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Bruce Springsteen / Stars salute MusiCares honoree Bruce Springsteen, By Melinda Newman
Special to MSN Music
LOS ANGELES - "I'm here to pay tribute to this man, Bruce Springsteen, because he's awesome and I love him." The words came from "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart, longtime Bruceophile and host of Friday night's MusiCares' Person of the Year gala, but by the long evening's close, the same sentiment could have come from any of the 3,000 adoring attendees.
Held two nights before the Grammy Awards, the MusiCares dinner is the Recording Academy's annual fundraiser for its philanthropic arm that provides financial, medical and personal aid to those in the music community. Among those on hand to salute Springsteen in song were past honorees Elton John, Neil Young, and Sting, as well as Alabama Shakes, Mumford & Sons, Patti Smith, Zac Brown, Kenny Chesney, and Juanes.
Though Stewart joked that the Los Angeles Convention Center ballroom was ginormous enough to have "its own solar system," there was still a feeling of intimacy brought on by the free roaming atmosphere that allows anyone with a hard-to-get ticket to mingle with the performing artists and other celebrities in attendance, such as Sean Penn, Tom Hanks, Bonnie Raitt, Conan O'Brien, J.J. Abrams, Katy Perry, and Eddie Van Halen.
Though past honorees tended to stay seated until he or she accepted the award, Springsteen jumped in during the post-dinner/pre-show auction. After a 1952 Telecaster signed by many of the artists in attendance, stalled at $50,000 (!!), Springsteen threw in an hour guitar lesson with him, a ride in the sidecar of his Harley Davidson, and other perks, ultimately sweetening the deal with a lasagna cooked by his 87-year old mom, Adele, who sat on his right, while wife Patti Scialfa sat on his left. The package went for an astonishing $250,000. (Springsteen hugged the winner, who stole not one, but two kisses on the lips).
Springsteen then sat down and the nearly three-hour show began with Alabama Shakes offering a hair-raising version of "Adam Raised a Cain." Lead singer Brittany Howard's feral, howling vocal and guitarist Heath Fogg's raw, piercing guitar solo set the mark high for the evening.
From the newcomers to the veteran, Patti Smith earned a standing ovation next for her mystical, shamanistic version of "Because the Night." More than 30 years ago, she penned some of the song's lyrics after Springsteen got stuck and they've always shared its ownership. Friday night, she noted she never sings "Night" without thinking of Springsteen and her "muse," her late husband, MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith.
Other than My Morning Jacket's Jim James and Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello's thundering, blistering cover of "Ghost of Tom Joad" and Canadian Neil Young's peel-the-paint-off-the-walls, searing version of "Born in the U.S.A." -- complete with two cheerleaders for irony —the rest of the artists selected ballads, perhaps unwilling to compete with Springsteen's legendary ferocity on stage.
Few artists took risks, instead staying fairly close to Springsteen's original arrangements. The exception was John Legend, who, playing a grand piano on a revolving, circular stage in the middle of the banquet floor, stunningly reinvented "Dancing In the Dark" as a traditional jazz piece. Later, Springsteen thanked Legend for making him sound like Gershwin, and Young for making him sound like the Sex Pistols.
Other highlights included Mumford & Sons' lonesome and menacing "I'm On Fire," performed acoustically by the quartet standing close together under one spotlight; Emmylou Harris's poignant, wistful "My Hometown," Zac Brown and Mavis Staples' chills-inducing, spiritual "My City Of Ruins," Elton John's building, emotional "Streets of Philadelphia" (with Raphael Saadiq on bass and backing vocals), and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's sultry "Tougher Than The Rest."
No artist's performance was less than moving, though Natalie Maines' laser-sharp vocals threatened to overwhelm Ben Harper's bluesy voice on their appropriately mournful duet of "Atlantic City" (accompanied on harmonica by the great Charlie Musselwhite, whom Springsteen noted he opened for when he was "my daughter's age," 22), and Sting alternately mumbled and bellowed the lyrics on an otherwise uplifting, rhythmic version of "Lonesome Day."
As Springsteen climbed on stage to accept his award, the crowd chanted "BROOOCE," as if in an arena rather than at a black-tie event. In his rambling, but affecting, speech he touched on everything from the recent French liberation of Northern Mali from the music-banning Taliban to admitting that one reason he agreed to the MusiCares honor nearly a year ago was that his manager predicted he'd be in Los Angeles anyway to pick up an album of the year Grammy for "Wrecking Ball." Oops. The excellent album did not receive a nomination for album of the year, an omission that possibly chafed the competitive Springsteen.
Also: See Grammy snubs and surprises
Speaking for all musicians, but, clearly, primarily for himself, he added, "We want to be great. We want to be important in your life. That was all I cared about...When we play, we want the hair to stand up on your arms. We want you to feel alive."
With that, Springsteen wrapped up his speech with "somebody give me my guitar," as he took off his jacket and vest and got to work.
He told the audience to come up front, and, in a flash, jaded music industry insiders made like 13-year old girls at a One Direction concert and swarmed the stage, clogging the middle aisle and the nooks and crannies between the front banquet tables. It was exactly the same as being in the pit for one of his shows, except everyone was in formal wear.
Special to MSN Music
LOS ANGELES - "I'm here to pay tribute to this man, Bruce Springsteen, because he's awesome and I love him." The words came from "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart, longtime Bruceophile and host of Friday night's MusiCares' Person of the Year gala, but by the long evening's close, the same sentiment could have come from any of the 3,000 adoring attendees.
Held two nights before the Grammy Awards, the MusiCares dinner is the Recording Academy's annual fundraiser for its philanthropic arm that provides financial, medical and personal aid to those in the music community. Among those on hand to salute Springsteen in song were past honorees Elton John, Neil Young, and Sting, as well as Alabama Shakes, Mumford & Sons, Patti Smith, Zac Brown, Kenny Chesney, and Juanes.
Though Stewart joked that the Los Angeles Convention Center ballroom was ginormous enough to have "its own solar system," there was still a feeling of intimacy brought on by the free roaming atmosphere that allows anyone with a hard-to-get ticket to mingle with the performing artists and other celebrities in attendance, such as Sean Penn, Tom Hanks, Bonnie Raitt, Conan O'Brien, J.J. Abrams, Katy Perry, and Eddie Van Halen.
Though past honorees tended to stay seated until he or she accepted the award, Springsteen jumped in during the post-dinner/pre-show auction. After a 1952 Telecaster signed by many of the artists in attendance, stalled at $50,000 (!!), Springsteen threw in an hour guitar lesson with him, a ride in the sidecar of his Harley Davidson, and other perks, ultimately sweetening the deal with a lasagna cooked by his 87-year old mom, Adele, who sat on his right, while wife Patti Scialfa sat on his left. The package went for an astonishing $250,000. (Springsteen hugged the winner, who stole not one, but two kisses on the lips).
Springsteen then sat down and the nearly three-hour show began with Alabama Shakes offering a hair-raising version of "Adam Raised a Cain." Lead singer Brittany Howard's feral, howling vocal and guitarist Heath Fogg's raw, piercing guitar solo set the mark high for the evening.
From the newcomers to the veteran, Patti Smith earned a standing ovation next for her mystical, shamanistic version of "Because the Night." More than 30 years ago, she penned some of the song's lyrics after Springsteen got stuck and they've always shared its ownership. Friday night, she noted she never sings "Night" without thinking of Springsteen and her "muse," her late husband, MC5 guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith.
Other than My Morning Jacket's Jim James and Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello's thundering, blistering cover of "Ghost of Tom Joad" and Canadian Neil Young's peel-the-paint-off-the-walls, searing version of "Born in the U.S.A." -- complete with two cheerleaders for irony —the rest of the artists selected ballads, perhaps unwilling to compete with Springsteen's legendary ferocity on stage.
Few artists took risks, instead staying fairly close to Springsteen's original arrangements. The exception was John Legend, who, playing a grand piano on a revolving, circular stage in the middle of the banquet floor, stunningly reinvented "Dancing In the Dark" as a traditional jazz piece. Later, Springsteen thanked Legend for making him sound like Gershwin, and Young for making him sound like the Sex Pistols.
Other highlights included Mumford & Sons' lonesome and menacing "I'm On Fire," performed acoustically by the quartet standing close together under one spotlight; Emmylou Harris's poignant, wistful "My Hometown," Zac Brown and Mavis Staples' chills-inducing, spiritual "My City Of Ruins," Elton John's building, emotional "Streets of Philadelphia" (with Raphael Saadiq on bass and backing vocals), and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's sultry "Tougher Than The Rest."
No artist's performance was less than moving, though Natalie Maines' laser-sharp vocals threatened to overwhelm Ben Harper's bluesy voice on their appropriately mournful duet of "Atlantic City" (accompanied on harmonica by the great Charlie Musselwhite, whom Springsteen noted he opened for when he was "my daughter's age," 22), and Sting alternately mumbled and bellowed the lyrics on an otherwise uplifting, rhythmic version of "Lonesome Day."
As Springsteen climbed on stage to accept his award, the crowd chanted "BROOOCE," as if in an arena rather than at a black-tie event. In his rambling, but affecting, speech he touched on everything from the recent French liberation of Northern Mali from the music-banning Taliban to admitting that one reason he agreed to the MusiCares honor nearly a year ago was that his manager predicted he'd be in Los Angeles anyway to pick up an album of the year Grammy for "Wrecking Ball." Oops. The excellent album did not receive a nomination for album of the year, an omission that possibly chafed the competitive Springsteen.
Also: See Grammy snubs and surprises
Speaking for all musicians, but, clearly, primarily for himself, he added, "We want to be great. We want to be important in your life. That was all I cared about...When we play, we want the hair to stand up on your arms. We want you to feel alive."
With that, Springsteen wrapped up his speech with "somebody give me my guitar," as he took off his jacket and vest and got to work.
He told the audience to come up front, and, in a flash, jaded music industry insiders made like 13-year old girls at a One Direction concert and swarmed the stage, clogging the middle aisle and the nooks and crannies between the front banquet tables. It was exactly the same as being in the pit for one of his shows, except everyone was in formal wear.
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