James Brown storms auditorium, performs energetically for hundreds

James Brown, decked out in a bright red sequined suit, got down on his knees during a nearly 15-minute rendition of "A Man's Man's Man's World" and told the audience members he loved all 2,500 of them Tuesday night during his performance at the IU Auditorium.\nErupting in applause that bounced off the balcony, the people in the crowd yelled back their adoration for the "hardest working man in show business," who begged for 10 more minutes of performance time. \nEven at 73, Brown moved, shook and rocked with more than a dozen singers and musicians behind him. He played classic hits; "Living in America," "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt. 1" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)." He got some of his biggest applause for a cover of "Georgia on My Mind."\nSenior Chase Herschman was grinning ear-to-ear and took a second to stop dancing to put in his two cents.\n"JB is my hero," he said. "And he's still got it."\nAudience members said they loved his backup band, which Brown had in the palm of his hand. Telling his guitarist to get down like B.B. King, Brown initiated a "rock-off" between band members, simply by saying, "Hit me, pow!" Brown was in complete control -- at least while he was singing.\nWhen he tried to speak in between songs, audience members giggled, and asking each other what he was trying to say. Brown is known for being notoriously hard to understand and for giving drunken, babbling interviews where he quotes his own songs.\n"Living in America" was the highlight for freshman Josh Greenberger who said it was moving when Brown's dancers came out draped in American flags.\n"He looks sexy for a man who is 70 plus," Greenberger said.\nHe got mostly favorable reviews, though a couple audience members left early, unfulfilled.\n"It was a little worse than I expected," senior Michael Kosene said. "The only trademarks were to see the signature moves, like when he went down on his knees."\nAn older crowd filled the auditorium, which led its student manager, junior Nicole Pollard to say there were "not a lot of students." The approximately half non-student crowd stayed seated for much of the performance and insisted that students do the same thing. \nWhen one male student stood up to cheer during the ten minutes where Brown's band was playing before he got on stage, he was attacked. An elderly attendee was so infuriated by the standing that he grabbed the student by his shirt and violently yanked him down into his seat.\nThe IU Soul Revue, led by Director Nathanael Fareed Mahluli, warmed up the crowd with half an hour of grooving soul music. They performed classic songs like Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," and The Isley Brothers' "Who's That Lady" to big applause.\nIU Soul Revue singers -- women dressed in sleeveless, red sequined dresses, and guys in silver sequins -- lit up the stage and got the crowd pumped for the main act saying, "I know you're ready for James Brown" twice, to huge applause. \nIn between acts, IU President Adam Herbert was backstage to meet Brown and take a picture as a slow clap rumbled through the crowd at 8:50 p.m.\n"Oh yeah, I've been looking forward to it," Herbert said. "I want to see if he does the mashed potato."\nAuditorium director Doug Booher was hanging out with Brown backstage and reported that the legend hadn't been at IU in 38 years.\n"He definitely lives up to his legend status," Booher said. "He's excited to be here. He still commands an audience of 2,500 after all these years."\nBrown came out, shook hands with Herbert, telling the president he was happy to be there and took a picture before going on stage. Herbert smiled and said he was a fan since the '60s before hurrying back to his seat saying, "I don't want to miss any of this"