Kennedy Center Honors: Jon Stewart Honors The Boss; Plus De Niro, Mel, Obama & More (VIDEO)
Last night CBS broadcast this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, held earlier this month, and it was a pretty lovely affair as Mel Brooks, Robert DeNiro, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Brubeck and Grace Bumbry were honored for their incredible contributions to arts and culture. It was an exceptionally star-studded affair, too — not only on stage but in the audience, where President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama sat with the honorees. Meryl Streep and Marty Scorsese honored De Niro (great story by Scorsese too, about how De Niro got to the essential truth of a character); Carl Reiner honored Brooks, along with Gary Beach and Matthew Broderick from The Producers (“Springtime For Hitler” was especially hilarious considering the locale, and the audience), plus Jack Black in tights; Herbie Hancock honored jazz great Dave Brubeck (on his birthday!), along with an ensemble performance by none other than his sons; and Aretha Franklin (sans hat) honored Bumbry. There were others — Martin Short, Frank Langella, Ben Stiller, Sharon Stone (looking jarringly young), Ed Norton — and then there was the finale: Bruce.
That’s a long introduction, but it really was a great show (and unexpectedly big on Twitter last night — and, as it turns out, in the ratings). I’m glad I watched, glad enough that I want to share it — and this was my favorite part (well, I loved the Susan Stroman-choreographed Mel Brooks medley, too). By now, everyone knows that Bruce is from Jersey, and if you watch Jon Stewart, you know not only that he is, too, but that he is a gigantimungous Springsteen fan. So even seeing him walk out to do the honors was exciting, if you happen to love the Boss (which I do, every since I was told that I wasn’t a beauty but, eh, I was all right).
“When you listen to Bruce’s music, you aren’t a loser, you’re a character in an epic poem…about losers,” joked Stewart, but he also got to the essential, caring core of the Springsteen oeuvre, which has been a constant for the decades, now, that he’s been on top. (That and the cars. Always with the cars.) That emotional component is what made the performance of “The Rising” by Sting and “City of Ruins” by Eddie Vedder so compelling. And it was also awesome to hear that crowd, so fancy there in proper Washington, doing the classic, Jersey-bar-born call: Bruuuuuce.
Anyhow. Enjoy.
…and here is Eddie Vedder doing “City of Ruins” (via @MickiMaynard):
32nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors [KennedyCenter.org]
Kudos for Kennedy Center Honors [Examiner]
Photogallery [CBS News]
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
