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CONCERT REVIEW Review: Craterian's 'I Have a Dream' spans genres of great African-American music Comment By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 7, 2016 at 8:26 PM By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 7, 2016 at 8:26 PM » Social News Jade Chavis Watt belted out the familiar words like it by God mattered: I left a good job in the city/workin’ for the man every night and day … Then she shook it like Tina Turner and the whole thing went into overdrive. It was early in the second set of the Craterian Music Hall’s “I Have a Dream,” a tribute to popular African-American music of the 1960s and ‘70s that opened Saturday night at the Collier Center. Not that there was anything wrong with the show before that, but this was one of those moments a band heats up and the energy is palpable. The show, which repeated Sunday and will play again Feb. 12 and 13, was the latest in Craterian Performance Company’s Music Hall series of theme concerts spawned by a wildly successful tribute to Bob Dylan last year. It boasts top local musicians, and the artistic director is Next Stage Rep’s Doug Warner, but the music director and spiritual ramrod of this band was keyboard wizard Don Harriss. The 10-piece band kicked off the evening in a deep gospel vein, with a beat-heavy “Jesus Is On That Mainline,” an old Pentacostal-type number. And why not. They say the blues had a baby, and they called it rock ‘n’ roll. But even before the blues, there was gospel, which in the African-American churches of the South after the Civil War mixed emotional hymns with call-and-response singing and strong vocal harmonies. Early gospel featured lots of singers and little or no instrumentation. This group (can we call it the Dream Band?) has the singers, four strong ones, but it also has six hard-working instrumentalists. The concept seemed a bit vague. What category of music includes Etta James, Sam Cooke and James Brown? But as the show mined genres from gospel, soul and funk to ballads in a Roberta Flack vein, you realized the labels don’t really matter. It’s just great music. As Watt sang Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman,” it was clear that one of the strengths of the show was that the three female singers, each of whom can deliver lead vocals with authority, would also be backing each other up with sassy harmonies (can we call them the Dreamettes?). Bishop Mayfield, the group’s male singer, took over the lead singing chores on the likes of James Brown’s “I Feel Good” or Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On.” The band blasted funk as Lisa Yriarte, driven by David Bolan’s drums and Jack Hopfinger’s guitar, channeled Chaka Kahn and Rufus on “Tell Me Something Good.” And there was Mayfield making like Otis Redding on “Try a Little Tenderness.” There was Watt covering Etta James on “Something’s Got a Hold On Me” backed by the la-la-la of the Dreamettes. The amazing Jennifer de Puglia, who seemed to be reaching deep down all night, belting an “Ain’t Nobody Love You Better” that ripped hearts out. Throw in iconic tunes by Al Green, The Pointer Sisters and Gladys Knight, add the rock steady beats provided all night by bassist Donnie Yance, stir in Tony Hayes’ sax and David Hubert’s trumpet for that big soul flavor, and enjoy. The show, which after all began in church, ended there with a soul-rocking “Amazing Grace” whose only flaw was that it ended too soon. The crowd wouldn’t let the band get away without an encore and was on its feet as the group obliged with an ecstatic version of Stevie Wonder’s 1974 masterpiece “Living for the City.” By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 7, 2016 at 8:26 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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