Stars Sing to Save Rain Forests (and Maybe Redeem the '80s, Too)
The Rainforest Fund presented its annual benefit at Carnegie Hall on Thursday night. From left, Sting, Debbie Harry, Lady Gaga, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen.
By JON PARELES
Published: May 14, 2010
Camping in the rain forest got a new meaning on Thursday night at Carnegie Hall. It was the annual benefit for the Rainforest Foundation that features Sting and is produced by his wife, Trudie Styler. The foundation supports the preservation of rain forests worldwide and the rights of their indigenous peoples. The camp was in this year's lineup — including Elton John, Lady Gaga and the diva of James Bond movie scores, Shirley Bassey — and some wry production numbers.
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Richard Perry/The New York Times
Rainforest Foundation benefit featured Elton John, among other big names, at Carnegie Hall on Thursday night.
Richard Perry/The New York Times
Bruce Springsteen, the concert's unannounced performer, sang "Dancing in the Dark" and a 1980s hit, Bryan Adams's "Cuts Like a Knife."
Mr. John sang a Madonna medley — "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin" — while surrounded and fondled by male dancers who wore only briefs. And when Ms. Bassey sang "Big Spender," shaking to show off her fringed black dress, Mr. John and Sting flanked her in semi-drag: Mr. John flaunting a boa, and Sting wearing a flowered hat, dangling earrings and a glittery necklace. Sting had started the concert with his "Englishman in New York," backed by strings and horns, a song inspired by the proudly gay author Quentin Crisp. (It may have been a preview of Sting's world tour, in which he will be backed by an orchestra.)
Lady Gaga was, as usual, memorably dressed for the occasion. She appeared as a kind of fairy princess in white, with a short starched dress and a pointy-shouldered top, elevated by platform boots. She sang "Stand by Me" with Sting and was joined by Mr. John for a reprise of the duet they played at the 2010 Grammy Awards, mixing her "Speechless" with his "Your Song." Ms. Bassey unleashed her volcanic crescendos in three songs parading luxury: "Goldfinger," "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Big Spender."
The night's ostensible theme was revisiting the 1980s, perhaps because the Rainforest Foundation was started in 1989. The '80s framework was one reason for the Madonna medley, and for the two songs performed by Deborah Harry of Blondie: "Call Me" and "The Tide Is High," both released in 1980. (She sings them now with less new-wave insistence and more chanteuse breathiness.) Sting's '80s choice was the Fine Young Cannibals' 1989 hit "She Drives Me Crazy"; for part of it, he danced with his wife.
The 1980s timeline wasn't binding. Sting performed his "Whenever I Say Your Name," from 2003, with his original duet partner, Mary J. Blige, singing jazzy, sultry arabesques all around him. Mr. John sang the Lovin' Spoonful's 1966 hit "Summer in the City," while John Sebastian, who performed and helped write the original version, played guitar in the backup band. And Chic — whose guitarist, Nile Rodgers, was also in the backing band — performed "Le Freak," the disco hit from 1978.
The concert's unannounced performer, Bruce Springsteen, joked that when Sting had told him the theme was '80s nostalgia, he had responded, "Sting, we're '80s nostalgia." He turned a jovial, well-intentioned evening into a flat-out rock concert. He cued audience shout-alongs in his 1984 hit "Dancing in the Dark" and gamely chose a 1980s hit: Bryan Adams's "Cuts Like a Knife," from 1983. Mr. Springsteen improved that compendium of clichés a hundredfold, turning it into a soul buildup as he preached a story about betrayal, pain and release: "If it hurt, let me hear you holler!"
Sting said that Mr. Springsteen also chose the concert's all-star finale — a song, Sting said, that he didn't know. "Everyone in the country knows it but you," he was told. It was Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' ": a 1981 arena crowd-pleaser once scorned as cheesy corporate rock. Now, from its appearance in the finale of "The Sopranos" to a best-selling version from "Glee" to a Springsteen endorsement at Carnegie Hall, it's well on its way to rehabilitation.
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