Hayes
delivers hot buttered soul to Long
Beach
By Vince Scott
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
R&B icon and innovator Isaac Hayes was at the Vault 350 in downtown Long
Beach Friday, spreading his infectious brand of soul throughout the venue.
Backed by a tight seven- piece band and three back-up singers, the fit and trim
63year-old held the old school audience captive playing ’60s and ’70s
hit covers like Dionne Warwick’s “Walk on By” from “Hot
Buttered Soul” (1969) and Jerry Butler’s “I Stand Accused” from “The
Isaac Hayes Movement” (1970). Hayes’ deep baritone voice held the
audience captive but lacked the power and ability to sustain notes. But Hayes,
with his gleaming bald head and dark glasses, had the charisma and showmanship
to carry the night.
It took a couple of tunes for the band to adjust the sound levels and mics, but
the crowd immediately rushed to the stage when Hayes opened with “Don’t
Let Go.”
Hayes used the old James Brown gimmick of letting the bass player do a funky
solo on the opening number to get the audience pumped-up. It worked.
Many of the mostly over-35 crowd swayed and danced at the front of the stage
throughout the show as Hayes exhibited more than 30 years’ worth of performing
savvy.
Incredibly, the nearly two-hour set included only 10 songs. That is a testament
to one of Hayes early ’70s innovations of having extended tracks on LPs
lasting sometimes up to 20 minutes long.
The 19-minute “Do Your Thang” was whittled down to a more manageable
10-minute version with Hayes giving back-singer Rhonda Thomas a nice showcase
for her vocal talents. Drummer Jason
Harris was equally impressive and showcased his talents during a 10-minute solo
while the rest of the band left the stage. Aside from Hayes himself, the glue
that held it all together was a remarkable three-man keyboard section led by
Earl Chester that replicated the horn sections, flutes, vibes and string sections
heard on many of Hayes’ LPs.
The Oscar winner bantered playfully with the ladies in the audience who were
yelling out their favorites. He admonished them to wait and have a “little
foreplay first,” earning a rousing ovation from the audience.
He talked about how he liked to visit the surrounding neighborhoods where he’s
playing, sharing that he took a taxi to the Vault just to get a feel for the
area.
But for the most part, Hayes and the band stuck to the music, cranking out heavy
funk flavored tunes like “Hyperbolicsyllabic-sesquidalimystic” or
the seductive slow burners like “The Look of Love,” made up-close-and-personal
by the large video screens extended from each side of the stage.
For those unfamiliar with Hayes’ role as the voice of Chef on the cartoon
series “South Park,” the bawdy “Chocolate Salty Balls,” seemed
a little out of place, but Hayes humorously defended it saying, “It really
is a snack” and that you can find the recipe in one of his cookbooks.
Hayes is a member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the first
African American to win an Oscar for Best Original Song for the title song from
the movie “Shaft.” The “Shaft” soundtrack, released in
1971, is easily the highpoint of Hayes’ career. Fittingly, he chose to
end the show with a perfect rendition of the title song with most of the audience
singing back-up as he pointed the mic toward the crowd.
Unfortunately, between the long wait for Hayes to take the stage and the music
thoroughly exhausting the audience, there was no encore—although Hayes
did remain on stage at the end signing programs for his fans. The show was truly
a hot buttered love fest between Hayes and his fans.
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