Holy fucking shit. That’s about as clear as I can put it. Last night’s star-studded concert at BB King’s was easily one of the cooler experiences I’ve ever had in all my years of seeing live music. BEST $12.50 TICKET EVER! In all caps!
Photos by Adam Kaufman
Pretty much everyone that ever played with Jimmy Vivino came out to help celebrate his birthday, as well as promoter Bill Graham’s birthday. Everyone who was on the rumored lineup turned up, plus even more legendary musicians. This was one of the many nights that I’m so happy to live in New York City.
I had a hard time keeping track of who sat in on what, but John Sebastian came out for the first two songs. The Prisoners of 2nd Ave played the next few songs, and were joined by Elaine Caswell for the Jefferson Airplane shiz. Warren Haynes then came out for blistering versions of both Had to Cry Today and Why Does Love Have To Be So Sad. At this point Levon Helm came out, and the drawlin’ drummer stayed at the kit the whole night. An old white dude named Robert Gordon also came out to sing a couple of Elvis tunes with the ensemble.
I’d never heard of Willie Nile, but he blew me away. That dude is like a mix of early John Cougar and late Bruce Springsteen, and he sang his tune Hard Times in America to much applause. After Willie left the stage, Vivino called upon his Fab Faux band mates for intense driving versions of I Want You (She’s So Heavy) and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Warren came out for While My Guitar, giving us the monumental lineup of the Fab Faux, Warren, Levon and Paul Shaffer. I couldn’t believe my eyes. READ ON FOR MUCH MORE, PLUS VIDEOS AND PHOTOS…
The fine folks at Brooklyn Vegan certainly caught our attention today when they posted this mind-blowing potential lineup for Thursday night’s Jimmy Vivino/Bill Graham birthday celebration at BB King’s in Times Square.
Thursday Jan 10th at BB KIng’s. “Return To The Fillmore East” With….. THE PRISONERS OF 2ND AVE Featuring: JIMMY VIVINO, RICH PAGANO + JOHN CONTE
Bill Graham Birthday Show!
-and-
A Jimmy Vivino Birthday Celebration!
With special guests and special friends …
THE FAB FAUX, LEVON HELM, WILLIE NILE, AL KOOPER, WARREN HAYNES, PAUL SHAFFER, JOHN SEBASTIAN, DAVID JOHANSEN, HUBERT SUMLIN, ROBERT GORDON, CATHERINE RUSSELL, LARRY CAMPBELL
All of these legendary performers has a long history with Vivino, so this certainly isn’t beyond the realm of possibilities. The BB King website listing for the show is playing coy, but a recent press release we received may prove it’s worth: “The evening promises to be colorful and it would be beneath us to advertise the names of current and former lineups who want to celebrate and play.”
Tickets are still available at the moment (half-price with the code ‘OFFER’). Do any of our readers out there have any inside information about this show?
We got a well needed chuckle this afternoon at these witty LOL-Cats pictures of Kurt Cobain singing on MTV Unplugged — we always thought there was something hilarious about Cobain’s always-intense gazes. And if you haven’t pre-purchased a copy of the new Unplugged DVD, be sure to enter our giveaway, so you can come up with your own funny (and perhaps darker) captions.
- Thom Yorke said no when Paul McCartney asked him to record a duet
- Have you ever seen 250,000 faces melted simultaneously?
- Levon Helm sits in on indie band Ida’s new album
- Speaking of strike-busters Duran Duran moved their concerts from the Ethel Barrymore Theatre to the Roseland in order to avoid striking stagehands
- Gibson unveils pictures of the self-tuning Les Paul
- Van Halen announces more early 2008 tour dates
- R.I.P: 28-year-old Nicholas Phillips on Friday night died of a drug overdose at a usual HT haunt, the Knitting Factory
- Brian Heisler on Umphrey’s McGee’s Night at the Terratorium Halloween concert
- Nutsie provides an official music playlist of all the songs used in Rock Band
- A.V. Club lists 21 good albums that would have made great EPs
Finally, Jesse Jarnow caught our attention last week when he told us about the incredible shot-by-shot re-creation of Raiders of the Lost Ark that recently hit small arthouses across the country. Double J found a torrent of it, and he shares his thoughts (and the torrent file) with us. It also plays in New York tomorrow night.
When The Beatles stopped touring in 1966, they entered the studio intent on making an album that couldn’t be reproduced live. Forty years after the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Fab Faux flawlessly recreated the legendary “unrecreateable” album at the Beacon Theater on Saturday.
From the time Del Shannon covered From Me To You in 1963, artists have been trying to re-interpret the work of The Beatles. What made The Fab Faux’s performance standout is that these guys believe in the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”: They played nearly every song exactly like the originals.
Since there were double-tracked vocals on Getting Better, there were two members of the band singing the same exact melody. Since Within You Without You features two different percussive instruments, so two members of the band played percussive instruments. While some cover bands don’t strive for accuracy, The Fab Faux have built their reputation on playing the songs exactly as The Beatles had recorded them. Read on after the jump for much more…
