The Who steals the show and McCartney closes it in style
By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 10/22/2001
NEW YORK - Elton John and Billy Joel wearing police caps onstage - and Paul McCartney donning a New York Fire Department T-shirt. Such sights might have been unthinkable before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but were quite normal at Saturday's ''Concert for New York,'' which brought rock stars and civil servants (6,000 police and fire department personnel sat in the front seats) closer than ever before.
The marathon six-hour show - a benefit for the Robin Hood Foundation to aid the families of victims of the World Trade Center attacks - ranked with the biggest rock benefits in history, joining Live Aid, Farm Aid, and the ''No Nukes'' concert, along with two more disaster-relief benefits that took place yesterday in Washington (with Michael
Jackson, Aerosmith, `N Sync, and others) and Nashville (with many country stars).
''What makes these events special is that they are artist-driven,'' said Rob Light of the Creative Artist Agency, which booked Eric Clapton, Macy Gray, and others for the New York concert. ''All the artists encouraged each other to participate. And that's the only way these things work.''
The New York show - produced by VH1, Cablevision, Miramax, and AOL - was a sign that the healing had begun. ''This show is not about grieving anymore,'' Jon Bon Jovi said backstage. ''It's about putting your chin up, your chest out, and moving on.''
Bon Jovi and John Mellencamp had been the first two acts to sign on, then came McCartney, whose dad was a firefighter during World War II. McCartney hand-delivered tickets to some New York firefighters - and played the longest set (five songs) of the night, as the police and firefighters cheered as though he were a brother. McCartney opened, strangely, with the Beatles' ''I'm Down,'' but touched hearts with the new ''Lonely Road'' and ''Freedom'' (penned for the occasion, though a fairly slight tune), and climaxed with ''Let It Be,'' spiced by a glorious Clapton solo.
There were many British acts on the bill, reaffirming their love for New York. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards played ''Salt of the Earth'' (''Let's drink to the hard-working people,'' Jagger sang) and ''Miss You,'' but it was a rag-tag effort next to the act that stole the show - The Who.
They blazed through ''Baba O'Riley,'' ''Behind Blue Eyes,'' and ''Won't Get Fooled Again,'' which took on new meaning and drew the night's loudest roar, save for Billy Joel's ''New York State of Mind.''
Elton John was surprisingly low-key with a new ballad, ''I Want Love,'' and oldie ''Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,'' before being joined by Joel for the gentle ''Your Song,'' though it would have been great to hear more duets from them. The blessing and curse of this show (depending on whether you liked a particular act) was that most only did a couple of songs because there was way too much else going on, from chamber-of-commerce-like films about how great New Yorkers are, to endless celebrities sharing a few words (Richard Gere was booed for asking for ''compass ion'' for the enemy, and New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was booed for showing up). And there was even the introduction of 19 New York athletes, including old-timers Willis Reed and Reggie Jackson.
But the music, when it wasn't sandwiched between films, comedy bits, and speeches (it was nice to hear from some rescue workers, but it got tiring listening to many politicians) was laudatory. Heartland rocker Mellencamp stoked the crowd with ''Pink Houses,'' with its patriotic line, ''Ain't that America - home of the free.'' David Bowie got into the spirit with ''America,'' the Simon & Garfunkel song. Macy Gray did a well-received Beatles cover, ''With a Little Help from My Friends.'' And Melissa Etheridge, despite technical difficulties, sang Bruce Springsteen's ''Born to Run.''
Destiny's Child added a stirring gospel medley. Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik did the poignant ''Superman (It's Not Easy).'' Clapton and Buddy Guy teamed up for ''Everything's Gonna Be All Right.'' And James Taylor was his unflappable self with ''Fire and Rain,'' ''You've Got a Friend,'' and the New York-inspired ''Up on the Roof.''
The Backstreet Boys (the only act to also play the Washington benefit yesterday) shared a gripping story about their carpenter, Daniel Lee, who was killed on one of the flights from Boston. And former president Bill Clinton captured the event's fervor when he said, ''I'm told that Osama bin Laden and his friends watch us on TV. I hope they were watching tonight.''
This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 10/22/2001.