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Christopher Guest - actor, director, writer, musician, and Grammy-winning composer - stood solemn in his academic regalia on Friday night as a packed Berklee Performance Center crowd gave him a standing ovation. Looking every part the dignified scholar, Berklee's newest Honorary Doctorate of Music recipient nodded to the crowd.
Then he raised his hand, made devil's horns, and got down to business. Guest told a story of a young boy, one who grew up in the Midwest playing his fingers raw on a guitar fashioned from a refrigerator box and tennis racket strings.
"That boy wasn't me. But he's doing very well," Guest said. "He's not actually a musician. He works at a Tastee Freeze in Cleveland, Ohio. And he's very bitter. But that's another story."
Guest's appearance at Berklee similarly showcased a less-recognized side of the artist's long career. Widely known for his comedy chops, improv, and mockumentary antics, Guest was honored Friday for the musical skills that have served as the foundation of his performing arts career. As noted by both those present in the auditorium and others, such as Steve Vai, Elvis Costello, and Tom Hamilton, through video remarks, Guest's sophisticated, nuanced musical skills are worthy of praise, with or without the wickedly wry lyricism that often comes with the instrumentation.
"These Go to 11: Christopher Guest Meets Berklee" presented Guest and his fanbase with interpretations of the music that spanned Guest's cinematic career. For the two-hour celebration, Berklee students and faculty joined Guest to guide their audience through a 15-song program that began and ended with Guest's 1984 rock mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, allowing for stops at A Mighty Wind and Waiting for Guffman along the way.
"I've been fortunate," Guest said shortly before he and the Berklee assemblage burst into a raucous, head-banging version of "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight." "I get to write films. I get to write music in films. I get to play arenas wearing a wig."
Read the full review after the jump! Photo of Christopher Guest used with permission by Tinnitus Photography.
Berklee interpretations ranged from faithful (a spot-on rendition of A Mighty Wind trio The Folksmen's "Old Joe's Place," complete to Guest's warbled "Weeeeeell") to bravely innovative (a rich, Latin-fused instrumental rendition of "Skeletons of Quinto," featuring solos from faculty member Jim Kelly and staffer Jim Odgren on electric guitar and saxophone, respectively). Berklee students Grace Taylor and Kevin Ross delivered a poignant soul-and-Broadway take on Guest's Waiting for Guffman duet "A Penny for Your Thoughts," a chilling rendition made all the more impressive by the fact that the audience had taken in a videotaped verison of Elvis Costello singing the same song just a short time before. Berklee student Rebecca Muir even managed to steal the spotlight from the honored guest for several moments, as she led the Berklee band in a rocking version of "Gimme Some Money" that turned many heads - Guest's included.
The man of the occasion lent his voice, mandolin, or guitar to a majority of the evening's material, but the program also allowed him opportunity to sit back and take in the music as an observer. Given the number of times many in the seats on Friday had watched Guest's work over the years, there was a charm to seeing the performer put into an audience role - an experience made all the better by the smiles and utterances of "wow" that came to his lips.
Guest returned to his place in the spotlight to close out the night in rock god fashion: switching between electric guitar and mandolin for the epic "Stonehenge" and blasting through "Hell Hole" before inviting an army of bassists to flood the aisles of the prestigious music school for the swaggering, raunchy "Big Bottom."
As Berklee President Roger Brown pounded on the drums, students in sunglasses thrashed on their basses, and audience members rocked out - including Guest's wife, Jamie Lee Curtis - to lyrics such as "my love gun's loaded and she's in my sights," it was clear Friday that the crowd and Guest were happily laughing together over a revelation.
Nigel Tufnel is now officially, undeniably legit.
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