Stevie did a Bat Mitzvah

[dissention]

Originally Posted by Serrart

Well, no because they got moral reproach for accepting to do a private party.

Romy

It's a ****ty example since Petty played this thing, but did you ever hear the song "Money Becomes King"?

[David]

Originally Posted by dissention

No ****. I was very surprised at that one. A bat mitzvah. How embarrassing.

I heard Stevie, Joe & Don used the young lady's Bat Mitzvah as an opportunity to stretch out a little with their set lists -- you know, to run through some Yiddish numbers that they don't get to play very often when they're booked into the Garden or Irvine Meadows.

Stevie kicked it off with a stirring rendition of Hirsh Glik's famed "Shtil de Nacht" ("Still of the Night"):

Shtil, di nacht iz oysgeshternt,
Un der frost - er hot gebrent;
Tsi gedenkstu vi ich hob dich gelernt
Haltn a shpayer in di hent.

A moyd, a peltsl un a beret,
Un halt in hant fest a nagan,
A moyd mit a sametenem ponim
Hit op dem soynes karavan.

Getsilt, geshosn un getrofn
Hot ir kleyninker pistoyl,
An oto a fulinkn mit vofn
Farhaltn hot zi mit eyn koyl.

Next, Joe Walsh joined Stevie for a duet on "Papirosn" ("Cigarettes"), with words by Herman Yablokoff, the poignant tale of an orphaned cigarette peddler freezing in the rain on a street corner. Stevie & Joe performed the first verse in Rumanian-Yiddish style, but carried home the remaining verses in a rollicking dance-band Klezmer style:

A kalte nakht, a nebldike finster unetum
Sheyt a yingele fartroiert un kuht, zikh arum
Fun regn shtist im hor a vant,
A koshikl trogt er in hant
Un zaine oygn betn yedn shtum:
"Ikh hob shoyn nit keyn koyekh mer
Arumstu geyn in gas,
Hungerik un opgerisn, funem regn nas,
Ikh shllep arum zikh fun bagi nen,
Keyner git nit tsu fardinen,
Ale lakhn, makhn fun mir shpas."

Finally, Mr. Grouchy Don Henley himself joined Stevie for an especially apt a cappella treatment of "A Brivele der Mamen" ("A Letter to Mama"), with music & lyrics by Solomon Shmulewitz:

Mayn kind, mayn treyst, du forst avek
Ze zay a zun a guter
Dikh bet mit trern un mit shrek
Dayn traye libe muter
Du forst, mayn kind, mayn eyntsik kind,
Ariber vayte yamen.
Akh kum ahin nor frish gezunt
Un nit farges dayn mamen.
Yo! For gezunt un kum mit glik,
Ze yede vokh a brivele shik,
Dayn mames harts, mayn kind, derkvik

According to eyewitnesses (Bawba Needle, Aunt Tessya & her two unmarried daughters Fozel & Yoichel), a grand time was had by all!

Mazel tov, Stevie!!

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

It's a ****ty example since Petty played this thing, but did you ever hear the song "Money Becomes King"?

But is it that it was for so much money. A very rich older lady paid me $500 a few weeks ago to sing like five songs at her birthday party. I do not sing that well anymore and would have done it for free. But, she offered and I took it. I had a blast and made her happy. What is the harm in that? What if she paid me $5,000, $50,000, $500,0000 - and I took it.How is that a bad thing or a sell out. I would have performed the same for all of it.

I am just being curious not antagonistic.

[Serrart]

Originally Posted by dissention

It's a ****ty example since Petty played this thing, but did you ever hear the song "Money Becomes King"?

No, but every history book testifies it, I think.

Romy

[strandinthewind]

Mazel tov, DAVID!!

that was brilliant!!!!!!

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

But is it that it was for so much money. A very rich older lady paid me $500 a few weeks ago to sing like five songs at her birthday party. I do not sing that well anymore and would have done it for free. But, she offered and I took it. I had a blast and made her happy. What is the harm in that? What if she paid me $5,000, $50,000, $500,0000 - and I took it.How is that a bad thing or a sell out. I would have performed the same for all of it.

I am just being curious not antagonistic.

So I take it you haven't heard the song or else you would have understood why I find this bat mitzvah rocking to be so cheesy.

[sparky]

Originally Posted by Serrart

Why is it sickening?

Romy

It is sickening to me because it is over the top, conspicuous consumption that is purely done for show. I don't think some 13 year old girl is a big Petty, Nicks, Henley, or Aerosmith fan. This looks to me like a big budget pissing contest, and it makes me kind of sick. It represents a part of our culture that is embarrassing, self indulgent and undignified. It is bad taste because it is completely out of scale.

This kind of party would actually be appropriate for Sheryl Crow's wedding. Or Stevie's 60th birthday party. They both know a lot of the performers. It would make sense. I can only imagine the tens of thousands of dollars worth of food that is in the trash. That goes without saying and goes perfectly with the scene. It is the concept of doing ludicrous, extravagant things just because you can that I find distasteful. The scale of it all drives it into sickening territory for me.

And the performers ? Everyone's a whore folks. Some of us can just ask for more money than others. Everyone is a whore.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

So I take it you haven't heard the song or else you would have understood why I find this bat mitzvah rocking to be so cheesy.

My bad - I was not referring to that song. I referred to doing this in general. I mean my performace was not on some big stage that apparently lends some sort of credibility. It was in this lady's music room in front of like 50 people. I was there to entertain her, which I did. How is that wrong or really any different (except on the energy level) from Madison Sq. Garden?

[Rickypt]

Originally Posted by Serrart

Well, no because they got moral reproach for accepting to do a private party.

Romy

Absolutely, because it says something to me about their values, and values are important to me. And until today, I had nothing but the highest esteem for Petty's values. As for Stevie--I'm not totally surprised, but I still have an opinion about it. It's not just that it was a private party, but who they played for.

You can disagree with my opinion, but please make your arguments based on what I said. The guy has the right to buy whomever he wants, and the artists have every right to be bought. It just smells, in my opinion.

[Serrart]

Originally Posted by dissention

So I take it you haven't heard the song or else you would have understood why I find this bat mitzvah rocking to be so cheesy.

I have read the lyrics but he clearly doesn't know much about Renaissance.

Romy

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by sparky

. . . And the performers ? Everyone's a whore folks. Some of us can just ask for more money than others. Everyone is a whore.

My point exactly and Amen my dear - Amen

[Serrart]

Originally Posted by Rickypt

Absolutely, because it says something to me about their values, and values are important to me. And until today, I had nothing but the highest esteem for Petty's values. As for Stevie--I'm not totally surprised, but I still have an opinion about it. It's not just that it was a private party, but who they played for.

You can disagree with my opinion, but please make your arguments based on what I said. The guy has the right to buy whomever he wants, and the artists have every right to be bought. It just smells, in my opinion.

Do you know where and how your clothes and shoes are made? Does it smell too?

Romy

[danax6]

As I already mentioned in the other thread regarding this subject, I didn't think Stevie would lend herself for stuff like this. I get benefits, tours, tv performances (where she surely gets paid a fukc of a lot of money also), but a 13 year old stranger's bar mitzvah? It doesn't even sound like anything fun or worthwhile.

Btw, Don and Joe and Tom and Stevie? That can't have been a coincidence.

[Jyqm]

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

whatever. you know what I mean.

Not really. I mean, how was your post different from anybody else's who was complaining that we find this kind of lavish spending abhorrent?

would it be different if it were for a wedding or some other "party"?

Not to me, no.

[Jyqm]

Originally Posted by Serrart

Why is it sickening? If rich people want to waste their money this way it's their right.

It's also our right to be sickened by their extravagnace.