The Rock and Roll Hall of fame inducted its 27th class on Saturday night at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland. While there were a number of absences among the honorees and the show ran 5-1/2 hours, most reviewers said it was one of the most entertaining of the last few years.
No shows included Rod Stewart, who was ill, and Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, who has been battling cancer and was assumed to be ill, along with Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin and Dizzy Reed from Guns N' Roses and John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
That didn't stop the music from flowing from the stage as, for the night, Guns N' Roses was made up of Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge, Slash, Gilby Clarke, Matt Sorum and Steven Adler. There was also and audible backlash from the crowd on Rose's decision not to attend with boos and cries of "F**k Axl."
For the Faces, it was almost business as usual as the band flew in their current lead, Mick Hucknall (Simply Red), to perform in place of Stewart. Meanwhile, the Beastie Boys didn't perform with Yauch, so their music was done by Roots with Kid Rock and Travie McCoy from the Gym Class Heroes.
The show will be broadcast in a 2-1/2 hour version on HBO starting on Saturday, May 5.
The performance list:
Letterbomb - Green Day
Freddie King induction (Billy Gibbons & Dusty Hill (ZZ Top), accepted by King's daughter, Wanda)
Hideaway - Billy Gibbons & Dusty Hill (ZZ Top), Derek Trucks, Joe Bonamassa
Goin' Down - Billy Gibbons & Dusty Hill (ZZ Top), Derek Trucks, Joe Bonamassa
Donovan induction (John Mellencamp)
Catch the Wind - Donovan
Sunshine Superman - Donovan
Season of the Witch - Donovan and John Mellencamp
Laura Nyro induction (Bette Midler)
Stoney End - Sara Bareilles
Don Kirshner induction (Carole King)
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - Darlene Love
Faces/Small Faces induction (Steven Van Zandt)
All or Nothing - Faces (with Mick Hucknall)
Ooh La La - Faces (with Mick Hucknall)
Stay With Me - Faces (with Mick Hucknall)
Blue Caps, Comets, Crickets, Famous Flames, Midnighters and Miracles inductions (Smokey Robinson)
Beastie Boys induction (Chuck D (Public Enemy) & LL Cool J)
Sabotage/No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn/So What'cha Want - Roots, Kid Rock, Travie McCoy (Gym Class Heroes)
Guns N' Roses induction (Green Day)
Mr. Brownstone - Guns N' Roses (with Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge) and Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day))
Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses (with Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge))
Paradise City - Guns N' Roses (with Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge))
Cosimo Matassa, Glyn Jones & Tom Dowd induction (Robbie Robertson)
Red Hot Chili Peppers induction (Chris Rock)
By the Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers (with Cliff Martinez and Jack Irons)
In Memorium
At Last - Ledisi
Finale
Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ronnie Wood, Kenny Jones, Billie Joe Armstrong, Slash, George Clinton, Michael Hampton (Funkadelic)
