Last night we saw soul brother number one, James Brown! It was totally old-school soul-revue-esque, with matching suits, choreographed dance moves, and call-and-response out the wazoo. I think my favourite part of the entire show was actually the introduction (not to denigrate the man himself, who was awesome!), with that groovy little old man in the white tuxedo who's been with him for decades saying 'the man who brought you "Please Please Please"! [bar of the song]! The brother who gave you "Sex Machine"! [bar of the song]! The man who told you to 'Get Up Off That Thing'! [bar of the song]!.... The Godfather! The Hardest Working Man in Show Business! JaaaaaAAAAAaaaames! Brown! James! Brown! James! Brown!' I can't even do the intro justice, frankly. As befits the band of a man who fines them for hitting wrong notes, the musicians were incredibly tight and impressive. Two drummers and a percussionist! Two bassists! Two guitarists! Three-part horn section! Three-part background vocal group (one of whom was getting *down*, she was a dancing machine)! That guy whose job is just to go 'get on up! get on up!' The only time things really flagged was during an extensive guest vocalist break, in which a woman did a dodgy Janis Joplin impersonation. Brent and I speculated that she wasn't there solely to sing, since she seemed to think James was the bees knees. He also had a hilarious duo of girls with 'JB' embroidered on the buttocks of their tiny shorts, who danced like Carmen Electra! The crowd was in a frenzy of excitement from beginning to end, refusing to go home even after the house lights came up and the PA started playing exit music. WHEE!