Great Performances
Posted by Rey
Last weeks Tell It To Me Tuesday kicked my buddy MCF into a late reply and when I saw his list I was motivated to do it as well. And I mean, super motivated since performances rose up from my subconscious mind demanding to be replayed. So here they are:
Audio Slave covers White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army (Hultsfred). Audioslave’s performed this song a lot and each time they’ve done something a little different. This is the one performance that I felt the crowd and Cornell really connected: it was excruciatingly awesome.
Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit (SNL). It was the height of Alternative craze and the band was invited to the show and the audience was happily expectant. Sure the crowd applauds but they’re drowned out by the guitar riff and Cobain’s presence.
Nirvana Territorial Pissings (SNL). The second performance of the evening was greeted with equal adulation but ends with the band destroying their equipment and Cobain systematically pushing his guitar through amps. The audience pauses, realizes that Cobain has reintroduced the Middle Class to punk, and begin to cheer. You would think that Nirvana would be banned from the show but a few years later they were back.
Jimmy Vaughan’ , Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Dr. John and Art Neville Six Strings Down (Stevie Ray Vaughn Tribute). All I have is audio sans video. This was the one time where we had all these Heroes of Guitar on the stage rocking this song and toasting Stevie Ray: they rocked. Honestly, the whole concert was excellent.
Eagles Hotel California. The boys, after some 14 years, are welcomed to five chairs on a darkened stage then proceeded to play the heck out of this song.
Pearl Jam covers Neil Young’s Keep on Rockin’ In the Free World. Now mind you, these guys have some solid performances but they don’t change things up much when they go live. Be that as it may, you can rest assured that their live performances have equal power across the board (would that be even keeled pseudo-suicidal angst?) But Eddie had to sit for this performance and there’s something visually dichotomous (bordering on incoherent yet remaining in the realm of tension) between Rocking and yet having all that explosive power trapped in a chair.
Counting Crows Mr. Jones (VH1 StoryTellers). Adam Duritz changes up just about every performance of this song—this time is no different. What’s so biting here is that its at a high point of his career and that poignant statement “This is a song about my dreams” looks back whereas earlier renditions of the song always looked forward.
Counting Crows Catapult (VH1 StoryTellers). Perfect.
Whitney Houston covers Dolly Parton’s (but now effectively Whitney’s) I Will Always Love You (Divas 99). A classic performance when she was still awesome yet the Shadow of her later life was impending.
Whitney Houston Star Spangled Banner (Superbowl 25 1991). This was so bloody good that folks at home, watching the Superbowl, stood up and applauded. I think me and my buddies might’ve even saluted.
2 Responses to “Great Performances”
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August 3rd, 2007 at 8:21 pm
You not only found a better Audioslave 7NA clip, but filled in a gaping hole in my post where the Nirvana SNL performances and Pearl Jam/Neil Young should have been. Those are like historical moments that DEFINED my taste in music, now over a decade ago. Rock. On.
August 4th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Seriously. I remember seeing those and saying “this is it; this is music.”