James Brown - T.A.M.I. Show, Santa Monica Civic Center, 1964
Then he sings “Please Please Please,” and experiences what at first seems to be a full-scale breakdown, his body and spirit overtaken by a shadow. He falls to his knees, and the Flames, his considerate handlers, drape a cape over him and escort Brown to the side of the stage. They are distressed for his well-being, and though in retrospect a cape is a weird way to express your concern, at the moment it seems like the only possible thing to do. - RJ Smith, The One
He is not trying to put something over. He is not there fooling around, not for a minute. He just wakes them up — no end; and when he goes, they cannot forget him. It does not have a story. It has no message. He promises himself. “I promise you the best of me,” and then he gives it. He leaves them with the impression: “I belong to you.” - Buster Brown
He is a mythological personage. What he asks for is love — boundless — which can never quite fill his craving. At the end of all that inspiration, talent, sorcery … A man touched by divine power. He absorbs. He stuns. - Mura Dehn
The T.A.M.I. Show was the highest energy thing has ever been. I danced so hard my manager cried. - James Brown
If you’ve never seen James Brown at The T.A.M.I. Show you’ve missed seeing one of the all time great live performances. Now is your chance to see something amazing.
(via jukeboxgraduate)
