James Brown played a notable show at the Garden on April 5 , 1968 , the night after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated . Only 2,000 attended the sold-out show , because the mayor , Kevin White , and community leaders had encouraged people to obtain refunds on their tickets and instead to watch a hastily arranged television broadcast of the concert on the local public station WGBH-TV . Mayor White appeared on stage , asking the Garden audience and the city to peacefully remember King , and James Brown 's words and presence was credited with helping to keep the peace in Boston . WGBH rebroadcast the concert twice that night , an action which helped keep people off of the street at a time other major cities were erupting in riots . The performance was released on DVD as '' Live at the Boston Garden : April 5 , 1968 ''
assassinated
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Boston Garden