Mick Jagger said it best last night at Madison Square Garden with the comment about the plethora of old English musicians in attendance, but they weren't the only ones belting out the hits for humanity. Even if the Mayans are proven right in a week or so, at least, if you watched the marathon concert, you got to see an impressive lineup that may not be equaled - like the actual date - ever again.
I picked up the action in the middle of the Pink Floyd remnants (I don't mean that negatively!) doing what seemed to my ears like a fairly flawless "Comfortably Numb". The first thing that was obvious was the interplay among the musicians, trading off with each other, generally looking like they were having a good time, with the likes of Jimmy Fallon, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler and many others providing the comic relief and human interest stories in between.
Bon Jovi would have to get the judges' award for Best Jersey Boy, delivering the standard arena anthems like "Livin On A Prayer" and "Dead or Alive", but squeezing in some homeboy commentary about the heroes of the Jersey shore as well as teaming up with the perennial boss, Springsteen himself. Eric Clapton let his music do the talking, first with a sly acoustical version of Bessie Smith's "Down and Out" , finally wrapping up with a sizzling hot "Crossroads".; The choice to me was oddly symbolic, a musical timeline between 1937 and 2012 reinforcing the stature of the mysterious Robert Johnson.
The Stones did "Keeps Me Rocking" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash", Mick leading the assault as usual, probably knowing that most of the folks at home were wondering how he could move so well at age 69. Ron Wood seemed to be handling most of the trademark stinging guitar riffs, Keith Richard contributing a few as well. Their set ended kind of abruptly. Steve Buscemi mentioned several times after the fact that they had cut it short.
The Who contributed their usual solid and sardonic brand of hardcore rock, the crowd going nuts over "Baba O'Riley" (Just think of rows of financial analysts screaming" THEY'RE ALL WASTED!") not to mention "Tommy" , "Reign Oer Me" and a rousing, take no prisoners version of "Who Are You?" Roger Daltry and Pete Townsend must be vampires because they both looked and sounded exactly the same. Alicia Keys displayed her dazzling voice and dedication to New York.
Billy Joel chewed up the scenery enough to win the judges' Best Local Color award, the only person I heard using profanity the whole night, but more importantly reeling off the hits - "Only The Good Die Young", " You May Be Right", and a long, jazzy as well as appropriate rendition of "New York State of Mind."
As is usually the case, I dozed off for a bit, waking up in time to see Paul McCartney. It was kind of surreal, as if the College of Cardinals had just gotten done meeting before the Pope appears. I was struck by his youthfulness, again wondering how many musicians there had entered into some sort of Faustian pact with the devil to stay forever young. I'll always be a fan, but the only tune I really liked was his solo rendition of "Blackbird". The rest of the music seemed either obscure or disconnected.
The only positive thing you can say about a massive tragedy like African famines, Haitian earthquakes and Hurricane Sandys is bring it on so the world's best rockers can jam again for money. As far as 12/21 is concerned. Michael Stipe was there but did not sing "The End of The World As We Know It." I guess that's a good thing ?
Thursday, December 13, 2012
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