The Flirtations gave a rousing performance to a tightly packed Spaulding Auditiorium Friday night. Beginning with their rendition of a 50's favorite, "Mr. Lee," and culminating with a moving lullaby by Fred Small, "Everything Possible," the Flirtations delighted and entertained their audience.
"There are so many of you, I'm glad we're not competing with Ronald Reagan's birthday," a member of the group quipped.
Aside from performing a diverse and expansive musical program, the Flirtatations told a lot of jokes, many of which educated as well as entertained the crowd.
After singing their version of "Mr. Sandman," which included such modifications as: "Mr. Sandman, bring us a dream. Please make him gargle with Listerine," the group asked for the house lights to be brought up a little, "So we can cruise you more effectively."
The Flirtations then requested that the hands of all of the "straight identified" audience members be raised. "We wanted to ask for the homosexually challenged, but that's gay talk for straight people," a member said.
By interacting with the audience in this way throughout their performance, the Flirtations effectively raised conciousness of some of the issues that the homosexual community continually grapples with.
The group's harmonic and rhythmic arrangements and tremendous stage presence captured the crowd's attention and held it throughout the entire performance.
Especially impressive was how The Flirtations use their musical ability to express a social and political message. Their command over a diverse repertoire of tunes was remarkable, as each member of the group displayed a complete harmonic knowledge of each piece they performed.
Complemented by the soaring lyricism of their flowing melodic lines, their humor and wit conveyed not only a love of music but a dedication to a noteworthy social cause.
Supported by the strong bass lines provided by Steve Langley and John Arterton, The Flirtations' voices soared, especially in songs such as "Do What You Want To Do," "Time After Time," and "I've Been Buked, I've Been Scorned."
After intermission, the Flirtations presented a portion of their program known as "One of Us," in which members of the group talked about one another. The group mixed the tragic and poignant aspects of their pasts with brighter outlooks for their futures.
"One of us is a survivor of physical abuse. Two of us are survivors of sexual abuse," the members said. They talked about their various achievements, one earning nine varsity letters, and about some of their obstacles, all of the group growing up children of alcoholics.
The Flirtations ended this section of the program by explaining how it highlights the diversity of the group, which in turn informs their musical expression.
Despite this diversity, there was one important issue which produced group concensus. "All of us find it deeply offensive to mix earth tones with pastels," the members quipped.
The Flirtations then broke into the second half of their musical program, which included such highlights as "Donde esta Dolores?," a song which the audience participated in, and the lullaby "Everything Possible" which the group closed with.
The Flirtations came out to do an encore after a standing ovation by the crowd. They chose a congregational song to perform, "This Little Light of Mine, I'm Going to Let it Shine."
The audience enthusiastically sang along, especially to the improvised verse, "Cancel my subscription to The Dartmouth Review, I'm going to let it shine."
The concert was thoroughly absorbing, both as a musical performance and as a venue for raising issues and increasing conciousness in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
Aurelio Font said, "Aren't these cross-cultural experinces incredible? Just incredible." Judging by the enthusiastic response from Friday night's audience, so was the Flirtations' performance.
