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James Brown - Janurary 15, 1999 Chinook Winds Casino Lincoln City, Oregon |
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Written by Brian Merrick
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Wednesday, 01 April 2009 17:59 |
On January 15, 1999 in Lincoln City, Oregon (a small coastal town) at the Chinook Winds Casino I managed to catch what may well be one of the last performances of the the one and only James Brown. Personally, he has been on the top of my wish list of great live performances. To hear that the "hardest working man in show business" was going to be making an appearance all the way up here in the northwest was too exciting, and I looked forward to purchasing a ticket and and finally putting a check next to JB on my wish list. As luck would have it, an unexpected sell out occured before I managed to pool the funds together.
I couldn't accept just sitting at home, knowing that he was in town, so out of desperation I decided that I might try and talk to the box office concerning releasing more tickets. . . . no luck as I figured, so as I brainstormed all possible ways of getting a ticket, the only conclusion was to contact the James Brown management office directly. Surprisingly enough I was able to get a number and contacted the office and left a message basically explaining how wonderful it would be to be able to see the man in person at his upcoming performance. Realizing at that point there was little left to do, I pretty much gave up, and later that day I received a message confirming my suspicions that no tickets would be available. I was throughly bummed - to miss this opportunity would surely mean any future possibilities of seeing a JB show would be next to none. Talk about frustration . . . while venting to my friend about having been able to catch so many greats in their lifetime (Jerry Garcia, Chuck Berry, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, etc), it didn't seem real to me to be shut out of a hometown show. Something in that conversation clicked and soon a returning feeling of "its not over until the show is over" gave me a little more confidence to go through with the idea that came out of this conversation.
After hanging up I called back the James Brown office and explained that in my previous message I failed to mention that I was hoping to be able to document the James Brown experience for a worldwide fanzine on the internet, our FAMILY TREE PRODUCTIONS. Trying to sound as confident as possible and believing every word I said, I crossed my fingers and hung up. Sure enough, I again received a prompt and polite message explaining that the production crew and staff were now on their way to Oregon and the passess were with them. I was also told that I should show up a bit early and was given the name of the contact person. WOW - was it really possible this was working? I took my notebook and camera for documentation and drove to the show.
When we checked in at the box office, the management of entertainment for the casino immediately escorted my friend and I into the performance hall, seating us at a table. We waited to meet the head of James Brown's production; the energy was building, was he going to buy this story from a couple of desperate fans?
Management from the casino soon introduced us to the tour manager, and as we were shaking hands, he began explaining his excitment for us to document the show and asked if there was anything he could do to help out!!! After it was apparent we were to secure access to the show, he asked what he could do to assist. I then decided that it would now be appropriate to ask about pictures, again surprise surprise, I was told to feel free to go up front to get them. I loaded my camera and waited for the show to start.
The show began soon enough, with all the band members and backup singers coming out for the warm up jam. The band included a full percussion set, two kit drummers, two basses, lead and rythm guitars, and a full horn section. In the vocal section, a Vegas show girl named Tomi Ray belted out a couple of numbers, and soon enough the one and only made his appearance in full costume with eyes that seemed to sparkle. The crowd response was great, everyone seemed to be really giving it up. The entrance started off with an upbeat "Get Off That Funky Thing" into "Cold Sweat." James seemed to be full of energy and excitment from getting such a positive crowd reaction. The band quickly jumped on the momentum and began a personal favorite of mine, "Living in America," complete with dancers in flag costumes; it seemed like a Vegas show right there in Lincoln City. For me, the highlights of the show were soulful and passionate "Man's World" and "I Feel Good."
About mid-show, James stepped back for awhile to play his organ with the band, and the jam went from upbeat to a slow mellow groove, at which point a magic act was performed on stage for close to half an hour. The band picked up the beat and really got things swinging for James to finish up with "Sex Machine." After the show I was approached by the head of entertainment at the casino, and was told how much they appreciated my efforts, that they think it's a great thing we have going, and to keep up the good work. It was all I could do to extend my best back for the opportunity to document such a show for the Family Tree. I felt lucky to have such great friends in the Family Tree to even make this idea possible and the courteous response from the James Brown production staff and Chinook Winds Casino. My best goes out to them all.
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