Concert Review: Revenge Of The Bookeaters

It was packed house last night at the legendary Beacon Theater for the Revenge of the Bookeaters show, a benefit concert for the 826NYC program. Knowing a little about the program going in, I was blown away at the enthusiasm and celebrity support for this non-profit, whose main agenda is helping kids ages 6 to 18 with their creative writing skills. They do a lot of tutoring, programs that help teachers teach good writing and even do a summer filmmakng workshop. The acoustic show was hosted by comedian Demetri Martin, the hilaroius writer best known for his work on The Daily Show. A.C. Newman, the frontman for the New Pornographers, kicked off the show with some of his solo work. He was followed by Brooklyn's own Grizzly Bear, Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Feist and Britt Daniel of Spoon fame.

There's nothing an indie artist loves more than the chance to collaborate with other indie artists. And to do it acoustically, in a setting where there's relatively low pressure to play their hits (such as a benefit show) is basically a dream come true. That's why I was so sure that this show was going to annoy the hell out of me. But each artist seemed genuinely honored to be a part of the event and the amount of "sadness for an unrequitted love and/or unrealized dreams" themed songs were kept at a minimum. Jim James moved the crowd the most with his powerful and emotional vocals on four songs. Llikewise, Feist's perfectly pristine voice on a slow piano tune resonated in the amazing sound quality of the Beacon and seemed like it could be a hit off the sountrack in Heaven.

Toward the end, Sarah Vowell, mostly known for her monologues on the the public radio program This American Life and who also sits on the 826NYC Board of Directors, spoke about the importance of encouraging creativity and even showed a few highly-entertaining trailers from the Filmmakers workshops, completely put together by kids. But a sure highlight of the night was when Feist read aloud two short stories written by second-graders. They were so ridiculously awesome that the audience didn't stop laughing the entire time. Another sure highlight of the night seemed out of place with the vibe of the show, but was fun nonetheless. One ungracious audience member started an ongoing fued with Martin, who was telling jokes while each band set up, by shouting loudly, We don't want to hear you, we want to hear the bands!" The audience booed wildly and Martin quipped, "Just so you know asshole, they're not booing me, they're booing you...for being a fucking dick at a benefit concert." But hey, it's for the kids.