HERB BENHAM: Reunions aren't always so sweet
| Monday, Nov 30 2009 09:23 PM
Last Updated Monday, Nov 30 2009 09:25 PM
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Watching "The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert" Sunday on HBO was like going to your 30th high school reunion.
The first question you ask is, "Do I look that bad?"
The answer depends on who you ask. If you've gone to the reunion alone, and the question is directed inward, the answer is, "I hope not."
If you are with your spouse, the answer is no, and only because they don't want to ruin "your night."
If you are with a buddy, the answer is "yes, you really don't look that good."
Both reunion and concert range between enjoyment and horror. One minute you're glad to see someone you haven't seen since graduation and, the next, you don't recognize your high school sweetheart.
The concert, which took place over two days at Madison Square Garden, had an all-star lineup. Crosby, Stills and Nash played. After watching their set, I know what happened to Neil Young, who was in the band off and on for years. He was eaten by David Crosby. Crosby got hungry after a rehearsal, and Neil Young was sitting there looking like a leg of lamb with mint sauce.
How old were these guys? I started Googling everybody as they came on stage -- David Crosby, 68; Jackson Browne, 61; Aretha Franklin, 67; and Smokey Robinson, 69.
Even though Simon and Garfunkel look like they had been ridden hard and put away wet, they could still sing. Same with Crosby, Stills and Nash. They were born to sing together.
Hard to get those sort of harmonies these days. Music has become like the NBA. There is a lot of one-on-one play. The bounce pass has given way to the tomahawk dunk.
Bonnie Raitt was wonderful. She could have been 16 or 66. Her voice is still smoky and sweet.
The parade of legends continued. Don't we have someone under 55? It wasn't Ozzy Osbourne, who, for a moment, looked like he was wearing a Michael Jackson mask.
Is rock 'n' roll like tennis? You can have a Jimmy Connors who is competitive at 40, but passion and youth fill the stands and produce the real fireworks. When you're 65, you're not going to do any headbanging.
You can crowd surf, but you might be taken out to sea and never be seen again.
Whatever you do, you're better off not wearing a black T-shirt if you have a paunch. Lou Reed tried it and it didn't make me feel as if I wanted to "walk on the wild side."
I wondered. Do stars still like the songs that made them famous? Or does Paul Simon rue the day that he composed the lyrics to "Bridge Over Troubled Water?" The song is beautiful but has more sap than a Vermont maple.
"How long is this concert?" I asked.
"Four hours," Sue said. "I'm taping the rest."
Four hours? That means we're up to midnight. We haven't done that since the kids were living at home and jumping out of windows.
At 10, we raised the white flag and went to bed. We're old rock 'n' rollers. We had to sleep it off.
These are Herb Benham's opinions and not necessarily those of The Californian. You can contact him at hbenham@bakersfield. com or 395-7279.
