Midnight Star Shines on Thunder Valley

Janice Marie Johnson & David Cochrane with A Taste of Honey - Click for more images

Eighties musicmaker’s Midnight Star and seventies A Taste of Honey packed Pano Hall at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Friday night, keeping the audience on their feet for most of the show.

A late start didn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm as Grammy Award-winning A Taste of Honey, featuring original band member Janice Marie Johnson, stormed the stage. Johnson was decked out in a pink sequin dress and high heels and sporting her bass guitar.

As soon as the band kicked into gear, the audience was on their feet, as the band played all their hits like “I’m Talking About You” and “Disco Dancin’.”

After a quick wardrobe change into an orange kimono, Johnson sang her hit song “Sukiyaki” as the audience settled back in their seats.

The audience catapulted out of their seats as Johnson finished the set with their biggest hit, “Boogie Oogie Oogie.”

Prior to the show, Johnson was backstage meeting some of her fans. I’ve attended a number of meet-and-greets, and Johnson was one of the most down to earth artists I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. She asked everyone their name, repeating it back to ensure she got it right. She would give them a hug and then start asking them questions while they were getting their picture taken. Class act all the way!

(Updated: I’d like to thank the anonymous caller who was kind enough to take time out to inform me that I was incorrect when I stated Kenneth Gant was a longstanding member. The fact is he was an original member of Midnight star).

After a longer than expected break to change out equipment, the audience was back up on their feet as original Midnight Star members Belinda

Melvin Gentry of Midnight Star - Click for more images

Lipscomb (vocals), Melvin Gentry (guitar/vocals), Bo Watson (keyboard/vocals), Bill Simmons (keyboards), and Kenneth Gant (bass) took the stage with longtime bandmate Bobby Lovelace (drums).

Pumping out their signature R&B electro-funk sound, they had the crowd singing and cheering to “Electricity,” leading into a brief version of “Headlines,” “Wet My Whistle” and “Midas Touch.”

I thoroughly enjoy bands like Midnight Star that take the time to choreograph their moves for each song. It adds a completely different dynamic to the performance, and it just plain looks good. Obviously the crowd agreed, because as soon as the band started moving in sync with each other, the audience responded with a round of applause.

After ending their set with “Freak-A-Zoid” and “No Parking (On the Dance Floor),” it was obvious the crowd was quite satisfied with the night’s performances by both bands.

Final analysis: The headliner of the show should have been A Taste of Honey because of their recognizable hits and extraordinary energy onstage. I don’t mean to take anything away from Midnight Star and their wonderful sound and choreography ““ they were superb and worked the crowd, but at the end of the day I would have liked to have heard more from A Taste of Honey.