The Concert for New York City

The Concert for New York City was a benefit concert that took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City in response to the September 11 attacks. Aside from performing for charity, the concert honored the first responders from the New York City Fire Department and New York City Police Department, their families, and those lost in the attacks and those who had worked in the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts in the weeks since that time.

The concert was organized by Paul McCartney and included many legendary British contemporaries, including The Who, David Bowie, Elton John, Eric Clapton, and Rolling Stones bandmates Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. American artists included Bon Jovi, Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, the Backstreet Boys, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Melissa Etheridge, Five for Fighting, Goo Goo Dolls, John Mellencamp with Kid Rock, and a humorous performance by Adam Sandler as "Operaman". Paul Shaffer acted as musical director for the show and various celebrities and political figures including Howard Stern and Rudy Giuliani appeared between the acts.

Many athletes also appeared between the acts including Joe Torre, whose Yankees were on their way to competing in their fourth consecutive World Series. The concert also included several short films made by New York City's most notable filmmakers such as Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, and Kevin Smith.

Over 60 stars that participated in the concert signed unique memorabilia backstage at Madison Square Garden that were later auctioned off to support the Robin Hood Foundation. The autographed items included three large posters of the concert and three customized 24" drumheads. Other items included a complete drumset and guitar.

Much of the crowd itself was extremely emotional, with victims' families and colleagues holding up portraits of the dead. Three speakers were booed: actress Susan Sarandon (for plugging New York mayoralty candidate Mark Green), actor Richard Gere (for speaking about non-violent tolerance), and Hillary Clinton (for her perceived anti-police views). Gere acknowledged the crowd's jeering at his pacifist stance, stating, "That's apparently unpopular right now, but that's all right." Sarandon nearly fell when she was intentionally tripped by the wife of a missing police officer, whose foot came through the barricade fence.

Adam Sandler's appearance as Operaman was a comic highlight of the evening. He sang a humorous song about the greatness of New York City, the end of Rudy Giuliani's term as mayor, the New York Yankees who were in the middle of playing in the 2001 ALCS, the musical acts that preceded him on stage (in which he mentioned that Destiny's Child gave him a "bone-ah"), and Osama bin Laden's alleged cowardice, including the line "Osama says he's tough, Osama says he's brave/Then tell me why Osama is shitting in a cave!"

Musically, the audience responded most fervently to the Who, roaring as they came on stage with a roiling "Who Are You", drowning out the band on the famous "It's only teenage wasteland" refrain of "Baba O'Riley," and reaching a peak of excitement with "Won't Get Fooled Again." The backdrop for the band consisted of an American flag alongside a British flag, showing solidarity. Vocalist Roger Daltrey's final words to the crowd of first responders and their families were: "We could never follow what you did." Previously, during the opening chords of "Behind Blue Eyes", Daltrey said, "I'm not worthy of wearing this," when tossed a law enforcement officer's cap. Forbes described The Who's performance as a "catharsis" for the law enforcement in attendance. This performance would turn out to be bassist John Entwistle's final performance in America with The Who; he died of a heart attack only eight months later. Multi-instrumentalist Jon Carin, who had worked with the band during the group's 1996–1997 tours, played keyboards in place of longtime keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick.

Other highlights included David Bowie's opening tandem of Paul Simon's "America" and his own "Heroes", dedicated to his local ladder company, and New York's own Billy Joel's "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" where Joel says after singing it, "I wrote that song 25 years ago, I thought it was gonna be a science fiction song. I never thought it would really happen. But unlike the end of that song...we ain't going anywhere!" Elton John's sentimental "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" was also well-received, among other performances. After The Who's performance, FDNY firefighter Mike Moran spoke to the audience, explaining that his brother was killed on 9/11, and that the victims would not be forgotten. He ended by saying "In the spirit of the Irish people, Osama bin Laden, you can kiss my royal, Irish ass!" which was met with wild cheering and applause. Moran removed his cap and concluded with, "This is my face, bitch!" which was, again, met with cheers from the crowd.