|
"Springsteen opens benefit concert series"
Springsteen opens
benefit concert series
ASBURY PARK, Dec. 3, 2001
A capacity crowd watched Bruce Springsteen and friends tonight in the
first of a series of five holiday benefit shows this week at Asbury
Park's Convention Hall.
The Max Weinberg 7, led by the drummer of Springsteen's E Street Band,
acted as house band. Pianist Roy Bittan and guitarist Steve Van Zandt
were the only E Street Band members not in attendance, but Van Zandt
was expected to join the lineup before week's end.
The show began at 8:15 with a tribute to George Harrison as Springsteen
was joined by violinist Soozie Tyrell for the Beatles' classic Something,
which was written by Harrison. The evening ended about 2 1/2 hours later
with Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.
A rare treat was the performance of two early and rarely played Springsteen
songs, Thundercrack and Seaside Bar Song, which he dedicated to The
Stone Pony and owner Domenic Santana, who was not present because he
was celebrating the birthday of his wife Mercedes.
"Three people called me on my cell phone while we were having dinner,"
Santana said. "Bruce is just the best. To have him honor the Stone Pony
like that and to call me his friend -- it's really something special."
Santana said he would be in attendance as the series of shows continued
through the week.
Another change from last year's lineup of "friends" was the addition
of Garland Jeffries, who took two turns in the spotlight.
The entire set list, courtesy of backstreets.com:
George Harrison's Something and My Sweet Lord
Jingle Bell Rock
Jam Up (Max Weinberg 7)
Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me (Max Weinberg 7)
Thundercrack
Seaside Bar Song
Love (Stand Up) and Spanish Dancer (from E Street Band member and Springsteen's
wife, Patti Scialfa)
Welcome to the World (Garland Jeffries)
New York Skyline (Jeffries)
This Time It's for Real, Love on the Wrong Side of Town and It's Been
A Long Time (Southside Johnny)
two songs by Nils Lofgren, Black Books and Shine Silently
Merry Christmas, Baby
So Young and In Love
Kitty's Back
Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
My City of Ruins (with Springsteen on piano, then guitar)
Harrison's Here Comes the Sun (Bobby Bandiera solo)
I Don't Wanna Go Home (Southside Johnny)
Rosalita
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
The series continues Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
Tickets for the concerts sold out an hour after going on sale.
Bruce Hornsby will sit in on the last two nights, Friday and Saturday,
according to Backstreets magazine. Backstreets quoted brucehornsby.com
as saying that Hornsby "will play some solo piano songs and sit in with
the band on some others, making his first public appearance since [his
Sept. 29] wrist injury." Springsteen joined Hornsby onstage earlier
this summer for Cadillac Ranch when Hornsby played in Red Bank.
Thirteen local causes will benefit from the proceeds of the five shows.
The Alliance of Neighbors of Monmouth County was the beneficiary of
an on-line ticket auction which raised more than $52,000. The alliance
gives outreach and monetary assistance to families of the victims of
the World Trade Center disaster.
The beneficiaries of the concerts are The Asbury Park Performing Arts
Center for Children (a proposed project of Family & Children's Service,
Oakhurst), the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County (Asbury Park),
The Center (Asbury Park), the City of Asbury Park, the Community FoodBank
of New Jersey (Hillside), Epiphany House (Asbury Park), the FoodBank
of Monmouth and Ocean Counties (Neptune), the Hope Academy Charter School
(Asbury Park), Interfaith Neighbors (Asbury Park), the Parker Family
Health Clinic (Red Bank), Prevention First (Oakhurst), The Stephen Crane
House (Asbury Park) and The Women's Center of Monmouth County (Hazlet).
Bericht von asburypark.net
|
