Oh. My. Pure. Goodness! - A Night On The Town
By CJ
Gronner
April 24, 2007. If you were so
incredibly blessed to be in the house at the Hotel Café this night …
you will never, ever forget it (and be careful, because by the end of this,
I’m sure some of my profound gratitude will ooze off the page and get all
over you). If you weren’t … well, fix yourself a drink and settle
in – a long, staggering night like this deserves a long vivid rehashing
about it (although bullet points of who played would be more than impressive
enough), and I need to try and do it justice. AXIS OF JUSTICE!
The occasion was the release of The
Nightwatchman’s debut album, “One Man Revolution”. Finally,
People! This album is so important right NOW, I get a lump in my throat
thinking about it. The Nightwatchman is thus far alone on the front line saying
what NEEDS to be said, and he doesn’t hold back a bit. Plus it was a
parTAY, the likes of which have never been seen in one room, I promise you that.
The Nightwatchman (Commander in Chief
of the evening, Tom Morello) took the stage to a THUNDEROUS ovation (apt because
by the end of the night it almost rained in there it was so hot) before striking
one note. The respect for him from every soul in the room was palpable, and
moving. He introduced the night and the album by saying that our current
administration thinks it’s above the law. But it is NOT above the law of
physics, and every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This night, this
album, is a direct reaction to the corrupt government, it’s illicit war,
the big few corporations that are making mad profit from it, while people
can’t afford to eat in the streets of Los Angeles. This speech inspired
the first of many chill-inducing moments of the night - and then he launched
into the tune “One Man Revolution”. Let me tell you, this room was
stuffed well beyond capacity and there was not a peep heard during this song.
He followed this with Oh, LORD! “House Gone Up In Flames” (the White
House? Hmmm ...) and then dedicated “Flesh Shapes the Day” to all
the rebel girls in the house (thank you!), foremost among them, The
Nightwatchmother, beautiful Mary Morello (who Nuno Bettencourt (!!!) declared,
“the hottest chick in the room”. True, that.) Hoo-ooo-oo! The
crowd already knew the hoot part, so great to hear. Guess what he finished his
set with?
Going out to the people going to
Coachella this weekend, and more importantly, to the people going to climb the
fence at Coachella this weekend ... that’s right, “Guerilla
Radio”! TURN THAT SHIT UP! We could’ve all gone home then,
satisfied. But that is not Nightwatchman’s
style...
Who should take the stage next
but - Alanis Morissette! Looking shiny and lovely, she was the first of many
artists to get up there and thank Tom, not only for putting together this
astounding evening, but for his sheer inspiration. She played new songs, and
the first had never been played out before, “I As We”. Her voice is
as strong as ever and lifted our hearts with ease. Next was one called
“Blister Sister”, I think, and then, dedicating it to Tom, she
played HER version of “Guerilla Radio”. Totally different, almost
unrecognizable until the chorus, and once again, the crowd got to yell,
“TURN THAT SHIT UP!” I don’t believe anyone would have minded
if everyone had played their version - in fact, that idea got yelled out a
bunch. SO fun. Thanks,
Alanis!
Libertyville, Illinois has a
whole lot to proud of ... they produced one school of rock, Rage Against The
Machine and Tool, and another, The Nightwatchman and Ike Reilly. Ike played
only one song, but his folky fire fit right in and the crowd showed the love.
He has an album coming out called “We Belong To The Staggering
Evening” - and we sure did.
Mr.
Ben Harper. Do I really need to say anything more? He played three songs and
no one moved, other than to scream their love at the end of each song. The
first was about roses from friends that simply broke your heart. The next,
about gospel, put it back together again. Then his lap guitar came out and it
was all over ... I can’t remember what it was about because I was in a
complete joy trance. He too professed his love and admiration for Tom, and you
could tell how truly honored he felt to be there (and he said so). THEN Tom
and Carl Restivo and Breckin Meyer joined Ben and they played “Get Up,
Stand Up”!
Cough! Sputter!
Gasp! How long was I out?! That thrilling version of Marley’s classic
knocked me flat out cold. Ben, Ben, Ben. You’re too much. And BRECKIN!
My old friend, if I had known you’d be playing perfect drums for Ben
Harper one day, I’d have been so much nicer to you! (fine, I take it back,
you don’t look that much like Willem Dafoe from “Wild At
Heart”. Love.)
The interlude
while they sorted out who was to come next was filled by Poet, Jerry Quickley,
from KPFK, slamming it down, accompanied by his beat-boxer buddy.
Respect!
I feel strongly, though unsure
of the exact chronology, that when Nick Drake left this world, Alexi Murdoch
took his place. This gentle troubadour entranced the crowd with “All My
Days” and two more that left you wanting more. He spoke about how we
spend billions (with a B) on video games in this country, and perhaps it’s
time to re-prioritize a bit and focus more on what MATTERS. Say it,
Alexi!
Next up, Tom’s old friend,
Jill Sobule. With WAYNE KRAMER of the MCmofo5 (!) on guitar, and a fiddler to
boot, Jill spun two tales with her usual wit and grace - that also happened to
rock.
{Though there was no intermission
at this marathon of Rock and Roll majesty - I will understand if you need one
now. Go get a snack, take a bathroom break, check messages - I’ll
wait}
HEY! So Wayne Kramer stayed on
the stage and brought up the Poet, John Sinclair. With his Col. Sanders goatee
and Counter Culture patina, Professor Sinclair schooled the kids with two poems
(one about how we’re entitled to our bad habits, simply put, ruled) backed
up by Wayne on the guitar. This man was the manager of MC5, the leader of the
White Panther Party, and the subject of John Lennon’s song, “John
Sinclair”. He was imprisoned in 1969 for giving two joints to an
undercover narc and everyone took up his cause. He was released three days
after Lennon performed that song at a benefit for Sinclair. And I’m
fairly certain that conviction didn’t deter him from his herb. Take
THAT!
Nuno Bettencourt (he gets this -
!!! - every time after his name) came up and invited Alanis back to duet with
him on “More Than Words”. Alanis said to Nuno, “I had such a
boner for you when I was a teenager”. (*Alanis, dear - the line for that
crush is very, very long and it starts way, way behind me ... Kapeesh?) It
turned out to be much more than a duet because the ENTIRE crowd joined in,
making it more of a master chorale. Me =
Giddy.
Tom as M.C. said this was like a
“Pinko Jerry Lewis Telethon” - right on! Axis of Justice and Food
Not Bombs were again the beneficiaries of the night’s cover charge (the
“People’s Price” of $10 U.S.) that came to roughly $1 per
Superstar. The Deal of the Century. Honestly, if you EVER hear about The
Nightwatchman playing anywhere near you - Do not hesitate. SPRINT! He has many
powerful friends ... that simply LOVE to play with him. Who
wouldn’t?
He next introduced the
crowd to William Duvall. He has taken over the Layne Staley role in Alice In
Chains.
No easy feat, to be sure. He
played an obscure Aerosmith song called “Seasons of Wither” -
beautifully - and earned the crowd’s acceptance handily. He was then
joined by yep, Mr. Jerry Cantrell. They opened with a lush, gorgeous rendition
of Elton John’s “Curtains”. SO pretty, they should record it
post-haste. My ears are still ringing a bit from the reaction to the opening
chords of Alice’s “Down In A Hole”. Whoa. Even the Layne
Superlovers (I heard their conversation) in front of me had that frown with
raised eyebrows look that indicates “impressed” for William. A
classic. Leading to another classic, Thin Lizzy’s
“Jailbreak”, for which they were joined by Nuno (!!!) on drums -
what? That much talent is just no fair. If you see him, bow. He’ll
understand. Tom was on guitar and said it was one of his favorite moments in
his Hotel Cafe history. I concur.
Then
Wayne Kramer came back up and they proceeded to “Kick out the Jams”!
I cannot find proper adjectives to describe the people in the room at this point
- they stank, they were sweating, they were uncomfortable and squished - but
I’ve never seen so many people so truly happy at the same time. But they
were about to get even happier, as this had all been “just the opening
acts”, Tom half-joked.
Who should
show up next but Mick Mars from Motley Crue! (At least I think it was him - he
could have been animatronic as his facial expression didn’t change one
single time - I watched) He looked a little frail, but man, he sure can still
shred the bejezus out of his guitar. The crowd begged for Tom to go electric
for this one, so he strapped on Nuno’s (!!!) guitar and went for it. Carl
Restivo, the Chameleon of Rock (last week he was Sting, this week, a very
convincing Vince Neil) took over vocal duties for “Kickstart My
Heart” (WOW!) and “She’s Got The Looks That Kill”. Time
travel ... we could all have very easily been in spandex pants and gigantic hair
and called it the 80’s.
Metal.
What can you say about Cypress
(“CYY-PRESS!”) Cypress Hill (“CY-PRESS HILL!!”) except
“Yeeeeee-ah!” Sen-Dog and B Real joined the rest of the gang to
throw down “Rock Superstar”, “Kill A Man”, and
“Insane In The Membrane”. Through the hazy room, it was clear that
the folks had now, for absolute sure, gone insane. Insane in the
brain!
Tom took back over the mike (and
Breckin took back over the drums) and the Love Fest continued on. Tom was
toasted with a bottle of champagne, which he drank from and then, a true man of
the people, passed it around to the crowd. And introduced “This Land Is
Your Land”! The song we all learned in third grade by Woody Guthrie began
as a protest song - and that tradition was proudly carried on this night. The
whole room sang along every word - and I got more chills. The songs lesser known
verses were not taught to us as kids because, as Tom said, they didn’t
want us to grow up one day, be at a Nightwatchman show and decide to take BACK
OUR country. Well, the word is out now - and if we can all just remember that
moment (with everyone literally JUMPING in unison) and pass it on - things WILL
change. Guaranteed.
The last song of
the night - though no one wanted it to end - was Tupac’s “California
Love” with Sen Dog taking over the lead. Again, everyone sang along ...
especially when the end turned into a “Fuck Bush” chant (B-word was
most certainly not welcomed to this jam) which merged into “U.S.A.!!
“ in a proud of us, of what we CAN be, shout-out. Wayne Kramer finished
it off with a Hendrix-ian “Star Spangled Banner” riff, while Tom
shouted into the mike, “THANK YOU! REMEMBER, NO ONE WINS UNLESS WE ALL
WIN!” Well, we ALL won who were at this rocking, sweat-drenched,
ecstatically exhausted show.
Thank YOU,
Tom. Thank you for taking the leader role on your shoulders and getting out
there to DEMAND a difference. Thank you for sharing your incredible talents and
talented friends with us. Thank you for ALWAYS fighting for the people and
against the power. It goes so far past his sweet guitar solos, dudes.
Bono-Schmono. I’m contacting the good folks in my Motherland’s Oslo
and nominating TOM for the Nobel Peace Prize. No one out there deserves it
more. Again, THANK YOU!
What can we do
in return, you may wonder? Thank Tom when you see him. Buy “One Man
Revolution”. Learn the words. Understand the words. ACT on them. Give
a damn. Get MAD. STAY mad. TELL people about tonight. GO to a show yourself.
Get involved. Volunteer. Vote. March. Remember the feeling. Spread the
LOVE. And maybe, just maybe, The Nightwatchman will be able to title his
sophomore album, “Millions of People
Revolution”.
My fist is raised in
solidarity. Is yours?
Posted: Tue - May 1, 2007 at 09:00 AM