Martha Reeves & The Vandellas at The Jazz Cafe

Last Thursday we went to see the marvellous Martha Reeves & The Vandellas on the last night of their short residency at The Jazz Cafe up in Camden. I first saw Martha and her sisters Lois and Delphine at the Jazz Cafe so it was nice to see them on that little stage again. Martha fills the stage with her presence let alone with her sisters and the band.

With Martha you're guaranteed a 'greatest hits plus' show with all the goodies from the '60s, 'Heatwave', 'Nowhere To Run', 'Jimmy Mack' and a host of others plus some gems like an extended version of 'What Going On' and a 'best of Motown' medley (I particularly liked the 'Sugar Pie Honeybunch' section). Martha's voice isn't what it was but it's easy to forget that when she's on stage - she's been around for nearly 50 years, for virtually the whole history of pop and soul music, one of the originals and still one of the best.

It's not just the songs, with Martha and her sisters it's all about the show, about giving the audience a fun time and sending us away with a smile. I love the way that Martha, Lois and Delphine still observe the old Motown rules of a low curtsy after every song and Lois in particular sticking to the old dance routines she's been doing since 1968 (Delphine's a relative new-comer, only joining the Vandellas in 1980). And what lovely, gracious ladies they are, giving us a show to remember.

One of the highlights was Martha singing 'No-One There' a song I've not seen her perform before and which got Chris excited, a lovely, gentle song. I also loved (of course) 'Dancing In The Street' which she preceded by listing some of the big names who've recorded it and ending with, 'but it's *my* song' and so it is. Another favourite for me was 'Nowhere To Run', with all the running round the stage as best they could in the small space.

It was a scrum to queue up to meet Martha afterwards, not the best organised of signings, but Martha sat there with a pint of Guinness happily signing whatever her fans gave her (including piles of records) and not just signing, but writing a message. She then passed them to Lois and Delphine to sign as well. They were there for ages directly after the show - I know, because we were there for ages, patiently waiting our turn to say 'hello' and 'thank you'. While Chris chatted to Martha I said a few words to Lois and Delphine, reminding them of the great show at the Bloomsbury Ballroom a couple of years ago at which these photos were taken.