Concert: Foster and Jackson at 4 Live

 Foster and JacksonOn an otherwise dreary Friday night, Wayne Foster and Peter Jackson, billed as two of Motown's original singers, glided onto the stage at 4 Live in Shanghai's Luwan district to give China something it desperately needs -- a little soul. Touring China as a duo, Foster and Jackson individually have a long history in Motown, rhythm and blues, and soul; they've recorded with the Platters, the Coasters, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and the Ink Spots. This two-city China tour was called "Music from the Heart and Soul," but might have been more aptly titled "The Music You Missed Because of Mao Tour."

The names of famous Motown groups last much longer than the groups themselves. As original member lineups break up, it is often the case that an original member will recruit new singers to tour and cash in on the group's fame. This is exactly what happened to The Platters. I once saw the "Four Tops" in Atlantic City. The group included just one "Top" and three guys recruited after the group had recorded its trademark hits -- guys like Foster or Jackson. Even though Foster and Jackson's credits technically include The Platters, who sang "Only You" in 1955, the Coasters, who sang "Yakety Yak" in 1959, and the Ink Spots whose fame peaked in the '30s, the duo was more likely involved with the later incarnation of these groups that used these famous names to sell tickets to crowds looking for a little nostalgia.

When you're an American in Shanghai, however, the authenticity of a Motown act matters little. What matters is that Motown music, the most American of all American music, was being performed for (what I can only assume was) the first time ever in Shanghai. While Foster and Jackson played "Unchained Melody," "Tears in Heaven," and two Nat King Cole tunes, the duo mainly stuck to straight-up Motown. Highlights of the first set included renditions of the Temptations' "My Girl" and Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour." The all-Chinese band behind Foster and Jackson clung to sheet music throughout the show, and while they ably backed the singers, the Funk Brothers they were not.

Shedding their tuxedos in favor of matching blue silk shirts, Foster and Jackson kicked off the second set with increased ease and energy. This hour included another Pickett classic "Mustang Sally," "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa" and "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay," by Otis Redding and "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown. During the middle of the set, a brazen young audience member breathed some beer-laced oxygen into the lifeless crowd. Within a few minutes he had herded a mixed crowd of Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos and Americans onto the dance floor, where they twisted and shimmied stage-front for the duration. Toward the end of the show, Foster and Jackson descended onto the dance floor themselves to dance and sing with the crowd. They exited the stage with an obligatory but heart-felt, "What a great crowd! We love you Shanghai!"

For a show that began with tepid audience interest, by the time they took their bow, Foster and Jackson had successfully energized the mostly-Chinese crowd perhaps making Motown lovers out of people who had never before experienced the music. Since China missed Motown during the '60s, it's understandable that this ultra-retro concert may have struck some of the audience with the skepticism that any bizarre new genre brings, but I suppose it's better late than never.

Foster and Jackson will return to China in June.

-David Flumenbaum


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