Tampa Calling

Concert review
Al Green w/George Benson/Soulive
Sat., April 5, Ford Amphitheatre, Tampa

UPDATED APRIL 8: Pics from the show posted here.

Al Green, wearing a black three-piece suit and looking at least a decade younger than his age of 61, struts across the stage during a slow-burning rendition of the sexually-charged “Tired of Being Alone.” After making eye contact with women in the first several rows of the Ford Amphitheatre in Tampa Saturday, he returns to the mike and unleashes one of his famously wild and seductive wails, prompting ecstatic cheers from the crowd. “What, you thought I couldn’t do it again?” the smiling soul great playfully asks.

Four decades into his career, Green’s voice — one of the most distinctive and expressive ever recorded — isn’t the sultry, resilient force of nature heard on classic 1970s albums like Call Me. But it’s still a potent instrument, one that the charismatic singer used to great effect Saturday with the support of a 14-person backing band that included a three-man horn section, organist, female backup vocalists and male dancers wearing matching white blazers.

Green turned in a winning, 60-minute performance under conditions far from ideal. The 20,000-capacity venue only looked to be about one-tenth full. The last day of the two-day PAETEC Music Tour, it was a gorgeous afternoon for instrumental organ trio Soulive, which I missed, and George Benson. The latter impressed me with his guitar chops and a funky, blowout of “On Broadway,” but nearly lulled me, and several others seated in my section, to sleep with his synthesizer-heavy smooth jazz numbers.

When Green and his small army of backing players took the stage at 9:20, fierce wind and rain whipped through the venue as if on cue, even managing to sprits the thoroughly covered stage area. Credit the Ford Amphitheatre staff for allowing everyone to move into the center and front of the pavilion where the elements were minimal, and Green for soldiering on in high spirits. “If you start getting a little wet, don’t worry,” he says. “Some things are worth getting wet for.”

Green opened the show with several of his best-known hits including “Let’s Get Married” — songs the singer wrote or co-wrote with producer Willie Mitchell in the early ‘70s, a fairly uncommon practice for R&B singers of the era. The ordained pastor, who refused to perform secular music during the ‘80s, then took a pause from the worldly music (and handing out long-stemmed roses to the women in the front rows), to lead the crowd in a celebratory sing along of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” Next came a solid take on his most recognizable hit, “Let’s Stay Together,” which was followed by a killer “Here I Am.” The hard-hitting, horn-fueled declaration had Green jogging in place, embracing himself and even getting down in a crouch to bust out a couple old-school dance moves that caused the grateful audience members to respond with wild yelps of their own.

The medley of R&B hits by Green contemporaries like Sam Cooke, The Four Tops and Otis Redding featured a powerhouse performance of “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.” The singer closed the show with lively renditions of three classics: “Tired of being Alone,” “L-O-V-E (Love),” and an extended “Love and Happiness,” which found Green offering some of his hottest wails. The finale also featured the trumpet, saxophonist and trombonist relocating to center stage to flawlessly recreate the song’s signature horn parts. While the band continued to play, and the audience roared for an encore, Green discretely grabbed a black leather overnight bag hidden by the drum kit and walked off the stage — just another night of work for one of the last great soul singers still with us.

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