Saturday, January 30, 2010

WOW: NEIL YOUNG HONORED AT NARAS MUSICARES EVENT

Wow, I really wish I had been there. Every year, two nights before the Grammys, NARAS has its annual MusiCares Person of the Year tribute show. MusiCares "offers a safety net of critical assistance for music people in times of need," including "financial medical and personal emergencies." This year, Neil Young was honored.  I found a good account of the show at, where else?  The great Neil Young blog, Thrasher's Wheat.

I'd read that the show's highlight was Ben Harper's version of "Ohio." But reading over it, there were lots of performances I wish I'd seen: John Mellencamp's "Down By The River," Stephen Stills and Sheryl Crow's "Long May You Run," Norah Jones' "Tell Me Why," "Comes A Time" by Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Willians and Patty Griffin, Wilco's "Broken Arrow," "Rockin' In The Free World" by John Fogerty, Keith Urban and Booker T. Jones, Elvis Costello's "The Losing End," Dave Matthews' "The Needle And The Damage Done," Elton John, Sheryl Crow, Neko Case and Leon Russell's "Helpless" and the debut of the new version of The Red Hot Chili Peppers (with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer) doing "A Man Needs A Maid." Neil himself was there, but didn't perform.  I know that these events are usually kept as an "industry" event, but I would love if there would be some way to buy or even stream some of these performances.

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