Sir Paul with cops and firemen
October 20, 2001, 20 years ago: The Concert for New York City is held at Madison Square Garden. Played just 6 weeks after the 9/11 attacks, emotions were still running deep. Most of the audience was cops, firemen, rescue workers, and people who had lost family members in the attacks, many of them holding up photos of the victims. Billy Crystal was the master of ceremonies.
David Bowie opened the show with Simon & Garfunkel's "America," then did his own "Heroes" with a full band. Also on hand: Bon Jovi, Jay-Z, Goo Goo Dolls, Destiny's Child (including Beyoncé), Eric
Clapton & Buddy Guy, the Backstreet Boys, Macy Gray, James Taylor, John Mellencamp & Kid Rock, Five For Fighting, and Janet Jackson.
Billy Joel showed up drunk, and went into rehab not long thereafter. Of course, he played "New York State of Mind." But first, he played "Miami 2017." On September 10, 2001, it looked like the apocalypse he'd predicted for The City in 1976 had been prevented. But on the 11th, it came far too close to reality: "I watched the mighty skyline fall" -- although it was the World Trade Center, not the Empire State Building, that he saw "laid low." He later joined Elton John, who had played his New Yorker-themed "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters," for a performance of Elton's "Your Song."
Melissa Etheridge's microphone went out during her acoustic performance of "Come to My Window," but everybody was singing along anyway, and none of those hard-edged, blue-collar cops and firemen gave a damn that she was openly gay. Her mike went out again as she did an acoustic version of Springsteen's "Born to Run" -- and nobody flinched as she sang lines of love and passion to a woman named Wendy.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones sang "Salt of the Earth" and "Miss You" (with its reference to walking through Central Park in the '70s). When they were done, Mick said, "If there's one thing we've learned from all this, it's that you don't fuck with New York!" True.
The Who came out, with Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey filling in on drums for the late Keith Moon, and it turned out to be bass player John Entwistle's last performance. They did a nasty "Who Are You," an intense "Baba O'Riley," a melancholy "Behind Blue Eyes," and a roaring "Won't Get Fooled Again." Crystal said, "I'd never seen The Who live before. It was great to see these middle-aged men get out on stage and kick ass."
With Elvis Presley dead and unavailable, it was appropriate that the show closed with a surviving Beatle, Paul McCartney, who played, among others, "Yesterday," his new song "Freedom," and "Let It Be."
*
October 20, 2001 was a Saturday. Game 3 of the American League Championship Series was played at Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees were clobbered by the Seattle Mariners, 14-3. But the pattern from the 1999 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox was followed: Game 3 was a disaster for the Yankees, but it would be the only game in the series that they would lose.
Game 4 of the National League Championship Series was played at Turner Field in Atlanta. The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Atlanta Braves, 11-4. They would beat the Yankees in the World Series, putting a damper on what had been a great story.
Being a Saturday, college football games were played. But the team then ranked Number 1, the University of Miami, was not scheduled. They went on to win the National Championship.
It was a rare "Third Saturday in October" for Tennessee over Alabama, 35-24 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Notre Dame beat USC, 27-16 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
Penn State beat Northwestern, 38-35 at Ryan Field in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.
Rutgers beat Navy, 23-17 at the new Rutgers Stadium (now SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, New Jersey. It was 1 of only 2 games the Scarlet Knightd would win all season.
Princeton lost to Harvard, 28-26 at Harvard Stadium in Boston.
The NBA season wouldn't start for another 10 days. But there were 14 NHL games played:
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands. (It was then named the Continental Airlines Arena.) Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias and Scott Niedermayer scored.
* The New York Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2 at the Ice Palace in Tampa.
* The New York Islanders retire the Number 19 of Hall-of-Fame center Bryan Trottier. This was a bit late: He'd played his last NHL game 7 years earlier, and his last game for the team 11 years earlier. The team had already retired 5 for Denis Potvin, 9 for Clark Gillies, 22 for Mike Bossy, 23 for Bobby Nystrom and 31 for Billy Smith.
Their game that night, at the Nassau Coliseum, against the San Jose Sharks, ended in a 2-2 tie. (No shootouts yet.)
* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Washington Capitals, 6-3 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. (It's now the Wells Fargo Center, although Flyer fans miss calling the building "The F.U. Center.")
* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Molson Centre in Montreal. (It's now the Bell Centre.)
* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 2-1 at the Raleigh Sports and Entertainment Center. (It's now the PNC Arena.) Jeff O'Neill scored the winner, 1:33 into overtime.
* The Boston Bruins beat the Nashville Predators, 2-1 at Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. (It's now the Bridgestone Arena.)
* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-0 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The Wings went on to beat the Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals.
* The St. Louis Blues beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1 at the Savvis Center in St. Louis. (It's now the Enterprise Center.) Pavol Demitra scored the winner with 1:25 left in overtime.
* The Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars played to a tie, 2-2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
* The Calgary Flames beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 at the Saddledome in Calgary.
* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Florida Panthers, 6-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. (It was then named the Skyreach Centre.)
* The Phoenix Coyotes beat the Vancouver Canucks, 5-2 at the AmericaWest Arena in Phoenix.