Lenny Kaye and Friends at the Bowery Ballroom / February 27, 2022

Lenny Kaye intended to celebrate his 75th birthday on December 27 by sharing the stage at the Bowery Ballroom with some of his musician friends. Omicron interfered, however, and so on that night Kaye joined singer/songwriter Tom Clark in a live steam from Clark’s apartment. The larger public event happened exactly two months later, on February 27.

Billed as Lenny Kaye and Friends, the local community speculated even after entering the building as to who Kaye’s guests would be. Kaye has been an integral part of the New York music scene for more than 50 years. He has a lot of friends.

Much like his main employer, Patti Smith, Kaye started the evening with a reading, this one from the introduction of his most recent book, Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments in Rock and Roll, published on October 14, 2021. Moments later, Kaye’s colleagues from Smith’s band, bassist Tony Shanahan, drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, and guitarist Jack Petruzzelli, joined Kaye on stage and became the house band for the night. Kaye led them through a couple of songs before welcoming his marquee guests on stage.

Kaye introduced Smith as the person with whom he has worked for two-thirds of his life. Smith mentioned that she and Kaye were born five days apart. Smith led the band in a mini-set that referenced current events with an English translation of the Ukrainian national anthem and her set-closing political message, “People Have the Power.” Smith’s daughter, Jesse Paris Smith, brought Kaye a birthday cake with candles to the center stage and Patti led an audience sing-along of “Happy Birthday to You.”

Kaye and Tom Clark of Tom Clark & the High Action Boys sang a mini-set of duets, including an acoustic medley of vintage doo-wop songs. Kevn Kinney of Drivin’ N Cryin’ led a mini-set of rocking songs from his repertoire. Dina Regine shared vocals with Kaye on one song. James Mastro of the Bongos, Ian Hunter & the Rave Band, and Mott the Hoople 74 played guitar late in the set.

Lenny Kaye and Friends covered songs by Dylan, John Prine, Burt Bacharach, Love, Johnny Thunders, the Velvet Underground, and lesser known music artists. Kaye even sang his 1966 debut recording, when he went under the pseudonym of Link Cromwell. The main set ended with a cover of Them’s “Gloria” featuring all of Kaye’s guests except Smith.

Lenny Kaye & Friends’ birthday bash succeeded in generating fun equally for the musicians and audience. The music was more than fine and, more importantly, the overall vibe throughout the night was highly celebratory. Hopefully Kaye’s birthday concert will become an annual event.

Setlist

1. A reading from the introduction of Lightning Striking
2. World Book Night
3. The Things You Leave Behind
4. Boots of Spanish Leather (Bob Dylan cover, performed by Patti Smith and Her Band)
5. Ghost Dance (Patti Smith Group song, performed by Patti Smith and Her Band)
6. State of the Ukraine (English translation of the Ukrainian national anthem, with Patti Smith on lead vocals)
7. People Have the Power (Patti Smith cover, performed by Patti Smith and Her Band)
8. Happy Birthday to You (Mildred J. Hill & Patty Hill cover, with Patti Smith on lead vocals)
9. Riding the Avenue (Slaves of New Brunswick cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band)
10. No Jestering (Carl Malcolm cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band)
11. Crazy Like a Fox (Link Cromwell song, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band)
12. Going Local (performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band)
13. Love of the Common People (The Four Preps cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band)
14. Every Time I Hear a Country Song (performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band)
15. If You Don’t Want My Love (John Prine cover, performed by Lenny Kaye and Tom Clark)
16. The Great Atomic Power (The Louvin Brothers cover, performed by Lenny Kaye and Tom Clark)
17. A reading from the “Philadelphia 1959” chapter of Lightning Striking
18. Medley:
    1. A Teenager in Love (Dion & the Belmonts cover, performed by Lenny Kaye and Tom Clark)
    2. Coney Island Baby (The Excellents cover, performed by Lenny Kaye and Tom Clark)
    3. I Was a Fool (The Impalas cover, performed by Lenny Kaye and Tom Clark)
    4. Bristol Stomp (The Dovells cover, performed by Lenny Kaye and Tom Clark)
    5. Every Day of the Week (The Students cover, performed by Lenny Kaye and Tom Clark)
    6. A Teenager in Love (reprise, Dion & the Belmonts cover, performed by Lenny Kaye and Tom Clark)
19. Naked as the Day You Were Born (The Weather Prophets cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band)
20. Medley: 
    1. My Little Red Book (Burt Bacharach cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band)
    2. 7 and 7 Is (Love cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band)
21. In Time (Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ cover, with Kevn Kinney on lead vocals)
22. Underground Umbrella (Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ cover, with snippets of  the Who’s “Love Reign O’er Me” and “The Real Me,” with Kevn Kinney on lead vocals)
23. Straight to Hell (Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ cover, with Kevn Kinney on lead vocals)
24. You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory (Johnny Thunders cover, performed by Lenny Kaye and Dina Regine with the house band)
25. Medley: 
    1. Rock & Roll (The Velvet Underground cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band with Tony Shanahan on lead vocals and James Mastro on guitar)
    2. I’m Waiting for the Man (The Velvet Underground cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band and James Mastro on guitar) 
    3. White Light/White Heat (The Velvet Underground cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band with Jack Petruzzelli  on lead vocals and James Mastro on guitar)
26. Gloria (Them cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band, Tom Clark, Kevn Kinney, James Mastro and Dina Regine; including Kaye reading from the “Aftermath” chapter in Lightning Striking)

Encore

Night Time (The Strangeloves cover, performed by Lenny Kaye with the house band and James Mastro on guitar)