Thanksgiving 1976. The Band. Bob Dylan. Van Morrison. Neil Young. Dr. John. Joni Mitchell. Muddy Waters. Eric Clapton. Neil Diamond. Ronnie Wood. Ringo Starr. Ronnie Hawkins. Paul Butterfield.

Still such a thrill to watch.  Here’s the last song of the show, as Dylan leads The Band and all the guests in his own tune, “I Shall Be Released”…

BUY iT ….

Oh hell, let me add a few other tunes…

The Band w/ Neil Diamond
“Dry Your Eyes”

The Band w/ Joni Mitchell
“Coyote”

The Band w/ Muddy Waters
“Mannish Boy”

Well, those Fox News watching fu–tards missed out on some pretty cool moments last night. If you could make it through the awkward celebrity phone conversations with the general public, you saw the likes of Bono, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Bono, Mary J. Blige, Coldplay, Jennifer Hudson, Dave Matthews and Neil Young, Sting, Shakira, and of course the Boss (and many others).

All of the performances can be purchased on iTunes or Amazon. 

Here’s a look at my favorite moments from the evening:

5. Bruce Springsteen – “We Shall Overcome”

This classic spiritual was covered by Bruce on his 2006 Seeger Sessions record. Last night, Bruce brought out his backup singers, along with Charles Giordano on accordion and Curt Ramm on trumpet.

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4. Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris – “Hallelujah”

I was pleasantly surprised by this. As covers of this Leonard Cohen song go, Jeff Buckley’s stands firmly above the rest. But Justin and Matt last night were spot on with their harmonies, and brought out the true beauty in the song – which is more of a lover’s lament than a song about hope, strength, and inspiration (the general theme of the night). I was most impressed by Matt Morris’s vocals.

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3. Shakira – “I’ll Stand By You”

This song is one of my favorite Pretenders tunes, and Shakira nailed it, in my opinion. Of course, my opinion may have been different if she looked like Tiny Tim, but visually and aurally, it was fantastic – especially with the Roots backing her up.

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2. Sting w/ the Roots – “Driven to Tears”

What a great version this was. The full, lush arrangement – Sting on acoustic surrounded by the Roots. Questlove, drummer for the Roots, mentioned on Twitter that he was really looking forward to this performance because he’s practiced drums to the Police since he was a kid.

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1. Wyclef Jean – “Rivers of Babylon” > Haitian traditional

I’m a big fan of “Rivers of Babylon”, a song written by the Melodians in 1972, and covered by many, including Steve Earle. But when Wyclef shifted gears and launched into the percussive blast of his native Haiti, it was like a load being lifted from our shoulders. He sang in English and his native creole, sang about strength in the face of adversity, sang even about Anderson Cooper and CNN. It was a perfect ending to the night.

This song came to my attention from a Twitter update from Popdose’s Jason Hare – okay okay, his tweet! He had just watched Elvis Costello’s Spectacle show on Sundance, and one of the special guests was Jesse Winchester. Jesse is a Canadian folk artist (an American expatriate actually) who started out in the business over 40 years ago.

“Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding” is the song. It’s a newer one from Jesse actually, from his latest album – last year’s Love Filling Station. The song is a sentimental and nostalgic love song from the 65 year old , looking back through the years to the beginning of a love affair, and to the music that accompanied and nurtured them – and still does to this day.

Oh to have the talent to write a song like this… (watch Neko Case tear up next to him).

The boys were singing shing-a-ling
The summer night we met
You were tan and seventeen
O how could I forget
When every star from near and far
Was watching from above
Watching two teenagers fall in love

The way we danced was not a dance
But more a long embrace
We held on to each other and
We floated there in space
And I was shy to kiss you while
The whole wide world could see
So shing-a-ling said everything for me

And O the poor old old folks
They thought we’d lost our minds
They could not make heads or tails
Of the young folks’ funny rhymes
But you and I knew all the words
And we always sang along to
O sham-a-ling-dong-ding
Sham-a-ling-dang-dong

So after years and after tears
And after summers past
The old folks tried to warn us
How our love would never last
And all we’d get was soaking wet
From walking in the rain
And singing sham-a-shing-a-ling again

And O the poor old old folks
They smile and walk away
But I bet they did some
Sham-a-lama-ding-dong in their day
I bet that they still close their eyes
And I bet they sing along to
O sham-a-ling-dong-ding
Sham-a-ling-dang-dong

O those sweet old love songs
Every word rings true
Sham-a-ling-dong-ding means sweetheart
Sham-a-ling-dang-dong does too
And it means that right here in my arms
That’s where you belong
And it means sham-a-ling-dong-ding
Sham-a-ling-dang-dong

Somehow, this seems appropriate as the first post of this new year.. Going back to basics, thinking back to a simpler time. With a new year, we have the chance to start anew – to make a few tweaks and adjustments here and there. A chance to press the ol’ reset button.

This growin’ up thing – it can be a bit complicated, even frightening at times. Sometime it helps to just try and keep things simple…

Happy New Year, and thanks Lonny for the link..

For you mobile folks, here’s the Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUI0YzVSJRg

To top it off, Jimmy Fallon stepped in for John Denver and performed “The 12 Days of Christmas” with The Muppets and The Roots. This performance made me smile so big that my face is still sore.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Here’s Steve’s 45 minute in-store performance from back in May. But be sure to check out the insightful 13 minute interview too, where he discusses his early years as a Nashville songwriter, his former drug habit, The Wire, Radiohead’s refusal to play “Creep”, and even Telluride, Colorado.

In the words of Steve: Telluride is “too high to support intelligent life. I’ve seen that proven over and over and over again.” Good thing my folks only live there five months out of the year!

In-Store Set List:

Taneytown
Rex’s Blues (Townes Van Zandt)
Fort Worth Blues
Pancho & Lefty (TVZ)
Brand New Companion (TVZ)
Rich Man’s War
Lungs (TVZ)
Copperhead Road

It’s hard for me to consider this performance as anything but novel and a tad bizarre. But I have to know, what is the general consensus… what is your opinion of this performance? There must be some of you who enjoyed this? What say you, Gonzo?

By the way, Howard and the gang thought the intro sounded like “Wipeout”.