John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band: Live in Toronto '69

Studio: Wienerworld Ltd, DVD Release Date: 20 Jul 2009

This 1969 concert brought John, Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band with famed guitarist Eric Clapton and renowned musicians Klaus Voorman (bass) and Alan White (drums) to Toronto's Sweet Toronto Peace Festival—introducing Yoko to the heroes of her husband's childhood: Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Captured on film by D.A. Pennebaker, this is Lennon's only filmed performance with the Plastic Ono Band.

BBFC's Terry Bloxham brings us this review:

This re-issued DVD opens with a short interview with Yoko in 1988 talking about her exhibition of John's drawings and neon light boxes at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. Yoko recalls how she and John met at the Indica Gallery in 1966, and how John in his later years had an ambition to make a one man show. This exhibition represents the one man show Yoko feels John would have wanted.

Yoko also recalled how she had an image of a new band made up of boxes on a stage. John then made some figurines out of plastic in the shape of boxes, stuck them to what Yoko thinks was a cassette and said this is the "Plastic Ono Band".

After the interview, the DVD features footage of John and Yoko travelling by limo to their September 13th 1969 benefit concert in Toronto.

The concert, starting in the afternoon, features Bo Diddley, singing "Hey Bo Diddley" intersecting with images of John and Yoko's limo on the road to the venue accompanied by a number of bikers. On arrival john and Yoko can be seen backstage with Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. John was keen to introduce Yoko to these idols of his. Meanwhile, Bo Diddley is playing a very dynamic rift over and over, demonstrating what a great musician he was.

Jerry Lee Lewis, appears singing the Elvis Presley classic Hound Dog, including the famous foot on the piano routine.

A superb Chuck Berry then performs Johnnie B Goode and includes the famous "duck walk" in the performance. The guitar playing here is superb, and it is a shame that only one track for each of these artists is included as their set was much longer.

From the afternoon, we switch to a night scene and the song Lucille sung by Little Richard, including some great sax solos.

There clearly was a huge gap here between Chuck Berry and Little Richard and wonder if the film could have been made better with more footage of these idols of John.

At last John appears and tells the audience the band have never played together before and opens his set (written on a sheet of paper held by Yoko) with Blue Suede Shoes.

Eric Clapton, with cigarette in mouth, looks more together than he did at George's "Bangladesh" concert 2 years later.

The band is completed by old Beatle buddy Klaus Voorman on bass and Alan White on drums.

John, with a full beard, wearing a white suit and seemingly relaxed, watches as Yoko gets into a bag on stage.

Money and Dizzy Miss Lizzie follow. However, some of John's chat in between the numbers, heard on the subsequent album release in December 1969, are sadly missing here.

Yoko then emerges from the bag as John launches himself into Yer Blues. Yoko's vocals are more evident on this DVD than on the CD release.

Next is "Cold Turkey"—a track only just released at the time. The concert version has a much more refined beginning and the song is obviously so new that John has to read the lyrics from a piece of paper held in front of him by Yoko, sometimes singing the wrong lyric.

Finally after some dialogue Give Peace a Chance closes the first half of the Plastic Ono Band show.

Then John announces "Now Yoko's gonna do her thing all over you".

We are then treated to 14 minutes of Yoko's howling into a microphone the two tracks, Don't Worry Kyoko (mummy's only looking for a hand in the snow), and John, John, Let's Hope For Peace.

Between the tracks John and Yoko exchange a kiss, a sign that John is grateful that Yoko is there with him.

During the final track, John takes his guitar to the amp to get "feedback", and starts to swing it too and fro, while Eric rubs the neck of his guitar, eventually taking his guitar and leaning it against an amp.

While the guitars sit at the amps taking feedback, John dances rock'n'roll style behind Yoko. However a few minutes later, John stands behind Yoko with arms folded and whispers something into her ear (possibly to end her 'song' as Eric Clapton can clearly be seen looking at John Lennon with a look of horror on his face during Yoko's caterwauling.

Yoko continues for another 3 minutes or so, as the band leave the stage, all 3 guitars now up against amplifiers getting feedback.

The total DVD running time is 56 minutes, but this could be a much better production with the inclusion of more of the earlier acts, who must have performed some great stuff which we have yet to see, in this or any of the previously released versions of this great concert. Saying that, this is a superb opportunity to see some rather rare footage of John performing live without the Beatles. Well worth it at the price.

-- Terry Bloxham

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