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 Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon |
 Eric Clapton |
 Yoko Ono |
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Review by Tony Bonyata Despite having her own role as an important avant-garde Fluxus artist eclipsed in the late '60s and '70s by John's massive fame as a Beatle (even if he was her biggest spokesperson), this evening was an all out tribute to this beguiling and, often, misunderstood artist. Throughout the venue many of Yoko's art installations were on display, including her controversial 1966 film "Bottoms" (an 80-minute black-and-white movie consisting only of close-ups of human buttocks walking), "Play It By Trust" (a chess set with only white game pieces), and large hanging banners from her famous peace campaigns "War Is Over!" and "Imagine Peace." The show, which was split into two separate Acts, opened with a fascinating film that documented Ono's art, music and life. The first Act consisted of Yoko and Sean's latest manifestation of the Plastic Ono Band, which included a collective of young, talented avant-garde musicians from both Japan and New York. The mother and son duo led the group through a number of hypnotic songs from their recent P.O.B. album Between My Head and The Sky, such as "Waiting For The D Train," "Moving Mountains," "Calling" and "Higa Noboru," as well as a few of Yoko's older tracks such as "Rising" and "Walking On Thin Ice," the latter which topped the Billboard Dance Charts in 2007. Ono, in a low-cut black pantsuit, hat and trademark shades, confidently strutted and sashayed across the stage, while Sean traded off between guitar, bass and piano for these songs that mutated from futuristic jazz, dance, techno, drone and funk. While her music may have settled into more of an avant-pop format since her early self-proclaimed Unfinished Music recordings with Lennon, she still has the power to shock and provoke with her unique and unorthodox vocal delivery. Through howls, shrieks, moans of ecstasy and cries of agony Ono still astounds, baffles and leaves listeners with a polarizing opinion. The sold-out crowd for this event, however, loved every second of it, even if they couldn't fully grasp everything presented. While the new Plastic Ono Band sounded tight and well-rehearsed, the special guest performances along with the regrouping of the early P.O.B. as part of the second Act felt impromptu, rough and unrehearsed, which perfectly mirrored the loose, slap-dash work method of the band's earliest performances. Special guests included the Scissor Sisters playfully romping through the new P.O.B. dance track "The Sun Is Down," singer/songwriter/drag queen Justin Bond vamping his way through "What A Bastard The World Is," as well as Paul Simon and his son Harper (also a close friend of Sean's) gently dueting through both Yoko's "Silverhorse" and John's "Hold On." In addition Gene Ween, of the alt-rock band Ween, delivered a loving take of John's "Oh Yoko" with Sean, while Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon added dissident feedback and angular No Wave guitar squalls to Ono's own otherworldly shrieks on her song "Mulberry" while Ono's 1970 film FLY (where a fly explored the body of a naked female) was cast behind the trio. While this was without question the most challenging and far-out song of the evening, it was the WTF inclusion of Bette Midler to the bill that had many in attendance scratching their heads. Bette's bawdy and bold jazzy transformation of Yoko's "Yes, I'm Your Angel," nonetheless, proved to be one of the more accessible delights of the evening. The show ended with original P.O.B. bandmembers guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Klaus Voormann (also creator of The Beatles' iconic Revolver album art) and drummer Jim Keltner performing a blistering take of The Beatles' "Yer Blues," with Sean handling lead vocals, as well as versions of Ono's "Death of Samantha" and the psychotic blues jam of "Don't Worry Kyoko," which, with Clapton's stinging leads, Keltner's manic assault on the drums and Ono's full-moon howl, was every bit as heavy and mind-boggling as when they first performed this track 40 years ago as part of the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival (later documented in the 1969 audio release of Live Peace In Toronto 1969). The evening ended on a positive note of peace, camaraderie and good-will when all of the special guests, along with young and old members of the Plastic Ono Band (sans Clapton) joined together for a sing-along version of P.O.B.'s first single "Give Peace A Chance," which sounded almost as impromptu as the audience-led "Happy Birthday" to the surprised and blushing singer just moments before. During the opening film retrospective earlier in the evening there was a quote that flashed on the screen from actress Ann Magnuson's that resonated long after the last note was played, "there's a reason the coolest guy in the world fell in love with her." And that night all in attendance also knew exactly why. |
 Eric Clapton |
 Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono & Mark Ronson backstage |
 Yoko Ono |
 cabaret singer Justin Bond |
 Eric Clapton & Yoko Ono |
 Scissor Sisters |
 Sean Lennon |
 Harper Simon & Paul Simon |
 Bette Midler |
 Scissor Sisters |
 Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon |
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