Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary 10/30/09

Normally the reviews on this site strive to be like a review you might read in a newspaper. Objective. Impartial. Unbiased. And, most of all, no first-person! This one’s going to break the mold. By virtue of necessity, it’s both a review of Friday night’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary show and a review of my personal experience at said show.

The reason for this break from form is that I got a free ticket through the marvelous 1iota.com, a site that gave away obstructed view seats behind the stage. Given that some regular seats in Madison Square Garden went for $2500, this was a hell of a deal. However, throughout the night both the sound and sightlines for those of us behind the stage were so shaky I can’t justify trying to give an “objective” view of the concert. I can, however, talk about experiencing a one-in-a-lifetime show from the cheap seats.

Though we were behind the stage, and behind a partition that blocked some of the performers from sight (generally just the drummers), distance-wise the 750 1iota ticket-holders were closer to the bands than many people who paid for tickets. As an added bonus, we got to watch the musicians hanging out backstage when they weren’t performing, hugging, chatting, giving interviews, waving to us.

Having two stages on a rotating platform eliminated changeover time. A brilliant move for a show with a lot of artists. One artist finishes, the stage rotates, and the next is ready to go. Then the crew set up the other stage for the next one, out of sight of the audience (except for us, of course).

Tom Hanks introduced the proceedings, but as tended to happen whenever anyone spoke, we in the back could not understand a word he said. In fact, the sound was so crazy-muffled for many acts (Jeff Beck being an enjoyable exception) it took a while to recognize even the most familiar songs. Generally it seemed the larger the band, the harder it was to hear.

As he did the previous night (where Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Simon & Garfunkel and CSN headlined), Jerry Lee Lewis got the music going with “Great Balls of Fire.” As he did when I saw him at Farm Aid a year ago, the Killer killed it. He walks slower than he used to – he is 74 after all – but his fingers can still fly across the piano. And though a little rough around the edges, his voice still has the unmistakable rockabilly twang.

A Motown video montage led into Aretha Franklin taking the stage. With her enormous band, hers was the worst sound of the night, but from what we could tell it seemed like her voice was still excellent. The crowd who could hear certainly acted like it was. She brought out Annie Lennox of Eurythmics to duet on a blistering “Chain of Fools” and Lenny Kravitz for a sassy back-and-forth on “Think.” I look forward to viewing the video of this set more than any other, to see what I missed with the terrible sound.

Arriving with a three-piece band (including bass prodigy Tal Wilkenfeld), Jeff Beck provided a sound the backstage speakers could handle. His solos came through hot and pure, shredding out the proof that he was a worthy last-minute replacement for an ailing Eric Clapton. Not a singer himself, Beck stuck with instrumentals except with the guests came out. A heavily-bearded Sting first joined the Yardbird on stage, belting out “People Get Ready” with a vocal power unheard in his recent years with the reunited Police. The gospel cries coming out of this aging Brit shocked the crowd, many of whom declared it a highlight.

With Jimi Hendrix long gone, the only guitarist who could truly match the licks Beck was unleashing was the legendary Buddy Guy, who soon brought his axe out for a searing “Let Me Love You.” Guy’s underrated vocals almost stole the show from the dueling guitars though as he crooned and helped his way through the twelve-bar staple.

Guy was followed by Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, the man with the biggest beard in rock and roll. After barreling through ZZ Top’s “Rough Boy” he led the crowd through “Foxy Lady” while a large image of Hendrix lit up a recently-descended screen behind the band. While this blocked the view completely for us 1iota.com fans, it only came down rarely, and we still had monitors to watch. Beck’s jazz-rock improvisation through “A Day in the Life” capped things off.

The only band that could top Beck’s distortion-blare was on next: Metallica. The legendary metal quartet alternated their own tracks like “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Enter Sandman” with rolls as backing musicians. They roared through the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” and “White Light/White Heat” with Lou Reed. The heroin-hipster valiantly kept up, delivering a better performance than his abysmal live reputation would have predicted. Nothing stunning, but Kirk Hammett’s guitar solos were worth even the most average delivery. Reed agreed, delivering a rare treat from the cranky punk: a smile.

James Hetfield introduced the next singer as “the crazy guy who epitomizes the rock and roll singer.” It couldn’t be anyone but Ozzy Osbourne. The reality star roamed the stage performing Black Sabbath classics “Iron Man” and “Paranoid,” yelling at a complacent audience to get on their feet and participate. No bats were eaten after Ozzy’s family-man makeover, but the mystique remained strong.

Finally came the most unexpected guest of the set: Ray Davies of the Kinks, “one of the original punks.” Metallica faithfully performed a loud and fast “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All Night,” resisting any urge to metal-fy these riff-heavy classics. Davies delivered a boho-cool performance, one hand in his pocket as he delivered some of the most famous lyrics in rock and roll. Which no one could hear anyway, as the crowd was yelling them even louder.

A Queen cover and “Enter Sandman” later, U2 took the stage. Things kicked off in high gear with “Vertigo,” and “Magnificent didn’t kill the momentum too badly. Any slow-song boredom was soon shed though when Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith came out to perform “Because the Night” (a Smith hit they co-wrote) for only the second time ever (video). Since this review is first-person personal anyway, I’ll say this was the best concert moment I have ever witnessed. As Bruce soloed and Patti sung the bridge, they butted heads in a mini-duel while Bono laughed behind them.


As this once-in-a-lifetime performance rolled along (with Roy Bitten handling the piano part), many in the crowd hoped it would never end. So imagine the excitement when, for the only time the whole night, the band decided the first run-through had been too sloppy for TV. They had to do it again. Cue died-and-gone-to-heaven swooning.

Springsteen stuck around to duet with Bono on “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” bringing some much-needed passion to this lite-FM staple. Hugs all around and the Boss has left the building!

“Mysterious Ways” led into a cover of the Black Eyed Peas’ “Where Is the Love.” Except, oh wait, it was no longer a cover when the Peas themselves ran onstage. With this many mics the sound again turned questionable, but Will.I.Am dominated center stage while Fergie dirty-danced with the Edge. Quite a collaboration.

Will.I.Am moved over to the piano and Fergie strolled over to drummer Larry Mullin, Jr. while the lyrics to the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” came up on the teleprompter. Those of us behind the stage gave a collective intake of breath. There was a rumor of course, but…no. It couldn’t be... Surely he wouldn’t…

But yes, Sir Mick Jagger strolled onstage to applause like I’ve never heard. Perhaps the only man alive who Springsteen was an appropriate lead-in to (well, him and McCartney), Jagger belted out “Gimme Shelter” like it was Altamont all over again (video). Fergie took on Merry Clayton’s female part, belting out such fierce high notes I can’t have been the only one wondering if this was lip-synced. But her trills and scales seemed so spontaneous and idiosyncratic, perhaps Fergie is the most underrated vocalist in music. Either way though, she couldn't fake that stage presence. Fergie and Mick: best onstage chemistry I've ever seen. If those two ever tour together, go.

Mick stuck around for U2’s treacle-fest “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of.” Like Springsteen before him, Jagger brought new vitality to this alt-contemporary dirge in a duet with Bono, his face glowing with excitement. Jagger strutted offstage with the quartet, who returned sans-Stone for the entirely appropriate “A Beautiful Day.”

Five hours after we entered, the dazed crowd stumbled out into the streets, numb to everything we had just witnessed. Aretha, Sting, Ozzy, Lou Reed, Springsteen, Patti Smith, Bono, Mick Effing Jagger. Even now, it’s hard to wrap your mind around.

SET LIST

Jerry Lee Lewis:

Great Balls of Fire

Aretha Franklin:

Baby, I Love You

Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)

Make Them Hear You

Chain of Fools (w/ Annie Lennox)

New York, New York
Think (w/ Lenny Kravitz)
Respect

Jeff Beck:

Drown in My Own Tears
People Get Ready (w/ Sting)
Freeway Boogie
Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers

Rock Me Baby (w/ Buddy Guy)
Big Block
Rice Pudding
Rough Boy (w/ Billy Gibbons)

Foxy Lady (w/ Billy Gibbons)

A Day in the Life

Metallica:
For Whom the Bell Tolls

One

Turn the Page

Sweet Jane (w/ Lou Reed)

White Light/White Heat (w/ Lou Reed)

Iron Man (w/ Ozzy Osbourne)

Paranoid (w/ Ozzy Osbourne)
You Really Got Me (w/ Ray Davies)

All Day and All of the Night (w/ Ray Davies)

Stone Cold Crazy

Enter Sandman

U2
:
Vertigo
Magnificent
Because the Night #1 (w/ Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith)
Because the Night #2 (w/ Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith)

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (w/ Bruce Springsteen)
Mysterious Ways
Where Is the Love (w/ Black Eyed Peas)
Gimme Shelter (w/ Mick Jagger, Fergie, Will.I.Am)
Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of (w/ Mick Jagger)
Beautiful Day