Hell of a night at Carnegie Hall as 20 acts came out to honor R.E.M. with renditions of the Athens, GA trio/quartet’s finest songs. The eclectic group of contemporaries and disciples did justice to the songs and honor the band, but that’s not to say the show was without its head scratching moments.
Before I talk about the individual acts, I have to give a huge shout-out to Calexico, which played a beautiful “Wendell Gee” on its own, and then stayed on the stage for most of the night as the evening’s house band.
The Highs:
Ingrid Michaelson sings "Nightswimming."
Probably the best performance of the night for me was a stunning Ingrid Michaelson singing “Nightswimming.” I’d heard her on WRXP earlier in the day, doing a version of Radiohead’s “Creep,” but she still caught me off guard. She actually made me forget how played-out repeater pedals are, as she built a choir with which to harmonize. Just gorgeous.
Vic Chestnutt & Elf Power offered a moving rendition of “Everybody Hurts,” Chestnutt singing from a wheelchair. Chestnutt arguably owes his career to Michael Stipe and tonight Chestnutt thanked him as best he could. Earlier, Chestnutt spoke with the NY Post about some added significance to their relationship.
Rhett Miller channeled Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry as he gyrated his way through a very faithful rendition of “Driver 8.”
Finally, Fink, a British DJ whom I’d never heard of, strapped on an acoustic guitar and did an impressively tender version of “The Apologist.”
Also good/memorable:
Dar Williams sang “At My Most Beautiful” and sounded great, as did Rachel Yamagata on “Great Beyond.”
I dug The Feelies doing “Carnival of Sorts.” Its fun to see an old-time band paying tribute to their contemporaries. I also like that they reminded those Georgia boys that Jersey knows how to rock!
Jolie Holland, TV on the Radio and Calexico share the stage.
Jolie Holland brought out none other than TV on the Radio as her backup singers on “Don’t Go Back to Rockville” And don’t forget about Calexico! It wasn’t the best performance of the night, but that’s a ridiculous amount of talent on one stage.
Oh, Patti Smith. You’re a rock legend, getting up there to honor other rock legends. We know you care and we were happy to cut you slack, but to forget the words? Smith sang “New Test Leper” quite well, but at one point had to stop and plead to the audience for patience as she reclaimed her memory of the lyrics. It was sympathetic and endearing, but embarrassing nonetheless.
Just Strange:
Kimya Dawson and her dance troupe.
Kimya Dawson brought out a multi-colored troupe of tumbling dancers to back her up as she sang/spoke “World Leader Pretend.” At best, it was distracting. Really, it was just bizarre. My friend Jess referred to it as a WTF moment, calling it “forced whimsy.” I can’t improve on that characterization.
Other Stuff:
Other bands played and they weren’t bad. Some were actually really good, like Marshall Crenshaw and The Apples in Stereo. I just don’t have much to say about their performances. Darius Rucker actually proved to be the only male singer of the night (other than Stipe himself) with the pipes to fill the room. Lots of credit there. I also know I enjoyed Keren Ann’s version of “Man on the Moon,” but I can’t think of anything to say about it.
The Finale:
R.E.M. joined by Patti Smith on "E-Bow the Letter."
Yes, there was a finale. After Patti Smith finished up, she was joined on stage by none other than the men of the evening, Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck of R.E.M. After Stipe offered sincere gratitude for the honor and appreciation to the bands, R.E.M. and Smith joined together to play “E-Bow the Letter” off New Adventures in Hi-Fi. It was everything you would have expected and the audience appreciated it.
Some Final Thoughts:
My view of Hootie from the back row.
All told, a good night. But here’s a warning for you if you’re considering a show at Carnegie Hall. Don’t sit in the last row of the entire theatre. I could watch a street performer from the roof of my building and feel more connected to the performance. And honestly, the sound wasn’t all that great, either. It was fine when it was a singer with a piano, cello, acoustic guitar or ukulele, but it was muddy and distant when bass and drums were involved. Anyway, my moaning is over. I had a great time, saw some tremendous musicians… and I’m that much more psyched up for the Allmans!
Thanks for your review. I agree with most of your points. However, I did not mind Patti Smith forgetting the lyrics. Having just turned 50, I know how surprising it can be when the memory is not as good as it once was. We were in the front row of the dress circle, and had a fine view (aided by a great pair of binoculars). Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Convertino proved why they are in such great demand to play on other people’s albums (like the newest Neko Case). I’ll post some photos on Flickr in a day or two.