Harrison and Friends in Concert
From Susan M. –
It was fantastic! I’ve
never seen George look so good. His
white suit was gorgeous. His hair looks
good on him now—even his beard I didn’t mind.
He seemed so nervous at first but as the show went on he relaxed. He kept turning his back to the audience and
kept his eyes on his guitar a lot. When
he first came out to introduce Ravi he got a standing ovation. He had on brown pants and vest and a grey
shirt. After Ravi, they showed a film on
Bengladesh (sic). It was so sad but I hope it got the message
across to the audience. Then came the
band—whicih consisted of Ringo and Jim Keltner on drums, Leon Russell on piano,
Klaus Voorman on bass, Eric Clapton and Jesse Davis on lead guitar, Billy
Preston on organ, plus Badfinger and Derek and the Domino’s and others. And of course there was George—gosh was he
ever beautiful. They went right into “Wah
Wah”. The audience was really good, you
could hear the music clearly – there were only screams or applause at the
beginning or end of each song. The songs
included “Something” “While my guitar gently weeps,” “Awaiting on you all”
“Hear me Lord” “My sweet Lord,” “Here
comes the sun”, “Beware of Darkness,” and of course “Bengla Desh” (sic). Ringo did “It don’t come easy” and got a
tremendous reaction. Billy Preston did “That’s
the Way God Planned it” and Leon Russell did “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” I forgot to mention that Ringo looked
terrific—dressed all in black and his hair was back and he has a heavy
beard. The surprise guest was Bob
Dylan. The reaction from the audience was
unbelievable. It was such a feeling
seeing Ringo, George, Dylan and Leon Russell all on one stage sharing the
spotlight. I mean you really had to
pinch yourself to see if it all was real.
Anyway, I will never forget that day as long as I live. I can’t wait to see the film of it and hear
the album! Oh, I forgot to tell you
something – towards the middle of the concert, George started introducing the
band. He mentioned that he hoped he hadn’t
forgotten anyone, and then Eric Clapton said into the mike, “and George
Harrison.” The audience gave such an
ovation, and George turned his back on the audience—he’s so modest! George is truly wonderful and he has proved
that for once and for all by doing such a beautiful thing. As one disc jockey said – George is a superb
human being and is one of the highest in the forms of humanity.
From Julie A.
Before the 2:30 afternoon show was to start, George stepped
up on stage as if popping out of nowhere.
He announced that he was thankful everyone had come to help the cause
for which this show represented. He
further announced Ravi would be on first and that he and his friends would be
out a little later. The show got
underway at 2:45. Ravi and his troup
appeared. They did 2 numbers lasting 15
minutes each. Then the stage went
black. Suddenly, 2 large projection
screen starting showing a movie. George’s
recording of “Bangla Desh” was played over the PA system and used as a
soundtrack to the rather gruesome movie which showed all the people in East
Pakistan suffering. Suddenly a stream
of spot lights focused on each of the performers. Ringo, wearing a single-breasted black suit
with short wide lapels appeared seated at his drum kit all the way in the
back. There was another drummer seated alongside
of him. George had Billy Preston laying
organ on his right and Leon Russell at the piano on his left. Out front, center stage was George with Eric
Clapton and Klaus Voorman. Badfinger sat
all the way to one side with 3 guys playing horns standing beside them. A group of 5 or 6 girls formed a small vocal
chorus behind Billy and his emence (sic)
organ. Going right into “Wah Wah”
George really belted it out. Seemingly
in an almost non-stop fashion, he went right into “While my guitar Gently
Weeps.” Puffing almost out of breath, he
proceeded to introduce everyone. Ringo
got a standing ovation. George was
wearing a very little beige suit with a long sleeved orange shirt. George did “Something” with Eric helping out
on the guitar. He also did “Here comes
the Sun” on an acoustic with a member of Badfinger helping out. Ringo
did “It don’t come easy.” About mid-way
thru the show, George says to everyone, ‘and now I’d like you to meet my good
friend Bob Dylan.” The audience went
wild with applause. He was on about 20
minutes doing some of his better known songs.
George, Eric, Leon and Ringo backed Dylan. Ringo banged on a small silver tambourine while
George, Eric, and Leon backed on guitars.
At this time all the other performers had walked off and just the 4 of
them were up there with the stage to themselves. Dylan finished his part and faded off stage
quickly. The others came back on stage
and did a variety of other numbers. At
4:50 George went into “My Sweet Lord” which was also played on acoustic guitar. The show ended with George doing “Bengla Desh.” While the other members played on, George
went over, picked up his jacket, said his ta’s to everyone and dashed off the
stage. I remember during one of the fast
numbers, George started doing a little of the “Harrison shuffle” for which he
is famous from AHND days. The show ended
exactly at 5:09 but the audience stood, clapped, whistled and stomped the floor
shouting “more more!” This went on for
about 20 minutes. Finally convinced that
no one was returning to the stage, some people began to file out of the
Garden. The teaming rain that was coming
down outside didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits as they flowed out the
exits.
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