John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band, Live In Toronto ’69 DVD

By Less Lee Moore

“It gave me a great feeling, a feeling I haven’t had for a long time. It convinced me to do more appearances, either with or without the rest of the Beatles. Everything went down so well.”
—John Lennon, as quoted on the Ottawa Beatles Site

In September of 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono hastily cobbled a band together to perform at the Toronto Rock And Roll Revival concert. It included Klaus Voorman, Eric Clapton, and Alan White. The event was recorded and filmed by D.A. Pennebaker, who had also filmed Bob Dylan’s Don’t Look Back and the Monterey Pop Festival.

The soundtrack was released as Live Peace in Toronto 1969, while the video portion was intended to be released as Sweet Toronto, whittling the twelve hours of concert time down to a little less than an hour. However, the movie was never released and remained unseen until Showtime aired it in the 1980s; eventually it was released on VHS. Now Shout! Factory has reissued it on DVD as Live In Toronto ’69. This DVD also includes a short interview with Yoko Ono from 1988, explaining the origins of the band’s name.

It’s an incredibly fascinating look at a pivotal moment in not just Beatles history, but in rock and roll history as well, since this was the concert that proved to John Lennon there was life after The Beatles. Lennon was quoted as saying he was extremely nervous, throwing up for hours before he took to the stage. He claimed it was because he hadn’t performed live in several years, but it’s clear now that the imminent breakup of the Beatles and his new, somewhat controversial relationship with Yoko Ono must have also played some part.

But first the other performances . . we’ve got an unbelievably energetic and amazing Bo Diddley, a charismatic Jerry Lee Lewis, and the always-fantastic Little Richard, who is bedecked in silver lamé trousers and a white tunic covered with tiny square mirrors. The close-ups of his infectious smile are almost indescribable. As much as it would have been great to see this live, even the crowd didn’t have this view of Richard’s beaming face so it almost feels more intimate to see it on DVD.

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