Fri. Nov. 21

 Al Green is the best soul/gospel singer of our era, and the fact is, his still-sweet and supple voice remains in fine form. Seeing, the Rev. Green, you don't have to force your memory back to when he was great; great he remains. A force of nature. Or, God, he would say. As in: This gift came from above. God is Green's main man, has been so for years, but he mixes the sacred and secular in concert, often blurring the two, allowing you to take what you want from it. When I saw him some years ago in Dorchester, I walked in an agnostic and I walked out ... an agnostic. But an agnostic who was moved by Green's music, beliefs and soul, moved to consider that maybe there is something up there, out there, an afterlife. Look, I don't know any more than any one else does. Here's where Bill Maher, Christopher Hitchens and I intersect. And I don't think Al Green knows either. But he has faith and I envy that faith - we secular humanists do that, really - and I like the idea of falling under the spell of someone as persuasive, silky, sexy and humble as Rev. Green. He's at Showcase Live in Foxboro Friday Nov. 21 at 8. Downside? Tickets are a whoppinng $125-$80, and the economy is where it is.

23 Patriot Place, Foxboro, 617-931-2000 or 888-354-7042 www.ticketmaster.com or www.patriot-place.com