JAMES BROWN: 1933-2006

James Brown died Christmas morning in Atlanta. According to wire services, he'd been admitted to a hospital Sunday with symptoms of pneumonia. Brown's last show in Kansas City was September 14 at the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah's casino. The review of that show is below. Brown was a giant, as influential on today's music as anyone, including Elvis, the Beatles and Chuck Berry. Stay tuned for more. Here's a piece I wrote in advance of that VooDoo Lounge show about my one and only encounter with Mr. Brown.

| Timothy Finn, The Star

The Godfather delivers

James Brown at the VooDoo Lounge / Sept. 14

By 6:30 p.m., the electronic billboards inside Harrah’s were broadcasting the news: Mr. Brown had been delayed by some air-travel problems; show time would be pushed back an hour, to 9 p.m.

That felt like an ominous message concerning a man who is infamous for delaying the start of a performance if his pre-show meal isn’t prepared to his liking.

For whatever reason, about 9:15 p.m., Brown’s 11-piece band filed on stage, each man dressed in a crimson coat and blue pants, and hurled itself into a fierce and brassy funk/rock instrumental.

Then Brown’s forever-and-a-day emcee, Danny Ray, emerged and performed his "Star Time at the Apollo" introduction, and out came one of the largest and most eccentric legends in American music.

Time has diminished James Brown physically, but he can still sing. And he still puts on a dazzling live show.

He opened his 90-minute set with a bristling version of "Make It Funky," which is like roaring out of the driveway at 60 mph.

After that, one of his biggest hits: "Living In America," During that one, his two smoking-hot dancers came out and did a Laker-girls bit, each wrapped in an American flag. It wasn’t quite the wild-circus atmosphere of a George Clinton show, but it was close.

He would indulge his fawning, sold-out crowd (about 650 people) with hits and favorites, like "Gonna Have A Funky Good Time," "It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World" and "Hold On, I’m Comin’," which he performed with his wife, Tomi Rae (whom he compared to Janis Joplin). He also gave the crowd some of his most renowned rituals, like the donning of the capes.

Most of the night he was backed by his trio of singers, the Bittersweets. All night Brown was supported by his impeccable band, which was always on alert, ready to respond to one of his audibles. Several times, he joined them on keyboards

The whole show was a blast, but the end was especially explosive: a one-two haymaker of "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine." By the end of that one, his entire entourage was on stage, laying down the heavy, old-school funk: the dancers, doing their erotic aerobic bit; his wife and the Bittersweets, singing along; and his band of ringers and virtuosos, letting the riffs and grooves fly.

He may have started late, but by the time he was done, James Brown had taken everyone in the room back in time.

James Brown at the VooDoo Lounge / Sept. 14

By 6:30 p.m., the electronic billboards inside Harrah’s were broadcasting the news: Mr. Brown had been delayed by some air-travel problems; show time would be pushed back an hour, to 9 p.m.

That felt like an ominous message concerning a man who is infamous for delaying the start of a performance if his pre-show meal isn’t prepared to his liking.

For whatever reason, about 9:15 p.m., Brown’s 11-piece band filed on stage, each man dressed in a crimson coat and blue pants, and hurled itself into a fierce and brassy funk/rock instrumental.

Then Brown’s forever-and-a-day emcee, Danny Ray, emerged and performed his "Star Time at the Apollo" introduction, and out came one of the largest and most eccentric legends in American music.

Time has diminished James Brown physically, but he can still sing. And he still puts on a dazzling live show.

He opened his 90-minute set with a bristling version of "Make It Funky," which is like roaring out of the driveway at 60 mph.

After that, one of his biggest hits: "Living In America," During that one, his two smoking-hot dancers came out and did a Laker-girls bit, each wrapped in an American flag. It wasn’t quite the wild-circus atmosphere of a George Clinton show, but it was close.

He would indulge his fawning, sold-out crowd (about 650 people) with hits and favorites, like "Gonna Have A Funky Good Time," "It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World" and "Hold On, I’m Comin’," which he performed with his wife, Tomi Rae (whom he compared to Janis Joplin). He also gave the crowd some of his most renowned rituals, like the donning of the capes.

Most of the night he was backed by his trio of singers, the Bittersweets. All night Brown was supported by his impeccable band, which was always on alert, ready to respond to one of his audibles. Several times, he joined them on keyboards

The whole show was a blast, but the end was especially explosive: a one-two haymaker of "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine." By the end of that one, his entire entourage was on stage, laying down the heavy, old-school funk: the dancers, doing their erotic aerobic bit; his wife and the Bittersweets, singing along; and his band of ringers and virtuosos, letting the riffs and grooves fly.

He may have started late, but by the time he was done, James Brown had taken everyone in the room back in time.

Comments

[plattecohighschooler]

Guy didn't act 73 years old, did he? Those guys are getting rarer these days...