Like any good concert, the big guns come out last. That doesn't mean my favorite guns went last--but come out they did.
Let's go to the tape.
- Jeff Beck may have actually gone before Metallica, but I can't remember and, for the purposes of this blog, it doesn't really matter. Anyway, Jeff Beck provided two of my favorite moments of the whole night: an absolutely rocking rendition of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top (who I once saw walk by while I was eating Mexican food in Portland) and his awesome beard on guitar; and a tasteful, instrumental version of The Beatles' "A Day in the Life" (one of the greatest songs ever written).
- Gibbons annihilated "Foxy Lady." He and Beck (I don't like writing that because I think of the Guero Beck first) predictably traded solos and they both just killed it. It was also an interesting juxtaposition of the masculine, grungy Gibbons with the skinny, black-sleeveless-teed Beck, especially with Beck's absence of sleeves showing that he shaves in places he probably didn't shave back in the 70s. I know you're Jeff Beck, but come on, dude. You're a rock and roller! Fight the power! Weak sauce.
- A quick thought on Hendrix while he's on the brain: my good friend Will and I once had a discussion--and we're surely the millionth people to have this, there's probably a book on it for all I know--about how Hendrix's death basically killed black rock and roll instead of, potentially, if he hadn't died, launching the genre into the mainstream. Now, clearly, there have been plenty of amazing black guitarists since Hendrix died (I've heard many people argue, for example that Prince deserves to be in the conversation of best ever, this famous video is usually reason #1 why) but they're typically in groups that can't be classified as rock and roll. This isn't taking away anything from Slash, Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Kyp Malone or anyone, but black rock and roll, like Jimi Hendrix played it, basically died with him. Now obviously I've opened a can of worms here, you could certainly argue rock and roll doesn't have a color and it's stupid to assign color-based labels to genres, but as someone who has played music at a pretty high level with black and white groups, there are differences in approach and sound and had the black rock and roll genre been carried to a new generation by Hendrix we could be in a slightly different place musically.
- The "Day in the Life" cover was superb. It started quiet and understated, with Beck climbing an octave depending on the verse. In the bridge, there was some great interweaving between the bass and the guitar and the transition back into the A-section (like in the original) was wonderful. Unfortunately, like music tends to do, there isn't much I can say about it other than, "check it out yourself." Graham Nash, thankfully, did not run out on stage and yell, "That was for the Beatles! John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison!" afterward. And, if you don't know what I mean, go read part one again.
- As for Jeff Beck, how about the historical significance of the Yardbirds? This was a band with (though not all at once) Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page. Good god. I feel like the Yardbirds aren't that famous or well-known anymore, I'll admit I'd never heard much of them other than "For Your Love" until I got to college, but, geez, what a lineup.
- Next up, the favorite band of people 10 years older than me, U2. U2 is a divisive band these days, most people can't get past Bono's outspoken (or ostentatious) personality and they have basically become the corporate, mainstream music that they opposed when they started out. Nevertheless, they know how to work a stage.
- In the HBO version of this show, it seems odd that Springsteen comes out and then does his set later, but, in reality, they each closed the two nights. Oops, spoiler alert, I guess. I'm sure you were on the edge of your set to find out who the finale was. Which reminds me, where was Sir Paul for all this? He was inducted as a solo artist in 1999 so he was certainly eligible. I mean, Springsteen is all right and all, but McCartney is in a class by himself. Anyway, Bruce comes on with U2 and they all bust out “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For." Even for someone who doesn't swear by either of these artists, this was a pretty amazing moment. Just to see Bono and Springsteen share a stage, two people who are that famous, looking like they're having the time of their lives singing with each other...I think that was what this show was all about. It seemed genuinely enjoyable for the rock and roll royalty to come together for these concerts.
- Then, once Springsteen left, they raised the bar with Mick Jagger. Jagger is pretty goddamn old, but he's still got the moves and energy that I saw from back in the Gimme Shelter days. His entrance was pretty exciting as well, as The Edge started with his rendition of the opening of "Gimme Shelter" to create on of those, "is he here? is he about to come out?" type moments. Of course, they also had Fergie and will.i.am on stage...so, you win some you lose some. Fergie proceeded to be better than I thought she would be, though I was expecting her to completely ruin the song. She sang the female vocal part (obviously) and had most of the necessary power, though repeated words over and over and threw in about three dozen too many "baby"s for my taste. Will.i.am* did nothing, which may have been because he was a hologram designed by CNN. "Gimme Shelter" is probably my favorite Stones song, but it never quite comes works live the way it does on that original recording. Oh well. The song ended with the stars embracing and Bono inexplicably hugging Fergie by putting his head on the side of her stomach. Weird stuff, folks. Weird stuff.
* I really don't approve of will.i.am being the modern version of Dylan in those stupid Pepsi commercials where he does his remix of "Forever Young" and the implication is that he is the voice of this generation. Hey, will.i.am, you know who your 60s counterpart is? Davy Jones. Leave me alone.
- Mick and Bono then did their part for Prop 8, singing “Stuck in a Moment” literally to each other. Want to see Bono tell Mick Jagger, "I am still enchanted by the light you brought to me. I listen through your ears, and through your eyes I can see"? Well, here's your chance. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
- Mick Jagger left and U2 launched into "Beautiful Day." Again, I'll admit it, it was pretty great. Say what you want about U2, but that's a good song and Bono can really sing it. Bono also didn't disappoint his detractors as--somewhere in this set, I don't remember where--he rattled off some convoluted, pretentious nonsense about music and coming together. Even Springsteen (I think it was Springsteen) seemed baffled by this one. Classic.
- Which leads us to our last act...drumroll...it's Bruce Springsteen! Is that the drummer from Conan? It is! Is that Danny DeVito? Oh...Stevie Van who? I suppose the Boss was a fitting end, though I started flipping to the game even more once he came out, but not before I got to see Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave) come on for his two big hits: "Hold On, I'm Coming" and "Soul Man." Sam seemed stoked to be there, he can still sing, and the backing band really nailed it. Again, Bruce looked like he was having a ball, which was pretty fun to watch and provided us with a little comedy hearing him sing those soul numbers.
- John Fogerty joined Springsteen for an All-American mini-set, hitting Creedence standards like "Fortunate Son" and "Proud Mary." It sure made me want to buy some jeans. Fogerty sounded good and Springsteen fit in with the songs much better than he just had with Sam Moore.
- And for the final special guest...Billy Joel. People often get mad at me for saying I'm not a Billy Joel fan but, well, I'm not a Billy Joel fan. The man knows his way around a piano, but his songs are just too silly for me. Maybe "silly" is harsh, but it's usually too schmaltzy or melodramatic for my tastes. Sorry, Bill, you don't need my approval anyway. So, unfortunately, the ending to this HBO show was anticlimactic, but it was still entertaining to see titans like Springsteen and Joel on the stage, especially since they were pulling a Brett Favre and, "just having fun out there!" I would have rather seen Paul McCartney joined by Jimmy Page, but maybe in another five or ten years. They closed with "Born to Run," which even I thought was cool, and then Jackson Browne and a few others came out for a massive cover of "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher." It was no "I Shall Be Released" but it wasn't bad.
All in all, a great to show to be able to flip to. It made me think a lot about what makes musicians famous, how they stay that way, and how they age, but more on that some other time.
Until then, in the words of Neil Young (who also would've been awesome to see), "Hey, hey, my, my. Rock and roll will never die."
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