Jude and Deb then headed over
to the Hammerstein Ballroom for the antiwar concert.
We had to wait in line again
so
Jude shot the Empire State
Building.
concert poster
first glimpse of Cindy
Cindy graciously shook hands
and signed autographs
just like the rock stars she
was among
Then she went on Air America
radio, which was
broadcasting live from right
next to the bar.
The stage featured two gigantic
peace signs.
We had shaken hands with Cindy
and
gotten our drinks so were
ready for the show to begin.
Steve
Earle opened up with "F the CC" (lyrics
here) from
his most recent record, "The
Revolution Starts...Now."
Then he did a song he dedicated
to his sons who he said
will never have to fight a
war "because I make a lotta money."
Comedian Margaret Cho, the
"fat Chink dyke"
as she says her admirers call
her, was pretty funny
then it was time for something
COMPLETELY different....
NYC's own retro-techno-art
rockers (or
whatever they are) Fischerspooner
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Susan Sarandon came out to
introduce Cindy Sheehan,
commenting on how hard it
was to follow Fischerspooner.
She's looking pretty darn
good for sixty this October.
An Iraqi pharmacist (right)
addressed the crowd on the shortage
of medical supplies in her
country. Her translator is to the left.
Cindy and Susan (who will
play her in an
upcoming biopic), listening
to the Iraqi woman.
Four very different women
against the war
Local vegan Moby
was a surprise unbilled guest.
He sang Buffalo
Springfield's "For What It's Worth,"
the singalong of the night.
Rufus
Wainwright then came out and did a stellar set.
Rufus is an extremely passionate
singer with a golden voice.
He's also very easy on the
eyes.
He's a better pianist than
guitar player, classically trained.
Here he is singing Leonard
Cohen's haunting "Hallelujah."
Rufus ended with a gorgeous
version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow,"
with his mother Kate McGarrigle
accompanying him on the piano.
(And yes, Loudon Wainwright
III is his father,
but he grew up with his singing
mother and aunt Anna in Montreal
and on the road, and went
to McGill...)
Next up was the boy wonder,
Conor Oberst, he who is Bright
Eyes.
He's 26 and has been signed
to a label and releasing
all kinds of good records
since he was fourteen.
He had a whole band with him
that night,
but you know he is
the whole band, anyhow.
Conor's a New Yorker now, too.
Omaha's greatest gift to popular
music rips Bush a new one with his scathing
"When the President Talks
to God" (lyrics here,
worth reading)
Finally, Michael Stipe of
REM
fame, who was once pathologically shy but you'd never know it these days...
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