Levon Helm Leads An All-Star Lineup in NYC
3/19/07, 5:38 pm EST Rolling Stone
How you know
you’re getting long in the tooth:
you’re
at a Levon Helm concert, vibing out to the song you sparked your
first joint to in 1967 when Helms pauses to give a shout out to
his surgeon. Silly, yes. Depressing, maybe. But in this case,
the tribute was apropos: Without his doc, Helm — who battled
throat cancer in the ’90s — wouldn’t be able to sing the songs
that have endeared him to multiple generations of rock fans.
And sing he did this Saturday night at New York’s Beacon
Theatre. With help from a surprise lineup of guests that
included New Orleans homeboys Dr. John and Allen Toussaint,
Dylan session guitarist Larry Campbell and the Allman Brothers’
Warren Haynes (in town for a thirteen-gig run at the Beacon),
the ex-Band drummer — who introduced each performer with
reverence — segued seamlessly from a cover of Springsteen’s
“Atlantic City” on mandolin to killer renditions of Band
classics “Ophelia,” “Tears of Rage,” “Chest Fever” and “Up on
Cripple Creek.” Despite looking a bit frail, Helm didn’t stop
smiling for the whole three-and-a-half-hour show.
Throughout the night, Helm powered through raucous, on-your-feet
numbers (helped by a blazing horn section and bouncy fiddle),
countrified, harmony-filled ditties and tear-inspiring slow
burners. A high point of the evening came when Haynes — joined
by the evening’s all-star cast of music heavyweights — led a
tribute-concert-caliber performance of “I Shall Be Released.”
But the best part of the night almost didn’t happen. When the
house lights brightened (after a phenomenal rendition of “The
Weight”), most of the crowd got up to go home. The faithful kept
cheering, though, and five minutes later, Levon and company —
including former Band keyboardist Garth Hudson — shuffled back
onstage for a wild, winding “Take Me to the River.” It was a
sweet reward for the audience members who — for whatever reason
— don’t move too fast.
-- Nicole Frehsee
