Laura Burhenn of Americana/folk-pop outfit The Mynabirds told us about her Temptations experience.
Laura Burhenn: It's hard to pick a favorite show ever -- there are so many good ones! My first ever concert will always be tops: The Temptations at the Maryland Theatre in my tiny hometown of Hagerstown when I was 7. Then of course PJ Harvey at 9:30 Club in DC is up there. Watching Stevie Wonder play my friend Fred Yonnet's harmonica on the National Mall before Barack Obama's first inauguration also ranks. And seeing David Bowie perform all of Low live (and getting to meet him after) was pure dreamstuff. But hands down the best concert I ever saw Prince with Chaka Khan and Sly and the Family Stone opening. Total powerhouse line-up, and pitch perfect from start to finish.
I grew up making radio mix-tapes from WKYS, the R&B station in DC. I had "Diamonds & Pearls" and "Cream" on regular rotation, and I knew Prince's classics, too. But experiencing them live was unreal. At the start of the show, Prince descended on cables from the rafters between these long, sexy woman's legs that stretched to the ceiling on either side of the stage. In my memory, they wore fishnets and heels. I'd never heard or seen anyone play guitar or piano -- laying on top of his custom grand, playing arms stretched out from the top, backwards! -- like that. He was this alien, sexed-up sorcerer, conducting music from some unseen world into our human one; it was more than my teenage brain knew how to handle. His command of the room and musicianship are still unmatched by anyone I've seen play live to this day. To have seen him -- and Sly -- before they passed: heaven.
The Mynabirds new album It’s Okay To Go Back If You Keep Moving Forward is out November 7 on Our Secret Handshake
Photo by Jess Ewald.
