If you haven’t picked up the record yet, don’t.  Vanessa Carlton came on after that and belted out a couple of tunes on the piano.  She seemed a little out of place following the Lips.  Next came British sensation Robbie Williams.  He came on stage to show America why he was worth his 50M pound contract. 

He played about 45 minutes and prefaced his more “well known” tunes with “this should have been a hit.”  Hey Robbie, save the bitterness for your fans in Europe. 

Public Enemy was to close the show but we ducked out due to my boss having the flu.  I personally would have liked to catch a glimpse of Flavor Flav.

On Grammy Night we arrived at the swank W hotel in Times Square to pick up our tickets.  Let’s just say the seats were in the arena.  We made our entrance into MSG via the infamous “red carpet.”

I was on major star alert and was able to spot everyone’s favorite wordsmith Fred Durst, as well as George Clinton, Nelly (and his posse), John Mayer, Pat O’Brien and Nancy O’Dell from Access Hollywood, Yo-Yo Ma and his Cello and Christian Slater.  Joan Rivers was MIA during my walk so, unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience a free fashion critique.  I wasn’t able to take any photos on the carpet – that’s a big no-no I was told – God forbid an actor should appear short in a photograph.

Overall the show was great despite the camera boom that was partially blocking our view.  By far the best performance of the night was the Clash tribute, which blew the roof off the place.  Other great performances were Eminem, Bruce, John Mayer, the Dixie Chicks [pictured above with Kathryn and Sheryl Crow backstage] and yes, N’Sync, thankfully reunited with aspiring astronaut Lance Bass and hip hop sensation Justin “JT” Timberlake.  Thumbs down on Nelly/ Kelly Rowland’s use of pyrotechnics. 

After the show it was on to the EMI party back at the W hotel.  That label had a big night with Norah Jones winning all kinds of grammys (much to the chagrin of Bruce fans [Lew] everywhere – who nevertheless walked away with 3 grammys).  At the party I rubbed elbows with Bonnie Raitt, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams and the omnipresent Jack and Kelly Osbourne.  We didn’t get to meet any folks but we partied like (or, rather, with) rock stars.  Overall, a pretty great experience.  See you next year, Joan Rivers.