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There were plenty of old Brits – but not that many women – at Madison Square Garden to raise money for hurricane victims
Emma Gilbey Keller
Emma G Keller in New York
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 13 December 2012 08.05 GMT
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Sir Paul McCartney and the surviving members of Nirvana - Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear - debut their song Cut Me Some Slack Link to this video
The 12-12-12 concert to raise money for victims of hurricane Sandy might have been seen and heard all over the world, but it was Brit night at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. More specifically, it was old Brit night.
With a lineup of the Rolling Stones, the Who, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters and Chris Martin, all of whom came in to help the cause, the event was a reminder of the good old days of the special relationship between Britain and the United States.
The show opened with dramatic pictures of the hurricane's winds, rain and waves attacking and drastically altering the landscape around New York City and New Jersey. It's hard to remember it was only six weeks ago; the spectacle of it already seemed unreal.
It made sense that the opening act was New Jersey's greatest star, Bruce Springsteen, who began with Land of Hope and Dreams as the camera panned forward over the mainly white, mainly middle-aged, affluent crowd on the stadium floor. Everyone was standing, but there was a general lack of focus as the concert began. Many audience members seemed to be chatting to each other rather than watching the stage.
"You probably can't tell at home but they've definitely turned the speakers up to 11 tonight," tweeted Springsteen as he performed.
He was right, we couldn't tell. There were audio bugs throughout Springsteen's half-hour set and when Bon Jovi came on stage to join him he was carrying a microphone that didn't work and he could hardly be heard on Born to Run.
The Brits took over when Roger Waters strolled on stage for The Wall. Waters only performed Pink Floyd numbers, and the absence of his former partner Dave Gilmour was noted during guitar solos on Money and Comfortably Numb. But Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder filled the gap beautifully as he sang the song's main vocal.
This was always going to be a long show. The longer it ran, the more money it could raise. And with a download of the event available for presale on iTunes heavily promoted throughout the event (another revenue stream) the organisers were maximising every opportunity to raise cash.
So it was a shame when, halfway through, the website crashed and the phone lines were so overwhelmed they couldn't connect. Who knows how many dollars waiting to be pledged didn't get through?
Waters was followed by Eric Clapton, and it was at this point that remarks about the age of performers began to flood the internet. "Have to respect the passion Bruce brings to the stage!" said one. "Especially for being in his 60s. Sweet vest too."
"Eric Clapton: the only 67-year-old who can rock the hipster glasses just as much as he rocks his guitar."
Of course when the Stones came on to play a brisk two songs: You Got Me Rockin and Jumping Jack Flash (Opening line – "I was born in a crossfire hurricane") Mick immediately joined in on the joke.
"This has to be the largest collection of old British musicians ever at Madison Square Garden," he said. "And if it rains in London you've got to come and help us out."
The first, and only, woman to perform as a headliner – Alicia Keys – didn't come on stage till almost three hours into the concert. She played for about 15 minutes, before things returned to normal with the advent of the Who's Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend (or Keith Moon as Brian Williams called him).
There followed the evening's highlight for some and lowlight for others, as Daltrey bared his tan, very buff, hairless chest and kept it exposed as he sang. For a very long time.
The Who led into Kanye West dressed in a leather kilt who led to Long Island's Billy Joel performing his iconic New York State of Mind as well as a bunch of his other greatest hits.
Then the Brits returned in the person of Chris Martin who sang an unplugged version of Viva La Vida before bringing Michael Stipe of REM "out of retirement" to sing a low-key and moving Losing My Religion.
It was left to Sir. Paul. McCartney. (as Quentin Tarantino introduced him) to close the show. By the time he came onstage in extremely high-waisted jeans, we were on day two and it was well after midnight on 12-13-12.
"Thank you for staying," said McCartney gratefully.
He sang Helter Skelter then Let Me Roll It followed by a song from his Wings portfolio before finally, at 12.50am, two hours and 35 minutes after the last one left, another woman came onstage. Diana Krall – an amazing talent. Not that you'd have known. Krall didn't even get to sing. She briefly accompanied Macca on the piano for My Valentine before silently disappearing into the wings to be noisily replaced onstage by Nirvana.
Before I end I should mention that there was a healthy representation of comic talent punctuating the night. From Billy Crystal to Adam Sandler to Chris Rock to the cast of Saturday Night Live, they were there. But again, no female comedians took the stage. (Where were you, New York residents Tina Fey and Lena Dunham?) And the comedy was underwhelming and unfunny.
McCartney brought the house to its tearful feet with Live and Let Die as the tired audience looked around for their coats and bags. Around the world, other audiences got ready for bed or for work. A solitary firework exploded and rescue workers, police and firemen came on stage for their bows. Alicia Keys returned and surrounded by the real stars of hurricane Sandy sang Empire State of Mind.
It was the perfect finish.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/dec/13/12-12-12-concert-hurricane-sandy-rev...
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