The Nightwatchman's "Justice Tour"

Saturday, April 30, 2008

Boston, Mass.
Berklee Performing Arts Center

Show Review

In the second flip-flop of The Justice Tour 2008, the show also came first in Boston, Massachusetts, at the Berklee Performing Arts Center. And in a first for the Justice Tour 2008, I wasn't there. For me, this stop will be remembered as Boston, ASS-achusetts, as I spent most of our time here hospitalized at Mass General. You see, we give our all on the Justice Tour. While in New Orleans, I got a spider bite during our work day. As time and cities flew past, the infection worsened, and by the time we got to Boston, I could barely walk. As it turned out, they told me if I'd waited any longer, the infection would have entered my blood stream and that would mean a 20% survival chance! The irony of all of this is that the organization we're working with in Boston is Healthcare-Now! And as a free-lance writer, I'm one of the millions of Americans in between health insurance plans, so in more ways than one, I'm ass out.

As the only woman along for the whole tour, I've lost all shyness about talking about and showing the aforementioned ass now, but probably should have answered the guys' requests to see the bite earlier and saved myself a near-death, SUPER gnarly and painful experience. But enough about my ass ... the biggest drag about the whole deal was I had to miss the Boston show. The good news is I just finished watching the whole thing on film and can tell you about it all as if I were there - almost. The energy in the room can never be fully felt unless you were there, and I hope you were.

The Nightwatchman took the stage to welcome his "Second home town" (years of living in Boston while at Harvard) of Boston to the show. The entire proceeds of the show will benefit Boston's Healthcare-Now!, who are working to get Universal health care for all of Massachusetts, and judging from the packed house at Mass General, they can really use all the help they can get. One different and kind of odd thing about this show was that the auditorium was a seated one, with the people in assigned seats. We're not at all used to that on this tour, so it felt sort of stuffy (even on tape). That couldn't last for long.

"House Gone Up In Flames" opened the night, and got the people clapping, though still seated. The next one was dedicated to the health care workers and the people from the movie "Sicko", which "Alone Without You" is featured in. What a beautiful song for such an ugly scenario (our health system), full of lament for irredeemable loss. The ballad-y tone continued with a personal favorite, "Garden of Gethsemane", which was about "moments of doubt". Again, it was so quiet The Nightwatchman was able to step away from the mic and sing "take my hand, love" with no amplification. I can now say that it IS as powerful to watch on tape as it is to hear in the room. But always aim for the latter, of course. The next was given for "Longtime friends and comrades" and he let 'em have it with "Guerilla Radio". This got people to walk down in front and stand in the space in front of the sitters. They loved the part where the harmonica mimics the guitar part on the recorded version, and it got the loudest cheers of the night, thus far. "WHAT BETTER TIME THAN NOW?!" applies to so many of our works with the organizations on tour, but seems like a no-brainer when talking about taking good care of our citizens' health. I was hooked up to an IV (another of many firsts on this tour) while this was happening live, and I was shouting it along in my head, I promise you.

"BOOOOOOTS!" I love that this is becoming customary in all of our stops to greet Mr. Boots Riley. He is superfly, tonight in his "Revolution Rock" shirt and picked out afro, effortlessly cool. "Love For The Underdog" taught some lessons in this college town ... "all your problems pile up about a mile up ..." - who can't understand this at some point? When he says "I tear this motherfucker up since I really love you", you can feel his sincerity. He hit these guys next with "5 Million Ways To Kill A CEO", backed up by Tom on acoustic guitar, and himself on slick moves. It is unanimous among our tour mates - we all want to dance like Boots, but can't even come close. He got so into it, he kicked over Tom's "Irish Catholic Jameson whiskey" sitting on the floor by the mic stand. Don't worry, there's more where it came from. Boots' little daughter can feel good knowing that her Daddy played her song tonight, "Wear Clean Drawers" - and he once again won over the whole city with his comedic truths. Forgive me if I gush, Boots brings that out in you.

A singer/songwriter up from New York was the next guest star, Jesse Malin. He played a song called "Wendy" backed up by his attractive keyboard player, Christine. It was a happy, folky little tune that might be nice in the background at a coffee house. He told a story about bumping into Yoko Ono on a New York street once, and what it must be like to lose your partner, not just in love, but in fighting for a peaceful revolution. He (and we) have lots of radical friends, but how do you resolve that with normal life and taking the kids to Toys R Us and being part of society? "Aftermath" was pretty and touching, and yeah, what DO you do to do it all? He said before his last song that going to live shows with human beings "is the church, is the community" and watching that, I felt the loss of not being there even more wistfully. "In The Modern World" was more of a rocker song, especially when bumped up with the beats of Breckin Meyer and bass of Dave Gibbs to round it out. We'll hear more from Jesse Malin, count on it.

Tom came back to introduce Wayne Kramer and said, "MC5 and Rage Against The Machine will both be playing at a couple political conventions this summer" - putting the people (and probably the riot police) on alert. Wayne played "Something's Broken In The Promised Land" and Boston too DUG the Lee Harvey Oswald line. It's a clear winner, north to south and back again. During the loud applause, Wayne said, "These are the happy songs" with a wicked (that's for Boston) grin. Then a new one, "Junkie Romance" which talked all about the rigors of heroin. Don't touch that stuff, kids. You're better than that, and p.s. ... our health care system sucks, so don't take any stupid chances. Wayne would be back, to kick out ...

While Tom attended Harvard, he had the "Headbanger's Table" at lunch. They'd get out of their ties and change into spandex and "bezippered shirts" and head down to hear awesome metal bands, among them, Extreme! Leaving us with that visual, he introduced Gary Cherone from Extreme, who now plays in a band called "Heart Smile" with his brother, Mark. They played a nice, VH-1 friendly song called, "Painter's Paint", then brought up the tempo a bit with a song that is a group of questions called "Just War Theory". His time with Van Halen rubbed off on him, as his voice brings Sammy Hagar to mind without any stretch. Then he brought up a bunch of his buddies to play The Who's "My Generation". He really has the stuttering aspect of it all down, and it amped up the place for the time being.

The collective of politically minded songwriters called Riotfolk. org once again added a member to the Justice Tour after Ryan Harvey in D.C. ... this time with local Bostonian, Evan Greer joining our gang. He greeted the crowd asking, "Wanna do a swear-along song?" He said this one was for FEMA and the shit job they did in New Orleans and taught the crowd, "Hey FEMA, FUCK YOU! Leave our town alone! Hey FEMA, FUCK YOU! We'll take care of our own!" (and I'd like to add my own FUCK YOU to the brown recluse spider of New Orleans, you little bastards!) The entire crowd screamed along the expletive, and somehow it made me feel a little better. Each one, teach one! In his next song, "connecting all our struggles, and dedicated to the Zapatistas", he played a fiery rabble-rouser called "Ya Basta!" which means, "Enough is Enough!" - a fitting term for how we feel about The Justice Tour's work cut out for us on every stop. Evan plays with both hyper-activity and sincerity, and I count myself as a new fan.

Our last stop's organization IVAW was in the house here too, and as Tom said, "the only thing George W. Bush and I have in common is neither of us have ever served in the military", so please check out this wonderful group of men and women, many of whom also need Healthcare NOW! With that, he introduced "a huge and important part of the Justice Tour, both on stage and in service", local Boston band (soon to be mega- world-wide-superstars), State Radio! They got a gigantic roar from their hometown folkers. Lead singer/great guy Chad said it was a thrill to be there to show solidarity with Healthcare Now!, and "I wish this song had something to do with healthcare, but it has to do with the CIA, but I guess they're all the same" (sad/true) and they launched into their hit, "CIA", a real rock throw-down. It's a great thing to be able to say that some of the best music out there now is played by some of the best, nicest, kindest, most well-meaning people out there too - Chad, Chuck and Mike/Mad-dog of State Radio. An often heard quote on this tour, even when they're not around, is "I love State Radio". Fact.

Chuck said, "I know these seats must be comfy, but come on, this tour is about rocking the fuck out!" and that got the sitters not just standing, but indeed, ROCKING the F out! For the IVAW, they played their gorgeously heavy, "Camila", which found Mr. Morello on the side of the stage, himself rocking out. It couldn't be helped. Tom came out to join them for their last one, and Chad said, "We'd like to thank Tom for having us out on the Justice Tour, and also for the Poison Ivy from our work day in New Orleans" - so I now know I was not alone in having a painful souvenir from The Big Easy (Hard). "Gang Of Thieves" had everyone clapping along the whole entire time, and Tom, Chuck and Chad sang together, heavy and proud. A total treat to behold.

The Freedom Fighter Orchestra (Wayne K, Dave Kid Lightning, Breckin Meyer, ruler of the drums) came out to join Tom in welcoming another local, Mr. Lif to the stage. He had big, fat dreads and little spectacles and he brought some heavy, conscious raps to the eclectic nature of this purposeful variety show. They got the crowd moving their arms side to side with Lif's words and Tom's metallic riffs, which included the first Morello guitar solo of the night. The hard-edged raps brought a new energy to the show, some rougher hip hop. I apologize to the purists out there for not knowing the names of these songs, but I just heard of the guy and I wasn't really there to ask, so please forgive a poisoned sister. The "Arm The Homeless" guitar had even more meaning when backing up Mr. Lif singing about that exact kind of plight. Watching this and seeing the musicians themselves unable to stop smiling, you know what you're getting is real good.

NOW it was time to Kick Out The Jams! NOW the whole crowd was finally jumping and pumping their fists! EVERYONE was up! Tom and Wayne had their now customary furious guitar discussion back and forth, but this time it sounded sped up and even more ferocious ... you realize WHILE watching that it's historical! It is a pretty big understatement when Wayne yells, "We done kicked 'em out!" They basically 100 yard field goal-ed 'em out!

Tom got everyone to get out their cell phones and text Amnesty International to Shutitdown.org to get rid of that monstrosity Guantanamo. "When I was a wee lad, we had lighters. Now these (phones) may cause cancer too, but hold 'em up!" and a blue field of phones lit up the room. Eerie and cool, and hopefully doing their job. Shut it down!

There was some tuning time then, and while watching this on tape, I was surprised to hear Tom tell the story of "We have one man down on The Justice Tour. Our embedded reporter, Carol Gronner was bit in New Orleans by a brown recluse and is in the hospital here (large "awww!" from the crowd - Thanks guys! 'Cause it's groan worthy, let me tell you). We hope to get her back (I'm back!) because she's the only woman on the tour too. So send her prayers and good vibes, and wear thick jeans when you're in New Orleans!" Yeah, man. Take that advice.

{And THANK YOU all so much, I'm on the mend and once again reporting on the rock for you. I really appreciate it!}

So all tuned up, Tom said, "The first half of the show is all sensitive and emotional, the second half, let's make some noise!" Someone yelled out, "Morello For President" and with that, the FFO and State Radio blew into, "Fortunate Son", which they dedicated to the IVAW. It ruled. As usual.

Everyone's new favorite jam, "100 Little Curses" was next, and it tore the house down. Boots takes over the lead rhymes, and Tom takes over the guitar FURY. This one gave the crowd a Tom Morello solo with TEETH - AND the one with the finger fanciness on both sides of the neck. State Radio, Gary Cherone and the FFO sang the "Whoa-oh-OH-oh's" while Breckin's marching band beats thumped the place into a rock frenzy. I LOVE IT X 100 MILLION Little Curses!

Jesse Malin came up to lead the next one (though you could still hear the crowd yelling the very catchy "Whoa-oh-OH-oh"s!), Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side". To me, it came off as a kind of whiny version, but Tom's feedback solo freshness sparked it all back up to where it needed to be. I love that guitar, and I'm nowhere near alone on that.

Evan Greer taught everyone the Italian Anti-Fascist song, "Bella Ciao", "Since there are still plenty of fascists around" and got everyone clapping along, including Boots, who even claps cooler than everyone else. A rousing sing-along, Fascists Beware!

The Nightwatchman "spends a lot of time thinking in minor keys, and sorting out ways to exact retribution on my enemies, but sometimes ... I like to shake my shit." And that's exactly what happened next, with the party anthem "Shake My Shit." State Radio back-up sang with the FFO on this, Tom gave a shit-shaking solo, and tossed his guitar off to Tech Craig, who caught it in time for Tom to return to the dancing that this song always inspires in him. The crowd LOVED it, and you heard that one being sung into the next one too. These nights always leave you humming along, something for everyone!

Gary Cherone treated the crowd to another Who song, "Who Are You?", which he hoped that CSI was not the first time these fans had heard it. I doubt that very much. It was good, if a little rock-opera-ish.

It was only $15 to get in, and when Tom said, "But you've got to dig deep to get out", someone yelled, "We want to stay!" I totally get that. That's how you feel every time, no matter how spent you are from jumping and jiving. Let's hope Healthcare Now! got a big bump from this show, and all the t-shirts sold. I, and my ass, can think of no better direction to send your Assachusetts dollars at this moment.

In another reminder of New Orleans, State Radio again led the super-group in their joyous version of "The Harder They Come". Wayne took the first verse, and from thereon, took over the most dancing I've ever seen out of him. He was all over the place, and the party was ON! Chuck had a verse, Jesse had a verse, Mad-dog kept time on the reggae beats, Chad smiled wide over his guitar the whole time, and Tom played such a sick guitar solo, he had to blow a kiss to the crowd at its end to acknowledge the wild cheers. "Lord, I know!" - that it was badass! This is the one that hurt my feelings the most that I wasn't watching it live. You really have to cherish the times that you are, and carry that feeling with you always.

"I hope you're having half as much fun as I am", said The Nightwatchman ... and you could tell they were having the WHOLE much fun in that room - and there was not even a thought of anymore sitting. Most certainly when it was time for the closer - "This Land Is Your Land". Everyone was back on stage: The FFO, Boots, Wayne, State Radio, Gary Cherone, Jesse Malin, Evan Greer, Mr. Lif - all of 'em. They shared the verses and the crowd took the chorus. This was Woody Guthrie's answer to Irving Berlin's jingoistic "God Bless America" and tonight, the censored lyrics were reinstated for Boston by The Nightwatchman, to the crowd's roaring approval.

"Tomorrow, you'll confront injustice wherever it rears its head. We'll end this awful war, and we'll fight for Universal Health Care in Massachusetts and around this nation! But tonight, we're gonna have a good motherfucking time!", and with that instruction, the "This Land Is Made For You And Me" got screamed louder and louder at each chorus. Each time this song is played, the room is told to jump at the very end, and that means everyone, "even those lurking around in the back thinking about not jumping will be jumping" - and sure enough, they were! But it STILL wasn't done! In all the madness, Boots hadn't made his way to the mic for HIS fresh verse, so after all the jumping and almost ending, Boots threw out his version of it all, much to the crowd's delight, and then there was still MORE jumping! And that was finally that ... Tom standing amid all of his friends, fist raised, nothing more needing to be said.

So think of that raised fist when you're waiting in line at the ER, or when you're thinking about how to pay for it all. When you're on hold with the insurance company, or too sick to deal with any of it right now. When you're trying to figure out how to get out of going back to Iraq AGAIN. When you're broke and working your third shift of the day, so you couldn't go to the best rock show ever that you heard about the next day. When you're sitting in your toxic FEMA trailer, or homeless outside among the spiders, or when you're mad about ANYTHING at all - think about that raised fist and know that people DO care about you and will continue fighting for and bringing awareness to you. And then raise your fist too, so that together we can make a difference for us ALL.

Healthcare - and your cause too - NOW!

- Carol Gronner

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