Manhattans deliver for Mom

Marcia Rowe, Gleaner WriterThere were awesome performances all round from the line-up of talented artistes at Sunday's To Mom with Love concert. But few will disagree that the curtain closer and drawing card, The Manhattans, gave a stunning performance before the large turnout of mothers and many others at the LIME Golf Academy.
The highly anticipated moment came an hour before midnight as the four vocalists - Blue Lovett, Gerald Alston, Dave Tyson and Troy May - dressed in either full blue or white, entered the artistically decorated and well-elevated stage at the golf academy's west end.
Backed by their band, the talented group opened their musical account with the familiar Never Too Much.
"Let's go back," Lovett announced in a rich bass voice after the opening song. And, preceded by his announcements (a pattern to be repeated throughout the Manhattans hourlong act), hits such as We Never Danced to a Love Song and not-so-familiar material such as Devil in the Dark echoed around the venue. But those songs were just a precursor to what was to come.
The vocalists, their fantastic harmony enhanced by creative and stylish moves, delved into their repertoire and rendered songs such as Hurt and Shining Star, continuing the reverberation of rhythm and blues around the LIME Golf Academy.
The popular There's No Me Without You was the official dedication to all mothers. However, just when it was perhaps thought that the Manhattans performance could not get any better, the talented Americans, led by Alston, gave a passionate delivery of Don't Take Your Love and the curtain closer, Kiss and Say Goodbye.
NO ENCORE
The crowd demanded an encore and The Manhattans returned to the stage. However, that was not the case when more was requested of Rose Royce (Henry Garner, Kenny Copeland and Richie Benson).
The R&B group, which immediately preceded The Manhattans, also thrilled the full house with some of their hit songs. Using tracks instead of a live band, they got going with Golden Touch. Subsequently, they performed Car Wash and concluded their act with I Wanna Get Next to You. But when the audience asked for an encore from Rose Royce, it was not forthcoming.