So, Last Night At Carnegie Hall …

Audio: U2 playing King of Trash at Carnegie Hall

Not sure the right description of the Gavin Friday and Friends event at Carnegie Hall last night. An eclectic mix of performers for sure. Like Gavin, it ranged from punk rock to cabaret. The guests ranged from sober to not very. It worked, it didn’t work, the girl next to me reading her program wanted to know who this ‘Goo- Jee’ is anyway, the security guards may or may not have been slightly scared when Dik Evans began making a piercing noise with his guitar and Guggi and Gavin stomped around the stage screamingsnarling at the crowd and each other. Near the end of the way over three-hour long show, Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson scared more than a few people out of my section with a dirge of noise before everyone broke into Sweet Jane. U2 came across as among the most rehearsed and prepared acts of the night. U2 PLAYED IN CARNEGIE HALL. Look at Bono in that suit. And look at Larry. The drummer is the star when the venue is this small. Adam could get used to that seat next to Larry’s kit, I am sure.

This was not a tribute concert, like some others where the performers all sing the songs of the honored one and he maybe comes on at the end. Gavin was more the host of the party, performing solo and then joining his guests on many of the numbers. And even if you aren’t a Gavin fan, but are a U2 fan, you should know enough about Mr. Friday to know this concert was many things, but never boring. At one point, Bono introduced a random special guest named Lady Gaga who did a piano version of Poker Face with made up lyrics about (RED), or some guy with hair that was red that she wanted to get into bed. Or something. I’d discount her, but she didn’t suck and Bono was clearly thrilled to have some pop star splitting the universe with her atom of pop starness or some other such bullshit, doing something for (RED).

In such a small venue we could see teeny tiny rock star guy Bono on one knee peeking out of the sidestage door to watch certain performances. And the look of fear on Dallas Schoo’s face when Shane MacGowan was stumbling about a little too close to the prized equipment… There were some amazing voices there (Rufus Wainwright, Antony, to name two), and I thought Joseph Arthur’s voice was the most perfect complement to Gavin’s on their performance of Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves.

This was Gavin Friday’s night. But, really, people, I am not going to pretend I enjoyed anything last night as much as I enjoyed U2. It’s not just that Gavin’s songs suit Bono’s voice. They do. Or that the venue was so amazing. It was. The U2ers, as dorkdaddy Bono calls them, just seemed so relaxed and confident. So casually playing these non-anthemic songs. Almost like session musicians. Ha. Like they weren’t even sweating. But I know they were. It’s hard to explain, except to say, I may have left the Hall dreaming that U2 will one day embrace their alter ego side and morph into a jazzy cabaret ensemble with a limited audience that will enable me to go see them play tiny intimate theaters at affordable prices (minus the ‘Goo-Jee’ people next to me who actually also believed that when Fred Armisen showed up dressed as Prince onstage, that he actually was Prince.)

Paul McGuinness came out at one point to tell tales of the good old days when the Virgin Prunes used to open for U2 and scare/aggravate the hell out of the U2 audiences. It was a reminder, if anyone needed it, of where these guys came from and of how bizarrely miraculous it is that they all ended up at Carnegie Hall 30-35 some-odd years later.

During the shambolic rendition of Sweet Jane near the end of the show, Bono changed the lyrics to say this: “Gavin had a birthday. Neither big nor small. About 15 years old he said ‘wanna play Carnegie Hall.’ Now lots of boys and lots of girls in far off places are begging for their life. And all of you coming here tonight are gonna give them that right.”

So … yeah. It was cool.

U2 Gigs has a wrap-up of what songs the members of U2 performed on.

Rolling Stone writer David Fricke’s take on the event is here.

My friend Caryn has a little write-up on the event here.

There are some pics on flickr here and here and here and here.

Video from the gig: Jean Genie (with Courtney Love starring as the train wreck) /

And some (rough) audio from the show:
Bono performing The Last Song I’ll Ever Sing