best ventriloquism technique this reviewer has ever seen.
The 16-piece Saratoga Festival Orchestra backed up Gladys Knight and the Pips, augmented by three musicians traveling with the show. The local musicians included Thomas and Maxine Ellison, Robert Meade, Michael Meade, Marty Meade, Vern Hellijas, John Jacobsen, and Conrad Kuchay.
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