Tickets available for 'Godfather of Soul' performance tonight

The "Godfather of Soul" James Brown is performing at 8 p.m. tonight at the IU Auditorium. \nAt 73 years old, Brown brings his "Seven Decades of Funk" tour to Bloomington for a night of funk and a chance to see a true genre-spanning legend of rock 'n' roll. It's "an offer you can't refuse."\nIt's not too late to get tickets for the show. IU Auditorium Director Doug Booher said that as of Monday afternoon, more than 2,100 tickets had been sold, which leaves 800-900 available.\nBrown's career kicked off in 1956 with his first hit "Please, Please, Please," and he has added 17 No. 1 hits and 114 total entries on Billboard's R&B singles chart since, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Web site. Big hits like "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, Pt. 1," "I Got You (I Feel Good)," and "Try Me" stand on their own, but Brown is mostly known for his dynamic, wild stage show.\nRichie Unterberger, an author of books on music history, writes in an article on allmusic.com that "other singers were more popular, others were equally skilled, but few other African-American musicians have been so influential on the course of popular music. And no other musician, pop or otherwise, put on a more exciting, exhilarating stage show; Brown's performances were marvels of athletic stamina and split-second timing."\nBooher said he can't wait for the performance.\n"You don't get an opportunity that often to see a performer that has been so meaningful," he said. "His impact is pretty widely felt. It's going to be a pretty spectacular night." \nWarming up the crowd with a half-hour set before Brown will be the IU Soul Revue, led by Director Nathanael Fareed Mahluli, who said the group plans to play a high-energy set with "stuff from Earth, Wind and Fire, some '60s stuff and more, but I don't want give away all our secrets." \n"We got an invitation, and I couldn't resist," Mahluli said. "I'm a big-time James Brown fan. I know his band is going to be amazing."\nThe show gives the IU Soul Revue a chance to showcase its talent, including five horns, two keyboardists, a guitarist and percussionist, and 11 vocalists, before its main performance with the rest of the African American Arts Institute on Nov. 4.\nTo create even more buzz around the rock 'n' roll hall of fame performer, YouTube and the IU Auditorium teamed up to create a James Brown impersonation contest. The creator of the best James Brown impression clip loaded on YouTube received two free tickets to the show. The winner was selected by an auditorium panel Monday night but was not named to the media as of press time. Senior Andy Shore didn't need extra incentive to see Brown. He has been talking about the show for months, as soon as it was revealed that Brown's performance would be on his birthday. Adding in a "Godfather" movie quote for good measure, he expressed the excitement that caused him to have an AOL away message reading: "really excited for James Brown." \n"He's one of those artists I've always wanted to see," he said. "I get to see the 'Godfather of Soul,' and it doesn't even have to be the day of his daughter's wedding -- just my birthday"