Hurricane Sandy ~ Coming Together

As everyone knows, Jon was a big part of the Coming Together benefit that raised nearly 23 million dollars for the Red Cross.

Friday's hour-long telethon included performances by artists native to the areas hardest-hit by Sandy, including New Jersey natives Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi and Billy Joel of New York's Long Island. Others who took part in the special included Sting, Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Tina Fey and Jon Stewart.

New Jersey's Jon Bon Jovi gave extra meaning to "Who Says You Can't Go Home." Billy Joel worked in a reference to Staten Island, the devastated New York City borough. The hourlong event, hosted by Matt Lauer, was heavy on stars and lyrics identified with New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area, which took the brunt of this week's deadly storm. The telethon was a mix of music, storm footage and calls for donations from Jon Stewart, Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg and others.

The mood was somber but hopeful, from Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" and a tearful Mary J. Blige's "The Living Proof," her ballad of resilience with the timely declaration that "the worst is over/I can start living now." Joel rocked out with "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)," a song born from crisis, New York City's near bankruptcy in the 1970s, while Jimmy Fallon endured a faulty microphone and gamely led an all-star performance of the Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk" that featured Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Steven Tyler. The Aerosmith frontman then sat behind a piano and gave his all on a strained but deeply emotional "Dream On." Sting was equally passionate during an acoustic, muscular version of The Police hit "Message In a Bottle" and its promise to "send an SOS to the world."

The show ended, as it only could, with Springsteen and the E Street Band, tearing into "Land Of Hope and Dreams."

"God bless New York," Springsteen, New Jersey's ageless native son, said in conclusion. "God bless the Jersey shore."

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As the NorthEast gets hammered again by frigid temperatures, snow, and rain, more than 60,000 households who just regained power have lost it again.  The pros from NYC's New York Cares, Red Cross, and The Salvation Army have put together some tips for what to do and what not to do when volunteering and donating.

As Jon said, "cash is King" -- money is the best donation you can make.

Hurricane Sandy Benefit / Coming Together / November 2, 2012

Set List:

1. Beautiful (Christina Aguilera)
2. Who Says / Living on a Prayer (Jon Bon Jovi)
3. Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) Billy Joel
4. Under the Boardwalk (Jimmy Fallon, Steven Tyler, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, others) 
5. Dream On (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Brad Whitford)
6. Message in a Bottle (Sting)
7. The Living Proof (Mary J. Blige)
8. Land of Hope and Dreams (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)

  

Before the event, Jon visited Sayreville,

and was snapped leaving Serafina restaurant on the Upper East Side.

  

  

  

  

~ Hath