concert for change

[Bags]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  i'm fairly certain that i spotted Ben Stiller outside after the show...

He was there, row 15 on the floor.  We ran into a drunk guy at the beer window who was laughing his ass off, kept saying "I got better seats than Ben Stiller!  He's in the row BEHIND me!"

[kosmo vinyl]

I got in about 6:15 before the rush...  The opening act was Stipe, Springsteen, Vedder, and a couple others coming out and making a general announcement about the show.

[Bags]

Hail to The Boss: Springsteen Plays Politics
 
 By Sean Daly
 Washington Post Staff Writer
 Tuesday, October 12, 2004; Page C01
 
 How's this for a sign of the times? None other than Bruce Springsteen, the gruff-voiced bard of the working class, stormed a sold-out MCI Center last night in the hopes of sending one man straight to the unemployment line.
 
 Yep, and the Boss wasn't alone in voicing his displeasure with our country's other notable boss, either: Thirteen of the New Jersey star's fellow pop-music heavy hitters showed up in the nation's capital to try to help rock George W. Bush right on out of the White House.
 
 At the start of the raucous finale of the Vote for Change tour, Springsteen, Dave Matthews, R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Dixie Chick Emily Robison walked onstage together to the sound of loud boos -- oh, wait, sorry, the crowd actually was screaming "Bruuuce!" (Talk about a guy who was born to run for office.)
 
 "We're here to raise our voices loud and clear," said Springsteen. "We want to change our government."
 
 "We want government that's open, rational, responsible for the citizenry, and humane," added Vedder.
 
 There was no mention of Bush in the opening statements. No mention of John Kerry, either. Instead, the musicians went on to unload (and unload and unload) their arsenal of hits and keep their political views to gritty little sound bites and pleas to vote.
 
 Perhaps the most rousing set of the night was the first one: John Mellencamp gave his roots-rock a bluesy, acoustic grit. "This next song is about what the Devil can do if you don't keep your eye on him," said the midwestern icon before launching into the fiddle-fueled "Walk Tall." Backed by a four-piece band, Mellencamp stayed seated on a stool for "Paper in Fire" and "The Authority Song" but jumped to his feet to put extra oomph into the blue-collar anthem "Pink Houses."
 
 The tour, a much-publicized 38-show road trip that since Oct. 1 has covered 33 cities in 11 swing states, including Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio, was presented by MoveOn, a liberal political action committee. All proceeds ("millions and millions" is all organizers will say) will go to America Coming Together, an independent group created by Democratic Party supporters. Tickets for last night's show, which sold out in 30 minutes, ran as high as $175. Most of the previous Vote for Change shows -- aimed at undecided voters but drooled over by music geeks -- also were reported as sellouts. People who were shut out could watch the show live on the Sundance Channel or hear the broadcast on more than 60 radio stations.
 
 Last night's five-hour-plus exhaust-athon was more a call to guitars than a call to arms -- and it proved sensational for donkeys and elephants alike. In fact, things were a lot more divisive across the street from the arena.
 
 The D.C. chapter of the pro-Bush organization Free Republic, led by Kristinn Taylor, waved signs that read "Saddam-Aid 2004," "Tunes for Terrorists" and "Shut Up and Sing."
 
 "I've been a Springsteen fan since '78," said Taylor, 42, of Washington, "but I'm boycotting the Boss until after the election. . . . The problem I have with these artists is that they have been on the wrong side of freedom."
 
 Next to the Free Republicans was David Lytel, 46, also of Washington. A staunch Democrat, he's the founder of the Committee to ReDefeat the President. But it wasn't just his protesting neighbors who were mad at him. "When I invited the ReDefeat the President team today, I misspelled Springsteen," Lytel said with a grimace. "There was outrage."
 
 Considering the number of acts that had to be shoehorned in -- and all-star evenings can be clunky affairs -- last night's show zipped along. R&B smoothie Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds strummed out the sweet melody to his big hit "Change the World," then gave way to SoCal folk-rocker Jackson Browne, slide-guitar queen Bonnie Raitt and neo-bluesman Keb' Mo', all of whom teamed for a sexy, sinister cover of Buffalo Springfield's Vietnam War-era rallying cry "For What It's Worth." Adding hip-hop swagger to the night, rap outfit Jurassic Five rattled the rafters with the bass-tastic "Freedom."
 
 Dressed in a blinding white suit and jittering around as if he had fire ants in his pants, smooth-pated oddball Stipe led R.E.M. through an all-together-now version of "The One I Love," his pleading howls of "Fire!" echoed by the equally writhing masses. Pearl Jam's Vedder then hopped onstage to help out on "Begin the Begin," the two singers bouncing and throwing playful punches. The biggest singalong of the night -- and proof that perhaps no one has merged art and pop better than R.E.M. -- was "Losing My Religion," which also garnered the biggest ovation.
 
 No, scratch that. Before Stipe could even get out the words "Please welcome to the stage . . . Bruce Springsteen," the fans erupted (and erupted and erupted) and flashbulbs popped. The night's main man helped out on R.E.M.'s "Man on the Moon," punctuating the chorus of "Are we losing touch?" with one of those silly little leg kicks that Springsteen -- a great talent, a horrendous dancer -- busts out when he's feeling giddy.
 
 The superstars -- and, uh, actor Tim Robbins -- just kept on coming. Robbins, who makes Springsteen look like Tommy Tune, joined Vedder and his grunge progenitors Pearl Jam for some really bad dancing but rather rousing punk-rock, including the howler "Grievance."
 
 "We got the message out, and almost everyone here is going to vote," said Vedder, who quizzed the crowd about when Election Day is -- and everyone held up the peace sign. It was a nice moment that turned appropriately chilly when Vedder spat out the words to Bob Dylan's caustic antiwar critique "Masters of War."
 
 James Taylor took the stage next. "I hate it when they say, 'You shouldn't changes horses midstream.' I hate it 'cause if your horse can't swim . . ." he said. He opened with the bittersweet ballad "Never Die Young" and invited the Dixie Chicks to assist him with sob-inducing takes on his "Sweet Baby James" and "Shower the People," Taylor and Natalie Maines delicately trading off on vocals.
 
 Speaking of that troublemaking Chick, Maines -- who became a public relations nightmare last year when she said she was ashamed of fellow Texan George W. Bush -- received a prolonged standing ovation.
 
 "Gosh, I hope y'all show up to our next tour," she said during her band's short but playful set. "After the incident, people asked me if I wanted to take back what I said. Well, no, 'cause after that Bush would just call me a flip-flopper."
 
 After a hoedown take on Dylan's "Mississippi" -- a typical Bob puzzler that doesn't seem to be about politics at all -- the Chicks gave way to the Dave Matthews Band. The trippy jazz-pop jammers wailed away on "Don't Drink the Water," an incendiary number that built to a messy but creepy finish, and the hippie stomps "Ants Marching" and "What Would You Say?"
 
 "Bruuuce!" they cried.
 
 And after four hours of going bonkers, Bruuuce they finally received. After opening with a gooseflesh-rippling steel-string rendition of the national anthem, Springsteen led his venerable E Street Band straight into the bittersweet belly of a raging "Born in the U.S.A.," a hard indictment of the powers-that-be that is often misinterpreted as a pure patriotic stomp.
 
 The Boss then did what the Boss does best: sing for the working stiff in all of us. He played "Badlands" and "No Surrender," each anthem a chance for crowd members to throw jubilant fists in the air -- no matter where they sat on the political spectrum.
 
 Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty came on to sing with Springsteen on a blistering "Fortunate Son." (Who didn't see that coming?) Stipe serenaded the Boss on "Because the Night," the song miraculously tight for being essentially unrehearsed. Springsteen, in hellzapoppin' preacher mode, urged everyone watching at home to take off their clothes and celebrate. "A change is coming!" he cried. And then, of course, he did "Born to Run" -- with the house lights on, no less.
 
 With the concert past the midnight mark, all the Vote for Change acts headed back to the stage for a sloppy but energetic cover of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?" It's a bipartisan song and a really nice thought.

[ggw]

Irrelevant Pop Stars Unite Against Bush
 
 LOS ANGELES�??In an effort to motivate Americans to go to the polls on Nov. 2, a coalition of irrelevant pop stars is winding up a 36-city tour that will culminate in a concert on Oct. 11 in Washington, D.C.
 
  <img src="http://www.theonion.com/images/405/article2978.jpg" alt=" - " />  
 Above: Aging and irrelevant artists team up to help vote Bush out of office.
 
 "The Vote For Change tour has been put together by a wide cross-section of artists with one purpose: to remove Bush from office," said Stone Gossard, whose band Pearl Jam enjoyed popularity during the grunge phase of the early to mid-'90s. "Not everyone here is pro-Kerry, but everyone here agrees that Bush has to go. Just rocking the vote isn't enough. You've gotta rock for change."
 
 Pearl Jam will share the stage with such onetime chart-toppers as Jackson Browne, John Fogerty, and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
 
 "I can't let this election take place without knowing I fought as hard as I could for a more compassionate leader," 51-year-old John Mellencamp said. "If playing my 1986 hit 'R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A.' at the Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City will dissuade people from voting for Bush, then I'm going to do it."
 
 The Vote For Change bill contains a wide range of artists whose actual relationship with American politics remains unclear. Rock group R.E.M., blues artist Bonnie Raitt, and the country group Dixie Chicks will join R&B artists such as Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, co-founder of LaFace Records, which released the Bodyguard soundtrack.
 
 "I couldn't ignore all the bad that's going on," said Edmonds, who co-wrote Bobby Brown's 1992 single "Humpin' Around." "I had to do my part to stop all the... bad things."
 
 Rounding out the bill are such lesser-known indie artists as 24-year-old singer-songwriter Conor Oberst (a.k.a. Bright Eyes), and Seattle-based rock band Death Cab For Cutie.
 
 "Bush is fucking evil," said Nick Harmer, bassist for Death Cab For Cutie. "The economy is for shit, and we're stuck in this unjust war that he lied about to get us to agree to. Me and the other guys in the band wanted to do something real to get him out of office. We were like, 'We gotta do a concert.'"
 
 David Corn, Washington, D.C. editor of The Nation, said he appreciated the musicians' efforts.
 
 "It's really great to get more young people involved in politics, and if Keb Mo singing 'This Land Is Your Land' helps, so be it," Corn said. "Of course, in addition to watching MTV to find out what Moby has to say about Bush, you could watch C-SPAN, or even visit the candidates' web sites. You're probably not going to learn a lot about the candidates' positions on Social Security reform by listening to Dave Matthews gas on while his bassist tunes up."
 
 After being informed of the existence of the Vote For Change tour, Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman called it "a cute idea."
 
 "It's wonderful that these singers are getting involved," Mehlman said. "While I respectfully disagree with Tracy Chapman and Sheryl Crow's opinion of our president, I think it's great that they're doing something with their time."
 
 Concert organizers said the show, with its extraordinary lineup of soft-rock artists, is getting a boost in ticket sales from an unexpected demographic. John Linner of Orlando, FL is one of the tens of thousands of registered Republicans planning to attend a Vote For Change concert.
 
 "It's going to be kind of annoying, with all the liberal bullshit between sets, but I can't imagine missing this kind of line-up," Linner said. "R.E.M. is a little weird, except for that one song, 'Shiny Happy People.' But how many times do you get a chance to see a tour that has Springsteen and John Fogerty?"
 
 Similar in spirit to Vote For Change, Rock Against Bush is a concert tour created by NOFX vocalist and bassist Fat Mike to mobilize voters against the president.
 
 "We're psyched to have Strike Anywhere, Anti-Flag, and Bouncing Souls on board," Fat Mike said, naming acts a few people might recognize as punk bands. "We're especially hoping we pull in some audience members who are older than 17, so they can vote."
 
 Rock Against Bush publicist Donna Wolff said campaign-related concerts are "an important way for musicians to express their political views."
 
 "Contrary to what many people think, rock artists want to be involved," Wolff said. "While some of the musicians billed on our tour can't even name the U.S Secretary of Health and Human Services, or list more than two Bush policies they oppose, they all know the difference between right and wrong."
 
 Link

[saco]

Originally posted by ggw�?�:
  The Onion is satire.  
 
 
 He's the Boss
 Bruce Springsteen knows exactly how to sell John Kerry to swing voters.
 
 By Kenneth S. Baer
 Web Exclusive: 10.04.04
 
 Print Friendly | Email Article
 
 In 1960, the bosses who delivered the election to John F. Kennedy were Richard Daley of Chicago, John Bailey of Connecticut, and courthouse rings throughout the South. In 2004, the boss who may deliver the election to John F. Kerry is The Boss, Bruce Springsteen.
 
 As far as I know, Springsteen has never delivered even his New Jersey precinct on Election Day. But if you catch him on the Vote for Change tour (as I did in Philadelphia this past Friday), you�??ll see that Springsteen understands this election, especially his swing-voter fan base and what message moves them. At the Democratic convention in Boston this summer, Kerry entered the hall to Springsteen�??s �??No Surrender;�?� if he follows the Boss�??s lead this fall, he�??ll be entering rooms for the next four years to �??Hail to the Chief.�?�
 
 Full disclosure: I was raised in New Jersey, schooled in Philly, and believe that the E Street Band is the best rock-and-roll band in the world today. But I am neither a Springsteen groupie nor the type of fan who believes that Springsteen is infallible. (I�??ve listened to �??Human Touch;�?� enough said.) Yet, in ways subtle and direct, the concert Friday pointed the way for Kerry over these next four weeks, and how to win on November 2.
 
 To start, you need to understand who�??s showing up to these concerts. Although a fund-raiser for Americans Coming Together (ACT), a federation of the main liberal and labor groups running the Democratic voter-registration and get-out-the-vote efforts in battleground states, the crowd looked more like one found at a Philadelphia Eagles game than at a pro-choice rally. It was middle-aged, beefy, ethnic, and white; I think the only black face in the entire stadium was saxophonist Clarence Clemons. There were more pleated khakis than piercings, more golf shirts than Gucci. It was as middle-class as you can get. In a word, it was Jersey.
 
 That�??s why the crowd was hitting the hot dog, cheesesteak, and soft pretzel stands when the alternative rock group Bright Eyes opened the evening. And that�??s why they looked at REM and its lead singer, Michael Stipe, as if they were aliens. REM has a more moody, electronic sound; the band hails from the university town of Athens, Georgia; and its frontman, Michael Stipe, is thin, entirely bald, and that night was wearing all white. (He would have fit in perfectly with Teresa Heinz Kerry and Laura Bush at the first debate.) The crowd was there not for Bright Eyes, not for REM, and not really for Kerry -- they were there for Bruce.
 
 While traditionally strategists see these fans as lunch-bucket voters -- if they vote at all -- this time, it�??s different: They are security voters. The overriding issue for them is the war on terrorism and in Iraq. During Springsteen�??s �??public service announcement,�?� the only issue in his litany for why he was supporting Kerry that got any distinguishable applause was Iraq.
 
 This is why Kerry got such a boost from his strong performance in the first debate last Thursday, and why it makes no sense that his strategists have now decided to try, once again, to shift the debate toward domestic concerns. Security is the number-one issue in this election, and the only thing keeping Kerry from cleaning George W. Bush�??s clock is the president�??s advantage on who is seen as best able to lead the country in the war in Iraq and against terrorism.
 
 Listening to his set list in Philadelphia, it became clear that Springsteen understands that closing this gap is key to a Kerry victory -- that security must be part of a larger message and indictment of Bush. And when he took the stage, Springsteen, like a seasoned pol, made the case.
 
 First, Springsteen reassured the crowd that they, he, and the cause are patriotic. How? By opening his set with a searing solo-guitar version of �??The Star-Spangled Banner�?� a la Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. Then, without missing a beat, the band went right into �??Born in the USA,�?� a song so rousing that when it came out in 1984, Ronald Reagan started playing it at his rallies (until Springsteen told him to stop).
 
 With the crowd on its feet, surging with patriotic pride, Springsteen kept them pumped with �??Badlands�?� and its hopeful -- even Edwardsian -- message that: �??We'll keep pushin' till its understood / And these badlands start treating us good.�?� That was followed with Kerry�??s campaign song, �??No Surrender,�?� and �??Lonesome Day,�?� a hit from the latest album.
 
 Second, now that Springsteen had met the bar on security and patriotism, he began the dismantling of Bush and his presidency. The Boss started with foreign policy. For that he dusted off the rarely played �??Lost in the Flood�?�: �??And I said �??Hey Gunner man, that's quicksand, that's quicksand, that ain't mud / Have you thrown your senses to the war or did you lose them in the flood?�??�?� That was followed with the economic argument: �??Johnny 99,�?� about a guy whose life falls apart when he loses his job at the local auto plant, and �??Youngstown,�?� about that depressed rust-belt city from the epicenter of this year�??s election, Ohio.
 
 Third, Springsteen moved to indict Bush, the man. It�??s tricky. After all, although the latest Gallup/CNN/USA Today poll taken after the first debate shows Kerry pulling even with Bush in the horse race, Bush still leads Kerry by a margin of 46 percent to 41 percent on who is more honest and trustworthy, and 56-37 on who is a stronger leader. But as Kerry showed in the first debate, Bush can be -- and must be -- exposed for being the cocooned, privileged, ideologically blinded person that he is.
 
 For this job, Springsteen enlisted a surrogate: John Fogerty. The aging rocker, of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame, went relentlessly negative with the rock classic �??Fortunate Son.�?� From its title to its last word, the song -- while written in 1969 -- is a short but comprehensive takedown of the president for being born to privilege and asking others to foot the bill for his tax cuts and fight his wars. I�??m surprised the Bush campaign hasn�??t demanded equal time every time it�??s played on the radio.
 
 Finally, to get out the vote, Springsteen played �??Born to Run,�?� and then ended with all the artists singing Patti Smith�??s �??People Have the Power.�?�
 
 It took two hours, but Springsteen showed how to make the sale: assert your strength and patriotism, hammer Bush on security and his character, and remind swing voters that they�??re also economically worse off than they were four years ago. Now, it�??s up to Kerry to hit the same notes.

[ggw]

Originally posted by saco:
 Ken Baer was Gore's speechwriter in the 2000 election

[Bags]

Originally posted by ggw�?�:
  Originally posted by saco:
 Ken Baer was Gore's speechwriter in the 2000 election

Where'd that article c0me from?

[ggw]

The American Prospect
 
 

Originally posted by Bags:
   

Originally posted by ggw�?�:
  Originally posted by saco:
 Ken Baer was Gore's speechwriter in the 2000 election

Where'd that article c0me from? [/b]

[thirsty moore]

Occasionally I'll see white kids with dreads playing concerts for change in G'town.  Har har har.