Tibet House Benefit
Carnegie Hall, New York (February 22, 1999)
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Patti Smith
Carnegie Hall, New York
February 22, 1999 |
In much the same mold is the yearly Tibet House benefit in New York City, the 11th of which graced the sparse Carnegie Hall stage Monday night. Although much thinner on pure rock and roll than the Freedom Concerts, the Tibet House shows have always fostered unique on-stage collaborations and plenty of good vibes of their very own. Tonight was no exception.
Tibet House is a cultural center in New York City, and on this evening, the organization's vice president was not only the host but one of the performers, too: composer Philip Glass. Glass invited Tibetan performance group Chaksam-Pa onstage for a colorful ritual dance before Cibo Matto took the stage just before 8 p.m. Set to release a long-awaited follow-up to its 1996 debut Viva La Woman!, the tandem of Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda got the show off on the right foot. Backed by Sean Lennon on bass and beat-boxer Duma Love, the band offered the evening's most prominent electrified moment on the hyperactive funk of "Sugar Water." But Love's mouth magic was the only percussion needed for a soft cover of Henry Mancini's "Moon River."
Guests drifted on and off-stage all night long, reinforcing the team effort that is working for advancement of the Tibetan issue. Shawn Colvin followed Cibo Matto with "84,000 Different Delusions," a dark and lovely track from her 1996 A Few Small Repairs album. Colvin was joined by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck for a steady rendition of Crowded House's "Personal Universe," and then herself gave way to the rest of R.E.M.
With R.E.M. came Patti Smith, a mainstay at this benefit over the past few years. Smith's haunting backup vocals were the showcase of R.E.M.'s dreary "E- Bow The Letter," which suffered through frontman Michael Stipe's barely audible verses. R.E.M. settled into a nicer groove on a surprising cover of Pearl Jam's "Long Road," accented by Nawang Khechog's otherworldly horn tones. A short but sweet "At My Most Beautiful," from the band's most recent Up album, featured both Glass and R.E.M.'s Mike Mills on piano and some tuneless backup singing by Colvin.
But the evening's music was not limited to the rock/American variety. Gambian musician Foday Musa Suso was one of the concert's highlights, playing the kora solo and in ensemble with Glass and Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio. Suso made the most of the kora's incredible tonal range on his hypnotizing solo piece, and added a delicately fingerpicked counterpoint to Anastasio's guitar lead on Phish's "Brian And Robert."
Anastasio was clearly the crowd favorite, judging by the large quantities of Phish devotees in the crowd and their fervent cheers. Pianist Peter Kater assisted Trey for a beautifully slow-building rendering of "Billy Breathes," the title track of Phish's 1996 LP.
Patti Smith kicked the energy up a few notches on the caustic "1959," a song about the initial Chinese takeover of Tibet, and a brand new song which took aim at the recent shooting death of an unarmed African man by police in New York City. The evening concluded with each of the show's performers onstage for an appropriately hard-hitting "People Have The Power," a Smith classic that found the sold-out crowd singing along loudly.
Social activism's role in music is a tricky one, but it's clear that Tibet House has its heart in the right place and is committed to affecting positive change in the complicated Tibet problem. It's refreshing indeed that the commitment to please supportive audiences is just as strong.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"