John Lennon inspired millions during his lifetime with his universal message of love, and his efforts towards advocating peace. With his brilliant and distinguished musical career, first with the Beatles, and then with his solo work (as well as his work with his wife, Yoko Ono), he became one of the most iconic figures in rock history, transcending his status as a popular culture icon.
Of course, we all know that John Lennon was shot, on this very date that this is being published some 33 years ago now. He was shot down in the streets of New York City, Lennon's adopted home, right outside of his apartment complex near Central Park, by a deranged man who had asked for and gotten Lennon's autograph. Following his death, these tribute concerts honoring the man and what he represented has become an annual tradition right around the holiday season. There was an acknowledgement of the passing of yet another great historical figure in the late Nelson Mandela, as well.
I wrote this yesterday, the day after the concert, and had hoped to publish some of the pictures. But my phone camera is brand new, so new that I did not get the chance to really test it out yet. And, I have to admit, the pictures came out very badly. They simply did not do justice to the event. Our seats were not bad (there really was not a bad seat in the house, because Symphony Space is a small, intimate venue), but the pictures came out making it look like we had nose bleed seats in some huge arena or stadium. So, I chose not to publish them. Perhaps, some day, I will revisit this particular blog page and post them, hoping they more or less remain under the radar, and not discredit me. I like taking photographs, but those came out just terribly, and frankly, are a source of embarrassment, in comparison to some of what I consider pretty cool pictures in recent events blogs, like my reviews for Pearl Jam in late October, and Chris Cornell and Dr. J in November.
Apologies about the lack of pictures, then. Hopefully, you understand why.
Here is the review:
It had been soggy and messy all day on Friday. Temperatures had plummeted over the last 24 hours, so that it once again felt cold and dreary, more typical of December temperatures, to go along with the rain.
Yet, it is saying something that Friday was actually a step up from the previous day, because despite the considerably warmer temperatures on Thursday, it still felt actually quite a bit worse, particularly with driving. There was just so much fog to go along with it, that it made driving conditions very challenging and unpleasant. Also, the roads felt slippery on both days, which made for treacherous conditions. It seemed that every time I drove, there would be a point where I would pass police strobe lights and stranded drivers of motor vehicles that had crashed.
So, it was one of those kinds of days when you feel a bit down, fatigued. The weather seemed to damped everyone's spirits.
But you can't always choose what days events are going to be on, or whether or not the weather will be accommodating or, as it was on Friday evening, annoying and even potentially hazardous.
For years, I had heard about this annual Lennon tribute concert that took place in the city every December, and the temptation was always strong to get tickets and check it out. Yet, every year, it seemed that I would forget, or that something would come up.
This year, I found out about it early on, and my determination was a bit stronger. This year, I was going.
After finally attending one of these things, I was glad that I was there.
The concert featured a decent assortment of prominent names and talent, and of course, it was all on honor of the late John Lennon, who was shot down on these New York City streets not very far from where the event took place, some thirty three years ago, right around this time of the year.
There were a few big names on hand, each performing some Lennon tracks from either his solo career, or his works with the Beatles.
Some of the big names included Steve Earle, Raul Malo (the lead singer of the Mavericks), Marc Cohn, Joan Osborne, Teddy Thompson, Dana Fuchs, Bettye LaVette, Toshi Reagon, Rich Pagano (best known as a member of the legendary Beatles tribute band, the Fab Faux) and The Buffers.
Marc Cohn, best known for his huge hit "Walking in Memphis", was supposed to attend, but did not, due to personal matter. He did send his regards, and apologized for not being able to attend by reiterating Lennon's own words, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Dan Bern stepped in for Cohn, in his absence.
Before the concert began, Yoko Ono also sent a video message that was aired. She was in Japan, for a similar tribute concert to John Lennon. These, we were informed, were the only two tribute concerts for him in the world, honoring the man.
Then, it was time for the concert to begin. The house band opened with a track that was not written by John Lennon, but was written by Elton John to honor Lennon. It was fitting, given that Lennon's last ever performance on stage was actually as a special guest at an Elton John show, just weeks before he was killed.
I have to say that two acts really kind of stole the show. Both appeared in the first half of the show, before the intermission.
Dana Fuchs was the first one. She has an amazing, and truly unique, voice. Perhaps that is how she got the roll of Janis Joplin on the Broadway musical honoring her. You can really hear the similarities in style and sound, and I always assumed that is saying something, because Joplin's voice and style were quite unique! But Fuchs sounded amazing, and she easily took a commanding stage presence. Her voice was by far the most powerful one on stage that night! She
Toshi Reagon was the second one. Like Fuchs, her voice had a commanding presence, and the audience seemed to respond quite favorably, kicking it up a notch as soon as she began performing. She performed a somber version of "Ticket to Ride", lending this familiar piece a whole new feel.
Before the first half of the show ended with intermission, Joe Raiola, who has organized these annual John Lennon tribute shows from the very beginning, and editor of Mad magazine. He spoke a bit in honor of John Lennon, and also spoke about the gun debate, mentioning that since Lennon was shot in the city some thirty plus years ago, more than a million people have been killed by guns. He recited his poem, "The Guns" on stage. If you are unfamiliar with it, you can listen to him reciting his poem by clicking the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSdBlbKXh2A
The Buffers, an acapella act from Hamilton College in New York, performed an incredible version of "Because" by the Beatles, and without any instruments. Just vocals. It was an amazing version, and one of the true highlights from the evening. As it turns out, they were sitting in our section, and kept going back and forth, from the stage to their seats and back again.
Steve Earle, himself a musician of some stature that, like John Lennon, does not shy away from political controversy, came on stage and performed an awesome version of "Working Class Hero", which got a very decent audience reaction, as well. Also, it was fitting for the times.
Joan Osbourne was the final artist to take the stage, and she performed a duet of "Imagine" with Betty Lavette, before ending the evening by inviting all the artists up on stage to perform Happy X-mas" (War is Over).
A really, really awesome night! I had wanted to attend one of these tribute concerts for a long time, and was not disappointed. If you are in the area next December, and are a Lennon fan, I would definitely recommend looking into this! For that matter, Fuchs specifically was so impressive, that I am now considering going to see that Janis Joplin tribute show that she is the star of. Yes, she really was that good!
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