We need a lot of heat to keep us warm these days, so if you weren’t at Hugh’s Room Friday night you missed a night of hot music. Quisha Wint and her friends turned the heat up and kept it up all night with their tribute to Motown.

If you know Motown, then you know it is hard not to dance to this music. And if you know Quisha, she is not that kind of woman to make you sit still.

She came on stomping and clapping and demanding RESPECT right away. If Aretha Franklin was in the room, she would approve. That is one hell of a way to open a show. Then she had us board the Midnight train to Georgia. Everybody got on Board!

Quisha brought along a stellar band that consisted of:

Alonso Moore- Drums

JuwayonClarke- Bass

Miles Finlayson- Guitar

Elena Kapeleris- Sax

Quincey Bullen- Keys/Organ

On Vocal duty we have, Michael Dunstin, Sen Jones and Quisha Wint.

Quisha brought along two of her male besties to keep the evening hot. First, she introduced Michael Dunston. He is a veteran of the stage and was cool and in control of how this evening was going. He kept it slow and polished with. I heard it through the grapevine. Eventually, he played with the audience with another classic, Sexual Healing. Is it getting hot in here? As it turned out Quisha’s mother walked into the show during this song, and I am sure she felt the heat rising in the room.

Quisha then introduced to her other friend, Sean Jones. He went back to the more innocent days of Motown and started his set with My Girl. He pulled out a deeper cut that caught people off guard in a good way. His version of, If I could build my entire world around you, was an unexpected surprise.

These singers are treasured by this audience, because you could see them recognizing them as the evening was progressing. In fact, Sean pointed out to a woman sitting at the side of Hugh’s Room, named Andrea. She had an accident that laid her out for a while and Sean was truly delighted to see this woman stand up with her cane and dancing in the aisle. I found out later that Sean visited her in the hospital just to sing to her and help her heal. That is the power of music!

Before the men took over the entire evening, Quisha came back and proved to everyone that she was a Natural Woman. She finished the first set with the entire audience up and dancing to Earth, Wind and Fire’s, September.

The second half was filled with more huge songs from the Motown catalog. There were designated dancing spots all around Hugh’s Room. Even the balcony was up and grooving the night away!

We were treated to such classics like, Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder, Heatwave by Martha and the Vandellas and, You can’t hurry love by The Supremes.

Just as I was wondering what happened to Smokey Robinson, Sean came back and did the huge song, Tracks of my tears. Ok, now I am feeling satisfied. They finished big with Michael Jackson’s, Rock with you.

Well the elated and warm audience didn’t want to go home, so we needed another one. The band didn’t even get a chance to leave the stage. They stuck around and left us on a really high note with, Ain’t no mountain high enough. That was a perfect ending to warm up Toronto on a frigid night.

Here are photos of Quisha and Friends: