Monday, Sept. 26, 2005 | 8:29 a.m.
Who: Aaron Neville.
When: Saturday.
Where: Henderson Pavilion.
Rating (out of 5 stars): *** 1/2
A heavy heart couldn't stop Aaron Neville from brightening the spirits of 1,700 or so fans who turned out at Henderson Pavilion on Saturday night.
The New Orleans native -- who, along with his famous brothers, still calls the hurricane-devastated city home -- capped a wildly varied performance with the theme from "The Mickey Mouse Club," a light ending to a fun evening of music.
Surprisingly, the 64-year-old vocalist opted not to speak to the crowd about Hurricane Katrina or efforts to raise money for the Gulf Coast region, even though Neville and his family have spent the past several weeks participating in a string of benefit concerts.
Instead, the headliner only sang of his home state's troubles, his gentle, soulful voice delivering fitting lyrics from Randy Newman's "Louisiana 1927."
"The river rose all day/The river rose all night/Some people got lost in the flood/Some people got away alright/Louisiana, Louisiana/They're tryin' to wash us away."
Red Cross volunteers took donations near the entry gates. But a pre-show announcement that "all proceeds" from the show would go to the victims of Katrina was not accurate, with a Henderson Parks & Recreation spokesperson clarifying later that only the donations to the Red Cross -- and not any money from ticket sales -- would be sent to the affected region.
Neville and his five-piece band, which included brother Charles Neville on saxophone, utilized a vast array of stylistic vehicles to entertain concert-goers throughout the roughly 100-minute set.
They jammed through jazzy instrumental workouts, piloted by the 66-year-old Charles, second eldest of the four Neville brothers.
They tackled reggae-tinged blues (Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine"), twangy country balladry (Patsy Cline's "I Fall to Pieces") and grooving funk (Withers' "Use Me").
The group tried on a pop hat for some of Neville's originals, including "Don't Take Away My Heaven" and "Everybody Plays the Fool."
And to the delight of a mostly older audience, the musicians dug out the oldies, from Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" to a medley piecing together bits of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me," the Drifters' "There Goes My Baby" and Sam Cooke's "Cupid" and "Chain Gang."
Through it all, Neville's unique vocal instrument was in vintage form. "This place is so nice, I can sing so soft in here," he announced, referring as much to the respectfully quiet audience as the venue's acoustics.
Neville navigated smoothly up and down his considerable range, producing his trademark flutter whenever he ascended to his upper-octave falsetto.
The veteran performer sent the audience to its feet twice, with vocal showcases "Amazing Grace" and Schubert's "Ave Maria." Both were moving, though the latter's somewhat cheesy keyboard accompaniment undermined its impact a bit.
Before exiting, Neville paused to take stock of his night's work.
"We've done all kinds of music tonight, right?" he asked, then headed off, likely in search of another genre to add to his considerable repertoire.
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