http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/12/14/tom-morellos-monster-jam-slash-serj-tankian-wayne-kramer-mick-mars-and-more-join-nightwatchman-at-tiny-la-gig/
om Morello gave an early Christmas
present to the 100-plus fans packed into Hollywood’s Hotel Café last
night. As a send-off for his final gig of the year as the
Nightwatchman, the Rage Against the Machine
guitarist assembled an eclectic group of music legends that jammed on
inspired covers and collaborations for more than four hours.
Morello’s weekly appearances at the cozy venue serve as an
opportunity to raise money and awareness for his social-action
foundation Axis of Justice, which provides aid to the homeless and
hungry. The evening began in the normal fashion with Morello playing a
handful of acoustic songs. His small set complete, Morello recounted a
story about a man with a great voice at a Woody Guthrie tribute.
The man turned out to be Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins, who
then climbed onstage and proved he was worthy of Morello’s praise with
a solid, albeit lyrically altered rendition of Phil Ochs‘ classic protest tune “State of Mississippi” and the Christmas staple “Silent Night.”
Serj Tankian, who along with Morello co-founded Axis of Justice, next appeared at the piano for two songs, then Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman, rising songwriter Elijah Forrest and Richard Patrick of Filter.
It didn’t seem realistic when Morello took the microphone at this point
and joked that the evening was just getting started, but two and half
hours later it was clear he had been dead serious. Moments later Perry Farrell brought his Satellite Party
onstage with Morello accompanying on electric guitar to play two songs
before closing with a spot-on version of “Jane Says.” The evening then
slipped into high gear when Morello introduced Alice in Chains
which entailed Jerry Cantrell and new singer Will DuVall. The two
played a brilliant version of “Nutshell” that was a deft replication of
their MTV Unplugged performance and followed with a cover of the Who’s “Squeeze Box.”
Most of the crowd, already stoked about the incredible lineup, had
assumed the Alice in Chains duo was the finale, until Mick Mars of Mötley Crüe
slowly emerged to join Morello and the assembled house band for “Dr.
Feelgood” and “Girls, Girls, Girls.” It was borderline excessive when
Slash appeared onstage to help Morello and Cantrell rip through the Thin Lizzy classic “Jailbreak.” The evening pressed on with more jamming and a late appearance by Wayne Kramer of MC5 who led the now-supersized group in a spirited version of “Kick Out the Jams.”
Almost an hour past midnight Morello called the entire night’s lineup back to the stage and introduced Woody Guthrie’s
definitive American anthem “This Land Is Your Land.” Morello, ever
articulate and thoughtful, implored the audience to heed Guthrie’s
poignant lyrics and “grab the wheel of history to reclaim your land.”
Each verse was sung by a different star with Tim Robbins and Farrell
leading and Slash providing intermittent hillbilly-inspired solos. The
ensemble rocked out to the revised ballad for more than ten minutes
before Morello thanked his gracious guests and the adoring audience for
providing an unforgettable night of music.
Richard L. Dewey
In the end we are what we pretend to be...