I once saw James Brown play in approx. 1984.
He did a lot of wandering around the stage, bouncing up and down, and the old schtick of his handlers putting robes and coats on him as he tore them off. He could do none of the moves he might have done 15 years earlier - not that the audience was expecting that....
He was very much overweight, sweating like he was in a sauna, and I felt he was high or drunk. He spent the whole time vamping the audience to the band’s background music. It wasn’t really a performance. Terrible show.
I saw JB do a great show in 1985 when he was riding high on the radio success of Living In America (from Rocky IV or V).
I saw James Brown at a festival in 1993. He was past his prime, but still did a decent job.