Road Recovery Benefit Concert
http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2537
I went to this benefit at the Nokia Theater in Times Square last night. It was for some kind of drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization for musicians… headlined by Slash and Jerry Cantrell. (Yeah, I don’t quite follow that either.)
I had two problems with this thing. One, and most importantly, THERE WAS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH JERRY CANTRELL. I had to stand through a dozen horrid opening bands and guest stars playing two-four songs, and then Cantrell only plays ONE? He's got second billing! (And, related, Slash only played one of *his* own songs. He's the headliner! We had to listen to five whiney crap songs from opening band Ours!) I seriously think they were planning more, but the openers went on too long and they got tired and just decided to finish up. But, dude, you had Jerry Cantrell and you didn't even play "Rooster" or "Would?" AAAARGH IT WAS FRUSTRATING.
And, second, THERE WAS NO ALCOHOL. Not that I was really looking forward to paying $8 for a Heineken, but... I really wanted to get drunk last night! How can a concert not sell alcohol?! (I know, I know, I'm being facetious. It's a benefit for recovering alcoholics; the don't want the audience waving it in their faces. But, *sigh*.)
That said, there were some amazing moments. The absolute highlight was Jerry Cantrell, Slash, and Tom Morello playing an acoustic version of Alice in Chains' "Brother." Those are like... the three greatest guitar players of my generation. Together! On a song that I've loved since I was twelve years old! That moment alone made the entire night worthwhile. And there were enough AIC fans in the crowd to sing along with the vocals-only part ("Pictures in a box at home..."), which made it extra lovely.
The second-best moment was Jerry Cantrell and Slash playing Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here," with Jerry singing. I mean... Jerry Cantrell and Slash, playing guitar together fifteen feet in front of me. Do I even need to say more?
And the third-coolest moment was Jerry singing lead vocals (and not playing guitar!?) on some song played by a huge ensemble... and now I can't remember what the song was! I didn't know it; it must've been a cover. I don't think I've seen Jerry sing lead on a heavy song before; it was different from the softer AIC songs on which he sometimes sings lead. His voice was surprisingly strong, and I enjoyed it a lot, although, y'know, he's still infinitely better as a guitarist.
Jerry and Slash both played guitar as part of the ensemble band throughout the night, which was nice, but I got annoyed at the crowd constantly shrieking for more Slash. I mean, don't get me wrong, Slash is brilliant and it's amazing to hear him play, but I just love Cantrell more... he's brilliant too, and he's got this dark twisted amazing unique sound....
Anyway. Other cool stuff? Tom Morello is both an awesome guitarist and seems like a really cool guy. He pretty much ran the night, and was very chatty and adorable on the microphone. He kind of turned the thing from a drug and alcohol rehabilitation benefit into a leftist anti-Bush rally, but I'm cool with that. (The woman next to me wouldn't stop grumbling about all the politics, though.)
Perry Farrell came out (that dude is strange) and played Porno For Pyro's "Pets" and Jane's Addiction's "Mountain Song." Jakob Dylan showed up as a surprise guest, and I didn't know the songs he played, but wow, that guy is still smoking hot. Wayne Kramer from the MC5 played a bunch of stuff, but I didn't know any of it. Cypress Hill's SEN DOG played four songs, which were actually pretty enjoyable, and I have to say it was surreal to see "Insane in the Brain" performed live!
They closed with a big ensemble playing Guns 'N' Roses "Paradise City," which was indeed, very awesome. (Although Cantrell didn't bother with his guitar and just helped sing vocals! Argh!) Although at that point I had to push my way over to the side, because a huge moshpit started in the center... a whole bunch of sober, impatient men had been waiting for GNR ALL NIGHT LONG and dammit they were going to rock out. Heh.
The audience was seriously annoying, though. Lots of benefit-attending people who didn't understand that you're not supposed to leave three feet of space in front of you, because those people in the back would like to see the stage too. Plus, some idiots decided to throw things at the opening bands. And I would really like to slap the couple in front of me who snuck in a cigarette and gave me dirty looks when I tried to wave away the smoke that was pouring directly into my face. It's their fault I can barely speak today. >:(
That said, as frustrating as much of it was, I SAW SLASH, TOM MORELLO, AND JERRY CANTRELL PLAY "BROTHER"!!!!!
I didn't take any photos, but here's someone else's.
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