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

Photo from Petr Milata

The intimacy carries over into the Plastic Ono Band set, in which the cameras catch every dust mote in the air around Lennon’s microphone, every loose strand of hair. It may be cliché, but damn it if I don’t find myself feeling incredibly sad knowing that he would be dead just eleven years later, while the others (save Bo Diddley, who just passed away in 2008) are still alive and kicking.

“Blue Suede Shoes,” “Money,” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” sound absolutely sublime, as raw and dirty as they were intended. John seems a bit nervous, displaying his typical sense of humor while doing ersatz silly dances and misremembering lyrics. It’s like he’s never played a show before and it’s quite endearing. Next is the equally terrific “Yer Blues” (including Yoko’s non sequitur shrieks).

Then the brand-new, never-before-performed-live “Cold Turkey” which starts off tentative and shaky, but ends up being just fine. Lennon’s nervousness gets the best of him and he exhorts the crowd to “wake up,” presumably because their reaction isn’t what he hoped for or needed? “Give Peace A Chance” is another litany of forgotten lyrics (and John’s goofy attempts to remember them) save for the most important ones, which the crowd definitely seems to understand. Yoko’s beatific smile says so much, as do the frequent kisses between her and John. The love they shared is so palpable, it hurts to see it, knowing what was to come in 1980.

Yoko also “performs” several songs from inside of a giant white bag (part of her and John’s “Bagism” performance art/peace campaign). The concept is fairly brilliant:

According to John and Yoko, by living in a bag, a person could not be judged by others on the basis of skin color, gender, hair length, attire, age, or any other such attributes. It was presented as a form of total communication. Instead of focusing on outward appearance, the listener would hear only the bagist’s message.

Bagism seems so modern and fresh to me now; I wonder how it went over with the crowd of thousands of hippies watching a rock and roll revival show featuring legends from the ’50s. I was struck by how incredibly contemporary everything looks, from John’s white suit over black T-shirt, to Voorman and Clapton’s Jesus beards and shaggy hair, to Yoko’s colorful beaded dress, as well as her performance itself.

Photo from Petr Milata

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