The show was part live narration by Joshua Greene, author of Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison
, with musical interludes of Harrison's most beloved tunes as performed by the band. There were also lovely clips shown of Harrison, discussing the power of spirituality in his life and music.The show started off a bit rocky, as some inebriated audience members frequently announced their displeasure that the show was not 100% music by shouting rudely in between Greene's narration. "Play some music!" and "God forbid you play a song!" were common interruptions, to the annoyance of the rest of the crowd who were enjoying the show. Finally, GTB bassist John Montagna took the mic and sternly, but politely, reminded the audience that if they were incapable of reading, the bill did advertise that there would be narration as well as music, and to please keep their mouths shut so that everyone else could enjoy; he was greeted with an enthusiastic applause from the rest of the crowd and the remainder of the show carried on without a hitch. There were corny jokes and interesting facts about Harrison that I personally found intellectually stimulated. For instance, we were told that it took the Royal Mail seven trucks to deliver Harrison's fan mail to him on his 21st birthday. What a great little tidbit and view into the Beatlemania craze!
Apologies to all for my poor cell phone quality picture.
The band performed many of Harrison's most memorable songs from his days in the Beatles as well as his solo career. In particular I enjoyed "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" and of course, Godfrey Townsend's searing guitar work on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," as he is always so apt at Eric Clapton's style. After Joshua Greene's presentation ended, the band carried on a bit longer with more of Harrison's early Beatle hits and even the Cream classic "Badge," famously co-written by Harrison. "What do you do about the man who steals your wife?" the band asks the crowd. "You write songs with him! That'll show him!"
The band was in top form and the show itself was a beautiful tribute to a wonderful artist and human being. For anyone who is interested in the Godfrey Townsend Band, they will be performing at B. B. King's again on April 1st for the 10th Annual Eric Clapton Birthday Celebration. I urge everyone to check the show out.
" by The Beatles -- Okay, this first one is just a song about being an author and writing novels. How can you not love the narrator's desperation to get his work published? This is a classic, people.
" by The Police -- For the line "He starts to shake and cough / Just like the old man in / That book by Nabokov." This is a reference to Lolita, in case you haven't bothered to look that up by now.
" by Led Zeppelin -- I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a bit of a Tolkien nerd. I love this trippy interpretation of The Hobbit. Of course, Zeppelin fans will know that this is not the only time Robert Plant has referenced Tolkien's work in song. "Ramble On" is the next obvious choice, and there is still debate on whether or not "Stairway to Heaven" contains any allusions.
" by the Rolling Stones -- This is another contested literary allusion, but many people believe the subject for this bass-driven tune were inspired by The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, which is an amazing novel along the lines of Goethe's Faust. Care for a little philosophical debate on the motives of Satan?
by Year Long Disaster -- I had to follow that last song with this album by a still relatively unknown, but great contemporary band. This second album is also loosely based on Bulgakov's novel. "Sparrow Hill" is my favorite track off this album, and I think captures the mood of the novel best.
" by The Kinks -- This song is especially close to my heart because the literary references made in this song were partly the subject of my senior thesis in college. Here Ray Davies references the great authors of the "Angry Young Man" genre, popular in the 1950s and immortalized in film adaptations in the early '60s. "Where are all the angry young men now? / Barstow and Osborne, Waterhouse and Sillitoe / Where on earth did they all go?". Think of these authors as early rockers who couldn't afford a guitar. Recommended reading: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe.
by Pink Floyd -- Here's another album with a popular literary influence. Roger Waters takes the animal metaphors of George Orwell's Animal Farm and updates them with his concerns for politics, capitalism, and a lack of empathy in society. This album was released just before the Thatcher years in England.
" by Cream -- Cream's music is always a bit of an Odyssey, but this song transforms Homer's epic poem into a psychedelic hit. Want to trip out without taking dropping acid and listening to Cream? Try reading James Joyce's Ulysses sober; this Homeric tale will mess your head up just as much. (It's been two years since I read it in college and my brain still hurts.)
" by Pete Townshend -- In a 1980 Rolling Stone interview, Townshend explains that his spiritual song was based on the work of Hafiz, a Persian Sufi poet who "used to talk about God's love being wine, and that we learn to be intoxicated and that the heart is like an empty cup." Interested in Sufi poetry? Rumi is another popular poet.