Paul Rock’s Wild Honey Foundation has been organizing charity concerts at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA for a number a number of years. The format usually combines a tribute to a famous band (Big Star, for example) with an all-star cast of musicians. At this point, Rock has several regulars he can call upon, so he’s pretty much guaranteed a success every time out.
Last May, the Wild Honey Foundation joined forces with Lenny Kaye and Rhino Records to stage A 50th Anniversary All-Star Celebration Of The Nuggets Compilation benefit concert for The Autism Healthcare Collaborative. This time, the gathering brought together members of 1960s garage rock bands such as The Count Five, Chocolate Watchband, The Seeds, MC5, Love, and The Electric Prunes, along with an army of current performers that included Susanna Hoffs, Elliot Easton, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Kathy Valentine, Darian Sahanaja, Carla Olson, Debbie Shair, Evie Sands, Daryl Hooper, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, and Peter Case.
The concert is now available from the Wild Honey Foundation on DVD and Blu-ray, and while the packaging consists simply of a small white label on clear plastic, the film quality is well worth the $30 donation. The editing occasionally results in some performers not being identified, but the DVD aces its mission to provide a front row view of a Wild Honey Foundation event for those who’ve never experienced one. Journalist/producer/musician Lenny Kaye, who’s the long-time guitarist for the Patti Smith Group, served as a low-key but cool host, consistently drawing on his extensive knowledge of everyone involved.
Unfortunately, we lost Wayne Kramer from MC5 since the concert took place, but his incendiary guitar playing on the blues standard “Baby, Please Don’t Go” certainly adds to his legacy. Other fun highlights included Susanna Hoffs covering The Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy,” The Paley Brothers covering The Music Explosion’s “Little Bit Of Soul,” Cindy Lee Berryhill’s cover of The Barbarians’ “Are You Boy Or Are You A Girl?” and The Three O’Clock’s take on The Nazz’s “Open My Eyes.” A 50th Anniversary All-Star Celebration Of The Nuggets Compilation also offered rollicking versions of “Tobacco Road,” “I Had Too Much To Dream,” “Talk Talk,” “Pushing Too Hard,” “96 Tears,” “Liar, Liar,” and other garage rock hits from the 1960s.
As the members of the backup band rotated in and out, well-informed fans in the audience surely recognized some of their favorites. While the musicians were obviously having fun throughout the event, the finale was one of overwhelming joy. With virtually every performer coming onstage and the audience standing and clapping, Kaye ignited an extended take on the Them/Shadows Of Knight garage rock classic “G-l-o-r-i-a.” I wanna tell you they make us feel alright.
No comments:
Post a Comment