There's a certain anticipation before seeing Morris Day and the Time, even though you know exactly what you're about to see. There are concerts and there are shows, and Morris Day always puts on a show. A non-stop, over-the-top medley of classic uptown soul hits. On Thursday night, the crowd was dressed to impress inside Motor Casino's Sound Board theater, (including local celebrities like a dapper Tommy "Hitman" Hearns) and ready get down with it. From the opening notes of the intro song, the crowd was up on its collective feet and did not sit back down until the first slow jam about 6 songs in.
Once the band (including original drummer Jellybean Johnson and Monte Moir on keys) was warmed up, Morris entered at stage left with his requisite mirror and always affable sidekick Jerome Benton. What followed was a blur of 80s superhits in a pseudo-medley that was heavey on hooks and grooves, almost like a DJ set. Little time was wasted on stage with hits like "COOL," "Fishnet," and "777-9311."
The party was jumping until Day left the stage during a guitar solo, only to return as a disembodied voice from backstage as the band laid into the slow jam "Gigolos Get Lonely Too." Upon his return to the stage, the ladies were swooning. To pick up the pace, an assortment of ladies were invited on stage to show off their "talents" during next set of songs. Perhaps unintentionally, funny this was by far the highlight of the show. The unflappably smooth Morris and the boys know how to work a crowd and the the resulting dancing during "Ice Cream Castles" was far more entertaining than the song itself.
The set continued to play out like a greatest hits package without any filler. The shiny suits and slick choreography distracted from the fact there was really no new material during the night. There was little mention of the recently reformed Original 7ven other than a stage rap skit from "Condensate." But there's nothing wrong with that.
For more of Morris Day and The Time, check out http://www.morrisdayandthetime.com.