Last night

I saw Stevie Wonder for free at the Jazz festival last night. He did this as his finale (Although, this is taken from another performance) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LOX7OMAjis

There's something to be said for Stevie Wonder's existence. I don't want to make this nationalistic at all either, but England had the Beatles, the British invasion, and many of the pioneering acts of rock, while North America had Stevie. After being exposed so long to the petulant and overly convulated realm of music criticism and listening, seeing Stevie was rejuvenating. His grace comes from his literally unadulterated love of music and performing. He is someone who has never been able to see James Brown perform, seen entertainment for its own sake. So when he's up on stage, his presence radiates the sincerity of his love for the audience and for the flow of energy between him and them. During the performance, every song and interaction defied the blase view of performance resulting from our inundation with the history of live music, defying our expectations and surprising ourselves with our ability to react earnestly to hearing Stevie's voice and music.

He broke down during the concert during his final Michael tribute (there were several), and while MJ is still a contentious figure for his absolutely insane personal life, we know Stevie's dedication is heartfelt. For that night, he wasn't just another defender of Jackson because of his closeness to Jackson's family and strident desire to defend the posthumous legacy of the King of Pop, but because of his undying love and passion for Jackson's song and what his work and life had meant to Stevie, someone who had grown up in a similar era, spending all of his time scurrying about in the machinery of the music industry.