On the Scene: The 'I'm Not There' concert at New York's Beacon Theatre
Nov 8, 2007, 04:43 PM | by LaRue Cook
Categories:
Music,
On the Scene
In honor of director Todd Haynes' new Bob Dylan-approved biopic,
I'm Not There, a host of talented musicians, young and old, contributed to the movie's
soundtrack of 33 Dylan songs. And a handful of those artists gathered last night at New York City's Beacon Theatre to pay homage to
the greatest songwriter of the 20th century. Coordinated by Haynes, Michael Dorf, and others, the event raised money for
826 National, a non-profit organization established by authors Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida to encourage young students in creative writing.
I could throw out names that you may or may not know. Old-timers like
X frontman John Doe,
Blonde on Blonde collaborator
Al Kooper,
Jimmy LaFave,
Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, and
Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo. Okay, I'll admit it: I wasn't there to hear "Blowin' in the Wind" or "The Times They Are a-Changin'" — and the stuff played by these grizzled vets might've fell deaf on 22-year-old ears. But in front of a crowd that spanned at least three generations, I could grasp the significance of how one man influenced so many kinds of music, from John Doe's punk rock to
The Roots' hip-hop.
Haynes'
film follows Dylan through the various stages of his career, with a different actor (Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere) playing a Dylan from a particular era. And mimicking the way Haynes shifts perspectives, the concert began with a performance of "When the Ship Comes In" by the young
Marcus Carl Franklin (remember that name), then rolled forward to
My Morning Jacket's Jim James (backed by
Calexico) doing a sublime rendition of "Goin' to Acapulco." Fast-forward just a bit further to
Joe Henry, coming off his new album,
Civilians, acting almost as event maestro, rarely leaving the stage, whether as guitarist or singer on songs like "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)."
addCredit("My Morning Jacket: Brian Ach/WireImage.com")
There was the occasional hiccup — an interesting yet unsettling performance by
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and an obligatory emcee appearance by Ledger — but the night belonged to two bands: MMJ (pictured, with James at right) and The Roots. For tradition's sake, it was right to have Kooper, Terry Adams, and
Mark Lanegan on stage. In all honesty, though, I would've been content to listen to MMJ and ?uestlove play Dylan all night. Although they were mistakenly introduced as being from Lexington (they actually hail from Louisville, Ky.), MMJ and James connected on a version of "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" that nicely showcased James' uncanny reverb. With a fresh haircut, James didn't look his normal shaggy self, but his voice echoed through the Beacon like he wanted Dylan to hear him, wherever he was.
The Roots? Well, The Roots literally brought the crowd to its feet. I remember rumblings of the group playing Bonnaroo this summer, including a chilling performance of "Master's of War," which is what they played as their set's penultimate song. Capt. Kirk let loose on guitar, singing the first verse to the tune of the our national anthem, and channeling Jimi Hendrix throughout. ?uestlove, on the skins, was worth every penny of the $150 ticket (which, in the spirit of full disclosure, I procured for free), and Tuba Gooding Jr. jumping into the audience with his sousaphone made it hands down one of the top performances I've seen this year. (You can see a YouTube video of them performing the song at another venue
here.)
To make this a true, interactive PopWatch experience, I'll throw out a question I was pondering last night. What's the best Dylan cover you've ever heard? Or, better yet, what's your favorite cover album/cover song? Because I've got MMJ on the mind, their re-imagining of Erykah Badu's "Tyrone" keeps popping up in my mental list.
http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007...-scene-bo.html