It took movie director David Lynch to coax the two surviving Beatles to perform together on the same stage for the first time in nine years, as Paul McCartney introduced Ringo Starr to sing “With A Little Help From My Friends.”
There were plenty of friends for the occasion. Sheryl Crow, Eddie Vedder and Donovan were among the performers at the benefit for the David Lynch Foundation at New York’s Radio City Music Hall Saturday night to help raise funds to teach Transcendental Meditation to school children.
It was the first time McCartney and Starr performed together since a 2002 memorial concert for former Beatle George Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001.
McCartney channeling “Sgt. Pepper” to introduce Starr was one of the high points in a show that opened with a definite Lynch vibe as composer Angelo Badalamenti played his theme to the ‘90s TV show, “Twin Peaks,” while a message declaring “Change Begins Within” was projected overhead.
Despite the big-name involvement, it wasn’t an evening entirely devoted to hits. Along with performing Beatles tunes such as “Let It Be” and “Drive My Car,” McCartney also played “Cosmically Conscious,” a hidden track from his 1993 Off The Ground album, according to the New York Times.
Other performers also used the occasion to perform lesser-known works. Sheryl Crow sang a “Celtic-Eastern hybrid” called “Riverwide,” and Bettye LaVette, performing with Moby’s band, sang “Natural Blues.”
That doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of oldies to be sung. Donovan was joined by Vedder and Crow for “Sunshine Superman, ” while later in the program Vedder teamed with Ben Harper for a rendition of the Queen / David Bowie hit, “Under Pressure.”
Of course, a benefit like this isn’t just about music. There were plenty of TM testimonials from the stars, including an unofficial contest over who has been meditating the longest, with Jerry Seinfeld claiming 37 years, Howard Stern saying 38 years while flutist Paul Horn, who traveled with The Beatles to Rishikesh in 1968, said he has been meditating for 43 years.
However, it was McCartney and Starr performing together that made the evening. As the encores came to a close and final introductions made, Starr and McCartney joked around by comically stepping in front of each other, as if to say each was more worthy of the applause then their Beatle partner. Sure, it was schtick, but it also gave the audience a brief glimpse of those madcap days of the band we’ve known for all these years.
Click here for the Associated Press account.
Click here for the New York Times review.