Simon and Garfunkel in 1981. Barbra Streisand in 1967. Garth Brooks in 1997.
The list of historic Central Park concerts is short, but now we can add a new event to that list:
Dave Matthews Band. Sept. 24, 2003.
And I can say that I was there.
There are few moments in our lives when we realize we are becoming a part of history, but that Wednesday was one of those nights.
Among backlit trees highlighting the autumn foliage and a roaring crowd stood the band’s elaborate stage, set against the most perfect backdrop: the New York City skyline.
“So nice to run into you in the park here, the greatest park in the world, and the greatest city in world,” Matthews told the crowd of almost 100,000 fans.
The Dave Matthews Band played the free show on the Great Lawn of Central Park as part of the AOL concert benefiting New York City schools.
The Charlottesville, Va. based band’s set – over three hours long – included a slew of fan favorite’s including “Crush”, “Warehouse” and the quintessential Dave Matthews Band song, “Two Step”.
The band was also joined by Warren Haynes of The Allman Brothers Band on the Neil Young cover “Cortez the Killer”. Hayes also played along on the highlight of the show, a 20-minute long “Jimi Thing” jam, complete with scatting, solos and an outro which had the entire crowd singing along to Buffalo Springfield’s “For What it’s Worth”.
The concert was the idea of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy who has volunteered to raise philanthropic funds for New York City’s school system, which educates 1.1 million children.
AOL pledged $1 million to a public school fund supporting music and arts education, and concert organizers have committed another $1 million, including donations made by concert goers.
The concert came just a day after the release of Dave Matthews’ solo album Some Devil, which has been met with critical acclaim.
The show will also be released as a live CD and DVD on Nov. 11 and will feature the set as well as a behind the scenes look at the show.
In post Sept. 11 New York City, it’s great to see the spirit of giving still alive.
In that crowd – young and old, local and foreingers – were thousands of people united in the spirit of charity and for the love of music.
There was some electric in the air that night in central park, something 100,000 people will not soon forget.
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