"And now a couple of numbers from Leon..."

Sorry folks who don't already have tickets--the Leon Russell (www.leonrussellrecords.com) show is sold out! You snooze, you lose.

That said, I was digging Leon in the Concert for Bangladesh the other day--and noticed that not only does he do his show-grabbin' rendition of Jumpin' Jack Flash & Young Blood (introduced by George Harrison with "And now a couple of numbers from Leon," or words to that effect), but he plays bass backing Bob Dylan during his set. The other supporting player during Bob's time is the Silent Beatle. So it was Bobby, George and Leon. Well, alright!

Leon also sings a line in George Harrison's Beware of Darkness tune, and generally is on the screen about 80% of the time.

The Concert for Bangladesh, as you may know, was recently released in DVD format--and my good friend and Narrows' president Patrick Norton graciously loaned me his copy. Although I had heard the record, I've never seen the movie. So the DVD was an eye-opener for your humble blogger.

By the way, Ringo Starr looks great during the concert--but clearly forgets the lyrics during It Don't Come Easy. The 5th Beatle, Billy Preston, seems damn happy during the show; too bad the next 35 years would be chock full of hassles for him. A couple of guys in Badfinger, part of the backing group of musicians, committed suicide. Ravi Shankar had a daughter, the chanteuse Norah Jones. The smirking Eric Clapton, who looks like he's phoning in his performance, of course went on to even greater heights--though he lost a young son through a terrible accident. Interesting side-note: Klaus Voorman, who designed the Beatles' Revolver album cover, plays bass during much of the concert. Klaus goes back to the Fab 4's Hamburg days. He's getting close to 70 now. Even Leon isn't that old!

If you're coming to the Leon Russell show at the Narrows you might want to pick up the Concert for Bangladesh first. You'll be reminded, like I was, how fortunate we are to have him come and play.