“Love You Madly: A Concert for John O’Brien” took place at the House of Blues, on Jan. 12. The tribute consisted of The Forest Rangers, Fishbone, Tom Morello and The Freedom Fighters Orchestra, Stephen Stills, Sheryl Crow, Maroon 5 and Velvet Revolver.
The ten-piece band of Forest Rangers opened the show. Each song had a different singer including multi-talented Katey Sagal (“Married With Children” and “Sons of Anarchy”) and Curtis Stigers. Stigers sang and held up a “Sons of Anarchy” jacket and the crowd went rowdy. Dave Kushner played guitar for them and Velvet Revolver.
Fishbone appeared on stage, next. Angelo Moore had the crowd participate with him on every song. He had everyone chant, “Everyday Sunshine”, throughout the first song. He wore a Fishbone jumpsuit and sported a tattoo on the top of his head, which came down to his forehead. He danced around the stage as if the Holy Spirit was in him. As he introduced everyone in the band, he said “John O’Brien” at the end of each name.
Tom Morello performed, shortly after. He played a hand drum, played the harmonica, and sang. Then, The Freedom Fighters Orchestra appeared on stage. His guitar was baby blue, had white clouds, “Arm the Homeless” was written on it and his guitar strings waved back and forth like a mature anemone on a coral. The band played a small portion of Rage Against The Machine’s “Testify” and the crowd roared. He also covered Bruce Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad”.
A very special performance by Stephen Stills, followed. Sheryl Crow quickly walked behind him. Stills performed a cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What Its Worth”. The crowd sang along with the chorus. After the performance, he stayed on stage and played the guitar with Sheryl Crow. She performed the songs “Everyday Is A Winding Road” and “If It Makes You Happy”.
Before Maroon 5 appeared on stage, Dave Kushner thanked the performers, everyone in attendance and the sponsors. Maroon 5 appeared on stage and they performed two songs, “Harder to Breathe” and “Sunday Morning”.
Lastly, Velvet Revolver performed for the audience. It had been awhile since Scott Weiland performed with the band. They didn’t miss a single beat. They performed a few songs from their library including “Slither”. They also performed a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” and dedicated it to the memory of John O’Brien.
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