FAMOUS SURPRISE GUESTS AT CONCERTS:

THE "OH SHIT" FACTOR

I've been writing a lot here lately about the phenomenon of famous surprise guests showing up at concerts. Earlier this summer, I saw Prince at a Maceo Parker show and Jay-Z at a Roots show, and then I posted about the 1971 Aretha show at Fillmore West where Ray Charles came on stage.

The latest example I'd like to highlight took place last week at the Bowery Ballroom, where Matthew Sweet (most well-known for his early '90s pop-rock nugget Girlfriend, newly reissued as a double album) and Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles were performing songs from their recent collection of '60s covers, Under the Covers, Vol. 1. I wasn't at the show myself, but I read about it in this Village Voice piece. And according to the writer, the crowd "went nuts when Mike Myers sauntered onstage for the encore and stammered his way through 'BBC,' an old Austin Powers favorite."

Now, I love Mike Myers as much as everyone else, and of course that must have been hilarious. But it also supports my emerging theory -- and I realize perhaps this is just stating the obvious -- that the effectiveness of a surprise guest appearance has to do more than anything else with fame and celebrity. The point is that the unanticipated performer should not only be more famous than the scheduled performer, but he or she should reside in an entirely different and greater sphere of fame. In other words, Jay-Z, Prince, and Mike Myers are all household names; Maceo Parker, the Roots, Matthew Sweet, and Susanna Hoffs are not.

Even within the household-name category, there are household names and then there are Household Names. For example, about five years ago, Jay-Z himself wowed all the teenagers at Hot 97's annual Summer Jam when he brought out the king of pop, Michael Jackson.

The whole beauty of the surprise guest concept is that concertgoers can then go back to their friends and say, "Man, you'll never guess who was at the ____ show!"

Sample conversation: "Who, Sean Lennon?

"No, better."

"Who, someone from the Strokes?"

"No, better. Think bigger!"

"Who, Norah Jones?"

"No, bigger!"

"Who, goddamn it? Bono?"

"Think older."

"Look, I don't know, motherfucker. John Lennon, back from the dead? Just tell me already!"

What's funny is that it doesn't even matter whether the guest entertainer actually performs. (Jacko did not.) It is his presence that counts, his star power. It's all about the "oh shit" factor. "Oh shit, son, is that Bill Clinton?" "Oh shit, how in the hell did ____ get the Dalai Lama to show up?!"