Save Me, If You Please

Three years ago, when I happened across EC Access (not to be overly dramatic, but yeah, it sure changed my destiny), I found out that I had just missed Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival by a couple of weeks. I vowed at that time it wouldn't happen again.

It didn't.

All that despite the fact that it meant not sleeping for two of three nights involved (and probably not getting enough sleep on the third one) to actually get to and fro the all-day music fest and that I'd have to book-end the trip with two rather hellish days at work. But it's all worth it, right?

Frankly it's all worth it just to see the friends that I made at EC Access. The site has since become a joke, and any benefits that you get from the club on the American side of the pond frankly aren't worth the cost of a year's membership. But I got exactly what I needed from ECA in my short time there -- a group of crazy cool whackos who I have a good time with no matter what we're doing.

So I just had to (and did) know that when I finally got to the hotel we were all staying at in downtown Chicago that no, I wouldn't be allowed to get some rest. And yes, I'd be going along to a club to see Albert Lee and Vince Gill with my compadres.

The club Martyr's was packed to the (Vince) gills, and it was way too hot to stay in there for any extended time. So basically, we spent most of the night sitting outside, chatting amongst ourselves and anyone who came by. See Ritu's photo at left...

Our group is ever-expanding, because there are just so many groovy people who love the music. So we got to add the dynamic duo of LuAnn (a.k.a. Stained Glass) and Jay (a.k.a. Fat Fingers) to our ranks this year. And I finally got to meet some of the people I had talked to in my initial days on ECA, like "The Fool" (Rob) and chitownmike (Mike, duh). And best of all, beaucoups hugs and laughs with my girls Sus and Georgette. ... I don't want to leave anyone out ... Pam, Bruce, Renee, the Swedes, Willie, Mark, buttnugget Rooster, Melissa.

For me, going to Crossroads is mostly about these friendships and the laughs and the in-jokes that will last a lifetime, because frankly we won't let them die. Like Ritu stealing her own purse in the VIP lounge, playing lost and found with Rooster and Susan and Pam both taking untimely spills within hours of each other (which would be a lot funnier if Sus didn't actually mess herself up).

But the music, well, that wasn't bad either. So in the Woodstock tradition (OK, it was just last year's anniversary concert, but all traditions gotta start somewhere, here are the high and lowlights).

Best Use of God-like Powers: In opening the festival, Eric "Is God" Clapton declared that the rain and storms forecasted all week should stay away. And they did! Not a drop.

Best Intro: Bill Murray did a phenomenal job introducing the acts throughout the day, sometimes costumed up head to toe as the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly. In probably his best line of the day, he brought on ZZ Top with praise for them "never buying into the whole goatee thing."

Best Unexpected Pleasure: Stefan Grossman and Keb Mo. We'd been on an acoustic run that was lulling the overheated crowd into a slight state of coma, but when Keb joined Stefan, the result was a sweet little blues stew with echoes of Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. (EC was seen at the side of the stage enjoying it just as much.)

Best Debut by a New Band: Now I thought this category was going to be taken by the new Derek Trucks-Susan Tedeschi band. And they were fabulous, even if the rumored collaboration with Doyle Bramhall II did not develop. The winner was Doyle's own new band Faded Boogie, verrrrrry funky. The set got slowed a bit by Sheryl Crow, whose new album Doyle produced, but guest spots from Trucks, Tedeschi (see next entry) and Clapton livened things up quite a bit.

Best Use of a Non-Guitar Instrument at a Guitar Festival: Susan Tedeschi's voice. Susan kicked major ass (especially Sheryl Crow's). Lest anyone fear, this girl can play the axe too. She basically kicked Sheryl's well-toned ass on that also, as well as quite a few of the guys in tow.


Best Teaming: If the fiance had been there, I'm sure he would have voted for the Robert Randolph-Joe Bonamassa combo, but hey he wasn't, and I'm not influenced by him anyway. So my winners are: Buddy Guy with the Rolling Stones' Ron Wood and Jonny Lang. On the surface, that grouping sounds like it could be: a.) spectacular or b.) a train wreck. It was definitely a. All the songs were winners, but the funkified "Miss You" with Buddy eventually taking vocals was a festival highlight.

Most Awkward Teaming: This was going to be for the cavalcade of musicians (Warren Haynes, Johnny Winter, members of Los Lobos) who gamely rolled in and out during the Trucks-Tedeschi set due to the absence of Gregg Allman, who underwent a much-needed liver transplant, but it's really gotta go to Citizen Cope as part of the Clapton set. If EC came out during CC's set, it mighta worked. Here, it just let the air out of the tires.

Worst Use of the Outdoor Environs: Clapton and Jeff Beck aren't that far removed from their joint tour in which they played several numbers together. The number chosen for Crossroads? Probably the most ill-suited of the lot, "Shake Your Moneymaker," a tight, small rocker better served in a confined space.


Best Use of the Outdoor Environs: Who would have thought that Blind Faith -- the supergroup that was deemed to be overhyped when they formed -- would become this timeless entity? Clapton and Steve Winwood had lots of practice together on their recent short tours, and the material sounded amazing cascading across the cloudy Chicago sky.

Best Use of Props: When Clapton, Winwood and company started "Voodoo Chile," the full moon peeked out from behind the clouds and then darted back in. As wonderful as this song sounded in an enclosed arena, it might have been even more resonant when played to the sky. A perfect song, as evidenced by the fact that the onlookers backstage quadrupled over the course of it.

Best (and Worst) Stream of Consciousness: Don't know if it was the late hour, the heat or his 84 years, but B.B. King was even more off the beaten path than usual when he sat down to mix his storytelling with guitar playing. Just as entertaining were the reactions coming from Eric Clapton (knowing amusement) and the usually non-emotive Robert Cray (borderline horror). Jimmie Vaughan just seemed to ignore it in favor of focusing on his riffs. And we STILL want to hear the end of the story about meeting Eric in a club with Janis Joplin that got interrupted when all the artists came back on stage for the finale. How about as an "Easter egg" on the DVD?

And although this was thought to be the last in a series of three, EC already seems to have misgivings about calling it a day on the Crossroads front. So see ya in 2013!

What Becomes an Epic Most?

I had planned to start off this blog with a theory on the perils of seeing the same artist twice in one week (a.k.a Billy Joel-itis), but then I actually attended my second Pearl Jam show of the week and a new point emerged.

Madison Square Garden 2 probably has already taken its place amongst legendary Pearl Jam shows. In fact, it was predicted in fan circles to do that before it even occurred. So what gives a show that distinction? Is it the venue, the fact that it's the last show of a tour leg, the setlist and/or the performance?

In the case of all four, MSG shoots and scores. (Of course on the music front, since the Blueshirts didn't even make the playoffs. Really, how far did anyone who knows me think I'd get without a flip Rangers remark?)

But back to the show. Even before Pearl Jam had taken the stage, it was obvious that the sound in the Garden outpaced The Rock in Newark. Tuesday's show had its sonic moments, but it also made some songs seem very small and boxed in.



Enjoyed some pre-show amusement when a couple complained about the hallowed venue, saying it's basically a sports arena and not the old-fashioned theater they thought it would be. (Maybe they were thinking Radio City Music Hall.)

And for the end of the first leg of the 2010 tour, the guys pulled out all the stops. The setlist was a great blend of rarities and high-octane rock 'n' roll.

Set List: Corduroy, Hail Hail, Do The Evolution, World Wide Suicide, Got Some, Breath, Nothingman, I’m Open, Unthought Known, Grievance, Amongst The Waves, Present Tense, Not For You/Modern Girl, Push Me Pull Me, Rats, Daughter/WMA, The Fixer, Why Go

1st encore: The End with string quartet, Just Breathe with string quartet, Lukin II with string quartet, Black Red Yellow, Sweet Lew, Given To Fly, Spin The Black Circle, Rearviewmirror

2nd encore: Wasted Reprise, Better Man/Save It For Later, Black, The Real Me (Townshend), Hunger Strike, Alive, Kick Out The Jams, Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner

"Corduroy" as opener signaled that they wanted to rock out the finale and the steady stream of pulse-pounders kept everyone on their feet. Noticed somewhere along the line that almost all the first singles from each album were represented.


The first evening shocker would probably be the one that I was hoping for. "Breath," another top five Pearl Jam song of mine came into play pretty quickly after being scratched from the Newark setlist. Gorgeous and it got the anticipation bug out of my system relatively early.

A bunch of songs that I wouldn't have put at the top of that list were truly dazzling. The audience helped out greatly with "Nothingman," it just kinda reverberated around your soul. Multiply that by like five when we eventually got to "Better Man," definitely one of my least favorites, but one of the many highlights of the night as the audience sang a verse and a chorus before Eddie chimed in with some urgent and throaty vocals and the band raised the song's usual tempo really drive the point home.

Back to the rarities: "Push Me, Pull Me" from my all-time fave Pearl Jam album, "Black Red Yellow" AND "Sweet Lew" in quick succession, Pete Townshend's "The Real Me" and "Kick Out the Jams." When you're in the middle of these kind of songs, you just kinda stand there with your mouth open going, "Really?"


Don't want to leave out the string quartet, which joined the fray for three songs during the first encore. Eddie's spiel on there being more than one way to skin a cat ("Who the fuck is out skinning cats?") led to the gorgeous reinvention of raucous "Lukin" as an acoustic number, and seemed unrecognizable to a huge faction of the audience until he got to the chorus.

On a personal note, it seemed like I got a lot of songs in the show that I'd rarely seen: "Spin the Black Circle" (which I apparently had never seen live), "Hail Hail," "Not for You," "Black," "Present Tense." Every single one of them just resonated. Like my good friend Liam said the other night, the band always brings it and, with all the rarities, it would be easy to sort of overlook the rest, but that would be wrong, wrong, wrong. Every song was just out of the park.

And then the monster. I've been to one other epic Pearl Jam show in the band's almost 20-year existence -- the 10-year anniversary show in Las Vegas. At that show, they tackled Mother Love Bone's signature song, "Crown of Thorns." On Friday, it was Temple of the Dog's "Hunger Strike," with Band of Horses frontman Ben Bridwell doing a great job handling Chris Cornell's chores.

The video's linked at the top of this blog. I don't know if it captures it for anyone not there, but it's still kicking my ass. Going right from that into "Alive" and singing the chorus was cathartic.

I'm so blown away, that I almost forgot the mention the harbinger of things to come -- the kick-ass poster. There's not enough room at Casa Park to hang every poster we have, but if you're gonna have a Kong reference... And unlike my first epic show, I managed not to leave my treasured keepsake in the cab.

Now I just gotta figure out a way of upping that epic ratio.

I Surfaced and All of My Being Was Enlightened

I've always been one of those obsessive music fans. If I'm into something, I'm really into it. Listening to someone and almost no one else at a particular time. There are phases that I sort of outgrew (Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Nirvana, Elliott Smith), some that are bound to reoccur (Eric Clapton, Jeff Buckley, Liz Phair, The Beatles) and some somewhere in the middle (Rick Springfield, Glenn Tilbrook, Pete Yorn, Van Morrison). And then there's Pearl Jam.

Pearl Jam's a band very near and dear to my heart, maybe because they're from my generation. They're around my age, so they've made music that strikes a literal chord with songs about things that I've gone through myself. So no matter what's going on, I know when I go to a Pearl Jam show that there's going to be an element of soul searching going on.

So I ventured to the Prudential Center in Newark with Liam -- my third straight PJ show with him. Not exactly the May trip that I planned to The Rock, for my other obsession, the New Jersey Devils, should be still playing there around this time. But definitely the perfect option for a first concert there.

Before the show we had dinner across the street and came up with a song each that we wanted to hear and one we decidedly didn't. His pick was Pearl Jam staple "State of Love and Trust" (aka "SOLAT") and mine was off the board, a cover they performed on the 2000 Tour, "Timeless Melody." I thought his odds were a lot better than mine. Neither of us got our picks, but that's not something that has ever bothered me, for I feel that the setlist is part of the artistic process and the songs played at a show are the ones meant to be played.

But having said that, it was rather righteous both of the choices for being not played actually weren't. Mine: "Last Kiss." His: "Jeremy." I would have gone for a second choice of "Better Man," also not played.

I did add that if the band wanted to play my all-time favorite PJ song, "In Hiding," for two hours, I wouldn't mind that one bit.

We had our familiar Ten Club seats, Stone side, back a couple sections and up on the risers. For Devils games, they're the top seats in the house -- the black pleather ones that are more comfortable. So we settled in and spent much of our time making fun of Roky Erickson's "Two Headed Dog" ahead of the amiable opener, Band of Horses. Eddie and lead singer Ben Bridwell's daughter, Annabelle, (2 years old Wednesday) helped them close the set with "Act Together."

And now on to the main attraction:
Set List: Of The Girl, Brain Of J, Do The Evolution, The Fixer, Alone, Amongst The Waves, Immortality, In Hiding, Even Flow, Insignificance, Supersonic, Brother, Glorified G, Daughter/Blitzkrieg Bop/WMA, Unthought Known, Leatherman, Lukin, Once

1st encore: Just Breathe, Footsteps, Inside Job, Got Some, Go

2nd encore: Jersey Girl, You Are, Whipping, Life Wasted, Alive, Indifference, All Along The Watchtower

Opening with "Of the Girl," wow! One of my very, very favorite songs and one I'd actually never heard in seven previous shows. It was going to be a good night, even if Stone seemed to be sporting my hair do.

There was something a little bizarre about the sound quality of the show. Some songs, "Even Flow" is a great example, filled the entire arena and others, like "Supersonic," seemed to be in a little box and very distant. The band still sounded great, but just not as cacophonous.

I didn't even think about the fact that the Devils still aren't playing ... OK, not for seven or eight songs anyway. Nor the fact that we were standing the whole time ... OK, maybe when we settled back into the pleather for a minute at the first break.

There were highlights that I probably wouldn't have previously called highlights from other shows -- "Immortality" and "Insignificance," in particular were knockouts. But if we're talking "knockout," then "In Hiding" has to be mentioned. Not two hours long, but still a very emotional four minutes.

We got "Glorified G" and "Leatherman," both of which we also heard in 2006, but lesser-played treats in the lexicon. And "Brother" and "Footsteps," played for the first time this tour. Hearing the opening salvo to "Once" really got the motor racing and there were fabulous versions of "Daughter" (with a great story about the original riff coming from a bathroom at a Motel 6 in Denver and "Blitzkrieg Bop" AND "WMA" tags), "Go" and "Whipping" as well.

Eddie told a very touching story after the first encore about a Pearl Jam fan who had written a heartfelt tribute to his father, who is battling illness. He praised the son's reverence for his dad and dedicated "Just Breathe" and the later "Alive" to them.

And you know how the more things change, the more they stay the same? Lots of great interplay between Jeff and Stone. Mike's amazing guitar and energy. Eddie's voice sounded amazing. Matt's driving beat. And there was something very assuring about the fact that Eddie and Stone still butt heads from time to time, even after 20 years. This little fracas came after covering "Jersey Girl," getting a chorus of "Bruuuuuce" from the audience and Eddie adding that he loves Bruce but Tom Waits actually wrote the song. "Twenty years and it's ending tonight!" Eddie chided.

I thought we were ending on a fabulous "Indifference," but then Ben Bridwell came out to help close the show with a charged "All Along the Watchtower."

So "how much difference does it make?" Quite a bit.

Clapton, Beck ... and Paige

I'm not sure what expectations I went into Friday's Jeff Beck/Eric Clapton concert with -- aside from the persistent rumor that Jimmy Page was reportedly backstage at the Garden and possibly would make an appearance in the show to complete the dream lineup with all three Yardbirds -- but whatever they were, they were exceeded and then some.

I'd always thought of Jeff Beck as a master of the guitar, but one who just used speed and agility to make the musical point. This after years of seeing video of events like the Arms concert and the Crossroads Guitar Festival. (Oh and possibly my favorite video of the '80s, "Ambitious," which features a host of familiar faces -- Donny Osmond, Marilyn McCoo and even Tattoo from "Fantasy Island" -- auditioning to be the vocalist on the song) But I'm happy to have been proved way off base.

I was knocked flat by the 45-minute set that he opened the show with. Whether it was just with his kicking band or with the assistance of an orchestra, his guitar just seared through every single song.

"Corpus Christi Carol," a song close to my heart because it was a staple in the late, great Jeff Buckley's repertoire, almost brought tears to my eyes. But then again, it might have just been Jeff Beck's guitar tone having its desired effect.

Jeff (Beck) didn't do any material with vocals, and hey, that's because he just didn't need them. And his band was just as righteous. The new female bassist Rhonda Smith (sorry Tal Wilkenfeld fans!) did some kicking solos and returning drummer Narada Michael Walden just smashed the hell out of his skins to keep up with Jeff.

If there should be any question over his use of an orchestra in rock and roll, I would just roll video of "A Day in the Life." Ugh, I sure could use Yoko's non-linear thinking right now to express how that song just arouses all the senses. Mere words don't seem to do it enough justice.

So I was literally wiped when that set ended. I didn't think I'd be able to recover in time for the intermission and EC's solo set. This fact was made worse by the two numbskulls behind me who kept loudly voicing that there was no way Clapton could compete with Beck's play. (If I have to be honest, I did kind of worry about it myself, and I've never been described as anything short of a Clapton fanatic.)

But really it's like comparing apples and dominoes. Jeff Beck's guitar sort of cuts a swath through his song, while EC's is entirely complementary -- surrounding all of the other musical components and then elevating it to a different level.

Having the acoustic set first did nothing to quiet the loudmouths. And they just got worse (of course) when asked to keep it quiet. I really had to focus to get past it -- even when the song I had been waiting for, "I've Got a Rock 'N' Roll Heart," started. Long live, T-Mobile! Well, T-Mobile sucks, but long live their promotional department for glomming onto that as the signature song promoting the EC phone.

After the four acoustic songs, it got easier to not hear what I didn't want to hear behind me. "I Shot the Sheriff," never one of my favorite songs, was a highlight. As one friend once said, "You can tell how an EC show is going to be by how good 'I Shot the Sheriff' is." Well, judging by that barometer, spectacular.

It got even better on "Little Queen of Spades," with EC and longtime keyboardist Chris Stainton blazing the trail. And, of course, "Cocaine" got everyone rocking out.

Then, the moment we'd all been waiting for as Beck joined Clapton on stage. OK, all of us except the drunk motormouths behind me because they took off early into the set. I didn't have time to ponder the error of their ways, because the two guitarists intermingled to perfect effect. It was pretty much Beck in the foreground and Clapton in the background, but chalk that up to the apples and dominoes analogy.

"Moon River," another bizarre choice for a rock concert on its face, was haunting. But it was "Outside Woman Blues" and "Little Brown Bird" that really proved the dream matchup point.

Visions of future recordings with the dynamic duo danced in my head through "Wee Wee Baby" and "I Want to Take You Higher." And although Jimmy Page didn't pop out and see his shadow, it couldn't have mattered less as they barreled into "Crossroads."

So I left with an impression of Jeff Beck that went from zero to 60 in about two seconds flat. That'll be an obsession for the next few months, I am sure. And now I have renewed excitement about going down to the Crossroads ... Guitar Festival that is, in June in Chicago.

Live Peace in Brooklyn

Yoko Ono, an acquired taste to be sure. One that puts you in a very different place than where you started, that's for sure. And that's the intent. Since her performance art is all about taking you spatially out of your comfort zone -- and everyone from me to Eric Clapton and back felt that Tuesday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music -- I guess I'll just go with that flow.

--Were the four days of snow that hit the metropolitan area just part of her work? The frosty white images and sturdy, dangerous but glassy-looking ice patches seem to be in direct proportion to songs like "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)" and "Walking in Thin Ice." I'm not for sure that this wasn't Yoko's doing.

--Is the guy sitting in front of me with his combover blocking my view part of the art? It seemed twice as likely to be true when I moved a seat to the left after Act 1 and there was a woman, a smaller version but with her hair gelled up so high it seemed to be a combover as well.

--The guy emitting noxious fumes to my right definitely better not be part of the act.

--Power zoning. That's what Yoko's songs can do to you. You're powerless, she has all the power. She knows and revels in it.

--That band, led by Sean Lennon (who in beard and hat looks uncannily like his father), is fun-ky. This is like Concert for George, where Dhani Harrison looked so much like his dad that you couldn't stop looking. I gotta admit feeling eerie and a tiny bit of the ick factor as he prods Mummy on.

--Over the course of the show, she reaches for a water bottle with her left hand. Is this intentional or is she just thirsty?

--Yoko sings of hearing fish calling from the ocean. I really think I can hear them.

--Bottoms up. The famous "Bottoms" video which photographs, obviously, cheeks was ever-present. Even in the bathroom there was a poster of the grainy black-and-white imagery.

--Second act ... a diverse collection of musicians pay tribute. The Scissor Sisters lose themselves in "The Sun Is Down" ... Justin Bond does a very humorous take on "What a Bastard the World Is" ... Sean channels dad for "Oh Yoko" with Gene Ween ... Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore artfully hacksaw "Mulberry" in cadence with Yoko ... Bette Midler, who made her own fluffy arrangement, thrills the masses with "Yes, I'm Your Angel" ... Sean's best friend and his dad (Harper and Paul Simon) do nice guitar duets to "Silverhorse" and "Hold On."

--Yoko ... Eric Clapton ... Klaus Voormann. The first time the three Plastic Ono band members have been on stage together in 37 years. It's a joy to see Eric out of his comfort zone and his playing -- spectacular on "Yer Blues" and "Don't Worry Kyoko" and just out of this world on the song they hadn't even rehearsed, "Death of Samantha" -- is a sight to behold. ... Sean talks of Eric giving him quick guitar lessons before the show on how his dad used to play the songs. Yoko tells stories that I didn't hear and/or understand. Eric didn't seem to either. I feel better.

--Everyone ... except EC unless my vantage point to the far left prevented me from seeing him ... comes back on stage. They and we sing "Give Peace a Chance," with an additional "Happy Birthday" to boot.

So glad I went.

'Once' and for all

I once read you're not supposed to start correspondence with an apology. Not that there were a lot of shows that fell by the wayside here at Maximum Tuneage, I think I've only been to one in recent months -- a spectacular Pete Yorn show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, where he took a backseat to adult alterni of the year, David Gray. (I thought that was a "General Hospital" bad guy, but apparently he's this decade's answer to Dave Matthews.) So I roll on, sans apology.

Oh wait, I think I didn't do one for The Dana Fuchs Band's show at the Highline Ballroom. That I apologize profusely for. Onward!

When the charming indie film "Once" came out a few years ago, I was bedazzled by Glen Hansard (who had been in "The Commitments") and Marketa Irglova (who is Czech, which is a virtual 'in' for me). The way their voices, guitar and piano melded melted my hardened heart.

I saw them at Radio City Music Hall soon after they won the Academy Award for "Falling Slowly," the lovely ballad in the film that started the characters' down their path to love, with the audience along for the ride. They still seemed so unaffected by it all, really impressed by being in the storied NYC venue, and at the time, they were also together in real life.

It's a couple years later now. They're not still a couple, but they again sold out Radio City (something which a surprised Glen charmingly alluded to during the show). Indeed he was so impressed by the atmosphere that he beckoned the audience to join in and sing lines from about half the night's numbers. For the songs from the new album, "Strict Joy," he delivered very detailed instructions for different lines and even harmonies. And truth be told, it did sound a bit ethereal, even if he made us do it one or two too many times.



The current amalgamation of Glen, Marketa, The Frames, Clarence Clemons' nephew Jake and the rest of the band is known as The Swell Season. And there's no doubt about why Glen is the frontman, for he can do it all. He belted "Say It to My Now" off microphone to the back row of the balcony -- where he claims he usually sits at shows since he's always the last to buy his ticket. He told an endearing story about an older woman with an unusual blue coat he met in Chicago, not divulging the fact that Lois' son had perished in the Sept. 11 attacks until it was time to reveal the real reason for the story's inclusion in the set -- that the space between your mind and your mouth may not be that far, but it seems like a much greater distance when so many important things often remain unsaid.



He deftly worked his ex into the mix several times, once with a story about someone whose better half has a bigger vocabulary, "even if it's her second language." We could almost feel Marketa blush as she turned away from the microphone (and the audience) ahead of "Maybe I Was Born to Hold You in These Arms." Later, he credited Irglova with being the missing piece to success for he and his band of 20 years, the Frames.

Hansard & Company paid homage to a wide array of their influences -- Van Morrison, the most obvious and blatant with a dynamic "Astral Weeks" that allowed Glen to show off his guitar chops; the local flavor of Bruce Springsteen (with Clarence Clemons' nephew Jake on sax) on "Drive All Night" and the traditional Irish tune "The Parting Glass" with nods to The Clancy Brothers and Kate McGarrigle, but which is really adapted from its use as a song used at a wake to wish "good night and joy be with you all" to those who remain behind.

But as fabulous as all those covers were, The Swell Season was at its best when Glen and Marketa were front and center. The other ingratiating song from "Once," "When Your Mind's Made Up," starts softly, ends powerfully and sort of makes you wonder if the right song won the Oscar. The songs from "Once" all were delivered with as much verve as they had been the first time around.

But that I expected. The big questions I had were about the new album, which outside of the radio-friendly Van Morrisonesque "Low Rising," I had found a bit lackluster on the first few runs through the iPod. But at Radio City, with Glen giving introduction and explanation for almost every new song, they came alive, particularly "The Rain," which Glen said was written for his "gang," his longtime Frames bandmates.

When Marketa took to center stage with an acoustic guitar for her woman-child numbers, "If You Want Me" from the movie soundtrack and "I Have Loved You Wrong" from the new album, there was Glen at her place at the piano. Hansard may not have been born to hold Irglova in his arms, but it's very evident he was born to make beautiful music with her.

Clinging to the Woodstock vibe

Getting the elusive Woodstock vibe is easy ... holding on to it, not so much.

Being in Bethel Woods is amazing. And then you walk into the museum gift shop, which is strewn with more commercialism than you can are able to view amidst the packed crowd. And the merchandise you can actually see doesn't say "Woodstock," probably because that's a trademarked name. So the reason the place exists is the reason they can't use the name?

But then you see the line for entrance with thousands of eager (and sweaty) people on it. And an old hippie holds a sign that "Need a free ticket for tonight" ... and he gets one minutes later!

We headed to Woodstock ourselves without tickets for the sold-out show, but with expectations of meeting someone who had two extra lawn seats early in the afternoon. While we could have gotten the tickets the box office released that day at cost, we stayed true to the vibe and waited on our supplier (much delayed by ... traffic, of course!)

Mark's backup plan to our woes was to use the old hippie Paul's sign to get tickets of our own. He even procured the sign to that end. And when our source showed up, we passed the sign on to another, who got a ticket -- no joke -- five seconds later. Paul added "Pay it forward ... it worked for me!" to the bottom of the sign and we left it outside in hopes that it would be used by others as we finally entered the gates.

The modern-day facility neighbors the original Max Yasgur farm that played host to the original Woodstock (I said it! I said it! I'm not paying royalties!!), and we found out that the foundation plans for that plot to remain untouched forever.

The Woodstock vibe was flowing through the people we met who told us stories of being at the original show -- one guy spent two days working his way to the front of the stage until he found himself there for Joe Cocker's set -- and NOT being at the show -- one poor lady went without tickets and was turned away (only to find out a day later, when access was impossible, that it had become a free show). Her friend also had been at Woodstock (*TM) and she had been left by her then-boyfriend (who also planned to be there for the 40th) when they lost track of each other amidst the hundreds of thousands.

Oh, fun note. Mark endured some teasing for wearing his New Jersey Devils shirt to the event. Although I surmised that there wouldn't be any other such apparel in view, Frank Marshall stopped us to appreciate the subject, and to show off his own team spirit at the same time.

We quickly staked out a spot on flat rocks in the shade, but quickly surmised we wouldn't last eight-plus hours on them since they were perilously sloped to the ground. We moved to flat -- and sweltering -- ground at the back center of the lawn and promptly fell asleep amidst the growing lawn full of families and wanna-be hippies who didn't attend the actual Woodstock as tuning continued for an hour or so on the stage.

It was a nice (but did I mention hot!) way to pass the day. And when the show got underway that kind of now-you-feel-it, now-you-don't Woodstock vibe floated in the air. I guess it sort of hurt the premise that all the bands had members no longers with them, whether by nature or other design. But everyone sounded really good, no off-key or out-of-tune embarrassments across the board. Rather than play-by-play the sets, I'll just hand out some props and some dubious honors for the evening.

Most faithful rendition:
15-year-old Conrad Oberg's take on Jimi Hendrix's seminal "Star-Spangled Banner" opened the show.

Least faithful rendition:
Big Brother's "Me and Bobby McGee." Uh, this was a Janis solo song, guys. That means after she left y'all.

Worst awareness of surroundings:
Despite a pretty big contingent of pint-sized fans (all of whom seemed to be able to get down), Country Joe proceeded with a "Gimme an F ... Gimme a U ... Gimme a C ... Gimme a K... what's it spell?!" chant rather early in the afternoon.

Best "fake" band member:
Cathy Richardson's amazing take on Grace Slick for Jefferson Starship nee Airplane (see right).

Worst "fake" band member:
Sophia Ramos of Big Brother. They brought on an Oriental guest vocalist for the first two songs, and while she had a bit of trouble with enunciation, the songs still sounded right. Ramos, fine in the straight-forward moments, really irked when she tried for Janis vocal stretches.

Best appropriation of someone else's idea:
Me! "Gimme a F ... Gimme a U ... Gimme a C ... Gimme an H ... Gimme an S ... what's it spell? FUCHS! FUCHS! FUCHS!" The only person I know of who could have done Janis justice.

Best use of a single riff:
Canned Heat. Canned riff. Hey, it gets people boogeying. But let's be honest. They keep playing the same ol' song with different words in front of them. Even Ten Years After felt obliged to use it once in their set.

Best anachronism:
Leslie West of Mountain called for the lighting technician to follow him electronically as he played the five notes of the "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" theme.

Best storyteller:
West again! Before diving into an energetic "Crossroads," West admitted he would be selling insurance if it wasn't for Eric Clapton. He recalled speaking to his brother about why the late Felix Pappalardi (Mountain's bassist and Cream's producer) couldn't get Mountain to sound like Cream. "Because you suck," brother said. West put the dig aside, until he went to see Cream in concert for himself. "We do suck!" West then proclaimed. It made him bear down and practice even harder.

Best surprise:
West trifecta!! It was rather late in the evening when West asked for the crowd's indulgence, bringing out his fiance Jenni Maurer and getting hitched on the stage ... by none other than the night's closer, Levon Helm. (Oh by the way, this is only biggest surprise if we fail to include my mom telling me via cell phone that day for the first time that when the original Woodstock took place, we were vacationing mere miles away.)

Best performance:
It was way late and the soothing sounds might not be traditional headliner fare, but The Levon Helm Band stood hand and shoulders above a pretty impressive rest of the field. Although Levon (who has battled throat cancer) was on "vocal rest," he centered a striking collection of musicians with his affinity for and talent on the skins.