Two for Tuesday Video Spotlight: Bon Jovi and Springsteen at 12.12.12

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I haven't written a post in a few weeks so I decided to come back with a big one.  These videos are from the famous 12.12.12 Concert at Madison Square Garden.  Clocking in at just under 6 hours this was an incredible concert for a great cause: Hurricane Sandy relief.  This concert was a "Who's Who" of rock icons and pop culture and had so many notable moments: Paul McCartney playing with the surviving members of Nirvana, Adam Sandler proving he can still be quite funny, Brian Williams proving he should stick to news casting and not be doing comedy, Roger Daltry showing off a hernia scar, Eddie Vedder and Roger Waters stealing the show with an incredible performance of "Comfortably Numb", Kanye West nearly ruining the show with a widely panned, overindulgent performance, Billy Joel proving he's one of the most under appreciated legends in rock music, and countless others.

But for me this was the above videos were the highlight of the night.  Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen are my two favorite musicians.  As much as it is ripe for making stereotypical New Jersey jokes, I just can't help it.  I love them both and have seen them live more times than I can count.  To see these two take the stage together was just incredible to watch live.  Even though ticket prices were astronomical for this concert, when I was watching this on TV as soon as I saw them on the stage together I knew I made a mistake by not getting tickets for this once in a lifetime concert.

Bruce kicked off the night with a great performance, and it was during his last song of his set that he played the iconic "Born To Run", and invited Jon Bon Jovi out to play with him.  Later during Bon Jovi's set, Bruce returned the favor and played with Bon Jovi performing their massive hit "Who Says You Can't Go Home?".  One of  the things I noticed about these videos is that Bruce seemed a lot more comfortable with Bon Jovi than Jon did playing with Bruce and the E Street band.  I think the reasoning is pretty simple: Jon grew up idolizing Bruce, and even though Jon is one of the biggest names in music he's still humbled to be playing with one of his heroes.  I think that's pretty cool.  Bruce has stated on countless occasions his admiration and respect for Bon Jovi, but by the time Bon Jovi hit it big, Bruce was playing to sold out stadiums all over the world.  All in all these are just two incredible performances from two very proud and beyond-talented New Jerseyans who wanted to help out their home state in a time of need.  What more needs to be said.  Crank it up and enjoy.

Breaking News - Springsteen to Perform Benefit Concert at MSG

On December 12th, Springsteen, along with a random assortment of stars ranging from Paul McCartney to Kanye West, will be performing a benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Sandy at Madison Square Garden.  While the mainstream media has moved on from hurricane coverage, there is still many people who are suffering, who have lost their homes and possessions, who have missed work, and who desperately need help.  It will take a long time for the East Coast to recover, and kudos to all involved in this project for continuing to raise money and awareness for these people in need.  

Concert Review – KFC Yum!, Louisville KY November 3

“I’m an old man but I don’t want to go home.”

This line, which Bruce uttered in the first half of the show, can be used to sum up the entire 2012 Wrecking Ball Tour. Having been on tour pretty much non-stop since March, Bruce has visited more than ten countries, made three trips to New Jersey and celebrated his 63rd birthday on tour. Last night’s performance in Louisville was the fourth straight night of performing for the E Street Band following stops in Rochester, Pennsylvania, and the NYC benefit. If nothing else, this seemingly never-ending tour has been a remarkable display of Bruce’s stamina.

While his line of dialogue – stated during the prelude to “Spirit in the Night” – underlines his phenomenal endurance and work ethic, it also acknowledges a hard truth. At 63 years old, Bruce can be considered an old man. I was fortunate enough to get amazing seats to the left of the stage for an up-close parallel view of the stage. Being in such close proximity to Bruce really makes you appreciate the level of showmanship that can’t be fully conveyed by a TV monitor. Being near the stage gives you a sense of the corporeality that can easily be overlooked by his superhuman theatrics. Last night was the first time that I really sensed the physical weight of his dancing on top of the piano, appreciated how close he came to being dropped while crowd surfing and questioned whether the stilted shuffle he does while introducing the band is one of his silly dance moves or a fleeting glimpse into his joint pains.

The effects of Hurricane Sandy weighed heavily (but briefly) on the opening of the show with a line about “a f-ing hurricane” injected into “Wrecking Ball” and Bruce’s poignant recount of the life cycle of the meaning of “My City of Ruins” as it’s gone from Asbury Park to 9/11 to Asbury Park again (for different reasons).

Bruce was in full request mode, grabbing signs and even a custom jacket to pull out a few unexpected tunes including the rarely played “Streets of Philadelphia” and “The River.” A sign request also led into a raucous rendition of “Open All Night” which was the first time I was acutely aware of Bruce using the teleprompter – but how else could he have made it through those rapid fire lyrics? Hearing “The River” was extremely powerful (and not just because OB was able to knock it off his top 5 songs he hasn’t heard live). “The River” flowed beautifully into “The Rising” which gave the perfect joyful release after the pain and precision of “The River”. This unexpected pairing signaled the start of one of the most thrilling conclusions I’ve ever seen – my personal highlight being “Rosalita” in the encore.

The immediacy of an E Street Band concert is a signature trait and their visit to Louisville contained the most audience interaction I’ve ever seen. When Bruce called for his requisite moment of silence to recognize “the ghosts” in the room, the crowd had some difficulty keeping quiet. I was initially concerned that this would sour Bruce’s connection with the audience but that fear was quickly erased. In addition to the expected “Waiting on a Sunny Day” and “Dancing in the Dark” audience interactions, he also invited up an enthusiastic kid celebrating his 20th birthday to sing “Growing Up” and a parade of pink cowboy hat-adorned girls to dance with the band during “Darlington County.” At the end of the show Bruce said to the audience, “Thank you, you’ve been remarkable.” And I really think he meant it.