Backstreets, a magazine and Website devoted to Bruce Springsteen and his music, was at a benefit concert last night in Red Bank, NJ. And that other Jersey guy, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams had the honor of introducing the Boss:
NBC anchor Brian Williams, who goes back a long way as a fan and was clearly psyched just to be talking through Springsteen’s mic (“the first and last time that will ever happen”). He recalled hitting the Stone Pony and the Tradewinds back in the day, ever on Bruce-watch; he also touched on the recent loss of Danny Federici, saying that “Great families endure. And great, great bands endure.” “The netting is just to keep the larger pieces of debris from falling down,” he added, “and if there’s an entity that could cause the big ones to fall, it’s this group here…Ladies and gentlemen, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band!”
Last night’s concert at the 1,500-seat Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, was a benefit to raise money to for the restoration of the 80-year-old venue.