The Conce
rt for Sandy Relief was one of the greatest musical fundraisers of all time, joining Billy Joel, Clapton, The Who, The Stones, McCartney, Chris Martin, Roger Waters and other rock gods. Now there’s a documentary about how this all came about. It features the “behind-the scenes” interspersed with performances, including the ones that are omitted from the concert video I bought on iTunes. (Springsteen and Bon Jovi performing together? Adam Sandler’s “Sandy Screw Ya” to the tune of “Hallelujah”? Those were highlights, not expendable material!)
What we viewers didn’t see the night of the concert was that the computer system couldn’t handle the volume of potential donations (people are good) and the frantic efforts during the show to get it working properly. Paul McCartney is one of the producers but he’s not depicted as acting like Mr. Grand Poobah. It was fun watching all these important people interacting as peers. Remember Alicia Keys’ voice that night? Even her speaking voice was off but she performed anyway, and that was pretty brave because she had the closing song, “Empire State of Mind:”
New York! Concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There’s nothing you can’t do.
An appropriate way to end the show, which was kind of a love letter to New York and New Jersey. And a final reminder of why this all came about.
Proceeds from the film go to the Robin Hood Hurricane Sandy Relief fund: http://www.robinhood.org/sandygrants
Photo: ©Robert Caplin via The Weinstein Company
The Linda Life 