Photo by Gerry Visco
“That was the best show I’ve ever seen,” said my friend, a talented musician who’s seen hundreds of shows. “Just for the breadth of it. Some of it was too long, but what a line-up!” The venue—Carnegie Hall—wasn’t too shabby, either.Where but in New York could you drag on one stage Bono, Lady Gaga, Courtney Love, Rufus Wainwright, Lydia Lunch, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Maria McKee, Martha Wainwright, Scarlett Johansson, Joel Grey and Chloe Webb, accompanied by U2, Flo & Eddie, Bill Frisell, JG Thirwell and John Zorn. And don’t forget master showman Gavin Friday, the raison d´être of the show. The Irish composer and singer for gothic rock band The Virgin Prunes had confided to his childhood pal Bono he’d like to play Carnegie Hall before turning 50. Voilà! What Bono wants, Bono gets. But where the hell was Madonna?
Some of the songs were powerful and some painful.That’s what happens when you invite everyone to the party. Some will make a mess, but there were some damn good voices and that so-called backup band sure knew their shit. Maria McKee and Friday gave a heart-rending version of “The Ballad of Immoral Earnings” from The Threepenny Opera. Martha Wainwright’s “You Made Me The Thief of Your Heart” was gorgeous. A confident Lady Gaga sat with her back to the audience at the Steinway and belted out versions of “Poker Face” and “Shag Tobacco.” Bono took his cues from Friday, but both were in fine form as co-hosts.The exception was when Friday introduced Antony as a “beautiful man.” “I’m not a man,” he replied, in his usual disoriented fashion, rarely looking at the audience. “Well, beautiful person,” Friday retorted after a pause.
Among the crew of ragtag renegades, performing in such a venerated concert hall flummoxed a few of the players. After Lydia Lunch threw in a “fuck” to end her bluesy ditty, “Knives in the Drain,” she knocked over a stool as she exited.The audience, full of movers and shakers, many in evening dress, was not amused.This was shortly after an apologetic use of the term “effing” by Courtney Love, looking waif-like and ethereal with flowing platinum locks and a flouncy, ruffled number. “I’m so sick of hearing rock stars are stupid,” Courtney declared, though less assuredly than usual. “Some of us have actually read Middlemarch! Some of us know Shakespeare’s last play was The Tempest!” She recounted being a “pudgy” 15year-old listening to Friday’s band,The Virgin Prunes. Restrained while singing “The Light Pours Out Of Me” with Friday and The Edge, she tossed her blonde mane and let it all hang out, as did everyone else during the final song, a rousing group rendition of “Jean Genie.” Damn it, David Bowie didn’t show up, either.
