Most of you know from all of my over zealous status updates, Doug and I were lucky enough to have been invited by our generous friends Katie and Steve to spend a weekend in Cleveland with them at The beautiful Renaissance Hotel for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction. Doug and I got tickets to attend the simulcast and Katie and Steve got tickets for the induction.The induction was completely sold out and no one could get tickets. More tickets were released the day before the show. Steve was generous enough to give his induction ticket to me, so that Katie and I could attend the show together at Public Hall and the guys went to the Rock Hall for the simulcast.
Our weekend was a blast! We went to various places to eat and drink and got free breakfast and free apps at the hotel. That was really nice. Who doesn't love free food? We toured the Rock Hall and I took in all of the beautiful rock displays the hall had to offer me. I couldn't get enough! The prominently displayed outfits of David Bowie, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Hendrix and The Supremes really caught my eye. It was a joy reading various lyrics written on a scrap pieces of paper. Who would've known that any of those songs would become the soundtrack of our lives? I was over the moon reading Jimmy Hendrix's original lyrics to Purple Haze. Some of my favorite displays were The Beatles, Guns and Roses, RHCP and Pink Floyd The Wall and Division Bell. We toured the hall and gift shop in about 2.5 hrs. A must for any rock fans out there!
We did see some stars along the way too. We had breakfast with Paul Shaffer (CBS Band/David Lettermen). He was very cool. We talked to him for a minute. We also met Anton Fig (drummer for Paul Shaffer and Ace Frehley). He was very nice, too. The CBS band was staying at our hotel along with The Orlando Magic. We shared an elevator with Jameer Nelson, and saw Ryan Anderson and Glen Davis. Steve told us who these guys were. I know nothing about basketball and nor do I get a kick out of seeing athletes. Now, musicians, they're another story! Lastly, we saw David Arquette outside the The Ritz Carlton and caught a Slash autograph. Not sure if its authentic or not.
Now, for the biggest and most exciting moment of the weekend of course.The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction!! The show was on Saturday, April 14th at 8pm and lasted around 5 hours. The Class of 2012 inductees were Guns N Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, Donovan, Laura Nyro, The Small Faces/Faces, The Crickets, The Famous Flames, The Midnighters, The Blue Caps, The Comets, The Miracles and Freddie King. There were sidemen as well such as songwriters and engineers, Don Kirshner, Cosimo Matassa, Glyn Johns and Tom Dowd.
The show started off with Greenday opening. Here is the list of the inductees and who inducted them in order as documented by me. I never got an official program.
Freddie King inducted by Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top Tribute Performance by ZZ Top
Donovan inducted by John Mellencamp Performance by Donovan
Laura Nyro inducted by Bette Midler Performance by Sara Bareilles
Don Kirshner inducted by Carole King Didnt catch the name of the singer that performed
Faces/Small Faces inducted by Steven Van Zandt Peformance by Ron Wood of Faces with The CBS Band (Paul Shaffer)
Blue Caps, Comets, Miracles inducted by Smokey Robinson
Beastie Boys inducted by Chuck D and LL Cool J Performance by Kid Rock and The Roots
Guns and Roses inducted by Billie Joe Armstrong Performance by GNR with Gilby Clark with Miles Kennedy singing
Glyn Johns, Tom Dowd induction
Red Hot Chili Peppers inducted by Chris Rock and Performance by RHCP, finale jam with George Clinton, Slash, Billie Joe Armstrong, Ron Wood, Cliff Martinez and Jack Irons (original RHCP members)
You could feel the energy and excitement in Public Hall! Screams coming from everywhere including myself. By the end of the night I had no voice left. It was so humbling to see all of these famous, hard working musicians who stood before me on stage. And seeing so many legends was a treat. One moment that stood out was when one the founding members of The Comets, introduced himself as the drummer and stuck his tongue out and hollered in true rocker fashion! What a hoot! These men were way into their 80s and still rocking out. You can tell they were so thrilled to be there to accept their honor. If you aren't familiar with The Comets you may have heard the famous song, "Rock Around the Clock."
I was about to explode waiting anxiously to see my favorite bands get inducted. The anticipation of GNR and RHCP killed me. And of course RHCP were the last to get inducted. What can I say? They saved the best for last! I was so lucky and honored to even be in the same room as my favorite bands. It was one of the most exciting times of my life.
So let me dive right into my favorite speeches and not so favorite speeches and my favorite performances.
Horrible speech by Chris Rock. Although, RHCP asked their longtime friend to induct them, they got ripped off. His speech was more of a self-indulgent comedic performance that talked mostly about him. Now, I am not saying it shouldn't have been comedic. Hes a performer. That's what he does. However, I feel his speech should've been about honoring the Chili Peppers. There was no talk about musicianship, nothing about albums, nor anything about their music or songs. He inducted one of the sickest bass players ever to walk the face of this earth! The dude is phenomenal! A thunderous, funky force to reckon with. Flea is regal. Not to mention, Chad Smith's awesome drumming, John Frusciante's very underrated guitar playing and Anthony's poetic ability to love you, make you laugh and cry all at the same time. He couldn't mention albums such as By The Way, Blood Sugar Sex Magic, Mother's Milk or Stadium Arcadium, etc.???? Or how about this band's ability to mix funk, rap, rock and a little pop and make it great, really great! Now, he did mention Ice-T and NWA being influences of RHCP. I don't think so. But, maybe I'm wrong. He should've mentioned Parliament Funkadelic and The Ramones as influences. Or how about some of their greatest songs ever, By The Way, Scar Tissue, Suck My Kiss, Under the Bridge, etc.....I really think he doesn't know what it means to honor someone. He missed it. I could've given an honorable, poetic speech about The Chilis and people would have loved it. Instead, he talked about doing drugs and the band being famous white guys that wore socks on their jocks. Maybe, I'm being too serious about this? DISGRACEFUL!!!
The RHCP accepted their induction like champs. Flea gave the most heartfelt, wonderful speech of the night. It was really moving and I was brought to tears. He spoke of the music and how as a musician you get into the groove and sail away to another world that only musicians know of. He spoke of his art the way Picasso would speak of his. It was purely poetic and passionate. I loved it! Anthony and Chad gave awesome speeches as well. Josh spoke with his guitar. Sadly to say, John Frusciante and Dave Navarro were not present, but Cliff Martinez and Jack Irons were. Hillel Slovak, deceased member and (original founding member) was inducted as well and his brother proudly accepted the award for him.
The Peppers performance was stellar. They played By The Way, The Adventures of Raindance Maggie, Give It Away and Higher Ground for the finale. They played Higher Ground with Slash, George Clinton, Billie Joe Armstrong, Ron Wood, Cliff Martinez and Jack Irons. It was awesome! I didn't want it to end!
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day gave GNR a funny, honorable speech in his own way. It was cool. He mentioned Steven Adler's perfect drumming, Axl being one of the greatest rock singers and of course Slash's unique and creative approach to the guitar. He also talked profondly about Izzy, Matt, Dizzy and Duff. Axl and Izzy were not present. Billie exclaimed, "Where's Axl?" But, all in all, he did come to Axl's defense over all of the booing and f bombs, stating that Axl does need to move forward, but he also needs to look back at the chapters of his life and remember where he came from. Good work Billie Joe. I enjoyed it.
Slash, Duff, Matt and Steven all gave great acceptance speeches. Duff stated that its about the fans and the music, while Slash was very humble thanking numerous people that helped GNR get their start. Matt reminisced about that fateful moment when Slash called him and asked him to join the band while Matt was still with The Cult. So exciting!
GNR opened with Mr. Brownstone, Sweet Child O' Mine and lastly Paradise City. Miles Kennedy of Alter Bridge sang for GNR and belted out those high screeches almost as good as Axl. Billie Joe Armstrong jammed with GNR on Paradise City. GNR was my other favorite performance of the night. They still sound as good as they did 20 years ago!
Cleveland is such a fun and exciting town, full of life and energy. We will definitely be going back for future inductions! And although I have my issues with the RRHOF for snubbing certain musicians, they really picked some great bands to be inducted this year. I was so honored to be there as were Katie, Steve and Doug. I'll remember this moment for the rest of my life. It will be forever embedded in my memory. Congratulations to all the 2012 Inductees! They all truly deserved this honor. Cleveland Rocks!
