Fifth Dimension SPAC Spectacle
by R. Victor Stewart, The Knickerbocker News, August 30, 1971
12,000 Applaud Singers
If the Fifth Dimension is a harmonious quintet of soul singers, the sixth dimension must be the thunderous applause they receive for their efforts.
Last night the Fifth Dimension and a bouncy cherub from Leland, Miss., named Thelma Houston, opened the 1971 series of post-season special events at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
MISS HOUSTON greeted the audience of over 12,000 with more than imaginative interpretations of such songs as “My Sweet Lord,” “Put Your Hand In the Hand” and “Me and Bobbie McGee,” before offering a new protest-type ballad entitled “Blackberries.”
As she moved about the entire stage during her act, the youthful singer proved she could turn from a lamenting ballad to a hand-clapping “Jesus Walks” as fast as a provocative flip of the hip. She was a tough act to follow.
BILLY DAVIS JR., Florence LaRue Gordon, Lamonte McLemore, Marilyn McCoo Davis and Ron Townson, otherwise known as The Fifth Dimension, were greeted by a round of handclapping that almost drowned out the band with its seven amplified speakers.
The concert for the most part was a classy operation, with the group demonstrating a high quality of stage presence and well-maneuvered choreography as they ran through several medleys of their well-known hits.
One can expect a certain amount of hand rhythmic clapping at any soul music concert, but pandemonium seemed to reign when the concert concluded with the audience standing to sing “Let The Sun Shine In.” Everyone stayed up for the encore, “Higher, Higher.”
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