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Epic Night at the Garden



The logistics had to be daunting, but organizers, crew members and performers managed to pull off the greatest single night of live music from what could well be forever acknowledged to be strongest lineup of musical heavy weights ever assembled Wednesday, and they did it without an outwardly apparent hitch.  There were uneven moments, but given the complications and risks of trying to stage a concert with full production values in as little time as they had to work with, the 12/12/12 Hurricane Sandy relief concert at Madison Square Garden was a monumental achievement.   With a worldwide online, cable and satellite audience viewing the event in real time, getting bands on and off the stage in as little time as the change overs took was amazing. Still and inevitably, the night ran late.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band opened with a cathartic set punctuated with The Boss soulfully imploring fans in the house and around the globe to help lift the spirits of those still struggling in the aftermath of the devastating storm.  Jersey's other best known Rocker, Jon Bon Jovi, joined Bruce on Born To Run and Springsteen returned to the stage during Jon's set.  Roger Waters was welcomed to the stage with the announcement that Eddie Vedder was joining him - and arrived on stage with a guy that looked so much like the Pearl Jam front man a lot of people must have assumed he was.  There was no mistaking the real Eddie Vedder when he later emerged and sang Comfortably Numb so much more conviction than Waters that we wish he'd been there from the start. 


Eric Clapton did a masterful but low key set that started with a solo acoustic version of Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out before shifting into electric mode for a couple of songs, including Crossroads.  The Rolling Stones, looking to avoid eroding the pay-for-view potential of their Saturday concert, limited themselves to two songs.  While Mick and Co. came and went too fast for some, the Who played longer than seemed necessary.  In addition to Who Are You and Pinball Wizard, they worked in the quirky Bellboy, with the late Keith Moon doing the lead vocal via video.  Billy Joel didn't hit the stage until just before midnight, opening with Miami 2017, Moving Out and doing a verse from Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas before sliding into New York State Of Mind, which was followed by In The Middle Of The Night as Wednesday night turned into Thursday morning.  Chris Martin of Coldplay, up against diminishing patience, did just three songs, joined on the middle one by Michael Stipe for a rendition of REM's Losing My Religion.
It was approaching 1am before McCartney emerged, jolting the weary crowd to attention with a roaring version of Helter Skelter, followed by Let Me Roll It, 1985, My Valentine (with Diana Krall on piano), Blackbird. He then shifting gears by welcoming Dave Grohl for a hard rocking jam before returning to the Beatle catalog for I've Got A Feeling and trading his bass for a place at the piano for Live & let Die.
Those expecting the evening to end with many of the stars on stage for a finale got only Alicia Keys returning to do a rather shrill song about New York as McCartney welcomed a number of police, fire and EMTs to share the stage with him as she sang.