Only in Los Angeles.

It was the anti-Spotify Top 50. Working musicians, most sans mainstream fame, all on the same stage performing the songs of one of America’s most revered songwriters.

Or to paraphrase Max Yasgur, it was five hundred people getting together for three hours of fun and music and nothing but fun and music. As opposed to the trappings, the outfits, the controversies, the social media posts, the endless hype and sell.

It’s hard to be a musician. Sure, you get some attention, but oftentimes what money you make is burned up in travel and other expenses. You may want to be a star, but most people never get there. In other words, you’ve got to really love to play music to stay at it. It takes dedication. And oftentimes the only payout is the applause you get on stage. Then again, you can’t get that applause anywhere else. It’s a calling.

Now the show began with the Blind Boys of Alabama singing “Loves Me Like a Rock.” Utterly astounding, with the energy and bounciness and sheer joy of the original recording. Rarely do shows start on such a high note. I would have enjoyed a few more numbers by the Boys, but everybody got just one song, and one thing was for sure, the show didn’t drag.

Now if you’re not a member of the scene, you might not know who Molly Tuttle is, but when she was picking the leads and her male compatriot Ketch Secor was playing the rhythm it was an exciting role reversal.

And speaking of role reversal, seventeen year old Grace Bowers positively wailed on the electric guitar, the most rock and roll element of the evening.

But the peak, once again, like last year, was Dwight Yoakam.

Now unlike so many musicians, Dwight is very verbal. And he takes the stage and starts talking… It’s not exactly a story, it’s more conversational, more intimate, more between him and the audience, but then…

I’m tingling thinking about it. Dwight is so regular, but when he starts to sing… You could release Dwight’s performance of “The Boxer” tomorrow and it would be a hit, it was just that good. He said he hillbillied it up just a bit, and that changed the accents to great effect. And as I was listening I was thinking to myself I LIVED THROUGH THIS! These are classics, but I was around when the “Bridge Over Troubled Water” album came out. I saw Simon & Garfunkel live in the interlude between their initial hits and “The Graduate” comeback. I feel privileged. Albeit closer to the end.

But the big surprise, was Mexican chanteuse Silvana Estrada. Unknown by most in attendance, she took the stage and sang “El Condor Pasa” and…

This was the only performance wherein the audience hooped and hollered during the song, Estrada was just that good. And only Dwight got an equal amount of applause at the end. If Silvana did the same thing on tonight’s Grammy telecast she’d be a star overnight. She brought gravitas, but without heaviness. She respected the music but not to the point where it was living in a museum. It was contemporary. And with her crystalline voice… You had to be there.

And there were surprises, like Brett Dennen singing “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.” I’ve seen this guy a number of times and never gotten it. But last night… He personalized the song just a bit, and he physically swung with the music, he added an extra element, to a song I don’t love to begin with.

Rufus Wainwright did a great “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” but what I marveled at most was this is a guy who’s a star who has never ever had a hit. Which is quite an achievement if you think about it. Rufus did it his way. And fans came to him.

The Larkin Poe sisters locked in on “Paranoia Blues,” from the unjustly forgotten first solo album. All the focus is on the “Graceland” era, the quiet debut and the as good as it gets “Rhymin’ Simon” have been pushed into the back seat, but they’re absolutely stellar. Stefan Grossman plays bottleneck on the original and I’ll say Megan Lovell trumped it last night. The two women energized the number, added a zest absent from the recording, lifting it to a higher, more intense level.

And Amanda Sudano of Johnnyswim was singing “René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War,” from “Hearts and Bones,” a favorite of the cognoscenti, and then her beefy husband Abner Ramirez opened his mouth and this mellifluous sound came out…I was positively stunned. It was so sweet, the opposite of his look.

And the way Abner treated Jackson Browne as a compatriot during the encore, putting his arm around his shoulder, unburdened by Jackson’s image, lightening the Southern California bard…

Yes, Jackson, who has allowed himself to age, whose hair is gray and was wearing glasses, gave a long intro to “I Am a Rock,” talking about the three minute limit of the singles of the sixties, and then he sang it. Everyone is so worried about their image, trying to look thirty when they’re seventy, it endeared me to Jackson, he was owning who he was, what was on the inside was what counted. And when he got to the lines:

“I have my books

And my poetry to protect me”

I was brought right back to the sixties, the pre-internet era, when we’d be home, in our cocoon. I never wrote poetry, but people did. We all read books, like Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle,” we were living in our heads sans exterior stimulation so much of the time. And we could feel outside. I resonated with the bygone paradigm.

Paul Simon left Columbia for Warner Bros. because the company promised him a movie deal. And a film ensued, “One Trick Pony.” It was not instantly forgotten, like the small films of today, but it was not a hit, yet I did see it on opening night and bought the soundtrack, with its opening song “Late in the Evening,” cut with New York cats different from his usual players. It had a stripped-down feel, there was room around the instruments, its magic grows on you over time, and I was surprised to hear Gaby Moreno do it last night. She was wearing a delicious silver suit, and nailed the rhythm of the original.

And Rodney Crowell did “Graceland” and then most of the assembled multitude came out and performed “You Can Call Me Al,” a surprising choice if you ask me. More about rhythm than melody, meaning it’s not easy to deliver live, never mind in an ensemble. But they fell into the groove and the horn came in as an exclamation point and all was well.

Now I didn’t mention everybody…then it would just be a laundry list. As it is the above reads so much like a recitation of what was. But that’s the kind of evening it was, one performance after another, all interesting, not only because of the playing, but the underlying material.

Yes, I pondered how they’d do the same with today’s artists twenty or thirty years down the line. In today’s 808 one chord culture. But there are people taking the road less traveled, like those on stage last night. And they are not only the heart and soul of Americana, they’re the heart and soul of America. Yes, living, breathing. Machines don’t do that. I’m not saying you can’t make good music on a computer, I’m just saying it’s not alive, not breathing the same way as people playing acoustic instruments and singing sans effects. That’s what touches you.

So I could have been at Clive Davis’s party last night…actually, no I could not have, not with all the negative things I’ve written about the man. Clive needs the attention, he’s trying to be remembered, but it’s the music that lasts, if it’s lucky. And usually it’s not the hits that enter our bodies and never leave, that make our lives worth living, but the album tracks, the left field stuff, the more human stuff, the stuff with less of a sheen.

And we had a whole night of it yesterday. The stars of the Americana world, even number one, Jason Isbell, all together on stage. Because when it comes to music in America…you can play it anywhere, but there are few meccas. Not only the poor people have been squeezed out of Manhattan, but the middle class too. The musicians are now being squeezed out of Brooklyn. So if you’re a player, you end up in Nashville or L.A. Not only for the business, but the cross-pollination with other singers and players. 

You can live in the hinterlands and the acts last night will come through your town, but only one at a time, they all won’t be on the same stage on one single evening.

But they made the pilgrimage here for Grammy week. Or already live in SoCal. Such that they could get together and create magic last night. Not for the money, but for the joy. As Joni Mitchell would say, they were playing real good for free.

“I wake up in the morning and I raise my weary head

I’ve got an old coat for a pillow and the earth was last night’s bed”

People forget that Jeff Beck played the guitar on “Blaze of Glory,” if they even knew it in the first place.

It was the height of Jovimania. Not quite like Swiftmania, in that it was easier to get a ticket, Bon Jovi wasn’t playing multiple stadium dates, but conversely everybody under the age of fifty knew that Tommy used to work on the docks.  Today we’re living on a prayer, but back in the eighties perception was things were good. Reagan had legitimized greed, but most people didn’t realize that vast income inequality would ensue and ultimately fracture the nation.

And watching the video last night, of Jon Bongiovi back in the eighties, it was apparent how long ago that was. With the big hair and spandex. I lived through it, but at this point it’s laughable, and host Jim Gaffigan did a good job of poking fun at Jon and the era.

Now usually Musicares is all about the schmooze-fest, you can do a year’s worth of business in one night, because everybody is there. As for the music? Only those in the back in tuxedos seem to be paying attention throughout.

So what you’ve got is a bona fide star with too many has-beens and flavors of the moment performing bad renditions of their hits. Even worse, the lag time between songs could be interminable. Then again, that offered the chance to go out in the lobby and kibbitz.

But last night the show ran like live TV. Tight. And that was a blessing.

But what was not expected was how good the performances would be, at least up to a point.

So Bon Jovi opened the show, and the only person I remember doing this is Paul McCartney, a few years back. The band hit the intro to “Magical Mystery Tour” and heads exploded. But I must say, McCartney and his wife were sitting two tables up and I didn’t tingle. Which I found surprising. Not a reflection on the man, but me. Somehow I’ve hit a point where we’re all just people. Doing our thing.

And the thing the musicians do is to take the stage, amp it up, and entertain us. Does not mean they’re reasonable people, does not mean they live reasonable lives, but what it does mean is they can do this one thing, that gains our attention and makes our lives worthwhile.

Bon Jovi began with a new song. Which is not a choice I would make. And did not follow that up with a legendary hit. Then again, the rest of the roster had to do the iconic numbers, right?

Well, I knew that Springsteen was going to come out and play with Jon, but I did not expect them to play “The Promised Land.” The dogs on mainstream howled and we understood that this was the essence of rock and roll. Springsteen showed, despite the recent passing of his mother, and he smiled and played his Fender and all was right in the world. I stood and sang, like so many. “Darkness” is the best Springsteen album, concise and meaningful. And to hear a number live, what else could you expect?

Not much more.

So when Gaffigan started talking about a woman who won Grammys and had breast cancer I figured it was Sheryl Crow, who’s been making the rounds recently.

I was not prepared for Melissa Etheridge. In tight leather pants and a leather cowboy hat. With Larkin Poe as support.

“I’m goin’ down in a blaze of glory

Take me now, but know the truth”

I was stupefied. What I was experiencing was BETTER than the Bon Jovi original. Something I’ve never seen before. Because Melissa put her all into the song, she was the song, and when Etheridge is on… Let me just say her performance of “I’m the Only One” is one of the two best performances I ever saw on Letterman’s late night show. Megan Lovell’s slide guitar didn’t quite reach Beckian heights, but who can?

When it was over… WHEW! I can’t really convey how positively mesmerizing and powerful Melissa’s performance of the number was, you had to be there. And isn’t that the essence of the live concert experience?

Okay, it can only go downhill from here. These Musicares experiences are not transcendent, that’s not the way the evening goes.

But then 39 year old country rap sensation Jelly Roll rolled out on stage and kicked “Bad Medicine” right through the goalpost, probably impressing Robert Kraft, who was sitting at Bon Jovi’s table. Jelly Roll is as wide as he is tall. The antithesis of a rock star. But man, watching him you got it, the energy, the excitement, it felt thrilling to be in the presence of a man having his moment, impacting the culture, breaking all the rules in age and appearance.

Followed by Lainey Wilson’s “We Weren’t Born to Follow.” Not the most major of Bon Jovi hits, but she was into it. She was wearing the de rigueur country hat, and sang with a twang, but she moved her body like a rocker, as if she had no bones. She was wearing a green suit and appeared like no one so much as Gumby. She was feeling it, she was not punching the clock.

And then the man with the voice came out and did “It’s My Life.” Yes, Pat Monahan of Train has the pipes, and this was good, but unlike what came before, it was not transcendent.

Whereupon Shania Twain took the stage. And all I could think about was how Mutt Lange took a middling country act and made her the biggest star in the world. And we all know how it ended, but Shania, er, Eileen, was convincing on “Bed of Roses.” Actually, her performance was better than the song. And her image befit the legend. However, I must admit, and will probably be excoriated for it, she looked she hadn’t had a bite since 2021. I mean to be that skinny…

But then came the second peak. Well, maybe the third if you’re counting “Promised Land.” No one could reach the height of Melissa Etheridge, that was as good as it gets. But Jason Isbell took the stage…

In a nightrider outfit. You know long black coat with matching hat. Like he just got up from the campfire and is gonna play a number on his gee-tar before he saddles up and rides into the next county.

And that gee-tar around his neck is a double-necked Gibson. Which confuses me, because most of the leads, the defining parts, had been played by the backup band.

But then those indelible notes begin. The best, if not the most famous, Bon Jovi song ever, “Wanted Dead Or Alive.” Kept alive by its used in “Deadliest Catch” and elsewhere. Back in the day, Jon and Richie would take the stage and do it acoustic for the masses watching TV.

But last night was fully electric, like the original and…WHO KNEW JASON ISBELL COULD PLAY THE GUITAR!

“It’s all the same, only the names will change

Every day it seems we’re wastin’ away

Another place where the faces are so cold

I’d drive all night just to get back home”

Jaw-dropping. Jason Isbell is an Americana artist. Specializing in heartfelt numbers, sung in a straightforward way. But here he’s screwing up all his power, pushing his voice into the upper register and straining and damn, if that’s not rock and roll… It was like Johnny Cash revisited, but more intense. It was eerie. Isbell was charismatic. A complete surprise and an unbelievable highlight.

I’d like to say the rest was as good.

But Johnny Rzeznik hit the stage with his Goo Goo Dolls partner Robby Takac and all I could think was it was time to change his hairstyle. Bon Jovi has. Yet even more impressive, he’s let his hair go gray. But Rzeznik is locked in amber, it made him into a nostalgia act, and it’s his own fault.

But then The War and Treaty came out and completely redefined “I’ll Be There for You.” This too was even better than the original. They turned it into something akin to a gospel number. Redefined it. Nobody knew who they were, but no one will forget their performance.

And then came the true rockers, from Bon Jovi’s neighborhood. And the disappointment began.

Mammoth WVH thrashed like Musicares performers of the past. Bludgeoned through “It’s My Life” and all you wanted to do was look away.

I will say Sammy Hagar bounced on stage with Orianthi and they blasted through “You Give Love a Bad Name,” but it was faithful to the original, and although it evidenced energy, they were competing with those who’d blown the roof off the place.

In other words, just when I thought this was the second best Musicares ever, the show went downhill.

Oh, number one? No one can top Aretha, ever! Kind of like Prince at the Super Bowl.

The assembled multitude, sans Etheridge, too momentous to play nice with others, did an ensemble version of “Livin’ on a Prayer” to end the evening, and Jon was smiling and everybody was hitting the notes, but all I could think about were Etheridge and Isbell. And The War and Treaty.

Now these industry events are clusterf*cks. Usually most people talk through the performances and leave early, no matter who is on stage. You don’t expect much. So I was gobsmacked by so many performances last night.

And that’s what they were, performances. Up close and personal in an industry environment where…everyone’s seen the trick, everyone is jaded, everyone knows stars, it’s hard to impress the crowd. But last night these acts did their jobs, as in they took the stage and gave it their all. I’m sophisticated enough to know that offstage they are almost never these people (excluding Steven Tyler, that’s who this cat really is, 24/7). But even if you can’t suspend disbelief, when the music is playing you let go, you’re caught up in it, you sing at the top of your lungs.

Speaking of which, when I sang the echo “wanted” during “Wanted Dead or Alive” David Bryan turned around and gave me a look…

So you had to be there.

Because these were once in a lifetime performances. And three were definitely worth seeing and will continue to be remembered. It’s nearly impossible to hit these heights, some people stop even trying. No one can perform at 11 every night, even though Springsteen tries. But when you give it your all and deliver that extra indefinable something…

That’s rock and roll.

Tune in Saturday February 3rd to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

Phone #: 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz

This is just about a number.

Don’t get your knickers in a twist. All this discussion about distribution overshadows the real story in the business today, which is the music itself.

We are in a crisis.

All the major media is focusing on the Grammy awards when in truth there should be touring awards. The business has flipped, completely. Now all the action, all the excitement, is in the live sector.

Used to be the live sector was dependent upon the labels to provide talent, to build it. Now the labels don’t even support their acts’ tours, they buy very few tickets. The acts are on their own. But even more interesting is the fact that so many of today’s acts are not signed to the three major label groups, and don’t need them whatsoever. Why give up AT LEAST fifty percent of your streaming revenues to your label when you can keep essentially all the money yourself. But the dirty little secret is for so many of these acts, the streaming income amounts to one extra show. So…

Recorded music is sexy. We love the bling, the stars. We’re eager for the new.

Then again, the big story this week is the Apple Vision Pro. When was the last time we had an act that was a great leap forward, that gained everybody’s attention? Music used to be the land of innovation, where the envelope was pushed, but the classic acts are usually superior to the vaunted acts of today. I can’t find one person in the business who feels the same way about boygenius as the press. Most can’t even listen to the album. Talk about a disconnect.

But there is one breakthrough story in music this year. And that is the Sphere. Quick, ask someone, ANYONE, if they know about the Sphere. And you will find out they do. The Sphere has penetrated the consciousness of America. And almost all of these people will tell you that U2 is the Sphere’s opening act. Why? Because the Sphere itself is sexy, a breakthrough far bigger than that of any acts putting out music this year. Come on, have you seen the graphics on the OUTSIDE of the Sphere? They were the highlight of Formula One in Vegas, far superior to the race itself. And as far as what’s inside… Talk to anybody who’s been to the show, no one is equivocal, absolutely everybody testifies. Many have been more than once. This is the excitement we used to see in the music itself!

I can’t tell you that the Sphere makes economic sense, but you’ve got to give credit to Jim Dolan, the most hated man in New York, for taking a risk, a very big risk. How is it that Jim Dolan is more of a visionary, is willing to risk more than any act plying the boards. Interesting, don’t you think? But that’s what happens when you think outside of the box, literally. That’s what we’re all hungry for, that which we cannot conceive of, that blows our minds.

TikTok is something different. TikTok is like the music itself. TikTok is selling humanity. It’s a reflection of American society. And the cognoscenti don’t like to look at it. Because they don’t like what they see. They want everybody to be like them, to turn off their devices and do what? All this banter about TikTok in D.C… Never have so many talked about something they know so little about. And in moribund D.C. they no longer legislate, they just hold grandstanding hearings. Mark Zuckerberg apologized yesterday, whoo-hoo! Are we going to see meaningful change? No. Then again, when will D.C. realize you don’t hamper, don’t change what already exists, you get out in front of it. Like Spotify.

Yes, Spotify gave the public what it did not know it wanted. All of the music for a low monthly sum, on demand. And if you wanted to kick the tires, you could even listen for free, albeit with ads and a few restrictions.

And Spotify saved the recorded music business. You may not know this, but believe me, Lucian Grainge does.

Got to give Lucian credit, unlike his predecessor, Doug Morris, he’s not trying to hold back innovation, he’s trying to harness it, go along for the ride, hopefully lead the pack. But the music industry has failed consistently when it comes to tech innovation. Because it’s a different mindset. How many musicians are great business people? That’s how many record executives are good techies.

But at least Lucian is willing to license the music.

And that’s what this TikTok fight is all about, licensing music.

But TikTok does not need the music. Sans the music, Spotify is dead. Music is Spotify’s engine, its heart. As a matter of fact, Spotify is trying to broaden its business to be less dependent on music, which does not scale financially for them.

But TikTok has a business without music. TikTok can survive completely without music. And the Chinese company knows it.

But Universal knows that when the most powerful social media outlet only represents 1% of its revenues, something is wrong. And Universal is right.

But techies have no respect for content. And isn’t it interesting, Hollywood was scooped and trumped by Netflix. Turns out that even Disney and Warner don’t know how to compete. Weren’t the big boys supposed to come in and teach Netflix a lesson? Well, that didn’t happen, now these old wave studios are licensing content to Netflix for the income. Turns out Netflix is forever, the big kahuna. As for the rest… Wait for the consolidation. And never forget that music has it much more together than streaming television. Pay a bit over ten dollars a month and you can get everything. Whereas streaming TV is Balkanized. And now there are ads, which was the big breakthrough of Netflix, no ads. And you can’t get everything for one low price, and you hate all the companies and players as much as you hated the cable company of yore. But you don’t hate Spotify.

And maybe you love Apple and Amazon, Spotify’s two biggest competitors. But let’s be clear, they don’t need music. It’s a zit on the ass of their business. And that’s not a good partner to have, one that does not need you.

And TikTok… It’s not only the heart and soul of America, but the world!

And TikTok is asking for heinous things. Right to use music in ads without permission, much more. I don’t believe ByteDance really thinks it can get all of this, it’s just a negotiating ploy, if they ask for everything, the final result will be closer to their desires.

So Universal pulled their music from TikTok. Did TikTok shut down? Do you see public blowback? Not yet.

But TikTok not only brought a Fleetwood Mac song back from obscurity, TikTok breaks acts. Not only Universal acts, but acts with no label at all!

Not being on TikTok hurts Universal, but once again, TikTok is not Universal’s only avenue of distribution, not only does it have Spotify, et al, it’s got YouTube and radio, but…

This is where the younger, impressionable generation is.

Universal needs TikTok, unfortunately more than TikTok needs it. So Universal wants to make a deal, just one more favorable to them.

And by not making a deal with Universal, TikTok’s image is tarnished. Government already hates the platform, and now it’s using its power to marginalize one of America’s major industries, entertainment? In an era where all the music is available to everyone?

And this is not like the auto strike. That shut the plants down, completely. Eventually the manufacturers caved, on very positive terms.

Ditto the writers and actors. Eventually a deal had to be made, without one there would be no production. (However, no production did help in the short run, for those with a backlog of product.)

But TikTok does not need Universal’s music to survive. As big as Universal is, it’s still got Sony and Warner, and even if it lost those two no one is preventing amateurs from coming up with new tunes on their computers and uploading it.

In other words, Universal has lost control of distribution. That was the major labels’ ace in the hole, the essence of their business model. They controlled the number one avenue of exhibition, i.e. radio, and an indie might be able to get a record in a retail store, but good luck getting paid.

A record store without records has to close. But not TikTok.

So it’s all about the number. Universal can’t stay out of this forever. It’s not like there’s an alternative, although Instagram’s Reels has turned out to be great competition for TikTok.

But, once again, this battle is a sideshow, taking eyeballs off the main issue, which is the music itself.

Distribution is easy to understand. We argued about it for a decade. We heard people would never pay for music again, that turned out to be untrue. That the major labels would sink, that proved to be untrue if for no other reason than their catalogs.

TikTok has a vaster audience than Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, the Beatles and the Eagles. That’s the outlet’s power, which is humongous.

But it’s not only TikTok, look at Apple. Some of the world’s most powerful content companies are railing against the App Store changes in Europe. Which are an improvement, but not anywhere near as much as they thought it would be, and want.

And in myopic America, we think it’s all about America. The EU is stepping up for Ukraine, and when it comes to business regulation, the EU is far out in front of the U.S.A.

But you can’t say that, because no one in America wants to believe they’re inferior in any way, U.S.A, U.S.A!

So if you’re focused on this TikTok/Universal kerfuffle, you’re missing the point. You’re focused on the battle instead of the war.

It’s hard to come up with innovative music. And it’s harder to quantify. Which is why everybody talks about these business and tech issues.

But music runs on that, music. That’s the lifeblood of the music industry, not Universal, Spotify or TikTok. It’s all about the fuel. And we’ve got more fuel than ever before, but if you want to know which way the wind blows, you don’t listen to a record.

And there are many causes. The young and impressionable have been overloaded with imitative dreck, what would inspire them to create a breakthrough?

And income inequality is so bad and the odds of creative success so low that the best and the brightest don’t go into music creation, it’s too risky.

And as great as Morgan Wallen is, there’s no artistic breakthrough there. As for Swiftmania, you very rarely hear about the music itself. Great business stories, but don’t confuse this with the Talking Heads, who couldn’t sell out stadiums but showed that what was in your mind, your conception, was more important than your looks.

MTV made music about the trappings. That has faded in the twenty first century, and there are all those acts that can sell tickets who don’t stream in prodigious numbers.

But if you want to know what is going on in the music business, call Michael Rapino, not Lucian Grainge. Want to know what is happening? Talk to your local promoter/booker, you’ll be surprised what is selling tickets.

But we’re still looking for that one breakthrough act that will lift all boats, that will gain our attention and inspire others to follow them.

But for now, we’ll go to the Sphere.

But we’re waiting for what’s inside the building to be just as exciting as the Sphere itself. It will happen, could take decades, we never got a new Beatles, but that’s where our focus should be, not on a negotiation between titans who will come to an agreement that will be quickly forgotten.