**This is a guest post by Lee Odom. Lee recently submitted this recap of The Tams concert from late April. I think it’s a nice look at a typical Thursday night at the 2009 Midtown Music Series (Lee refers to this as the “North Hills Concert Series.” No matter what you want to call it, it’s always a good time.

THE TAMS
North Hills Concert Series – Free
Thursday, April 30, 2009

It was colder and overcast with the morning beginning long-sleeved at least but later in the day the sun worked its way through the haze and pushed the temperature up to the shorts and short sleeve season we are trying to move into.

And just in time for THE TAMS, Live at the Free North Hills Concert Series.

The excitement begins the moment you score a much sought after parking spot, walk your way through the mini-city that is North Hills past all the stores and sidewalk café eateries to hit the main plaza where the people gather and the beer flows as the music kicks off.

Immediately the beverage lines form and grow like the grass coming up from the re-awaked Earth so after I queued up and worked my way to the front I paid with tip in advance to the friendly bartender which allowed me to just step up to the side of the tent, smile and wavy my empty can koozie and be instantly reloaded.

The back-up band does the first set warm up, there is a lull in the action then out comes THE TAMS in their white pants, shirts, hats with turquoise vests and ties. The open dancing area immediately fills with people crowding to the front, the band is bouncing, the stage is bouncing and the crowd goes pogo right along with them.

The age range of these Events are from one end of the scale to the other, there were a few way little kiddies at the head of the stage that security cleaned out in a sweep-up operation, kind of like the witching hour being reached in a bar when it’s time for some to exit stage left.

The Tams are showmen and what a show they once more put on. Continually dancing with choreographed moves in tandem with all on stage and they involve the party crowd in front of them like so few do.

There is one primary lead singer but four different players took their turn to pump the crowd with the mic and The Tams make sure that all there are a part of the entertainment. The mic was passed down to a guy in the crowd that wailed away some lyrics in a song knocking it out of the park, the mic was repeatedly held out to the audience and there were no shy people in attendance with all doing their best singing renditions, even yours truly and the only thing I usually sing to is a bar of soap.

At one point it was requested to have a “white guy” jump on-stage and with crowd and beer encouragement all of a sudden there he was in the dancing line of swinging black guys and as much as he tried to keep the rhythm he could not remain in sync and the lead singer commented, “Yep, he’s a white guy” but that never slowed him down.

THE TAMS:
“Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me”
“What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am”
“I’ve Been Hurt”
“Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy”

Covered:
The O’Jays – “I Love Music” …Any Kind Of Music.
General Johnson – “Carolina Girls” …Best In The World.
Sly and the Family Stone – “Going To Take You Higher”
The Temptations – “SHOUT” (the crowd went ballistic)
Jimmy Buffett – “Margaritaville”
O’Jays – “Love Train”

From the stage the lead singer shouted,
“I’m about done, do you want one more? Two More? Three More? Alright, here we go!”

The plaza has a Chick-Fil-A and there walking through the crowd was the Chick-Fil-A mascot cow so we had literally partied till the cows came home.

…Lee Odom

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This post was submitted by Lee Odom.