Two years back I saw James Brown live in concert at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon. I can honestly say it was one of the best concerts I've ever seen, and if I had to devise an actual list I believe it might be
the best concert I've ever seen. From the opening fifteen minute jam that his band played before he stepped onstage to the wild cheers that burst the roof off of the arena when he became visible to the insane volume of music he played out of his catalogue to the moment he brought
Morgan fucking Fairchild onstage to dance with her and close the show, there wasn't a moment where I wasn't laughing, clapping, dancing (badly) and enjoying myself immensely. His talent was only exceeded by his mastery of the stage. Add to that the fact that it was the first concert I drove any distance to see, the fact that I got to see him without paying a dime and the fact that I was already an enormous James Brown fan? How could it be anything but impressive?
Brown was a consummate entertainer, an expert performer and an innovator whose influence on artists is not only noticeable but often bettering - goodness knows his and his band's ability to lock his songs into a groove has inspired me to try and figure out ways to make the simplest repetitions consistently interesting.
"I wanted to be somebody," Brown said.
Who hasn't? Brown was somebody. He led a tumultuous personal life but when he stepped onstage all of that disappeared and was replaced simply by a love of performance and a joy rarely seen outside of music. He was among the best, and he'll be sorely missed.
God bless, James.
