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.

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Photo by G.

Let Love Rule tattoo!

At the Lenny Kravitz show the other night, I met a really dedicated fan who had the name of Lenny’s first album tattooed on her back.

Thanks to the French fan in the front row for allowing me to photograph this.

All photos by G.

Lenny Kravitz Live at the Fillmore, New York on October 18, 2009

 To celebrate his 20 year career, Lenny Kravitz played 5 sold out shows at New York’s Irving Plaza, also known as The Fillmore East.  Tonight’s show on October 18, 2009 was meant to be his 5th and final show, but he blew out his voice the other night, so he rescheduled the show that was supposed to take place on Friday night.

Always on the Run

There was so much love in the room at this tiny venue and Lenny returned the love playing extended jams of every song to showcase both his amazing musicianship as well as that of his tight band.  In addition to playing some mean guitar, he also played the keyboards and the drums.  He focused primarily on playing his biggest hit singles, but he ommitted so many great songs from his set list.  I met some cool people at the show and when we discussed our “wish list,” he did not take any chances by playing obscure songs.  Nevertheless, playing for two solid hours, we hardly walked away feeling disappointed.

Lenny’s daughter, actress Zoe Kravitz, sat on a stack of speakers at the side of the stage, cheering her father on.  It was very cute.  Lenny played hits such as “Let Love Rule,” “Mr. Cabdriver,” “Always on the Run,” “American Woman,” “Fly Away,” and “Let Love Rule.”

Are You Gonna Go My Way?

See more pictures of Lenny, his daughter Zoe and the set list after the jump.

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