There are not many things worth flocking to Times Square in the rain for. But a free concert headlined by some of the biggest cross-generational names in music was one of them. U2’s surprise concert, set to coincide with World Aids Day, drew tourists in rain ponchos and natives alike.
The event was hosted by (RED), Bono’s advocacy organisation to raise awareness and money for Aids research. Bono was absent. He’s still recovering from a serious bike accident in Central Park last month.
Bill Clinton opened the event with the most direct address of the event’s purpose we would receive before Chris Martin did a serviceable job as a stand-in for Bono, opening with the crowd-pleasing Beautiful Day before quickly transitioning to With or Without You. The hits gave the crowd what they came for, with Martin’s beaming stage presence boosting the buoying crowd almost to the point of dancing, had there been room.
U2 guitarist The Edge generously introduced “the reigning queen of country” Carrie Underwood, who belted her song Change with help from U2 before being joined on stage by her band for Something in the Water, neither of which seemed to garner much response from the damp crowd. They seemed to be waiting patiently for Bruce Springsteen and Kanye West.
With that, the shortest Kanye concert ever boomed to life, with the bass on Power cranked up loud enough to knock over small children. West rounded the set out with gratifying throwbacks Jesus Walks and Stronger, and Touch the Sky. The crowd shouted back to all the lyrics of Yeezus cornerstone Black Skinhead, where the line “where the Trojans” was about as pro-social as Kanye was looking to get. West packed his limited time on stage before dropping his mic and disappearing just as quickly as he appeared.
Bruce Springsteen headlined – clad in a leather jacket and tight black jeans and sporting deep tan – leading U2 through its hit Where the Streets Have No Name. A singalong moment came with I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, which closed out the show, providing a performance worth standing in a body-to-body crowd for.
