Gives Me the Chills

Okay, it helped that the temperature outside had dropped to the low-20s and the wind was whipping through the valley like a Hare Krishna at O'Hare. Yet even inside the warm UMass-Amherst theatre on Wednesday night I had a good-bad case of chills that only enthusiastic clapping and swaying helped me shake.

The Soweto Gospel Choir was in town and they rocked the house. All 25 musicians over 22 songs, dancing and singing, drumming and strumming for the better part of two hours. From the heights of traditional South African music (sung in Zulu, Sotho or English) to the dig-down-deep of Dylan's I'll Remember You, the ensemble kept the mostly-white audience enthralled.

Personal favorites:

For the Fun of It - the "Canteen Segment" in which the men gathered around a long folding table and played forks, knives, plates and glasses. Campy, inspired, playful. Left me hoping to replicate the event at my next dinner party. Better than food.

For the Power of It - the "Amazing Grace" rendition which started as soloists taking on each verse, from soprano to a rich baritone, but ended in a full-fledged chorus of tongues. Closed my eyes and I was back in Sarasota, Florida at the Pentecostal Church that used to excite me and scare me in equal parts.

For the Ecstasy of It - the seamless blending of Afro Gospel, Afro Jazz, disco and rap that tingled my every sense and left me wanting more - even after three encores. O Happy Day, indeed.