The listed headliners alone were enough to justify outrageous ticket prices for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s first 25th anniversary concert at NYC’s Madison Square Garden last night: Crosby, Stills & Nash, Simon & Garfunkel, Paul Simon solo, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band can all fill arenas by themselves. Yet they weren’t even half the talent in the room. As each of those top-billed acts brought out one legendary friend or forebear after another to jam on stage, a truly epic event took form. (Check out a full set list after the jump.) By the end of the night — which was actually 1:30 this morning — the performers had succeeded at a goal that the Hall of Fame itself only sometimes reaches: They had presented a convincing rock canon, a rich history that’s still living and breathing in the present tense.
Every time I thought I couldn’t holler any louder, someone came along to prove me wrong. Paul Simon dedicating a sweet, sad “Here Comes the Sun” to George Harrison — with David Crosby and Graham Nash on harmony. Bruce Springsteen covering “Fortunate Son” — with John Fogerty growling along. Little Anthony and the Imperials singing a cappella doo-wop, their voices miraculously as heavenly as ever. Sam Moore (in a t-shirt reading “SAM/IS WHO I AM”) ripping through “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’” — with a top-form E Street Band plus a vintage Stax horn section behind him. Stevie Wonder paying tribute to Michael Jackson by covering “The Way You Make Me Feel.” Darlene Love building what Springsteen termed “a one-woman wall of sound” with some help from the E Street Band. Oh yeah, and some guy called Billy Joel coming out well after midnight for (Springsteen’s image again) a historic New Jersey-Long Island summit.
By calling out those particular highlights, I’ve short-changed any number of moments that would have been call-a-friend peaks at another show. That’s on top of all the headliners doing superlative tours through their own hit parades. It would have been exhausting if it wasn’t so exhilarating.
Tonight, U2, Aretha Franklin, Metallica, and who knows who else will take the Garden stage for a second Hall of Fame anniversary concert; both shows will air on HBO Nov. 29. If you’re a fan of things that are awesome, I recommend you tune in. Til then: Were you there last night? Which were your favorite performances? Weigh in below.
Set list:
Jerry Lee Lewis, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”
Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Woodstock”
Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Marrakesh Express”
Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Almost Cut My Hair”
Bonnie Raitt with Crosby and Nash, “Love Has No Pride”
Bonnie Raitt with Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Midnight Rider”
Jackson Browne with Crosby, Stills & Nash, “The Pretender”
James Taylor with Crosby and Nash, “Mexico”
Crosby, Stills & Nash with James Taylor, “Love the One You’re With”
Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Rock & Roll Woman”
Crosby, Stills & Nash with Jackson Browne, James Taylor, and Bonnie Raitt, “Teach Your Children”
Paul Simon, “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”
Paul Simon, “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”
Paul Simon, “Call Me Al”
Dion DiMucci with Paul Simon, “The Wanderer”
Paul Simon with Crosby and Nash, “Here Comes the Sun”
Paul Simon, “Late in the Evening”
Little Anthony and the Imperials, “Two Kinds of People”
Simon & Garfunkel, “The Sounds of Silence”
Simon & Garfunkel, “Mrs. Robinson”/”Not Fade Away” medley
Simon & Garfunkel, “The Boxer”
Simon & Garfunkel, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
Simon & Garfunkel, “Cecilia”
Stevie Wonder, “Blowin’ in the Wind”
Stevie Wonder, “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)”
Stevie Wonder, “I Was Made to Love Her”
Stevie Wonder, “For Once in My Life”
Stevie Wonder, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”
Stevie Wonder, “Boogie On Reggae Woman”
Smokey Robinson with Stevie Wonder, “The Tracks of My Tears”
John Legend with Stevie Wonder, “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)”
Stevie Wonder with John Legend, “The Way You Make Me Feel”
B.B. King with Stevie Wonder, “The Thrill Is Gone”
Stevie Wonder, “Living for the City”
Stevie Wonder with Sting, “Higher Ground”/”Roxanne” medley
Stevie Wonder with Jeff Beck, “Superstition”
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
Sam Moore with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Hold On, I’m Comin’”
Sam Moore with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,”Soul Man”
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with Tom Morello, “The Ghost of Tom Joad”
John Fogerty with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Fortunate Son”
John Fogerty with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Proud Mary”
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with John Fogerty, “Oh, Pretty Woman”
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Jungleland”
Darlene Love with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “A Fine, Fine Boy”
Darlene Love with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Da Doo Ron Ron”
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with Tom Morello, “London Calling”
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Badlands”
Billy Joel with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “You May Be Right”
Billy Joel with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Only the Good Die Young”
Billy Joel with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “New York State of Mind”
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with Billy Joel, “Born to Run”
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with Billy Joel, Darlene Love, Sam Moore, John Fogerty, Tom Morello, Jackson Browne, and Peter Wolf, “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher)”
