Concert Review: Al Green and Delbert McClinton

by Todd Maternowski

There is something amazing about seeing a live performance by a living legend, especially now, one week after the passing of one of the all-time great musical giants, James Brown. When the opportunity to witness three legends in one night comes along, that is simply an event not to be missed --particularly when the artists are known for their electrifying live shows. R&B master Al Green, blues/gospel singer Etta James and blues musician/songwriter Delbert McClinton converged on Nokia Wednesday night as one of the oddest amalgamations of musical talent to grace Grand Prairie in some time.

Unfortunately for many of the fans, Etta James fell ill and was unable to perform --not a huge surprise, as she is nearly 80 years old and just recently underwent gastric bypass surgery, losing over 200 pounds in the process-- which left a large portion of the stadium-style seats noticeably empty. Nevertheless, Green and McClinton continued on for over three hours of great music.

Delbert McClinton, who is probably more well-known for his songwriting ability than for his individual efforts, opened the evening with some of his distinctive, harmonica-led bluesy rock. While the sound over the speakers was excellent, the band seemed dwarfed by the cavernous Nokia, playing in the center of a mostly-empty stage to rows of (mostly) well-behaved fans. Until they start incorporating laser shows, blues are rarely going to fill out an arena, and McClinton's performance would've been better served in a more intimate setting --like a roadhouse or dilapidated bar.

The impossibly large dimensions of Nokia could hardly contain the second act, however: as far as performers go, Al Green is a class unto himself. With his trademark screams and forgive-anything smile, Al Green can take a vast room of thousands and fill it with love and happiness. Watching him live, you realize that is simply impossible for Green to stay still; dancing, shaking, bobbing and writhing his way across the stage like a man one-third his age, he can draw a huge crowd in with the smallest of movements, lending each sustained high-note and singalong chorus that much more oompf.

Adding to that is an all-out assault of feel-good --make that feel-great-- crowd interaction. Green is a highly-skilled preacher and uses his personal magnetism to full effect in his concert, sending love out into the audience and receiving it a thousand-fold in return. Inbetween songs Green is peppering his audience with "I love you", and "I wanna hug every one of you", along with a barrage of jokes, gospel entreaties and even a dozen roses thrown to swooning female members of the audience. Over the course of his hour-long set, Al Green does not waste a single second, thoroughly ensuring that everyone in the room is having a good time.

And the songs, of course -- from "Let's Stay Together" to "I'm Still in Love With You" to "Tired of Being Alone" to "You Ought to Be With Me" to a whole host of others-- are all preposterously great songs that have been immortalized in popular culture: as Green is fond of saying, he's been in your house, he's been in your car, he's been in your bathroom and he's been in your bedroom. At Nokia the band played through the songs noticeably quicker than the originals, but not so much as to take anything away from the music. Along with his string of hit singles, Green also sprinkled a decent dose of gospel and soul music, at one point transforming Nokia into a vast megachurch, before launching back into his favorite secular R&B songs.

Although the set was criminally short at just one hour, afterwards the normally sterile environment at Nokia was filled with love and happiness, even carrying the feel-good vibe over into the terribly-designed (and normally stress-inducing) parking lot. Although he gave up on performing for most of the last two decades, Al Green is again working on new albums and material, which should mean more concerts: seeing this giant ought to be required viewing for any serious music lover.