Show Review

Music and New Orleans are Siamese twins attached at the heart. The lifeblood of the recently devastated city is the sounds you hear at all hours of the day from the French Quarter to Louis Armstrong Park. Now with people being forced to leave behind their possessions and homes, the city has been having a silent heart attack over the last few weeks. Last night’s twin benefit concerts from New York City were to act as defibrillators for the ravaged town down south. New York and New Orleans share a special bond and the least the Big Apple could do was play doctor to a friend in need.

These benefits were altruistically arranged so that all of the acts, vendors and union stage crews were compensated by Madison Square Garden, and all of the proceeds from the fans from ticket prices, to souvenirs, to food and beer would go directly into the Bush/Clinton Katrina Relief Fund. A very nice gesture that allowed the sold out crowd at Radio City Music Hall to feel much more connected to the Big Easy. While Madison Square Garden’s bill boasted the bigger name acts, the Radio City lineup was there to stretch it on out, Nawlin’s style.

It kicked off with Galactic, The Preservation Jazz Band and the Rebirth Brass Band leading a mini parade up the center aisle, unfortunately the crowd was slow arriving and they played to a half empty orchestra section. A fitting tribute to the empty streets in the Crescent City and just as the Wild Magnolia Indians joined the party so did the crowd. A good warm up to the show and as MC for the evening, Harry Shearer stated “You can pay with your pocketbooks, but since this is a benefit for New Orleans we are going to make you pay with your booty!” In case anyone thought this was going to be a somber event, think again.

The first half of the show was a rapid-fire assault of acts playing 3-4 songs and bolting. As far as tight musicianship and bands blazing from the opening notes, with this many bands and such a tight schedule it just wasn’t possible. Most of the performers took their first song to work out the sonic kinks and then delved into playing, only to finish up when they were about to take off. Such is the downfall of an all-star benefit, but the good far outweighed the bad on this night. A nervous Ray LaMontagne rushed through an acoustic set of originals, while some NOLA funk gods got ready behind him. Out come The Meters for their first New York City performance in eons. They jammed out their "Cissy Strut" and "Fire on the Bayou," getting the crowd to start the first sing along of the night (a reoccurring theme).

The night progressed with a swift set from the John Mayer Trio, who are a surprisingly tight rock and blues outfit. Joss Stone, who is hotter then a Café du Monde Beignet, came out to sing with the Trio and flirt with the crowd. While Mayer and Stone are budding rock stars, they were put to shame by the surprise guest of the evening. Out came the biggest Rock Star in attendance, Bill Clinton, to simply thank the crowd for being so generous and assuring everyone in attendance that the money will be put to good use. The Neville Brothers then closed out the first set with some funky playing and some soulful singing from Aaron on the Sam Cooke classic “A Change is Gonna Come”

After a longer than expected set break, the curtain rises to find the man himself, Tom Waits, fronting a 4-piece band that launched into a symbolic set. Sound problems showed, but spirits glowed. “Way Down in the Hole” gave the devil a gruff shouting down and after “Get Behind the Mule,” the black jacketed Waits described a horrific “Murder in the Red Barn.” Waits pounded on the piano as if whiskey was inside and the ivories could be cracked like coconuts to revile the sweet dew. Instead the song of the night flowed out with “I Wish I Was In New Orleans.” Waits is a scary man on stage, clapping like a giddy Quasimodo, while directing the band with an added Marc Ribot, into the somber encore of “Make it Rain.” Jesus and the Rain were at the forefront of the Waits set and he clearly loves the city submerged.

The crowd was not as smitten with Waits as they were the next performer, Dave Matthews, who came on and did an extended set of his songs on acoustic guitar. The crowd lapped it up and the ladies sure do love Dave, cheering and singing along with every word. Matthews was happily tipsy and slurred between songs, but sang with a strong and clear voice. He invited Trey Anastasio out for a duet on “Everyday” and the guests own “Bathtub Gin.” After the set, MC Monty Burns who was clearly out of material, and who had been routinely booed all night, stalled until Trey and 70 Volt Parade took the stage for four songs. Upon completing “Night Speaks to a Woman,” Trey commented that he wrote the song about all the bad women he has met during his Nawlins late night rambles. After his mini set he brought Matthews back out for “Three Little Birds,” with the crowd providing much of the chorus. Then the whole gang (which included Stanton Moore, Ivan Neville, Eric Krasno and the Rebirth Brass Band along with various others) came back out for some NOLA revelry and a expanded take on Sly Stone’s “Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Again)”

As the clock pushed 1 AM and the crowd filled out of one of the worlds most beautiful concert halls, the chorus from the Sly classic could be heard up and down 6th avenue. Hopefully it could be heard all the way down I-10 and into the 9th Ward. If this one night of great music can ease someone’s suffering in the near future, it will make the audile gumbo heard in the heart of the Big Apple that much tastier.

Photos by Adam Foley