Mavis Staples: You Are Not Alone

"Mavis Staples [at the Bell House in Brooklyn] ... opens with a gospel number, tosses in one or two new tunes, chats amiably with the audience by telling the same jokes but making them sound fresh, brings in The Band's classic 'The Weight' to turn things up and does an extended version of 'I'll Take You There.' She even tells the classic anecdote about the very first song that Pop Staples taught to his children after being disgusted with the no-shows at rehearsal for his gospel group. That first song? 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken.' Will she sing it? Yes, of course she will. The crowd at the sold-out show in Brooklyn ate it up, perhaps since many of them were seeing Staples in concert for the first time. Her every reference to Jeff Tweedy (who oversaw her latest album, one of the most acclaimed of the year and gave Staples a lovely new standard with the title track 'You Are Not Alone') was greeted with applause. Calling him a funny little thing pleased them even more" (Michael Giltz, "Music," Huffington Post, 1/21/11).
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