Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Mavis Staples, Margo Price, Trey Anastasio, Nathaniel Rateliff and others have celebrated the work of Robbie Robertson.
Let's start at the end. It was almost midnight Thursday night in Los Angeles when Mavis Staples exclaimed: “ We love you Robbie! » She had just interpreted « The Weight » on stage with Bob Weir, Trey Anastasio and a group of stars for Life Is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration of Robbie Robertsona tribute show that honored the guitarist and songwriter of The Band, who died in 2023.
But the Forum has also been transformed into a film set for Martin Scorsese. The filmmaker was behind the camera to make a film of the concert, almost 48 years after filming The Band (Robertson, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson) for their farewell concert in the groundbreaking 1978 documentary The last waltz. All these years later, this music still demands to be “ played loud “, as advised at the beginning of the film.
This is exactly what happened on Thursday, for four hours, at the Forum.
Native American singer Verdell Primeaux began with a blessing before launching into “ Peyote Healing “, a title taken from the album Contact from the Underworld of Redboy by Robbie Robertson, published in 1998. After a brief interlude showing an extract from Killers of the Flower Moon (the Scorsese film for which Robertson received an Oscar nomination), Eric Church took to a stage reminiscent of The last waltz. He started the rock song “ Up on Cripple Creek “, taken from The Band's 1969 album of the same name, paving the way for a series of highlights that would follow: Ryan Bingham performed ” Ophelia “, Mike Campbell interpreted, ” Best of Everything “, a song by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers produced by Robertson, and Margo Price sang ” Evangeline “, a title by Emmylou Harris written by Robertson.
The show continued with Allison Russell, Daniel Lanois, Julian Taylor and Logan Staats recreating ” Acadian Driftwood HAS”. Robert Randolph tackled “ Straight Down the Line ” and introduced Taj Majal, who recalled the days when Robertson worked with Ronnie Hawkins with “ Who Do You Love HAS”. To close the first set of the evening, Bruce Hornsby sat down at the piano to perform ” Go Back to Your Woods “, taken from Robertson's second solo project, as well as ” King Harvest HAS”.
Footage of Robertson appeared on screens next to the stage, among the many archive clips that were shown throughout the evening. An excerpt shows him at the piano, speaking about the creation of “ The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down » after the birth of his daughter. Jamey Johnson took the stage to sing the song.
A second set started with Daniel Lanois who sang a magnificent cover of “ Broken Arrow “, which he produced for Robertson's first solo album. Warren Haynes sang the theme song of the evening, “ Life Is a Carnival “, followed by ” Whispering Pines » by Lucinda Williams. Nathaniel Rateliff played a “ Twilight » soulful and stripped down, on a minimal piano, before tackling « Across the Great Divide HAS”. He then joined Margo Price and the orchestra to sing ” Don't Do It HAS”.
Then came those who truly knew The last waltz : Van Morrison and Eric Clapton, who both recalled their time on stage at the Winterland Ballroom. Morrison performed three songs, including ” Tupelo Honey “, “ Days Like This » and « Wonderful Remark “, but not, alas, ” Caravan » (which Warren Haynes would later interpret). Clapton showed his admiration for Robertson and The Band by performing five songs, including his contribution to The last waltz HAS” Further on Up the Road “, and a faithful version of ” The Shape I'm In HAS”.
For the final set, Bingham resumed with emotion “ forever Young » by Dylan and The Band with Margo Price, while Jim James took care of « It Makes No Difference “, Haynes sang, ” Internship Fright ” and Bob Weir interpreted “ When I Paint My Masterpiece “, which the Grateful Dead often covered.
HAS” In the style of music I play, The Band is the basis, explained Trey Anastasio to WECB before the concert. I grew up listening to this music and this is the highlight. That's why being able to participate in a few songs from this immense legacy of masterpieces left by Robbie and The Band means a lot. “The Phish guitarist, who played three songs, emphasized Robbie Robertson's compositions: ” The bands are great, but the songs are where it all starts. So thank you, Robbie. HAS”
Set List
“Peyote Healing†Blessing and Chant – Verdell Primeaux & Zee Wilson
“Up on Cripple Creek†– Eric Church
“Ophelia†– Ryan Bingham
“The Best of Everything†– Mike Campbell
“Evangeline†– Margo Price
“Acadian Driftwood†– Allison Russell, Daniel Lanois, Julian Taylor, Logan Staats
“Straight Down the Line†– Robert Randolph
“Who Do You Love†– Taj Mahal
“Down South in New Orleans†– Dave Malone & Cyril Neville
“Go Back to Your Woods†– Bruce Hornsby
“King Harvest†– Bruce Hornsby
“The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down†– Jamey Johnson
“Broken Arrow†– Daniel Lanois
“Life Is a Carnival†– Warren Haynes and All-Star Band
“Whispering Pines†– Lucinda Williams
“Twilight†– Nathaniel Rateliff
“Across the Great Divide†– Nathaniel Rateliff
“Rag Mama Rag†– Jamey Johnson
“Don’t Do It†– Nathaniel Rateliff (with Margo Price)
“Tupelo Honey†– Van Morrison
“Days Like This†– Van Morrison
“Wonderful Remark†– Van Morrison
“The Shape I’m In†– Eric Clapton
“Out of the Blue†– Eric Clapton
“Forbidden Fruit†– Eric Clapton
“Chest Fever†– Eric Clapton
“Further on Up the Road†– Eric Clapton
“Forever Young†– Ryan Bingham
“It Makes No Difference†– Jim James
“Fright Internship†– Warren Haynes
“Caravan†– Warren Haynes
“When I Paint My Masterpiece†– Bob Weir
“The Unfaithful Servant†– Trey Anastasio
“Look Out Cleveland†– Trey Anastasio
“The Weight†Mavis Staples (with Trey Anastasio, Bob Weir)
“I Shall Be Released†– Jamey Johnson, Jim James, Allison Russell & Ensemble
