Pitchfork

Photos by Kathryn Yu, words by Amanda Petrusich ABOVE: MY MORNING JACKET

Much like the film itself, the soundtrack to I'm Not There, Todd Haynes' already infamous Bob Dylan biopic (featuring an eclectic mess of actors in the lead role, from Cate Blanchett to Richard Gere to 11-year-old Marcus Carl Franklin) is a compelling, occasionally perplexing collection of interpretations of Dylan's work. Last night at New York's Beacon Theatre, a bunch of soundtrack contributors banded together to perform songs from the film, as a benefit for Dave Eggers' 826 National organization.

YO LA TENGO


Mercifully, talk of "the genius of the work" was kept to a dignified minimum, and the acts that stayed playful were the ones that soared. Collaborations abounded: Calexico teamed up with My Morning Jacket's Jim James ("Goin' to Acapulco"), Mark Lanegan ("Man in the Long Black Coat"), and Joe Henry ("Senor [Tales of Yankee Power]"), while Lee Ranaldo's Million Dollar Bashers (named after a track off of The Basement Tapes, and featuring J. Mascis on guitar) ran through four different vocalists (Ranaldo, Mascis, Henry, and Chris Bailey). Ranaldo also performed with White Magic's Mira Billotte.

JIM JAMES with CALEXICO

Gomez delivered a teasing rendition of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (introduced by an oddly hirsute, gum-smacking Heath Ledger) embraced Dylan's more absurdist tendencies: Sharpe, wearing no shirt (and, I dare say, no underpants) stared blankly while sound engineers attempted to plug in a guitar, pausing to hug his giggling bandmate, telling jokes ("What do you call a Mexican with a prosthetic toe? Roberto!"), and readjusting his snare drum before launching into a shockingly coherent take on "All I Really Want to Do".

LEE RANALDO AND THE MILLION DOLLAR BASHERS (FEATURING J MASCIS)

Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks shuffled through "Subterranean Homesick Blues"; Hicks had to slip on his glasses and read lyrics from a print-out, but his choreographed, walking-in-place moves with his backing dancers (two women in sparkly black dresses and sunglasses, one wearing a purse) were stupidly charming. Yo La Tengo rolled out "Fourth Time Around" (with Georgia Hubley singing lead) and "She's Your Lover Now" with Buckwheat Zydeco on organ. Mason Jennings strummed and mewed "The Times They Are A-Changin'".

Notably missing was Cat Power, who was billed as playing the show, but was nowhere to be found. No reason has been given for her absence. UPDATE: She apparently canceled weeks ago. Michelle Shocked also couldn't make the show, due to a missed flight.

THE ROOTS

Unsurprisingly, the night culminated in a horrifying "all-star" rendition of "All Along the Watchtower", featuring members of Calexico, the Roots, and Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, as well as Ranaldo, Mascis, John Doe, Joe Henry, Mason Jennings, Al Kooper, and more. There were two drummers, four guitarists, two trumpets, three dancers, tuba, bass, organ, violin, six vocalists, and a couple dudes in the back clapping their hands.

But the ticket price was justified by performances from My Morning Jacket, who did "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" (I'm Not There director Haynes, who periodically popped out in between songs, could only respond with "Wow") and the Roots, whose "Masters of War" was both chilling and ecstatic. Rapturous Dylan idolatry is not a particularly new or interesting phenomenon, but I'm Not There's pairings were weird enough to keep all eyes focused for twenty-four songs.

GROUP SING-A-LONG


J MASCIS

MIRA BILLOTTE with LEE RANALDO

JOE HENRY with CALEXICO

MARK LANEGAN with CALEXICO

CALEXICO

MARCUS CARL FRANKLIN

AL KOOPER

THE MAGNETIC ZEROES

JOHN DOE

DAN HICKS

TIFT MERRITT

MASON JENNINGS

GOMEZ