When James Brown takes the stage in Eugene this weekend, his epic “Wooos” reverberating through the theater as he dances non-stop around the microphone, the recently departed Godfather of Soul won’t be singing from across the great beyond. Instead, he’ll be helping the people of Boston heal on the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, all in 5.1 surround sound on the screen at Bijou Art Cinemas.
The cinema’s LateNite “In-Concert” series, which brings an array of classic, mostly unreleased concerts from the past 40 years to the silver screen, is in its second run-through at the Bijou after a successful series last fall, said Darren Aboulafia, the series’ producer.
When choosing the shows, Aboulafia went for greatness and diversity. “You have James Brown for the first two weeks,” he said, “and the next week you have the Talking Heads, which is about as far from James Brown as you can get.”
Being able to see the great bands of the past in person adds to the experience, Aboulafia said.
“If fans rely solely on what they hear (on records), they’re not getting the complete historic picture. There’s just something about seeing the bands live in concert. For some people, they could become tremendous fans, where before they just had a passing interest in the band.”
The sound of all the shows is remastered, Aboulafia said. “People will definitely get a feast for their ears.”
Peter Tosh, U2, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Ani DiFranco, the Rolling Stones and Santana will “perform” after Talking Heads. The series wraps up with one of the greatest concerts ever, Aboulafia said. The majority of Pink Floyd fans didn’t get a chance to see the band’s epic “The Wall” tour. Sure, they can rent the movie, but that doesn’t open them up to the band’s improvisation, theatrics and unique use of lighting that the live performance does, Aboulafia said. Seeing the legendary band live at the Bijou, 491 E. 13th Ave., at the end of the series will finally give its fans that chance.
Each concert in the series, which runs until July 8, gets a two-week run of one performance a night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The concerts usually begin around 11 p.m., Aboulafia said, depending on when the previous movie ends. The current series features all new concerts, many of which are difficult to obtain. The $4 ticket comes with a free soda or organic popcorn, Aboulafia said.
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