Mavis Staples, The Blind Boys Of Alabama & Aaron Neville April 28, 2011 Civic Theatre

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In a month full of extraordinary live performances, Mavis Staples’ hour-long set at The Civic may have been the high point. In a surprise move, the 71-year-old singer took the stage ahead of The Blind Boys and Aaron Neville. Her crack band appeared promptly at 8pm. This is the same band that backed Mavis up on her recent Grammy Award winning album, You Are Not Alone, produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, and they provided a perfect backing for Mavis’ gospel/soul/blues/rock sound. But first, Mavis and her three backing singers, including sister Yvonne and former Skylark singer Donny Gerrard (remember their 1970’s hit Wildflower?) started things with an acapella gospel number to warm up the vocal cords. Mavis’ voice is a bit huskier than it was in the 70s, but she still retains her power and control, as she proved when she and the band performed John Fogerty’s Wrote A Song For Everyone.

Mavis then addressed the audience, saying, “we have come to have a good time tonight” and that we’ll hear “some of the old and some of the new…we might take you into the future”. It must be said that Mavis’ ebullient personality was part of what set this show apart from so many others. She was a joy to listen to.

After Creep Along Moses, the show hit an emotional high point with a wonderful reading of The Band’s The Weight. Backing singers Vickie Randall and Donny Gerrard took turns singing the verses while Mavis chimed in for the chorus. Jeff Tweedy’s You Are Not Alone followed and then it was Pops Staples’ Freedom Highway. Mavis reminded the audience the Pops wrote the tune in 1962 and sang it while marching with Martin Luther King Jr in Alabama.

After a couple more gospel numbers, Mavis left the stage to allow guitarist Rick Holmstrom to show off his stuff on an instrumental. Holmstrom proved to be one of the most tasteful players around and his playing was incredible throughout the show.

Good as the band was, it was good to have Mavis back and she closed out the too brief set with Rev. Gary Davis’ I Belong To The Band (telling a story about meeting Davis when she was 13) and then a seriously funky version of I’ll Take You There that got the entire audience singing along.

The Blind Boys followed soon after, and it must be said, as good as they were, they were a bit of a come-down after Mavis Staples. After a couple of tunes on their own, Aaron Neville joined them for Curtis Mayfield’s People Get Ready, which Neville sang in an impossibly high falsetto. Next were two gospel tunes from his new Joe Henry-produced album, I Know I’ve Been Changed, with the Blind Boys providing some down-home harmonies. Then came a solemn reading of Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come. Neville ended his five-song set with the upbeat Tell Me What Kind Of Man Jesus Is.

The Blind Boys took over again, with original member Jimmy Carter leading the charge. God knows how old he is, but he put on an energetic performance, venturing out into the crowd for a 15 minute rave up. The group’s voices are a bit shaky these days, but they still know how to put on a show. They closed with Ben Harper’s There Will Be A Light and then brought Aaron Neville back for an old-time revival version of I Saw The Light.

It was quite a night of music, probably more religion than most of the audience had experienced in years, but very satisfying and uplifting with Mavis Staples proving to be an incredible vocalist and performer as she enters her eighth decade.

Marty Duda

Click here for the 13th Floor interview with Aaron Neville

Photo courtesy Micheal Flynn

Marty Duda
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