This just came in...

"But the night's most memorable performance came from perhaps the least
jubilant performer: Tom Waits. "I'm telling ya right now, I wish New Orleans
was dry and Washington was under water," he growled, and when he returned
for the night's only encore, he did a squint-eyed version of "Make It Rain."
He sounded a bit like the city he commemorated: old and weird and set in his
ways and intent no matter what on staying the same." (Source: "Funk,
Blues, and Jams That Were Big and Easy" By Kelefa Sanneh. The New York
Times. September 21, 2005)

It was an honor to give Mr. Waits the "Keeping the Torch Lit" EarsXXI award at the 2005 Duke City Shootout. He is definitely the epitome of an artist that stays true to himself and influences the rest of us deeply.