The Green-ing of the Canyon
Al Green makes suburban hearts melt in Agoura Hills
By Bill Lascher 05/24/2007
At 61 years old, there is no reason to expect Al Green to slow down anytime soon, but coming on stage at the Canyon Club on May 20 to “I Can’t Stop” seemed a fitting move.
Who knows who was responsible for scheduling, but with no opening act, the crowd barely had an opportunity to get warmed up when Green left the stage after performing for only an hour. Even during his show, the feisty crooner challenged his nine-member band to match his drawn-out pace.
Green held fans in the palm of his hand from the beginning, handing out roses from the stage and winking at the female diners closest to him. In turn, the audience — particularly the women — were excited to be in that close proximity to the soul and gospel favorite.
Green, who became an ordained pastor in 1976, spent a chunk of his career focused on gospel music. At the Canyon, he was able to make note of his faith without overpowering the rest of his music, although he swept the entire crowd into a surprisingly melodic version of “Amazing Grace.”
But that isn’t to say Green couldn’t have fun on stage. In addition to his backing band, he also reveled in introducing his daughter, backup singer Deborah Green. And he was quick to highlight the talents of his band, including the excellent brass section, for which he gave the microphone for an extended instrumental in “Love and Happiness.”
Still, the experience of watching Al Green at the Canyon left a lesson for this reviewer about the local music scene.
At first glance, not much compares to the sight of a room full of middle-aged suburbanites and soccer moms undulating to sultry rhythms and mouthing the words to “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)” and “Let’s Stay Together.” But what is sad isn’t adults dancing to music Green would be the first to say has a heavy rotation in their bedrooms. What is sad is how easily a Los Angeles County club that serves as the butt of jokes for local hipsters makes Ventura County’s scene look like the amateur act.
Although it is easy to make fun of over-the-hill residents of the Conejo and San Fernando Valleys grooving to ’70s soul music, Green’s show did highlight the stark reality that there really aren’t many options in the county to see high-profile acts, even if the height of that profile was three decades ago. Although the Ventura Theater occasionally brings a high-profile act to that city, rarely does it offer many alternatives in terms of genre or experience.
That’s a shame, because the Canyon — which isn’t even in Ventura County — shouldn’t be faulted for a targeting a different audience. And the audience shouldn’t be faulted for grooving to something other than the stale rock acts and punk clones that dominate the lineup at the Ventura Theater (an occasional hip-hop or reggae booking doesn’t quite do the trick). It’s just a shame audiences regularly have to drive to Los Angeles or Santa Barbara for some variety.
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT