We were looking for this footage on YouTube back when we named James Brown's historic concert at the Garden in 1968 -- yes, the one he did the night Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated -- the best concert in Boston, ever. The performance, nearly cancelled but eventually broadcast live on WGBH, has been widely credited over the years with sparing Boston from the riots that erupted in many other cities. This footage has been on and off YT over the past couple of months, and here's hoping the copyright holders let it stay up for a bit. This six-minute clip is particularly amazing -- not just for the performance footage, which shows James screaming and dancing at his superhuman, late-'60s best (it also includes his infamous cape-throwing reveal), but also for the way he handles the crowd rushing the stage: as a gaggle of nervous cops attempt to keep people at bay, James takes command and talks one-on-one with members of the audience, calming both police and fans while displaying in a few short moments the authority, grace, and pride that informed all of his finest music.
WATCH: James Brown, live at the Boston Garden, 1968.