November 20, 2021

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The Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight, made her long awaited return trip to MGM's Center Stage on Thursday evening.  Originally scheduled for the spring of 2020, thanks to Covid, this show had been rescheduled a couple of times.

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It was well worth the wait as the spry and gracious seventy-seven year old spread her message of love throughout her eighty minute set.

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Several times during the show, fans would scream out "I love you Gladys!"  She would answer them back, "I love you too, and you can't out-love me!"

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Early in the show she talked about spending a lot of time with Curtis Mayfield and how she enjoyed the way he wrote his songs.  She then sang two songs that he had written, "Make Yourself A Happy Home" and "The Makings Of You."

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In the middle of the set, she played a terrific version of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" which segued into "Help Me Make It Through The Night."

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She got people dancing in their seats as her great backing band launched into "I Heard It Through The Grapevine."  This was the first version that was released as a single, which was followed by Marvin Gaye and later by CCR.

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"Neither One Of Us" and "The Way We Were" found their way in the latter part of the set.

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Then it was time to go to church.  Gladys admitted that she has spent a lot of time on her knees, praying during both good times and bad.  She and her great backup singers took center stage and sang a medley of gospel songs.

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Church service came to a close with her biggest hit, "Midnight Train To Georgia."

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The show closed with the funky, "On and On."

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Photos and review by Greg Drugan

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