Diana's Still Got It

I recently had the honor of seeing Diana Ross live. A friend was kind enough to allow me to use her extra ticket, which has made me eternally grateful. Seeing her is now one of the highlights of this rather dismal summer. Her energy, engagement with the crowd, love for luxurious and diva dresses and style (she must have switched outfits about 4 or 5 times during the show), as well as her incorporation of Supremes material, solo material, and some covers from Billie Holiday to "I Will Survive" contributed to a great show. "My World Is Empty Without You," "I'm Coming Out," "Love Child" (featuring a nice Latin jazz touch), "Stop In the Name of Love," and classics such as "Ease On Down The Road" made me giddy. Even the feel-good "Reach Out and Touch" was almost as great as "You Can't Hurry Love," a Motown classic. "Why Do Teenagers Fall in Love" was such a happy cover, too, I couldn't help but feel elated.

Like many in the audience, I too found myself uncontrollably singing along and dancing, a sign of a successful show. Her Billie Holiday cover, "Don't Explain," was nothing compared to the original, but a nice tribute nonetheless. I also found myself delighted with some of her other solo material I was not as familiar with, including one song from a film, Mahogany, and "Upside Down." Her band was more than competent, featuring a keyboardist, three back-up singers, a small horn section, a drummer, a percussionist, a guitarist, and a bassist. Alas, they were not the Funk Brothers, the Motown studio band, so the brief solos and instrumentals on the original Supremes recordings were not the same nor as masterful. Nevertheless, the band enjoyed themselves to, dancing and grooving to their own music! There were elements of funk, disco, Motown, jazz, and Latin music, just to show how versatile the band was, successfully bridging the gap between older jazz and the Motown sound with contemporary funk and balladry.

I swear, Diana must have changed outfits at least five times. But her joy felt real and the audience loved her for it. Folks was standing up in the middle of show to dance and sing along. I must admit, Diana Ross still got it. She knows how to sing and put on a great show. She even autographed someone's 1972 magazine with Ross on the cover during the show! In addition, after seeing how the diva, Diana Ross carries herself, it's easy to see why Solange modeled herself on her so much.