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Yoko Ono Honored by Eric Clapton, Paul Simon and More in New York

Yoko OnoDue to a malfunctioning microphone, Yoko Ono stood momentarily mute Tuesday night at New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music, mouthing inaudible cackles while her son, Sean Lennon, sloshed with Eric Clapton through a mean and muddy version of the Beatles' 'Yer Blues.'

Without hesitation, a stagehand rushed from the wings and handed Ono a working microphone, allowing her feral shrieks to compete with Slowhand's expert riffing.

On any other night, that stagehand might have risked boos and lobbed bottles. Not on Tuesday, however, as an incongruous bunch of musicians joined forces for 'We Are Plastic Ono Band,' a loving tribute to Ono and her various artistic achievements.

The performance featured everyone from Sonic Youth principals Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore -- whose dual-guitar take on 'Mulberry' evoked the World War II air-raid drill Ono said inspired the song -- to Bette Midler, who vamped it up on a flirty, jazzy 'Yes, I'm Your Angel.'

Paul Simon and son Harper sang a pair of duets, including a tender 'Hold On,' from 1970's 'John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band' album, while alt-rock mainstay Gene Ween joined Sean Lennon -- the evening's musical director -- for a spot-on 'Oh Yoko,' another highlight from John's solo catalog.

The drag-queen torch singer and performance artist Justin Bond got hammy on 'What a Bastard the World Is,' switching back and forth between his male and female voice, acting out a scoundrel's attempts to win back his woman. Scissor Sisters singers Jake Shears and Ana Matronic, meanwhile, presided over a funky 'The Sun Is Down,' sashaying like Wham in the 'Wake Me Up Before You Go Go' video.

The show was split into two acts, the first of which centered more on Ono, who turns 77 tomorrow, than special guests. The artist -- "singer" isn't quite the word -- offered up plenty of her patented oscillating high-pitched mating-call vocals, transforming the placid likes of 'Rising' into nightmarish lullabies.

As a short film that prefaced the concert emphasized, such fearlessness has long defined Ono's art. Whether painting or protesting, cutting disco-funk records or making movies of mosquitoes walking across her naked body, she's always pushed audiences to put aside comfort and view the world from novel angles.

While some critics -- particularly those operating under the misconception she broke up the Beatles -- are dubious of Ono's talent, the musicians on hand for 'We Are Plastic Ono Band' have long since swilled the Kool-Aid.

The entire cast took the stage for an encore rendition of 'Give Peace a Chance,' a slapdash version whose new Ono-penned lyrics were inspired by the morning's newspaper headlines. The number had barely been rehearsed -- at a run-through the night before, the ensemble played in a different key -- and Ono must have known there was a chance the whole thing would fall apart.

Naturally, she did it anyway.

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Pball

Oh well another Yoko sighting. What can you say, the woman is a joke. Along with Ringo she is one of the luckiest people on earth. I do not see anything close to art regarding anything she has done. Granted she is a very good business person although it stops there. My hats are off to Clapton and the other musicians that have enough class to do the right thing for their late friend John Lennon. Yoko was the worst thing that ever happened to John Lennon and the music world.....Go away and take all of Johns money and shove it..His son Julian is the one who should be taken care of. Why can't you do the same thing and the guys did for you and give him and the Lennon family their due tribute.......

August 07 2010 at 5:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ALSON TAYLOR

Yoko is like a fly.
She is the worm
on the dungheap.
Fly, Yoko, Fly.

I can only hope that she doesn't use my lyrics for an upcoming album.

June 24 2010 at 6:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ALSON TAYLOR

Well, now I know. Yoko has talent or at least tremendous pull in the music industry. I think that she would have made a great subject for a Beatles song parodying greed disquised as love. I bet that she will survive them all. She is the worm at the top of the dung pile.

June 24 2010 at 6:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mike squillante

I also believe yoko has no voice a lot of noise. But John they say love is blind. Luv your music and songwriting and it will always live on!!!

April 24 2010 at 5:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Rhonda

An interview quote from John..

"For all you folks out there who think I'm having the wool pulled over my eyes, well, that's an insult to me. But if you think you know me, or have some part of me because of the music, and then you think I'm being contolled like a dog on a leash because I do things with her, then screw you brother or sister. You don't know what's happening. I'm not here for you. I'm here for me and her, and now the baby."

March 04 2010 at 1:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Rhonda's comment
mike squillante

I agree about okos' voice she has none john would have been better off without her Love you always John though oko was a mistake! your music will live on!!!!

April 24 2010 at 5:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Margo

Yoko has no talent, none what so ever. She can't sing. Roseanne has her beat by a long shot. She's also a home wrecker lest we forget. She could take a donut and put a sign on it and say "Empty", and the nuts of the world would exclaim she was a genius! Instead of a fruitcake with no talent that just cost a cop his brunch.

March 04 2010 at 1:58 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jennifer Presto

This reminds me of when I saw Ono's art exhibit at the the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston. There was this white step ladder she created. When you arrived at the top step you could peer through a magnifying glass to see a single word- that word is what is said to have inspired John Lennon to seek out its author and meet her for the first time- that word was "Yes." That was the most inspirational piece of art I've ever seen.

February 19 2010 at 9:35 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply