Click photo to enlarge
Mick Jagger, right, performs with Fergie, centre, and Bono
of U2 at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
concert at Madison Square Garden, on Friday, in New York.
Photo Henny Ray Abrams/AP.
U2 brought three generations of chart-toppers - Mick
Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and the Black Eyed Peas - with them
onstage at another night of mix-and-match magic at Madison
Square Garden.
Metallica brought the thunder to Lou Reed and Ray Davies.
It was the second of two concerts to celebrate the 25th
anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they will
be edited into an HBO special to be seen on Thanksgiving
weekend.
During U2's set, Bono was waxing poetic about the spiritual,
physical and political power of rock 'n' roll until finally
the Boss had had enough.
"Let's have some fun with it," Springsteen said. They
performed U2's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking
For, with Bono and Springsteen trading call-and-response
vocals during the final verse.
U2 topped the bill for the four hours of music. True to the
spirit of Rock Hall events, producers sought some unusual
pairings for artists to pay tribute to influences: Annie
Lennox and Lenny Kravitz joined Aretha Franklin onstage, and
Sting popped up to sing People Get Ready with Jeff
Beck.
Jagger, who sang Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out
Of with U2, also danced a duet with the Black Eyed Peas'
Fergie on Gimme Shelter. Jagger stuck his microphone
in his waistband as the black miniskirted Fergie approached.
U2 stood in the background, the world's most expensive "house
band," as Jagger called them.
"Weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs ... ," Bono joked.
U2 asserted authority when everyone left the stage, closing
the show alone with Beautiful Day.
Just to show music's finest aren't perfect: U2, Springsteen
and Patti Smith needed a do-over when they mangled their
version of Because the Night. They almost needed a
third, when Smith missed the cue to start.
Metallica went for an easy cheer from the New York crowd by
playing video of the Yankees' Mariano Rivera behind them
during Enter Sandman. The song is played at Yankee
Stadium when Rivera enters a game.
Metallica paid tribute to influences by playing songs by Bob
Seger and Queen. Frontman James Hetfield noted the band's
trepidation when Rock Hall officials suggested artists to
share the stage with.
"We're not the most jammy kind of band," he said. "We're kind
of a tight little unit. We don't let a lot of people in."
One choice was unsurprising: Ozzy Osbourne, who sang
Paranoid and Iron Man. The others were less
obvious but went over hugely well, judging by the crowd. New
York's Reed had a muscular backing for Sweet Jane and
Davies had the type of riffing he hadn't seen since the Kinks
on You Really Got Me and All Day and All of the
Night.
Jerry Lee Lewis began the show with his hit Great Balls of
Fire. A half-century ago, he might have ended it with
some leaps or kicking of furniture; now, he slowly pushed his
piano stool over at the song's end.
Franklin was a teaser, introducing one song as being "for
those of you who don't feel they're getting enough respect" -
then sang a show tune from Ragtime. She introduced her
band and drew a blank on the name of her guitar player. She
barely acknowledged Lennox when they shared the stage for
Chain of Fools.
She still has a gale's force voice, though.
And, in the end, audience members got their Respect.
