Bruce, Billy and Obama: A Night to Remember.
Arlen Schumer

 First, let me thank you for the great opportunity tonite to help you & Associated Press out, and express my gratitude at getting paid for something (videotaping parts of the concert) I would have gladly done for free!
 
 On the way home, my thoughts started to coalesce more coherently, as they usually do after a great show, and of course, i wished i had said some of the following things to you earlier tonite when i had the chance, during the interview. Oh well--Murphy's law: you always wish you said the right thing at the time, instead of later, when you've had the time to think of it.
 
 So here goes: random thoughts about the show:

 It was a historic meeting of new jersey & long island, as bruce said at the beginning. Even john legend, who opened up the show with a great rendition of U2's "in the name of love" to properly set the tone of the show (a tough feat), acknowledged he (and indie arie) was "the warm-up act." But they both performed and sang well, tho they were kind of in the same hierarchy that Youssou N'Dour & Tracy Chapman were in 1989's Amnesty International Human Rights Tour, that Bruce headlined with Sting. And even going back further, the No Nukes Concerts at Madison Square Garden in 1979 that Bruce also headlined: these shows all inevitable become Bruce shows, with a coupla opening acts, as it were. And Bruce's legend has only grown stronger and more respected as the years have passed.

 So here comes Bruce's biggest tri-state "rival," Billy Joel, come to share the stage with him. Who would get the preferred "placement"? Who would close the show?

 But, as i might've said earlier to you, Legend was right: it WAS about the historic sharing of the stage of maybe america's 2 greatest solo-personality rock & rollers of the modern era, Bruce & Billy: billy piano based (kind of like the american elton john, whom I always thought billy most resembled, not bruce's long island twin son of different mothers), bruce guitar-based (tho Born to Run, the album, bruce's masterpiece, was written on piano).

 So Bruce & Billy are flip sides of the same rock & roll coin in many ways, because, tho they grew up on opposite sides of manhattan, they had more in common than not: both about the same age, true baby boomers, same musical influences, both were in numerous flailing rock bands in the late 60s/early 70s, both broke on the national stage around the same time (billy w/piano man in '74, bruce with BTR in '75, tho his first 2 albums precede billy's), went to each other's shows in the early years, and now, here they were, finally sharing a stage, and doing each other's songs! (also kinda like when billy & elton john first toured together in '93, and did each other's songs).

 Of course, Bruce was at a seeming "disadvantage," because he was playing with Joel's band (but on "neutral" turf, NYC), and only Roy Bittan, bruce's piano player, was on hand to play--but only on Bruce's songs. Why? Because it seems Billy didn't really know Bruce's material! (Even Bruce mentioned, casually--or a little miffed?--that he was "surprised" that Joel didn't know "Spirit in the Night" but man, the crowd sure did). And Bruce, the master of rock & roll covers, sure knew Joel's material. They alternated on an abridged version of both their greatest hits, among them: Bruce's "10th Avenue freeze-Out,' "Thunder Road," and "Glory Days"; Joel's "Movin' Out," "A Matter of Trust," & "In The Middle of The Night." And then, there was "New York State of Mind"...

 "New York State of Mind," one of Joel's most signature songs, was, without a doubt, the highlight, the legendary moment of the evening, with Bruce & Billy trading vocals with each verse. To hear Bruce's unfamiliar vocals where your mind expects to hear Joel's was startling, and yet thrilling, because Bruce's booming, soulful, full-throttle voice sang Joel's classic with such intensity that it sent collective shivers down the audience's spines. Obama's staff should immediately put it out as a fundraising single: I predict it would outsell Elton John's custom-"Candle in the Wind" that followed Princess Diana's death in 1997.

 An interesting footnote, coming from an admittedly biased bruce fan (tho I've always liked & respected Joel, too): no offense to joel's band, which performed admirably thruout the evening, but to hear Bruce's songs backed by Joel's band was like hearing a bruce cover band doing bruce; anyone who's familiar with the E Street Band knows that had they been there instead, with Billy playing HIS songs with THEM, the Hammerstein Ballroom would've become an instant ampitheater--because Bruce & the E Street Band would've blown the roof off the joint!

 Bruce did close the set, with a smashing version of Born to Run. Who can EVER top that, our true national anthem?

 And speaking of our national anthem, and the impending presidential election, the reason we were all there that evening, in support of Barack Obama (who had the unenviable position of following BOTH Bruce & Billy, yet he came through beautifully, because he understood that all he had in the face of their talent, was the power of WORDS--which Obama used to rally the crowd to its feet, roaring at the end to "fire it up!"): the REAL president of the United States of America is--and has been, for over 30 years--Bruce Springsteen, as I once wrote:

"Bruce is doing what a true leader should be doing: living his life by example, using it to inspire and exhort others to do the same, a bona fide moral leader for our age."  For You.

ROLLING STONE REVIEW

Shortly after a roof-raising version of “Born To Run” featuring Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and key members of both their bands, Bruce turned to the back of the stage at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom and said “We want to bring out the next President of the United States!” With that, Barack Obama took the stage to the loudest cheers of a very loud night. “What a magical evening,” Obama said to the crowd, who donated between $500 and $10,000 to his campaign and the DNC for tickets. “I just told Michelle backstage that the reason I’m running for president is because I can’t be Bruce Springsteen.” He went on to warn the crowd not to get “giddy” over his high poll numbers with less than three weeks left in the election. “Don’t underestimate the power of Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.”

One also can’t underestimate the ability of a ninety-minute set of Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel hits to bring a theater packed full of middle age tri-staters to screaming fits of hysterical joy. “Good evening bridge and tunnel elite,” Springsteen said in the middle of an early show mini acoustic set. “I know you spent a lot of money, but like you did with the vice presidential debate: lower your expectations.” Three songs into Billy Joel’s set — when Springsteen, his wife Patti Scialfa and E Street Band keyboardist Roy Bittan joined Joel and his band for a rousing “10th Avenue Freeze-Out” — expectations were already exceeded. From here, an only-for-Obama supergroup was born. Springsteen stayed onstage for the next hour and a half, with the setlist rotating back and forth between Joel and Springsteen classics. Each sang big portions of each others’ tunes, often with their eyes focused on what was surely a teleprompter.

The pairing worked surprisingly well. When Springsteen sang “they’re closing all the factories down” in “Allentown,” it sounded like it could have been a Darkness On The Edge Of Town outtake. Likewise, Joel made the sweet nostalgia of “Glory Days” seem like one of his own. “Movin’ Out” was dedicated to Bush and Cheney, and featured Springsteen singing the verse about “Mister Cacciatore’s” and the “Cadillac-ack-ack-ack-ack.” Other highlights included “Thunder Road,” “A Matter Of Trust,” “Spirit In The Night” and “New York State of Mind.” If anyone on earth was ready for such an evening, it was Joel’s multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero, who toured with Springsteen in 1992/93 tour. Whether it was playing the bongos on “River Of Dreams” or filling in for Clarence on the sax “10th Avenue Freeze-Out,” the woman knew what she was doing.

Earlier in the night John Legend and India.Arie played “Ordinary People” and U2’s “Pride (In The Name of Love)” during a brief acoustic set. They came out again at the end for a cover of “People Get Ready” and the grand finale of “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” during which Barck and Michelle Obama stood center stage clapping and occasionally singing along. It was a great night — worth every penny — though there was much work to be done. As Caroline Kennedy told the crowd before the show while urging them to volunteer: “This is the last time you can have this much fun for the next twenty days.”