Carnegie Hall hosted a Patti Smith tribute concert with Bruce Springsteen and others, March 26.
An unbilled Bruce Springsteen performed “Because the Night,” the 1978 Top 20 hit he co-wrote with Patti Smith, at “People Have the Power: A Celebration of Patti Smith,” the tribute concert that took place March 26 at Carnegie Hall in New York — and featured an unbilled, show-capping performance by Smith herself, as well.
“We love ya, Patti,” said Springsteen, after taking the stage. “Patti gave me this big hit, right here, I’m about to sing. If I had sung this song, it would not have been a hit. It needed her voice, and her incredible lyrics, so Patti, I have to thank you, so dearly, for our one big hit together. Thank you, darling.”
Another surprise came in the form of Johnny Depp, who joined the show’s cast to perform “Dancing Barefoot.”
The show was part of an annual series of tribute concerts that raise money for music education.
Here is its setlist (mixing songs and readings), according to setlist.fm:
“Piss Factory” (Matt Berninger)
“Free Money” (Jesse Malin)
“Redondo Beach” (Courtney Barnett)
“Pissing in a River” (Sharon Van Etten)
“Cowboy Truths” (Michael Shannon)
“Elegie” (Kronos Quartet)
“My Blakean Year” (Michael Stipe with Jesse Paris Smith, Tony Shanahan and Andy LeMaster)
“The Hour of Noon” (Jim Jarmusch)
“A Songwriter’s Song” (Jim Jarmusch)
“Departure” (Jim Jarmusch)
“Ghost Dance” (Ben Harper)
“Ask the Angels” (Alison Mosshart)
“Kimberly” (Susanna Hoffs)
“Mother Rose” (Paul Banks and Julia Banks)
“Wind” (Body/Head)
“Final Letter to Mapplethorpe” (Scarlett Johansson)
“Reflecting Robert” (Scarlett Johansson)
“Paths That Cross” (Music Will Academy of Lower Manhattan Public Middle School)
“Easter” (Angel Olsen)
“The Golden Cockerel” (Sean Penn)
“Beneath the Southern Cross” (Glen Hansard)
“Frederick” (Maggie Rogers)
“Dancing Barefoot” (Johnny Depp and Alison Mosshart)
“Gloria” (Karen O)
“Because the Night” (Bruce Springsteen)
“Cry Humanity” (Patti Smith)
“Peaceable Kingdom”/”People Have the Power” (Patti Smith)
“People Have the Power” (Patti Smith and Ensemble)
House band: Tony Shanahan (guitar, bass), Charlie Sexton (guitar), Flea (bass, trumpet), Benmont Tench (keyboards) and Steve Jordan (drums).
“Peaceable Kingdom” and “People Have the Power” featured Patti Smith’s band: Lenny Kaye, Tony Shanahan, Jay Dee Daugherty, Jackson Smith.
Patti Smith: “Cry Humanity”/”Peaceable Kingdom”/”People Have the Power”
Patti Smith and Ensemble: “People Have the Power”
Bruce Springsteen: “Because the Night”
Karen O: “Gloria”
Michael Stipe: “My Blakean Year”
Johnny Depp and Alison Mosshart: “Dancing Barefoot”
Maggie Rogers: “Frederick”
Check out, HERE, some videos from last night’s rehearsal show at City Winery in New York.
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