Bruce Springsteen sings “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking for” in Times Square, with Larry Mullen Jr. of U2 playing drums behind him. Bono, injured in a recent bicycle accident, did not perform.
8:18: Mini-concert over. Everyone comes out and takes a bow together.
8:13: Springsteen sings “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” dedicated to Bono. “Be well, my friend,” he says.
8:08 p.m.: Springsteen joins U2 for “Where the Streets Have No Name.”
8:06 p.m.: I gotta ask: If the point of this whole thing is to raise awareness about AIDS, why did they wait until this afternoon to start publicizing it?
8:04 p.m.: Kanye now doing “Touch the Sky.”
8:01 p.m.: Third Kanye song is “Black Skinhead,” with a lot of the words bleeped out in the live YouTube broadcast. He cuts it short and goes into “Stronger.”
7:56 p.m.: Adam Clayton of U2 introduces Kanye West as “the most groundbreaking artist in music today.” He performs “Power.” It looks like he’s using backing tracks plus a live guitarist. Second song is “Jesus Walks.”
7:55 p.m.: Taped message from President Obama. “We’ve got to stay focused and committed” to the cause of ending AIDS, he says.
7:51 p.m.: Underwood says tonight marks the beginning of the end of AIDS. She sings “Something in the Water,” but with her own band, not U2.
7:47 p.m.: The Edge introduces Carrie Underwood, who sings her own “Change.” It sounds positively U2-esque in this setting.
7:40 p.m.: “Dreams come true,” says Martin, before singing “With or Without You.”
7:35: U2 takes the stage, with Chris Martin in place on Bono. They do “It’s a Beautiful Day.”
7:32 p.m.: Bill Clinton addresses the crowd. “You have only a minute and a half of halfway serious talk, and it’s all fun after that,” he says. Says Bono emailed him today, asking him to do the intro.
This is the space where I will be blogging about the World AIDS Day concert in Times Square. Bruce Springsteen, Chris Martin, U2 (minus Bono), Kanye West and Carrie Underwood are expected to perform.
