IIf you are old enough in America, you know that Bruce Springsteen showing up to perform in a primetime special alongside some politicians means that the shit is serious.
The boss appears on TV when things get really bad, when there is an intense spiritual and patriotic reconstruction to do. And then he will begin the reconstruction that needs to happen with a melody that somehow manages to exactly manifest the mood of a time of crisis – no matter how many years, or decades, before the song is written.
That’s what he did on Wednesday night to open Celebrating America, a 90-minute prime-time special to honor the inauguration of Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, pays tribute to hard-working Americans and risking their lives to keep the country running in unprecedented times and, most importantly, to calm an anxious nation that is eager to finally heal.
Springsteen was joined by names like Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry and all the North American fireworks for the concert, a far cry from the cacophonous homage to anarchy and carnage on Inauguration Day four years ago, or from the pomp behind closed doors and the circumstance of the balls and gala parties that normally occupy the new president’s night after his inauguration.
Thanks to the pandemic, there was no personal hearing. There were no parties. Not only did Biden and Harris go to the country again, but also a historic communion of former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, together preaching the value of a peaceful transfer of power – in other words, a monumental subtlety of Donald Trump, who luckily hasn’t been mentioned all night.
The whole thing was staged around the Lincoln Memorial, with the National Mall, the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument in the background. The typically bustling tourist attraction was empty, except for the handful of artists, all romantically enlightened in outstanding performances that were, it must be said, absolutely stunning. Knowing that the rigidity was due to the circumstances of the nation’s trauma made everything quite frightening.
But the mission to preach renewal and permission to start feeling good permeated all music selections – John Legend literally sang “Feelin ‘Good”. The moment Katy Perry in Evita drag played “Firework” when the camera caught the Biden looking out from their White House balcony for the most aggressive pyrotechnic display I have ever seen, you would be classified as the coldest among us. got goosebumps or, more likely, shed a tear. It’s surprising how quickly something seemingly extravagant can sneak up on you and affect you.
As much as the special was about entertainment, it was symbolic. Artists like the president again. Celebrities who participate in shows act as if they are saving the world. Nature is healing.
If the theme of the day was “everything will be fine”, then there was no one more suitable to host the Smile, the world will never end concert than Tom Hanks, our national reinsurance laureate.
He was the right amount of Hanks-ian, educating about the importance of Inauguration Day to “witness the permanence of the American ideal” and guide the presentations. Making that soft Tom Hanks shoe on the line between gravity and the accessibility of the common man, he set the tone for the night – one of extreme seriousness, inevitable and long awaited.
Specials like this are inherently corny, but I don’t necessarily understand the urge to be sarcastic about them, which seemed to infect some reactions to live tweets on social media. Yet, Celebrating America it was a pretty standard version of what those things are. And after all all of these past few years, that was only good.
To steal a reaction from a reader on Twitter, I will accept the horrible hokey any day. What an invigorating privilege to rejoice in the cheesy exaltation. Giving in to some sincerity is not the addiction that so many people think it is. In fact, it may even be a necessary remedy to eliminate some of the poison that we all get sick with.
It was a huge 24 hours for many Americans, the first time they were able to mourn, mourn and embark on any kind of journey other than endless pain, horror and frustration.
This is not to say that someone deludes himself into thinking that an uplifting inaugural ceremony and a cute concert mean that everything is suddenly fixed, or that the overwhelming plagues on humanity that have threatened us this past year – and much of the past four years – are suddenly going to evaporate. But finally, there is a chance to breathe. An opportunity for catharsis. These things seem lighter. It is a lot to feel, especially in such a short period of time.
Music is an appropriate outlet for those huge, turbulent, perhaps even uncontrollable feelings. A moving performance of a meaningful song is something to be tied to. The melody can handle the chaos of those extreme emotions. That’s why we turn to things like that. That is why there is no temptation to scoff at the desire to stage an event like this in the middle of a pandemic, in the way that all selfish Hollywood you have set up in recent months has seemed reckless and deaf.
“Music is an appropriate outlet for those huge, turbulent, perhaps even uncontrollable feelings.“
It was the circumstances of a pandemic and the threat of violence in the country’s capital that demanded this concert, but I hope it will remain a tradition.
How many of us watched the previous coverage of the inaugural balls? These celebrations were about access, elitism and the worst impulses in Beltway’s culture. That was for all of us. It was a TV special specifically for the TV audience, and it was a nice change of pace to be served that way.
Bruce Springsteen’s opening was perfect, with a performance as exciting as you would expect when Bruce Springsteen performed an acoustic version of “The Land of Hope and Dreams” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial the night a new president and the first vice South Asian president, black woman, was sworn in. But I was impressed how the lyrics were custom-made for the moment, even though they were written in 1999:
“I will arrange for you
And I will stand by your side
You will need a good companion
For this part of the tour
Leave your sorrows behind
May this day be the last
Tomorrow there will be sunshine
And all that darkness has passed. “
Then Bon Jovi performed Miami’s “Here Comes the Sun”, pre-filmed at dawn so that the sun could rise while they sang. It was absolutely excessive, and I was absolutely on board.
Justin Timberlake and Ant Clemons sang “Better Things” from Memphis. The main theme of the concert was hope, and this is the rare occasion when the relentless display of it bypasses the trap of being too unpleasant. “Better Things” is a light song, but it still managed to be exciting. In these days of sadness, even a small fly offering its hands in prayer lands like the booming loud voices of a gospel choir.
Biden and Harris spoke separately, presenting more buzzwords from nowhere that did their job. We smiled.
The pre-recorded conversation between Clinton, Bush and Obama was so casual that it was almost disheartening, considering how historic those moments are. Again, they talked about the peaceful transition of power and what lies ahead for America, probably blinking in Morse code, “Eat shit, Cheeto Demon” throughout the whole thing.
Listen, all of these things are imperfect. When Clinton said “it’s an exciting time” for the country, I cringed so much that my eyes are now floating inside my skull. But this is a warning about how significant it was to see those three former presidents coming together for this message.
I mean, is it unbearable to the point that my soul tries to push its way out of my body like a cat trying to break free of its box when Lin-Manuel Miranda sings a poem by Seamus Heaney to exalt America? Because yes. Did I let out a cry of disbelief when Joe Biden’s footage was brought in to end him? Indeed. But is it epically cool to accompany this with astronauts being transported from the International Space Station just to help us get excited about the future? Ever.
“You rate specials like these on a curve. In this specific case, the curve is: “I don’t even remember the last moment I felt joy, so let me just appreciate that”.“
You rate specials like these on a curve. In this specific case, the curve is: “I don’t even remember the last moment I felt joy, so let me just appreciate that”.
Demi Lovato is jumping in a Los Angeles studio and Justin Timberlake is singing silly on the streets of Memphis to show that we are FOLLOWING and CHANGING UP. It’s all a show, of course – that’s show business – but it doesn’t hurt to be performative about the steps we have to take to motivate the rest of us to start climbing them.
We were conditioned to attend these concerts filled with very serious stars in a state of despair. We need to raise money! Raise awareness! Increase voter turnout! Find a solution, somehow, some way. But we were watching this from the other end of the inflection point. It is really a celebration. The caffeine of it all? Well, like the best cheese, I thought it provided a deep sense of comfort.
It is not the first time that I sat alone on the couch crying while Katy Perry sang “Firework” as the grand finale of a historic event, and it will not be the last. But today is a big day, where I am – and we all are – finally in a place to feel good about it.