REVIEW: Life is a Carnival: The Last Waltz Tour ’24
The Rolls-Royce of tribute bands, the Last Waltz tour (this edition branded “Life is a Carnival”) jukeboxed classic songs of The Band and more on Proctors Main Stage Thursday, bringing nostalgic warmth, right-now immediacy and confident punch.
Three times as big as The Band (or most cover bands), they made a massive sound. Stacked with stars who blended respect for The Band with honed skills, the revue felt more rocking than reverent, packing some modern touches.
At one extreme, former Heartbreaker Mike Campbell’s guitar faithfully emulated the pinched treble tones and oblique phrasing of The Band guitarist Robbie Robertson at times; also Eric Clapton’s bluesy attack in “Further On Up the Road,” which Clapton played in “The Last Waltz.” At the other, jazzy keyboardist John Medeski jammed glorious noise and churchy fervor all his own into “Chest Fever,” signature song of Garth Hudson, now the only surviving member of The Band.
Performers’ talents balanced well; everybody got at least one solo except bassist-bandleader Don Was. But for all the fire in voices and guitars up front, steady locked-in beats by Was and drummer Terence Higgins firmly supported everything. Benmont Tench (Campbell’s band-mate in Petty’s Heartbreakers and at Proctors Thursday) and Medeski also played right in the pocket support, plus some solos, sometimes sounding like The Band’s organist Garth Hudson and pianist Richard Manuel.
The Last Waltz surveyed The Band’s songbook and showcased musical pals; but some tunes Thursday came from outside The Last Waltz songbook; see below. Campbell sang Tom Petty’s “The Best of Everything,” then Ryan Bingham sang Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City.”
Jamey Johnson and Bingham sang most leads, Johnson’s powerhouse baritone edged with Delta accent like Helm’s; Bingham, agile, expressive.
Johnson sang the jaunty “Up on Cripple Creek” strongly to start, Medeski’s percussive clavinet chiming funky.
The four Levee Horns joined Bingham to gang up on the breezy ironic lament “The Shape I’m In,” Campbell using wah-wah pedal to punch up his solo. Playing on almost everything thereafter and guided by New Orleans deity Allen Toussaint’s arranging style, the horns either grabbed the spotlight or jumped into songs’ creases to comment, add heft and texture.
Who knew “Georgia On My Mind” needed a booming Sousaphone solo?
Campbell praised Robertson’s songwriting before noting Bob Dylan and The Band bassist Rick Danko wrote “Wheels On Fire,” not Robertson; he sang it himself, Shannon McNally in harmony.
Who knew “Georgia On My Mind” needed a booming Sousaphone solo? Matt Perrine, that’s who, following in surprising-for-a-big-horn grace along Johnson’s most soulful vocal of the night. No, wait, that was maybe in the deeply poignant “It Makes No Difference” right after “Georgia.”
Singer Dave Malone harmonized on “Difference” and stayed at the mic as Cyril Neville came on to lead the uptempo “Mystery Train” and “Down South In New Orleans.” “Train” built slowly until the horns punched it up. Both Malone (the Radiators) and Neville (with his brothers and uptown funk bands) are from New Orleans; so are the Levee horns whose leader Mark Mullins’s trombone solo pushed “Down South” into overdrive. Malone and Neville repeated this Crescent City one-two in the second set: Dr. John’s “Such a Night” and Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love” back to back.
“…like a bunch of cool, wacky things going on at the same time.”
Richly poignant mid-tempo tunes put a thoughtful spin on the first set; especially McNally in the dirge “Long Black Veil” and Bingham in “Atlantic City” before they lifted the mood in uptempo The Band faves “W.S. Walcott’s Medicine Show” and “Life is a Carnival.” As Mullins promised in an interview last week (See “Eternal Songs By The Band, Fresh Players and Singers” on this site) Carnival” rolled “like a bunch of cool, wacky things going on at the same time.”
Ward Smith’s baritone sax beautifully supported “King Harvest,” featuring a good Johnson vocal; then Johnson moaned all the lost-cause melancholy of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” before the break.
After Medeski’s keyboard anarchy lit up “Chest Fever” to start the second set, Campbell name-checked fellow former Heartbreaker Benmont Tench, across the stage at the piano, noted Tom Petty wrote it, then sang it himself in a high Petty-like voice and uncorked a dazzling solo. Like “Atlantic City,”which Levon Helm claimed in his post-Band career, it’s The Band-adjacent: Robbie Robertson played on the record.
Like the first set, the second built on strong architecture of mood and tempo, easing from mid-tempo cruises – McNally was aces in “Evangeline” and Malone sang a pretty good Van Morrison echo in “Caravan” – into a valley of lush slower ballads with irresistible emotion.
Mid-set rockers brought big fun. Keyboards and horns charged up “Rag Mama Rag” behind Johnson’s punchy vocal, Bingham gave “Look Out Cleveland” a playful swing and Campbell went all Clapton in “Further On Up the Road.”
Comparing Thursday’s versions of The Band songs with the originals is tempting nonsense.
Seriously vulnerable classics “Helpless” and “Forever Young” bookended peppy New Orleans-romps “Such a Night” and “Who Do You Love” by Malone and Neville. Everybody wanted to sing “The Weight,” so everybody did. Then the yearning “I Shall Be Released” closed before “Don’t Do it” hit as upbeat encore.
Most songs brought joyful shouts of recognition from the happy, boomers crowd.
Comparing Thursday’s versions of The Band songs with the originals is tempting nonsense. But this band gave the songs their due by giving deeply of themselves, with smiles onstage and off.
The calm ease of The Band’s playing – Mullins told me it’s harder than it sounds – may set a lower bar than the singing, especially for veteran players with long experience together. The Levee Horns, for example, are all New Orleanians and Mullins and Perrine play together in Bonerama, while Campbell and Tench played for decades in Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers and Don Was plays with everybody. The Band also comprised fantastic singers Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel whose varying vocal sounds gave the songs matchless atmosphere and emotion. These voices always hit the note, as the Allman Brothers used to say, especially the extra-busy Johnson.
Life is a Carnival: The Last Waltz Tour ’24: Jamey Johnson, Ryan Bingham and Dave Malone, guitars and vocals; Cyril Neville, percussion and vocals; Shannon McNally, vocals; Benmont Tench and John Medeski, keyboards; Terence Higgins, drums; Don Was, bass and leader; Mark Mullins, trombone and Levee Horns leader; Matt Perrine, Sousaphone and euphonium; Ward Smith, saxophones; and Bobby Campo, trumpet and flugelhorn.
A helpful fan let me photograph the set-list (first set) he got from a roadie onstage. A crew member verified the second set songs for me.
The Songs, and Who Sang Them
First set, 7:34 – 8:34 p.m.
Up on Cripple Creek Jamey Johnson
The Shape I’m In Ryan Bingham
This Wheel’s On Fire Mike Campbell
Georgia on My Mind** Jamey J.
It Makes No Difference Jamey J., Ryan B., Dave Malone
Mystery Train Dave Malone, Cyril Neville
Down South in New Orleans Dave M., Cyril N.
Long Black Veil* Shannon McNally
Atlantic City* Ryan B.
W.S. Walcott’s Medicine Show Jamey J.
Life is a Carnival Jamey J., Shannon McN.
King Harvest Jamey J., Ryan B.
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Jamey J.
Down
Second set, 9:10 – 10:42 p.m.
Chest Fever Jamey J., Ryan B., Dave M.
Best of Everything* Mike C., Shannon McN.
Ophelia Ryan B.
Evangeline*** Shannon McN.
Caravan Dave M.
Twilight* Ryan B.
Rag Mama Rag Jamey J.
Look Out Cleveland* Ryan B.
Further On Up the Road Mike C.
Helpless Jamey J.
Such A Night Dave M., Cyril N.
Who Do You Love Dave M., Cyril N.
Forever Young Ryan B.
The Weight Everybody
I Shall Be Released Jamey J., Ryan B., Mike C.
Don’t Do It Jamey J.
- Not in “The Last Waltz” film or various versions of its soundtrack albums
** In the show but in neither the film nor recordings
*** Not in “The Last Waltz” show but in the film and recordings
Hoke's Jukebox 