Rousing Gospel Artists Spread the Word About Beating AIDS

The audience at the Wiltern Theatre on Saturday, primarily young and African American, was there to hear a lineup of gospel artists make a joyful noise. That they got--along with pleas to get tested for HIV. This wasn’t your old-fashioned gospel gathering--it was the last stop of the Living Proof Tour, a 10-city caravan designed to raise awareness of a disease that is on the rise in minority communities.

Headliner Fred Hammond invoked the words of gospel phenom Kirk Franklin when he asked the capacity crowd if it was ready for a “holy ghost party.” But Hammond has more of a preaching-to-the-choir stance than Franklin, whose “Stomp” moved those who spend Sunday mornings sleeping off the worldly excesses of Saturday night as strongly as it appealed to churchgoers.

With his deep, commanding voice and down-to-earth persona, Hammond doesn’t make too many concessions to the hip-hop generation. Backed by vocal group Radical for Christ, he generated a sound that was invigorating but not as radical in its risk-taking musical moves as Franklin’s.

Yolanda Adams, another modern traditionalist in the Hammond mold, deserves to be better known. With her regal bearing and glorious voice, she could easily contend for the title of queen of contemporary gospel. For all her elegance, Adams delivered “Yeah” with an un-self-conscious exuberance.

Also on the bill was the veteran group Take 6, whose sophisticated hybrid of gospel and jazz made even an old standard such as “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” sound brand new.