Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Night Two

Posted by The G on October 31, 2009 under G Reviews | 4 Comments to Read

All photos by G.

Last night, at the first of two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York, my mind was blown with seeing some amazing artists performing some amazing duets.  Tonight, my head exploded!  Because there is so much to absorb, please settle for an abbreviated review and a few pictures.

Over the course of a much shorter show (4 hours instead of 6), history was made again.  Tom Hanks introduced the show and first act Jerry Lee Lewis (who sang Great Balls of Fire).  Aretha Franklin then took the stage and sang New York, New York plus Respect and then was joined on stage by Annie Lennox for Chain of Fools.  Lenny Kravitz then joined for Think.  Jeff Beck played some killer guitar next and was joined on stage by Sting and Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top.  Beck finished off his set with an amazing instrumental version of A Day In The Life by The Beatles.  Metallica went on next and they were joined by Lou Reed (for Sweet Jane and White Light/White Heat); Ozzy Ozbourne for Paranoid and Ray Davies of the Kinks for You Really Got Me and All Day and All of the Night.  Before exiting, a killer rendition of Queen’s Stone Cold Crazy and Metallica’s own Enter Sandman was played.  Finally, U2 took the stage and played Vertigo, Beautiful Day before being joined by the biggest surprises of the night – Bruce Springsteen (for I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For).  Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen and U2 played Because The Night, but did several takes to get the lyrics right.  The Black Eyed Peas joined next for a medley of Mysterious Ways and Where is The Love.  The Peas exited the stage but Fergie stayed and started singing the opening bars to Gimmie Shelter, the Rolling Stones classic.  All of a sudden, Mick Jagger emerged to sing the song!  They also did U2′s Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of.  It was a night of magic!

UPDATE:  Here’s the set list:

Jerry Lee Lewis:
Great Balls of Fire

Aretha Franklin:
Baby, I Love You
Don’t Play That Song
Make Them Hear You

Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox:
Chain of Fools

Aretha Franklin:
New York, New York

Aretha Franklin and Lenny Kravitz:
Think

Aretha Franklin:
Respect

Jeff Beck:
Drown in My Own Tears

Jeff Beck and Sting:
People Get Ready

Jeff Beck:
Freeway Boogie
Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers

Buddy Guy with Jeff Beck:
Let Me Love You

Jeff Beck:
Big Block
Rice Pudding

Billy Gibbons and Jeff Beck:
Rough Boy

Jeff Beck and Billy Gibbons:
Foxy Lady

Jeff Beck:
A Day in the Life

Metallica:
For Whom the Bell Tolls
One
Turn the Page

Metallica and Lou Reed:
Sweet Jane
White Light/ White Heat

Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne:
Iron Man
Paranoid

Metallica and Ray Davies:
You Really Got Me
All Day and All of the Night

Metallica:
Stone Cold Crazy
Enter Sandman

U2
Vertigo
Magnificent

U2, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith with Roy Bittan:
Because the Night

U2 and Bruce Springsteen with Roy Bittan:
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

U2 and Black Eyed Peas:
Mysterious Ways/Where Is the Love/One

U2, Mick Jagger, Fergie and Will.i.am:
Gimme Shelter

U2 and Mick Jagger:
Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of

U2:
Beautiful Day

A severely edited version of the show will air on HBO in November, but for now, some pictures after the jump.