JAMES BROWN

The concert was last night. It was absolutely FANTASTIC. If he's coming to a city near you, GO. Go to this show. Really. It was great. The band was really exceptional. There were 3 drummers (all with their own full kit and one with congas and other percussion), 2 bassists (one didn't play much, but we figure he was backup for the one who played the most, who was 75 if he was a day and appeared ready to keel over with a heart attack at any moment), 2 guitarists, a keyboard player, 3 horns, 3 backup singers, 1 duet singer, 2 dancers, and 2 emcees. There was also JB's bodyguard who stood like a mountain on the edge of stage right. He was black, over 6'4", easily 350 pounds with a lot of muscle (he looked ex-football to me), head shaved clean, with a perfectly tailored black suit, black silk shirt, and electric blue silk tie. I wondered if he was carrying a piece.

So yeah, for God's sake, the dancers. The DANCERS. There were dancers, for chrissakes. I had no idea. There were two gorgeous cheerleaders up there dancing their asses off behind James Brown as he sang. They were hot as hell, and they got the crowd roaring. It was so much fun.

Watching JB up close with the binocs revealed that he was having an amazing time up there. He seemed happiest when he was playing the keyboards, actually. He plays a Korg M1, which is exactly the same synth that's sitting beside me right now. He had it on the electric piano setting, and he was funking out on it at least once every other tune.

Shit, what a great show. Go see it, really.