The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #120232   Message #2625269
Posted By: mark gregory
06-May-09 - 04:58 AM
Thread Name: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
from The Hollywood Reporter

'Springsteen ... talked at length about a man who he described as "looking like your 90-year-old grandpa, if your grandpa could kick your ass!" More seriously, he said, "At 90, he remains a stealth dagger into the country's illusions about itself." Springsteen then sang his "The Ghost of Tom Joad" as a duet with Tom Morello.

With many of the performers joining together for group numbers, the evening's highlights were numerous. They included a haunting "Fare Thee Well," performed by Rufus Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, the McGarrigle Sisters and Bruce Cockburn; a dazzling banjo medley by Bela Fleck and Tony Trischka, which playfully included "Happy Birthday to You"; Joan Baez, showcasing her still-lustrous voice with the still-relevant "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"; Billy Bragg's a cappella rendition of "The Internationale," with his own rewritten lyrics; a rousing "We Shall Overcome," led by Seeger; Kris Kristofferson and Ani DiFranco's amusing duet on the children's song "Hole in the Bucket"; Richie Havens, looking like a biblical prophet, reprising his hit "Freedom"; and a killer lineup of Taj Mahal, Toshi Reagon, Steve Earle, Warren Haynes and Seeger trading verses on "Sailin' Up, Sailin' Down." '