TRIBUTE CONCERT ONE LONG PARTY.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

``I'm not sure what this is about.''

That was Beck talking just before he launched into the song ``My Name Is John Johanna'' at Wednesday night's star-studded concert at UCLA Royce Hall of Hal Wilner's Harry Smith Project. He might have been referring to the show itself, which began a bit after 8 p.m and ended at about 1:30 a.m.

With some 30 musicians performing more than 50 songs, the concert resembled Smith's career - eclectic, unfocused at times but often invigorating and joyous.

Smith (1923-1991) was an avant-garde artist who painted, created short experimental films, and championed jazz musicians and other artists. His interest in anthropology led him to collect American folk music recorded in the '20s and '30s. From this was culled the ``Anthology of American Folk Music,'' first issued in 1952 and reissued in 1997, winning two Grammys then.

Much of the sold-old concert (it was to be repeated Thursday) was devoted to music of the anthology, but the evening was filled with surprises. Take David Johansen, aka Buster Pointdexer, former leadman of the New York Dolls, who, looking almost unrecognizable with his scraggly beard, did three powerful blues numbers, including an atmospheric version of ``Poor Boy Blues.'' Earlier he played harmonica as Todd Rundgren, Steve Earle and Beck sang backup to Marianne Faithfull, looking fabulous and sounding so with her whiskey-soaked voice, on ``Shine on Me,'' a gospel-style number.

Elvis Costello joined Kate and Anna McGarrigle on ``Ommie Wise,'' another of those murder ballads that seemed so popular in the past. Anna wryly commented that all these killings of women by violent men was ``just an early form of birth control'' and noted that, at the end of the song, the killer's punishment was to escape and join the Army. (It makes you aware of how far society has come, though domestic violence remains a problem.) The McGarrigles sang the original song with Costello backing. Then Costello, saying he found some lyrics in ``an old wooden leg,'' sang Part 2 of the song with a different ending.

Then there were the unknown Folksmen, three fellows dressed in red and white striped shirts and khaki pants who looked like an aging version of a '60s folk group like the Kingston Trio. They also resembled Harry Shearer, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest - members of the fake rock band Spinal Tap - and their first two songs, ``Eat at Joe's'' and ``Blood on the Tracks,'' were amusing parodies, right down to the inane banter. Pointing out that folk music was still around, except that you need a microscope to find it, they launched into a very sincere version of - get this - ``What a Feeling'' from ``Flashdance.''

And that air of irreverence permeated much of the evening. Some of the highlights:

Classical composer Philip Glass performing minimalist-sounding accompaniment to three of Smith's short films. At the other end of the spectrum was Adam Dorn, better-known as Mocean Worker, doing his electronic-dance music to another of Smith's films.

Eric Mingus, with a voice that sounds like it rumbled from out of the earth, doing stunning versions of ``Oh Death Where Is Thy Sting,'' ``John Henry Was a Little Boy'' and ``Mean Old World.''

Former Pere Ubu frontman David Thomas wailing on stage to an eloquent arrangement by the great Van Dyke Parks, whom Costello introduced as epitomizing the best of American music.

Legendary bassist Percy Heath, guitarist extraordinaire Bill Frisell and clarinetist Don Byron combined on a couple of numbers to provide a tasty jazz side to the festivities.

There were also wonderful turns from Richard Thompson, Eliza Carthy, Garth and Maude Hudson, Rundgren and Earle.

By the time the concert ended, it must have seemed like an eternity to some (even if it was mostly pleasant). So it was appropriate that Garth Hudson, the former Band keyboardist, played ``Stand by Me'' on Royce's large organ. The night did have the feeling of being at a religious service, as Costello joked.

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Photo:

Marianne Faithfull performs at the salute to Harry Smith on Wednesday at UCLA, backed up by Todd Rundgren, second from left, Steve Earle and Beck.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer