The Queen Of Soul

I'd like to report a robbery last night.  It occurred at the Louisville Palace.  No, my purse wasn't stolen. I was robbed by Aretha Franklin. 

I'd never seen Aretha in concert before, and since they were calling this her final tour, this would be my last chance.  I had high hopes and great expectations from this concert - how would she be able to fit in her hits that span a career of 45 years?  The show started promptly at 7:30, and after a 5 minute medly of her hits by the band and orchestra, she started the show.  I was also impressed by her band and orchestra - they were all wearing black tuxedos and were truly a class act. 

Three songs into the concert, she proved why she is the Queen of Soul with an awesome version of "Chain Of Fools." (I often say how that is the unofficial theme song at work.) There wasn't one person sitting in their seats during this number.  Then she did another couple of songs, and introduced the band and did "Respect" - one of her signature songs.  That's when the bottom started to fall out.  She couldn't hit the high notes, and ended up singing half of the song an octave lower.  I was also disappointed because you couldn't hear the electric guitar play that awesome opening riff for "Respect."  She finished her portion of the song, and then went backstage to rest for a few minutes.  She came back, did a few more songs, introduced the rest of the band, and then she was gone. Everybody was clapping and cheering and she didn't come back for an encore.  People paid $75 a ticket to see her perform for an hour and ten minutes, and she didn't even sing her other signature song "Natural Woman." There might have been a few people weepy over that.  And she didn't even do any of her big hits from the 80's, either.  How could we see Aretha Franklin, and not hear "Freeway Of Love"? The MTV generation might not have ever heard "Chain of Fools" or "The House That Jack Built" but thanks to MTV and VH-1, they knew that Aretha sang "Freeway Of Love."   As we were leaving the theater and going to the parking garage, concert goers all around us were talking about how disappointed they were in the concert.  So at least we weren't the only ones. 

I give Aretha props for still performing in her 60's, though, and I noticeda few things that confirmed why she has the title of Queen Of Soul.  When the band and backup singers were doing the opening medly, they had a huge screen on stage where they showed pictures of Aretha throughout her career.  In one picture, she was wearing a cape with a big hood, and had on dark sunglasses.  It reminded me of Whitney Houston in "The Bodyguard" movie. I nudged my friend sitting next to me and said "Just like Whitney Houston."  And then it dawned on me - where do you think Whitney Houston got that from?"  It was the same way with Aretha's vocals on another song - now I realize where Patti LaBelle got it from. 

You're still the undisputed Queen of Soul, Aretha, but you still robbed Louisville last night.