November 11, 2011

Concert #480 - Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues (Sunset Strip) (September 28, 2008)

So we went to a Sunday brunch and a concert broke out. And not just any concert.

As a newbie to such an event, I'd been expecting to eat loads of great Cajun food, then go back for seconds, with some nameless local church choir singing in the background. I'd thought this whole thing would be of interest to Mircea, my European childhood friend who was visiting us at the time, so I dragged him along.

The food part turned out to be totally anti-climactic. There was nothing exotic there, nothing truly memorable, but God Almighty, what a surprise we had on the music front ... who would have imagined that we would be entertained by R&B standout Shemekia Copeland and her high-energy vocal style that's so deeply rooted in church music. But that wasn't all. Shemekia was soon joined by the legendary Clara Ward Singers, who many decades into their careers were still in fine form. Wow!

But the best was yet to come: out of nowhere came the thunderous voice of Dorothy Morrison, the very same voice that we had all known since the late 60s, when "Oh Happy Day" took the whole Planet by storm. And there she was, Dorothy Morrison, standing at center stage in a colorful outfit, belting out "Oh Happy Day" and driving me absolutely crazy. What a thrill it was !!

Dorothy Morrison (with microphone) singing "Oh Happy Day"
Dorothy Morrison (with microphone) singing "Oh Happy Day"
Shemekia Copeland & The Clara Ward Singers
Shemekia Copeland & The Clara Ward Singer
Crowd feasting before the music started
My Better Half with our friend Mircea
Dorothy Morrison (in colorful outfit) taking the bus back home
The House Of Blues on Sunset Strip (Los Angeles)

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