Nigel Goes Solo Bush Telegraph vol 2, issue 2 by Annika I don’t know about you, but I have trouble picturing any of the Bushmen playing a gig alone. Maybe it’s because they go so well together as a band, or because I’m so used to seeing them play show after show with each other. Either way, playing apart from the rest of the band members can be a good experience for any musician; it’s a good way for them to define their own style and branch out from the style of their own band. Nigel has taken the initiative to do this. He has recorded guitar music John Cale and other performers at the Tibet House Benefit Concert last March. Though many Bush fans have heard about this show, not many have very much information on it or know what took place. Luckily enough, I’m here to enlighten everyone and provide the info on Nigel. It’s March 9, 1998, the sixth annual Tibet House Benefit Concert, Carnegie Hall. Next to me, a girl is using a cellular phone to telephone her friend while Live is plays onstage. She’s in the process of yelling ‘Can you hear them?!! Can you hear them?!!” and receiving some very dirty looks I might add. It doesn’t bother me and I’m laughing because I wish I had brought a phone. I’m sure that her friend must have heard them, because there was no way they could legally be playing any louder. It was great was great , and a little while later, Nigel came onstage with John Cale and members of the Velvet Underground, who introduced him as “Nigel from Bush.” I was like “duhhhh,” but I suppose there were some people in the audience who didn’t recognize Nigel, sad as that may be. He looked exactly the same as he always does, and STILL hasn’t shaved the goatee off, no matter how much some of us may want him to.... but anyways, that stuff doesn’t matter, because his music is what’s really important. Nigel jammed on stage with a host of stars including Philip Glass, Patti Smith, Natlie Merchant, Caetano Veloso, Angelique Kidjo, Sherly Crow, Ed Kowalcyzk, John Cale, and Tibetan Monks. Patti Smith read a few Allen Ginsberg poems, which reminded me of Bush, because they (or at least, Gavin) like Ginsberg and used lines From “Howl” in Machinehead. Before he died, Ginsberg was always a part of Tibet House Benefits. Patti Smith read his poetry and talked to the audience about him. She said that everyone missed his presence backstage, where he would always be calmly eating his macrobiotic rice and watching the other performers. The concert was a celebration of the Tibetan New Year, and it was opened with chanting from the monks (not form Nigel... although that would have been interesting). Nigel demonstrated his skills during guitar solos whole playing with John Cale, and maybe I’m just biased but I think that everyone was looking at him in awe. If not everyone, I definitely was... someone had to reach over and put my jaw back into place when he was finished! It was really interesting to see just Nigel playing without the rest of the band. He played so well with everyone there, especially John Cale. After the concert (yes there’s more), there was a dinner buffet party at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, where I was sitting at a table, innocently drinking my glass of coke, when who walks in but Nigel himself! It was tough, but I managed to restrain myself, although I do think that I scared the people around me when I shouted “Oh my God!!” I guess they’re not used to us die hard Bush fans. I got up and managed to stand *ahem* two feet from Nigel, where he was having a conversation, smoking, and drinking a Heineken. Although I couldn’t really make out everything they were saying, I heard “the States” and over. Anyways, later in, Nigel sat down at a table with his wife, Judith, and two other people. I went over and tapped him on the shoulder, and I got a picture of both of them. Now he’s going to read this article and think I’m the biggest idiot, but I’d just like to let everyone know that he looked happy and it was great that he played a concert for a good cause. Peace, Annika