In his eleventh public performance this year, Springsteen played for half an hour yesterday at the Stand Up For Heroes benefit concert, held at the Beacon Theatre in New York. Backed by the Max Weinberg Big Band and pianist Killer Joe D’Elia, Bruce opened his performance with the swing version of «Open All Night» (as performed during the Seeger Sessions tour), followed by «Spirit in the Night», which included a long walk down the aisle and into the audience, singing on top of a seat.
After telling a few jokes, Springsteen dedicated his next song to «all the men and women, guys and gals in uniform», and delivered a heartfelt acoustic rendition of «Land of Hope and Dreams». A live auction followed, and Bruce’s guitar, harmonica and his shirt fetched $160,000.
After the auction Springsteen and the big band performed Little Richard’s «Long Tall Sally» to close the set. Also on the bill were comedians Ricky Gervais and Jim Gaffigan, along with Jon Stewart and Bill Clinton. This year marks the fifth consecutive appearance of Bruce Springsteen at this charity event for the Bob Woodruff Foundation.
