So the Gories reunion -- which was rumored to take place at the Ron Asheton tribute at the Music Hall Saturday night -- didn't take place after all. Seemed like a pretty far-fetched rumor to begin with (one wonders how these things get started)...but then former Dead Boy/Rocket From The Tomb guitarist Cheetah Chrome didn't show up, either -- and, hell, he was listed as appearing in the daily papers. Methinks Saturday night's horrible weather may have been a big part of the problem. The weather certainly had something to do with the turnout, although about 200 people braved the blizzard to make an appearance. As it was, the artists to appear on the Music Hall's stage as part of the tribute included Bootsey X & the Lovemasters (including Trash Brat Ricky Rat and musician-for-all-seasons Greasy Carlisi) and new projects from Tim Vulgar and Danny Kroha. Hiawatha also showed up to sing a few Stooges song with the Lovemasters. There was also a bagpipe player at the end of the night, as a bagpiper is something Asheton always told friends he wanted at his wake. Special credit goes to PUNK magazine's John Holmstrom for flying in from NYC for the event; journalist (and Michigan native) RJ Smith e-mailed me last week to say he was flying in from L.A. to cover the show as part of Blender magazine's tribute to the late Stooge...but not sure if he made it or not.
There's been some rumbling that there might be another Asheton tribute show down the road, with some national acts and even Iggy himself involved. But that's also just a rumor at the moment. We'll keep you posted if we hear anymore.
By the way, we get a new president tomorrow. Yay! I'm elated (though I'd be even more thrilled if the idiots vacating the office tomorrow were put on trial for crimes against humanity...or at least stripped of those big-ass pensions that we taxpayers are fronting). Anyway, there are a few Detroit area performers in Washington, DC, this week to take part in the celebration. Not sure who they all are, since most of them didn't bother to alert us (though we do know that Aretha Franklin helped pay for one local high school choir to make the trip). We did hear from a publicist who alerted us to the fact that Detroit native/jazz pianist Nate Harasim will be performing with guest saxophonist Darren Rahn at "A Time for Hope: A 2009 Presidential Inaugural Jazz Gala" at the Carlyle Club in D.C. tomorrow night, January 20th, at 5 p.m. A percentage of each ticket will be donated to Hope Farm, a mentoring program for African-American and Latino boys designed to create successful men and leaders in our society. Can't knock that...
BTW: If you happened to catch the all-star gala concert at the Lincoln Memorial on HBO yesterday, that was Detroit's own (and past MT cover subject) Bettye LaVette delivering that stunning rendition of the late, great Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come"...though we're still trying to figure out wtf Jon Bon Jovi was doing there, joining her on a duet. Not that JBJ was all that bad -- it was probably one of his best vocal performances ever (not saying a lot)...but the only "change" he should be singing about is the possibility that his band might stop sucking someday. (OK...it's Monday, the weather sucked all weekend...and I'm really cranky...).
Bootsey & the Lovemasters
