Friday night sounded more like Sunday morning when the Harlem Gospel Choir performed at the State Theatre this weekend.
The entire performance had a church feel from the onset, with choir founder Allen Bailey beginning by telling the audience what a beautiful congregation it was.
The choir's set list included a number of gospel standards and a few pop songs like "I Believe I Can Fly" and "We Are the World."
Even though the songs varied, each and every performance hinged on audience participation.
"If you want to sing and dance around the aisle, that's OK," Bailey said. "We won't look at you like you're strange."
And the audience seemed to have no problem taking that cue. Throughout the evening, several attendees stood up to dance, clap their hands or stand with raised hands and a bowed head.
The night culminated with the choir's rendition of "Total Praise," when all the performers left the stage to hug members of the audience, all without missing a note. Once the choir was back on stage, the song swelled to its climax, which was enough to earn them a standing ovation.
Earlier in the night, the choir even called up a few of the more willing audience members to help sing verses to the songs, with volunteers ranging from a little girl to a self-proclaimed great-grandmother.
Bill and Joan Hall, two State College residents who attended the show, said they could not have been more pleased with the performance.
"It really was one of the best examples of audience involvement I've ever seen at a show," Bill Hall said. "It was like awe-inspiring, fantastic, spiritual."
His wife also noted the spiritual aspect of the show, saying the couple both really enjoyed it even though they aren't particularly religious people.
"We don't get a lot of stuff like that out here in State College, and I'm very glad we came to see it," she said.
Addressing the audience toward the end of the show, Bailey related the late Pope John Paul's take on the choir: It isn't just music -- it's a feeling, too.
