I work in video production for broadcast, cable and live events. It was early November of last year when I got a call from a fellow cameraman who hires me on a regular basis.“I’ve got something on a Saturday at the end of the month. It’s a real long day – at least 16 hours. But it’s all in HD (high definition video). I can’t tell you the details yet, but trust me, its going to be an interesting day.”I check my datebook and tell him I’m free.“Okay, the one thing I can tell you is it’s going to be a Bat Mitzvah.”HD? At a Bat Mitzah? I was a little annoyed at the idea, even if it was in HD. It felt like a step down from a wedding photographer.“Don’t worry, you’ll have a blast.”What the hell was this all about? Three weeks later I found out.Another telephone call the day before the Bat Mitzvah: “Okay, tomorrow you need to be at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center at 7 am. If I’m not on the top floor, go down a flight and look for me.”“What are we shooting?” I figured it would be some kind of elaborate cake-cutting, or maybe the world’s biggest hora circle.“Bands. I’ll see you tomorrow.”The Rainbow Room is the crown jewel of one of the most famous and revered catering companies in New York City. The top floor of Rockefeller Center, 86 stories up, features a huge restaurant in the round with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the city on one end, and private party rooms on the other. The flight below is more intimate, with larger private rooms all the way around the perimeter. The kitchen sits in the center of it all. Celebrities hang out there, and rich people dine in this exclusive environment. Stars from NBC shows that film in the complex (such as Saturday Night Live) often use the bar as their favorite watering hole after work.The view is, in a word, spectacular; the best in the city right now. It is the same height as the Empire State Building’s observation deck, and offers sweeping vistas of Gotham below. Best of all, looking south, the massive spire of New York’s tallest building towers right in front of you. (I often tell friends who are visiting NYC to avoid the Empire State Building and go to the observation deck in Rock Center instead. No lines, better view.) I take the speedy express elevator up, a few minutes early. The doors open, and I am immediately met with red fabric draped elegantly down all the halls. A stagehand I knew was busy working with some heavy-duty electric feeder cables nearby. I asked him how long he had been there. “Since 11 last night,” he replied. Then I asked the location of the control room, and he pointed down the hall.The control room was tiny, and every square inch was plastered with the latest and greatest in high-tech HDTV equipment, giant monitors, special-effects gadgets, and racks of audio gear. The place was humming with technicians working behind rows of “fly-pack” cases that held all the video equipment. Between the fans, the hum of the electronics, and the work, you could barely talk without shouting. And my boss was in the middle of it all, playing with the HDTV switcher.I said good morning, asked him what the heck it was all about, and started sipping my coffee.“We have two stages – a big one upstairs in the restaurant – the main stage, and one downstairs in the lounge – what we are calling the red room. We only have cameras on the main stage. They are going to clear the rooms for set-ups so we can work between acts. They’ve got a bunch of music lined up all night.”I took a sip of coffee. “This is pretty nuts for a bunch of Bar Mitzvah bands.”“No, you don’t get it yet. Not Bar Mitzvah bands, real bands… check this out. Ciara, 50 cent, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, and Aerosmith.”I had to put the coffee down and ask him to repeat it. He did, and my jaw dropped.“Isn’t this a Bat Mitzvah?”“No shit!.”My boss went on to explain to me that Elizabeth Brooks, the Bat Mitzvah girl, was the daughter of defense contractor David Brooks, an Israeli who’s company, DHB Industries, made bulletproof vests. “He’s the same guy they that’s getting sued right now because the troops in Iraq that are getting killed are wearing his vests.”(Here is a few links about David Brooks and his company and the suit against him:http://www.gnn.tv/articles/1915/50_Cent_the_War_Profiteer_and_the_10_million_Bat_Mitzvahhttp://blogs.wsj.com/law/2006/07/14/the-embattled-bat-mitzvah-brooks-settles-class-action/http://commonsense.wnymedia.net/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=191http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1130-28.htmhttp://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=5899)I whistled low in amazement. “One hell of a Bat Mitzvah”(NOTE: Many people have written about this “event” in trade magazines and newspapers. Most of what they saw and wrote about was from an outsider’s perspective. Although I am writing about the “show,” I will also be writing about the artist’s performances. Read on: )The cameras wouldn’t be up and operational for technical review for several hours. So I decided to check out the main stage in the restaurant at the other end of the building.The stage took up half the room for starters, making the large space seem cramped. Fabric was draped everywhere around the sides, rising up to the ceiling and tied to the chandelier in the center of the room. Directly across the stage was front-of-house sound, with a massive mixer and racks of effects. Moving lights (Varilights, for those who care) were attached to truss that was erected all around the recessed center floor, on platforms, and tucked into the back of the stage. And incredibly, despite the rather intimate nature of the room, an HD Jumbotron dominated the wall stage left, taking up the space from the door to the ceiling 18 feet up. This wasn’t a concert in a restaurant. This was a fucking arena show tucked into a closet. This was overkill. This was excessive. This was a rich man’s fantasy concert, not a Bat Mitzvah.My boss walked in. I had to ask. “How much is all this?”His estimated figure for the stage setup, video, and lighting was pretty extreme to begin with.“But wait till you hear how much the bands are making.”According to what he heard from the producers that Mr. Brooks hired, it went something like this. (this is third person information, but it has all come from reliable sources)David was a big eagles fan. One of the first performers he approached was Don Henley. Brooks knew that there had been a few very large and expensive Bar/Bat Mitzvahs in recent years, and several had hired name talent for entertainment. He offered Don Henley a few hundred thousand dollars to perform, but Henley turned him down. Brooks went out and tried to get other talent, with little success. Henley came back a few days later with a counter offer. He would play, if Brooks donated a million dollars to his charity. Brooks immediately agreed. This set the bar for other performers who agreed to come onboard for that kind of green. To try and get a real Eagles sound, he went after Joe Walsh, who agreed to it for the same price. Stevie Nicks followed suit. When he heard Aerosmith would be in the northeast on their tour, he offered the same deal to get Steve Tyler and Joe Perry; both accepted. Tom Petty was a favorite of either Brook’s friends or his wife. Being a smaller name he didn’t command nearly as large a sum. Since he had to get something for the kids, he pursued Ciara for a few hundred thousand, and secured 50 Cent for a half million.As far as he knew, the only one putting the money to charitable causes was Henley.I was so stunned I couldn’t add the total in my head. “That’s… a lot,” I managed to say.It would be ten hours to show time, and I had very little to do. My boss, myself and the other cameramen sat around, mostly talking about the ridiculous excess we saw all around us. We tried to talk sports, current events, and jobs we had been on recently, but the conversation kept coming back to the crazy show we were watching unfold. There was a coffee machine in the kitchen that was always full, and by 1 o’clock, we were all pretty amped up. Most of the technical problems were wrung out by then and the cameras were turned on. Finally, we had something to do. We all headed in to the restaurant to saddle up our rigs.As we went through our tech, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, a keyboardist and drummer filtered in, got their instruments and started the soundcheck. We cameramen had all checked out the HD cameras, the technical director had confirmed he could switch the cameras to the Jumbotron, so we took our places to practice our shots.My spot was stage right, against the stage platform. Henley was standing three feet away, and would play his guitar, stop, and direct the rest of the band. He was rusty, and his comments reflected that. Several times he remarked that he hadn’t played in three years. Joe Walsh was pretty quiet, letting Henley assume the role of band leader. They would start up an eagles tune, such as “Life in the Fast Lane,” and then stop a few bars so Henley could instruct the band how he wanted it played. He must have spent 15 – 20 minutes on each song, and they were all from a “Best Of the Eagles” collection, plus a few of his solo tunes like “Boys of Summer.”Te director was satisfied with our positions and the brief tech rehearsal, and he told us over the headsets that we were broken until the show. All of us cameramen put our cameras back on the tripods and took a seat just in front of the mixing board. There was no way we were going to leave the room…In the middle of this sound check, Stevie Nicks took the stage. When she made her entrance, there were kisses all around. She was dressed in typical Nicks attire, which no longer flattered her larger frame. She commented on it immediately, asking Henley if he could believe how old and fat they were all getting. She would continue to make comments like all through the rehearsal. She joined Henley and Walsh in the rehersal, learning the harmonies for Henley’s numbers.Walsh was up next, and he seemed to have it together a little more than Henley. Maybe the hour and a half playing Eagles hits warmed him up, or maybe it was because he was only playing one song, “Life’s Been Good To Me.” They played it through twice, and that was it.The moment Nicks took the mic for her lead, she again commented on how old they have all gotten, and added she couldn’t believe she was playing a Bat Mitzvah. Her rehearsal of a half-dozen songs went on for a good hour and a half, as she led the impromptu band through her solo hits and a few Fleetwood Mac classics. Her voice was unsteady at first, but it gained strength as she stretched her long-neglected vocal chords. She was keenly aware of this, and in between songs did a few moments of vocal warm-ups.It was after 4 and the late autumn sun was going by the time the three agreed they were ready for the nighttime performance. They walked off the stage and headed to the green room. By this time, a few other technicians has joined us cameramen. We all just looked at each other, knowing we had seen something pretty cool. Little did we know that would be topped by the end of the night.That’s when David Brooks and his family walked in. Short, barrel-chested with wild eyes, Brooks certainly didn’t look like a Bat Mitzvah father. He was dressed in a soft, dark brown leather suit, obviously tailored. On the back was embroidered an abstract symbol that defies description. His white shirt was unbuttoned halfway down, showing more “bling” around his neck than most rappers. He had gold pendants crusted with sparkling diamonds, thick gold ropes of gold, thin delicate links that had diamond settings hanging from them, and worse several bracelets alongside his watch. It was an obscene show of wealth and bad taste.His wife and children were following. It was then that we first saw the Bat Mitzvah girl. Elizabeth did not really look thrilled with the whole affair. She was practically aloof to the opulence that surrounded her. She looked at the ground a lot and shuffled instead of walked. After a few minutes of inspection, they left.Nothing much would happen until the party started sometime after 7. So we ate dinner that was catered by the venue. Bratwursts. You would think they could do better.The guests started filtering in a little late, and in very small dribbles. I had to go to the men’s room just down the hall from our control room. As I am walking towards it, a short fellow decked out in a casual suit was approaching from the other direction. He had stringy curls draping down from a slightly balding pate. We both reached the men’s room door simultaneously. As he held the door open for me, I thought I recognized him. Standing in front of our respective urinals, it finally struck me – it was Kenny G. It was an odd moment to say the least, and I had trouble urinating for a few seconds. Mr. G. had been hired to play his watered-down version of jazz for the walk-in music, and now he was watering down in a different way.I wound up telling this to a few of the crew when I got back to the control room. They all gave me the hairy eyeball. Things started hopping as buses dropped the party-goers off. Models in slinky dresses began carrying exquisite hors d’ oevers and drinks to the guests. Not to be left out, I snagged a few caviar-topped bruchettas and a coke. Word spread that the party had started in earnest in the red room. Curious, I headed downstairs.There were no cameras set up on the 85th floor, so there was really no reason for me to be there. But I took a peep at the other “stage”, which was really just a large room with some DJ lights set up. Ciara was singing away, surrounded by most of Elizabeth Brook’s friends. Only a handful of adults were watching.What blew me away were the outrageous outfits of these 12-15 year olds. They didn’t look like kids going to a birthday party. They looked like 18 - 20 year olds dressed up to prowl the clubs. Bare midriffs, slinky black dresses and plunging necklines on girls who barely had anything to show were the rule of the day. The skirts were skimpy, and the makeup was painted on like a cheap streetwalker. And they didn’t dance as much as grind. This was a Bat Mitzvah?I was floored – not just by what I saw, but by the fact that parents let this happen. Shaking my head, I headed upstairs. I really had no interest in listening to Ciara, and we had to prep for the first act on the main stage.Back in the control room ,we were given our final instructions by the director and sent to our cameras. I shouldered mine, and took my position stage right, a few feet from the stage and near the stairs leading to the platform that the performers would walk up. The show downstairs must have ended because teenyboppers aplenty began gathering around the stage, waiting eagerly for 50 cent.The Jumbotron was showing a psychedelic video show as the lights dimmed. Several large, beefy men walked out and stood on either side of the stage by the stairs. One guy, the size of a small tank, stood between me and the staircase. But the distance wasn’t enough for me to not notice the smell of alcohol as 50 Cent passed a few feet from me and hopped up on stage.The cheering began and an unsteady 50 started his rap as the girls and boys screamed at the bullet magnet. The high-def video went up on the Jumbotron as the director yelled in our ears for the shots he wanted. Cameras with flashes went off everywhere - and that made the bodyguards very angry.“No pictures!” they yelled, and started moving to and fro in the crowd, yelling at the kids desperate to take a photo. I could only hear what was happening as my eye was firmly in the eyepiece. Then, suddenly, my shot was blocked by a small mountain, and I only saw black in my viewfinder. The director yelled at me for a shot. I looked up, and there in front of me was the tank. “No video asshole,” he yelled. I ignored him, looked back in my camera, and tried to side step him. He followed me, blocking me again. And again he yelled at me. And again I ignored him. So he turned his back on me, still blocking my view. The director was screaming in my ear. I keyed into my headset, yelling above the noise and trying to explain what was going on. “Just get me the shot, I don’t care how!”Every time I tried to get around this massive guy, he would bump me and step in front of my shot. Nothing I could do would shake him no matter how hard I tried. Eventually he had me penned between the speakers on the ground and the staircase. The director finally gave up and called shots from the other two cameras.Then a short black guy dressed up real sharp and wearing sunglasses taps me on the shoulder repeatedly until I finally turn to him. “I’m 50’s tour manager. You turn that fucking camera off now of we are pulling the plug on the show.”“Can’t do that, I’m doing my job. There are two other cameras here too. You want us to stop, you gotta talk to the director.”He asked where the director was and I told him. The guy disappeared into the crowd, and I shouldered the camera again, desperate to get around the bodyguard. My attempts were in vain, but it didn’t matter after a few minutes. The director told us all on headset to stand down, drop the cameras, and stay where we were. Guess shorty had the pull to draw us off our job.I’m not much of a hop-hop fan, but I have seen a few shows. Frankly, the whole time he was performing, 50 looked like he didn’t want to be there. He flashed smiles, but the energy wasn’t happening. I worked the hip-hop rap festival the year before at Giants Stadium where he headlined. Even though I couldn’t stand to listen to his “music,” there he put everything into getting the crowd hopped up, energetic as a meth addict right after a few hits. But here he was lagging, going through his rhymes by tired rote. And the crowd could feel it. The enthusiasm that struck when he took the stage had mellowed a bit. And 50 wasn’t exactly walking a straight line; he was wobbling a bit.Ciara joined him on stage for one number, where she acted more like a cheerleader than musical talent.I had no choice but to stand there and hold onto the camera. There was only so much cable slack, and the tripod was on the other side of the stage. So I watched, blown away by the scene. Things only got sillier when, in a moment that smacked of false generosity, 50 invited Elizabeth up onto the stage.She wore a gown that seemed almost too simple for the extravagance before her, even though I was sure it cost several thousand dollars. She didn’t look happy at all. In fact, she looked like she wanted to be anywhere else at that moment other thrust into the limelight. She kept looking into the crowd as 50 did his best to talk to her and congratulate her. The whole time, I could swear she was thinking, “I just wanted pony rides for me and my friends…”Then things got downright silly. For his fourth, and final, song, 50 busted out “In Da Club.” Except he changed the lyrics. As all the kids jumped around to this hit song, 50 turned to Elizabeth and sang, “Go shorty, it’s your Bat Mitzvah, we gonna party like its your Bat Mitzvah…” I couldn’t believe my ears. And poor Elizabeth looked like she just wanted to escape the stage. And once the song was over, that’s exactly what she did.50 and his posse cleared out, and moments later, all the guests were ushered out of the main stage room. It was time to reset the stage for Henley, Walsh and Nicks. The camera crew secured our cameras on tripods, regrouped in the control room, and traded notes in disbelief. It took the stage crew an hour to reset the stage and set up all of the instruments. In the meantime the guests milled around the lower floor, drinking and laughing. The whole camera crew snuck a few drinks too.We sat with our cameras as the crowd came up. Tables took up the rest of the round that wasn’t used for stage or dance floor, and they had been set up with dinner’s first course. After the guests had enjoyed their main course, the three stars of the 70’s and 80’s took the stage. Most of the crowd took to their feet and stepped up to the dance floor. But this audience was mostly adults. As they were setting up, and we were shouldering our cameras, a casually dressed guy came up to me quickly.“You can’t tape this. You aren’t allowed.”Not this again! “And who are you?”“I’m their manager. Now put the camera down.”“You have to talk to the director. I work for him.”“Get on your headset, and tell him you have to stop shooting. If you don’t put that camera down in 15 seconds, there won’t be a show.”I sigh. I key my headphone for the director. Resigned, I relay the command to him.“Guess we have no choice,” he said. “everyone stand down.”Since the crowd was thinner, mellower and older, we were able to grab the tripods and set the cameras up in safe places. Then we sat there and watch the show.The show was pretty damn good. The rehearsal served them well. For three rusty talents, they pulled together smartly. No lyrics were missed, no note misplayed. The Eagles songs truly sounded like you would expect, but with the added bonus of Nicks providing some surprisingly soulful harmonies, most particularly on “Hotel California.” Don Henley didn’t look like he was having a great time in spite of his near flawless playing, while Joe Walsh wore a dopey grin and nailed every chord. His “Life’s Been Good to Me” had the crowd singing along.I’m not a Stevie Nicks fan in any way, but I admit I found her performance worth seeing. Her voice had become a little more raspy over the years, but she looked like she was absolutely enjoying herself; quite the opposite of her rehearsal attitude. Just before breaking into “Edge of Seventeen,” she called Elizabeth up to the stage. The Bat Mitzvah girl didn’t look as aloof as she had before, and she actually faced Nicks, who spent three minutes graciously talking about how proud her family must be, and how everyone said her Bat Mitzvah service was very well done. The slightly sour Nicks was gone, replaced by someone who seemed to enjoy the spotlight, even if it was a Bat Mitzvah.After the performance, the guests were ushered out again for Tom Petty’s performance downstairs in the red room while the stage was reset for Aerosmith. We regrouped in the control room again for another post mortem. We all asked the director why we were being forced to pull the plug for each show.“Seems Mr. Brooks just thought he could tape the show since he was paying so much. He never negotiated for recording rights, and besides, none of these artists would really want a tape of them playing at a Bat Mitzvah. Not the best publicity.” We all agreed.“So what about Aerosmith?”“We’ll give it a shot. They will probably stop us too. I expect it. But we should at least take a stab at it.”We were all getting excited about Aerosmith. It was the one artist that the crew universally like. They were playing in Pittsburg that night, and word spread that Brooks was flying them out as soon as that show was over, using his company’s private jet. Because they wouldn’t arrive until late, and required a sound check, the show wouldn’t start until 2 am. It was already getting close to 11.In reality, it was only going to be Steve Tyler and Joe Perry, but we spent the night referring to them as “Aerosmith.” After all, who can remember the rest of the band?We had nothing to do but go downstairs and check out Tom Petty. As we walked through the halls, we passed by a room where many of the kids were going through giftbags stuffed with items like ipods, watches, and gift certificates to ritzy clothing stores. When we got to the red room, it was packed with mostly adults standing around Petty in a U-shaped ring. An opulent dessert spread and finger foods lined the walls all the way around.In the center of it all, Petty sat with his guitar, accompanied by a friend on an electronic keyboard. It was a very intimate performance, and even though he strummed with force, his songs all took on a very folksy feel. So many people had gathered around him, it was tough to see through the shoulders. I spent some time munching snacks and staring at the panorama of New York City out the windows. I did sneak into the crowd to catch a glimpse of Petty, and managed to see his old, long face singing gently to the appreciative crowd. People swayed n place as he went through his popular tunes. While I watched, he played the two songs I like most: Free Falling and Don’t Come Around Here No More (which is also my favorite video of all time). I felt lucky to catch those two gems. And for his age and fragility (he had health problems at the time which kept him from playing a full set), he impressed me with his spirit, artistry, and soul. He wore sunglasses so you couldn’t see his eyes, and he didn’t emote that much, but you could hear it in his voice.My boss tapped me on my shoulder. He had been upstairs the whole time, but came down to get me. He urged me to go upstairs with him, but wouldn’t tell me why.We sat down in the room we ate lunch in, which was full of road cases and bins of electrical cables. There was a divider that partially separated an adjoining room. Through the slightly open partition I could see the other room was set up with a small buffet and a huge selection of beverages. My boss pulled two chairs around so both were slightly facing the other room, and he sat down with a big grin on his face while trying to make small talk.I had no idea what he was up to until Steve Tyler and Joe Perry, dressed in their concert best, were ushered into that room. My boss’s smile grew even wider as we both grooved on the fact they were grabbing drinks and some snacks a few feet away. In our job, you often get to meet celebrities in the everyday course of work - shooting interviews, working on TV shows, videotaping special events - so this shouldn’t have affected us. But we were both giddy and, yes, starstruck. After all, this was Aerosmith.Before they sat down, Tyler walked over to the partition, looked at us, and asked, “mind if I close this?” We both nodded for him to go ahead.After a few minutes of gathering our heads, we went back to the control room to tell the crew who had finally shown up. The room went from sleepy (it was after midnight, and some people had been there since 5 am) to electric with the news.About 15 minutes later, my boss came back to me and suggested we go back into the main room. “they are about to do their sound heck. Its gonna be really closed, but I figure if we go in to ‘work’ on the cameras, we can see a little of it.”We got in just ahead of them. The stage was set with a small drum kit, a few amps, and a keyboard. My boss and I fiddled around with gear as Tyler and Perry, accompanied by a an unknown keyboardist (probably from the tour), got up on stage. I didn’t see a drummer, and wondered who would be playing for them. The three of them did a few minutes of preparation, and then Tyler sat in on the drum set. Mystery solved, but I never suspected he played.When they started warming up, my boss and I faded into the shadows against the far wall so we wouldn’t call any attention to ourselves. And watched something amazing unfold.I imagine that the three of them had never played together this way before – absent a drummer and a bassist. For the next hour we watched them develop new arrangements for old favorites while keeping a broad, full sound. In spite of playing in a way that looks amateurish and uncomfortable, I learned that Tyler was an accomplished drummer – especially when they practiced “Train Kept a Rollin’.” His 16th note rolls were phenominal and accurate. Perry worked on playing chords that had more body than he usually used to make up for the lack of a bass, and the keyboardist not only added to the melodies, but also played as much of the baselines as he could.We felt privileged to be there, watching this evolution of sound that would only happen for a single performance. It took them more than an hour to piece it together, but what they created had all the power of the originals. Perry and the keyboardist left, and I watched something fascinating. Tyler took a bunch of scarves out of a bag and arranged them in his hand with a watchmaker’s precision. Each one had its proper spot in an order that probably never deviated. He took the bunch over to the mic stand, and with a ritualistic style, wrapped the bundle around, just below the mic. It wasn’t to his liking though, so he took them off and began the process anew. It took him three times until it met his standards of perfection. He straightened them out and patted them down before he too left for the green room.My boss and I made our way back to the control room. The director stood up, faced us, and gave us the news.“We can’t tape it.”“So what should we do then,” I asked.“Enjoy the show.”Sounded like a plan.We went back to the main stage to wait. The doors had been open and the crowd, now mostly adults, were milling about the room. The lights were down and the models were serving shots in glasses with blinking LEDs inside. The atmosphere was electric and drunk. I couldn’t figure out what kind of shots were being handed out, even after the third one I snagged. Suddenly, the models all disappeared, only to come back ten minutes later, swathed in silk pajamas and silk robes.I liked the spot where I had been trying to shoot, right up against the stage. I stood there for a few minutes, holding my spot. In minutes, the stage lights came up and the band took the stage to thunderous applause.Tyler seemed to be loving it. He spent a few minutes talking to crowd before he sat behind the drum kit and they started jamming.I can’t think of enough superlatives to explain what it was like standing two feet from Joe Perry as he skillfully made his guitar sing. I could have reached out to touch his feet I was so close. Tyler played the drums and sang at the same time with such precision it seemed like it was an everyday role for him. And the sound was absolutely tremendous; full, loud, and powerful. In a small room with excellent acoustics, it was probably the best they ever sounded. And the crowd was completely ecstatic.The set was mostly a best-of show. No real surprises. Favorites such as Love in an Elevator, Sweet Emotion, and Dream on were definitely highlights. Another personal highlight was when a very attractive model slipped out of her road and gave it to me. (I have it tucked away in a memory box).Tyler, like the performers before, called Elizabeth to the stage. For the first time, she seemed to be having a good time. In fact, she was all smiles as Tyler talked with her, serenaded her, and asked her to stay on stage with the band for the rest of the show. In another surprising moment, Tyler asked if there were any drummers in the house, since theirs was absent. After a few moments, Brook’s nephew raised his hand, and Tyler called him up. The kid was surprisingly good, laying down a steady beat for Walk This Way, and then was invited to stay for the rest of the set. Some news reports say that Brooks demanded Tyler let his nephew play right then and there. I was standing a few feet away from Brooks during all of this. It was obviously set up, but it must have been scripted before the band took the stage.Another interesting moment with Brooks: When Tyler thanked the crowd before getting off stage, Brooks put out his hand to shake Tyler’s. He did not let go of his hand, but instead begged them to play one more song. Tyler looked down at Brook’s wrist, and said “I’ll do it for that watch.” The watch was lavish and jeweled to excessiveness like the rest of Brook’s bling. It looked like the numbers were jewels, not to mention a ring of diamonds circling the face. Brooks looked like he considered it for a fraction of a second, before shaking Tyler’s hand again and saying, “Thanks for the show.” I guess Brooks had finally reached the limits of his self-indulgent spending.Everyone filtered out soon after, leaving a mess, two empty floors and a stadium concert’s compliment of gear in one of the most famous restaurants for the rich in the New York. It took two days to set up, a day and a half to tear down, and cost an estimated $10 million. And for what? For a Daddy that wanted to prove how rich he was.But, in spite of that, it was a hall of a show.(Note: Here are a few more links about the party from the press and other media)http://www.gnn.tv/articles/1915/50_Cent_the_War_Profiteer_and_the_10_million_Bat_Mitzvahhttp://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=5899http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/story/369995p-314735c.htmlFinal note: I know this post seems endless, but its a story I have wanted to tell since that night. And I thought this would be the perfect forum to share it in. Apologies if I bored you.