alex chilton tribute. city winery. 7/28/10
It’s still a bit odd to say…. Alex Chilton is gone. He passed away on 3/17. Sure, SXSW and Memphis (along with the other shows in other cities) got their tributes to Alex, but since Alex did spend quite a bit of time in New York City throughout the course of his career, it was only fitting that we have a tribute for him as well.
“Channeling Chilton” was held at City Winery in New York City on Wednesday, July 28th. Tickets were $28 dollars…..and honestly….I would have paid more for the lineup that they had AND all of the ticket sales went directly to help efforts in the Gulf, another area dear to Mr. Chilton.
It was a brilliant show and a heartfelt way for Chilton’s fans and fellow musicians and friends to say goodbye to Alex.
I got to the venue a little early and I was a little unsure of what the place would be like. Seemed a bit upper class for this type of show. I ran into Craig Finn from The Hold Steady out front and we chatted for a bit. Super guy. We discussed seltzer water (I’m hooked and he recently professed his love for the mighty Seltzer in SPIN) Ardent Studio and Chilton. He was in Memphis a few weeks ago and Jody Stephens gave him a personal tour of Ardent. That’s what I want to see in Memphis…. Sun Studios and Graceland aren’t as important to me.
I found my way inside and sat down at pretty decent seat, stage left. Chris Stamey and Sondre Lerche (a singer I never really gave a damn about… but since he has done so many of these Chilton tributes, he’s earned my respect) kicked off the evening with “Kangaroo” which also featured Laura Chilton, Alex’s wife, on flute. After that, Yo La Tengo took the stage with a brilliant and sparse “Take Care” and then served as the backing band for some of Chilton’s solo works/covers with guests such as Jon Spencer (the only man to pull off a decent “Bangkok”) and Suicide’s Alan Vega (“Rubber Room” and “Dream Baby Dream”).
It was sad to see The Box Tops again since I saw them in Hoboken last year and it was the last time I saw Chilton live. They were in amazing spirits and sounded fantastic, splitting the lead vocals between bassist Bill Cunningham and guitarist (extraordinare) Gary Talley.
Oh and Ronnie Spector popped out of nowhere for your “What The FUCK?!” moment of the night. Sure, she had been announced on the bill, but it just never made sense. Great performance though.
Chris Stamey and the wonderful Terry Manning joined Jon Auer and Jody Stephens for the Big Star set that closed the night. Jon and Jody’s cover of “Blue Moon” made me cry big sonicdork tears. I’ll admit it. I’m a MAN!
Such an amazing night and a beautiful way to say goodbye to the one and only Alex Chilton.
