Those were the words of Bruce Springsteen on Sunday (May 3) in tribute to Peter Seeger, on his birthday. And what a night it was. Because Ann was one of the performers at Pete's 90th birthday party at Madison Square Garden, Andrew and I had great seats for what has to be one of the most exciting events in recent memory. I think Springsteen's tribute to Pete was the highlight of the evening, after which he and Tom Morello (from Rage Against the Machine) performed
Ghost of Tom Joad:
It says, 'Wherever there’s a cop beating a guy, wherever a hungry newborn baby cries, wherever there’s a fight against the blood and the hatred in the air, look for me, Mom. I’ll be there.'
Well, Springsteen said, Pete has always been there. And he has always been there for labor, for civil rights, for peace and, in recent years, particularly, the environment. The birthday party was both a tribute to Pete and a fund raiser for his Clearwater project to clean-up of the Hudson River. (I think it's entirely possible that that was the only reason the very modest Pete Seeger agreed to this tribute.) In addition to Springsteen and Morello, the evening included Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Tom Paxton, Ani Difranco, John Mellencamp, Bernice Johnson Reagon (and her daughter Toshi, named after Toshi Seeger, Pete's lifetime partner), Billy Bragg, Arlo Guthrie,
Taj Mahal, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristof- ferson, Ben Harper, Roger McGuinn, Dave Matthews, Bela Fleck and the McGarrigle Family and Tao Rodriguez Seeger, Pete's grandson. Oh! and how can we forget Oscar the Grouch and Tom Chapin doing
Garbage, Garbage, Garbage. In addition to the musical performers (almost all of whom did Pete's songs), Tim Robbins, Ruby Dee, and Norman Leer also appeared.
Morrello and Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule and the Allman Bros. Band) were the real workhorses of the evening. Everytime someone needed guitar back-up, they called on one or the other or both. Ann and the NYC Labor Chorus also officially performed four separate times (on their own they sang
To My Old Brown Earth, and a smaller Chorus contingent backed up Bernice and Toshi Reagon - with others - on
Oh Freedom, Joan Baez on Jacob's Ladder and Emmylou Harris and the McGarrigal family on
The Water is Wide.) Obviously, because they were on stage from curtin to curtin, they joined in most of the songs.
Other highlights were Taj Mahal and Morello (
Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,) Bela Fleck and Tony Trishka (
Banjo Suite,), Dave Matthews (
Whiskey Rye Whiskey) and everyone doing
We Shall Overcome, to close the first act and
This Land is Your Land to end the second. Then to top it all off, everyone, plus the Seeger family, ending with
Irene Goodnight.Lets give Bruce the final word:
At 90 he remains a stealth dagger through the heart of our country's illusions about itself. Pete Seeger still sings all the verses all the time. And he reminds us of our immense failures as well as shining a light toward our better angels in the horizon where the country we've imagined and hold dear we hope awaits us
(The photos are from
NotloB music)
(The upper (left) photo is obviously Bruce and Pete; the lower (right) photo (left-right) Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Pete and Dave Matthews. Behind them in red vests are several NYC Labor Choristers.
