On the final day of the eventful Tribeca Festival (June 13), Bono, Patti Smith, Tribeca co-founder Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal gathered in lower Manhattan to honor Bruce Springsteen with the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award.
Springsteen, who dedicated the award to the people of Minneapolis, Portland and Los Angeles who “opposed this year’s federal invasion of our cities,” made the admission in a lengthy sit-down conversation with Bono. “I’m just a concerned citizen.”
Similar to Springsteen’s recent Land of Hopes & Dreams tour, the main themes of concern at this Tribeca Storytellers event were the erosion of American democracy and President Trump’s federal overreach. Prior to the conversation, De Niro and Rosenthal introduced Boss and explained why he received the award.
“He’s a guy who knows how to use his voice,” the Oscar-winning actor explained. “He uses it to give a voice to the powerless and he uses it to lead the resistance. He is fearless and direct. He knows what the problem is and he named it Donald Trump. Donald J. Trump and his reckless initiatives. That’s very important, because this is not about a rational argument about policy. This is about one man’s corruption and megalomania. Bruce Springsteen puts a face to it and does it in the words of a poet.”
Despite being a peer and a self-proclaimed “fan masquerading as a friend,” Bono asked Springsteen some thoughtful and even tough questions during the chat.
On the rock stars’ ability (or inability) to connect with the working class in the vein of Bono and Springsteen, the U2 frontman said: “I worry that we on the left sometimes lose a little bit of that, and that the accusations of elitism against people like me are not inaccurate.”
“Did it cost anything?” Bono asked Springsteen. “Does it hurt you at all that there are people in this town who used to come to see my shows and now don’t? Or have you made peace with that?”
“I don’t know,” Springsteen said frankly. “You have to do two things. As the classic folk song goes, “Which side are you on?”
Elsewhere in the chat, Springsteen pointed out that no one should have come to his recent tour (the most overtly political tour of his career, marked by sociopolitical concerns) expecting anything different than what they got. “I warned everyone about what the tour was going to be like before they came, not to waste their money,” Springsteen said with a laugh. “I thought I had done my job, and then it was everyone’s good for themselves.”
Despite his consistent activism, Springsteen chooses his battles carefully. Bono said he had asked his boss to sign various petitions in the past, but was politely but firmly refused. Bono recalled asking Springsteen to license his 2007 song “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” to be used in a Gap commercial when he collaborated with the clothing brand on the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, which raised money to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. Springsteen’s reaction? no.
“That was a big mistake, too,” Springsteen interjected, to Bono’s surprise. “I should have said yes,” Springsteen said, explaining that even though it wasn’t a hit, the song was one of his favorite songs, and admitted, “I should have done it. I should have apologized.”
After standing up and hugging, the two welcomed their third Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Patti Smith, onto the Tribeca Performing Arts Center stage. With Tony Shanahan on keys, she performed “Peaceable Kingdom,” a quiet plea for peace. The song was inspired by Rachel Corrie, who was killed by Israeli bulldozers in 2003 while protesting the destruction of Palestinian housing in the Gaza Strip.
Smith then performed her favorite live song, “People Have the Power,” and delivered an enthusiastic call to action. Springsteen and Shanahan backed her on acoustic guitar, and Bono left the stage, but Bruce brought him back to provide backing vocals (Bono also participated).
Nothing in the pre-program promised a live Springsteen performance, but everyone in the audience was quietly expecting something (keyword: unlike the very vocal fans at Miley Cyrus’ Tribeca Q&A last year who heckled her until she sang something, no music was promised at her event, but quietly). In fact, Springsteen actually performed, delivering a mesmerizing solo version of “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
Before leaving the stage to a standing ovation, Springsteen had one more important thought for the New York City audience. It was, “Let’s go to the Knicks.”
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