Well known as the guitarist of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, Tom Morello also performs solo as The Nightwatchman, a folk music act reminiscent of and influenced by artists such as Woody Guthrie and early Bob Dylan. For two weeks in seven cities the “Justice Tour” will have Morello participating in a day of local social activism. The focus of each stop will be homelessness (Los Angeles); addiction recovery (New York), safe, secure, and affordable housing (New Orleans); a living wage (Asheville); peace and veterans care (Washington, DC); affordable healthcare (Boston); and labor organizing (Chicago).

The local organizations partnering with the tour are People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), Road Recovery, Sweet Home New Orleans and Amnesty International, Just Economics, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), HealthCare-Now, and Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

To help draw attention to his work, Morello and assorted friends are performing concerts in each city at the cost of $10, except for the New York date. Proceeds from each show benefit the local social justice partner. The Los Angeles show had an amazing line-up that sounds unbelievable to me even though I witnessed it. The three-hour show was very relaxed as the artists causally walked on and off stage and many delivered stunning performances in the small confines of the legendary Troubadour club.

Morello as The Nightwatchman played “Flesh Takes The Day” on acoustic guitar, “St. Isabel” on drum and harmonica, and followed up his much-talked-about recent performances of “Ghost of Tom Joad” with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band the week before in Anaheim with an acoustic rendition. He then brought out the house band for Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.”

The first musical guest to join Morello on stage was drummer Stewart Copeland. They played two Police tracks with Carl Restivo on vocals. They started with “So Lonely,” which not only drove the crowd wild, but also Perry Farrell who hopped on stage to join in the chorus. After “Message In A Bottle,” the stage was given to individual performers. Pete Yorn played a couple songs, Jerry Cantrell played one, and Wayne Kramer played two silly songs, closing with a jazzy number about writer Charles Bukowski.

Larger line-ups began to fill the stage. State Radio, an up-and-coming band with a rock/reggae sound, played three songs. Guitar whiz Steve Vai took the stage with the house band and played two brilliant instrumentals. Cantrell and Flea watched from the sidelines and were equally in awe of the sounds Vai made as was the audience. When musicians are impressed, you know you witnessed something spectacular.

Farrell, his wife Ety, and Restivo are the remaining members of Satellite Party. They performed over recorded material, including weird-sounding dance versions of Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing” and “Stop” that only became recognizable from the lyrics. While I hesitate finding fault with anyone who gives their time to charity, the songs didn't sound good, made even more evident when Dave Navarro, Flea, and Travis Barker joined Farrell for Jane’s “Mountian Song. ” The crowd went nuts for the classic Jane’s sound, and even Farrell seemed more inspired performing in front of it.  They set the music bar very high.

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