DOs & DON'Ts: Inside The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductions
Yesterday afternoon came word from The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame that some seats at Table Van Halen opened up. So we made some calls and got the hookup (thanks, Bono!) to the Waldorf Astoria for this year's induction ceremony. Sure, the event has gotten lamer over the years, what with the lack of all-star jams and diminishing debauchery due to VH1's telecasting, but there's no way we would turn down the opportunity to sit in a room with Paul Shaffer. And an open bar.
Lest you think we've lost our indie cred, we're quite certain that happened a long time ago, when we first started blogging about Steely Dan, Lindsey Buckingham, Billy Joel, and Genesis. So off with the blogjamas and into black tie, we headed uptown where the Ronettes, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Patti Smith, R.E.M. and, uh, Velvet Revolver were scheduled to make YouTube history.
We snapped some photos in between performances. They are terrible. Enjoy!
DON'T: Be that guy. Even if it is your group on the t-shirt.
DO: Throw your hands in the air like you just starting dating someone much hotter than Pam Anderson anyway.
DON'T: Ask "which band?" It's the Band.
DO: Rock your signature unibrow.
DO: Imitate Jack Sparrow.
DO: Give us a cue if Patti reeks of cigarettes and hummus.
DO: Eat guitars.
DON'T: Leave laser cats with coatcheck.
DO: Pose with the two guys who aren't in Van Halen anymore. At least they came.
DON'T: Blind Ronnie Spector with your dome.
DON'T: Make fun of Mike Mills's suits -- he bedazzled them himself.
DO: Tell an anecdote about grandma Stipe
DO: If you have to wear your group's name, make it classy.
We forgot to TIVO. Did you watch on TV? Interesting R.E.M. setlist, no?
Posted at 2:20 PM in Concert
Tags: Andy Samberg | Bill Hader | Eddie Vedder | Grandmaster Flash | Keith Richards | Kid Rock | Patti Smith | R.E.M. | Robbie Robertson | Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame | The Ronettes | Van Halen | Zack De La Rocha
Velvet Revolver... ugh. That was kinda embarassing. When Paul Schaffer and the Late Night band rock you off the stage, it's kinda sad. Velvet Revolver perfectly answers the AVClub's question of last week - "Are guitar solos lame?" Yeah, kinda.
Maybe it's just me, but I thought Eddie Vedder's R.E.M. speech was pretty awesome. I also think Peter Buck might need to lay off the booze. Don't know if you saw it or not, but after "I Wanna Be Your Dog" he through his guitar amp off the front of the stage, whacking some dude in the shins.
It's hard to care about the R&RHOF, but have you seen the possible inductees for the next few years? Jesus Christ. Next year: Beastie Boys, Madonna, Sonic Youth?
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Vedder gave the best speech. 2008: Tears For Fears!
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omg, was jason sudeikis there?!?!
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this post was just straight up unfunny stereogum
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Vedder sucks. Still.
But I stayed up late to watch R.E.M., and it was what I expected - a curveball, one of their biggest hits, and the song they've opened Berry-backed sets with for the last year or so.
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What was the setlist?
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thank for you for sparing us velvet revolver
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Begin the Begin, Gardening at Night, Man on the Moon.
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gardening at night? damn! now i gotta watch one of the 10,000 replays theyre bound to do!
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Stipe said "Gardening" was the first "real" song they wrote, and dedicated it to his dad.
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I liked when they showed the montage of past inductees and they showd Mike Love calling Mick Jagger a "chickenshit" on stage and then showed Bob Dylan saying "Thank you to Mike Love for not saying anything bad about me." Gotta love that man.
Thought it was awesome to see the REAL R.E.M. together again. Also impressed they didn't make any political statements; but Stipe seems like a pretty classy guy, so I suppose I'm not really that surprised. Loved the drunk Peter Buck. Maybe all this will convince Bill Berry to come out of retirement. A guy can dream right?
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R.E.M. is one of my favorite bands. I'd love to guest piano play on one of their future albums.
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I can't believe Peter Buck threw his amp at someone in The Shins!
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What the fuck is kid rock doing there? That motherfucker should be running cable or stacking chairs after the show not sitting there drinking beer.
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I've been an R.E.M. fan since 1984 so, I was very proud to see them inducted to the Hall of Fame on their first ballot. It was great to see Bill Berry back on the drum kit. I hope the rest of the boys can talk him in to returning to the group full-time. Interesting that Peter and Bill did not take a turn at the podium. Maybe Peter was all jacked-up! By the way, it was after "Man On The Moon" that Peter tossed his monitor into the crowd. I agree, Kid Rock is a redneck mongoloid dirt-bag!!
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Um, Eddie Vedder pontificated for far too long and basically insulted everyone in the band except Michael Stipe. I agree that Stipe should get some snaps for a very moving and beyond classy speech. So glad that they spared us the politiking. Peter Buck was pathetic. Did you see him slugging back the wine while Stipe was talking? The whole amp thing was unbelievable. I thought pot was supposed to make you docile...maybe the shiraz negated its effects.
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