A LIVE Springsteen performance

So who else but Springsteen would show up at his own tribute show? He did and performed The Promised Land and Rosalita while enthralling the crowd with stories about his musical career.

Susan Visakowitz from Billboard.com described it best:

When Springsteen, acoustic guitar and harmonica in hand, arrived on stage just after the anticipated last act had exited, the crowd leapt to its feet, remaining there for nearly 30 minutes. Springsteen opened with some thoughts on the evening up to that point, noting how it was both "lovely and harrowing" to see his songs performed, and making special mention of Odetta, who he said "just did the greatest version of '57 Channels' I ever heard."

He then launched into an inspired version of "The Promised Land," his gruff voice sounding closer than ever to Bob Dylan's.

From there it was into fan-favorite "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)." But Springsteen interrupted it barely halfway through to joke that the song "was too damn long." A humorous nutshell-summary of his career followed, culminating with, "And then people came to New York City from miles around -- well, from the tri-state area, at least -- to hear his songs," drawing jubilant applause.

After closing the abridged "Rosalita," Springsteen called all the performers back to the stage for a group sing-along, this time for the complete, seven-minute "Rosalita." The Boss instructed they "trash the hell out of the thing," but it proved a rousing finish.

The other performers and songs were:

Steve Earle - 'Nebraska'
The Bacon Brothers - 'The Streets Of Philadelphia'
Elysian Fields - 'Streets Of Fire'
Josh Ritter - 'The River'
Patti Smith - 'Because The Night'
Marah - 'The Rising'
The Holmes Brothers & The Young People's Chorus Of NYC - 'My City Of Ruin'
Robin Holcomb - 'Brilliant Disguise'
Jersey Guys with Bobby Valli - 'Jersey Girl'
North Mississippi Allstars - 'Spirit In The Night'
Uri Caine - 'New York Serenade'
Juliana Hatfield - 'Cover Me'
Low Stars - 'One Step Up'
Badly Drawn Boy - 'Thunder Road'
Joseph Arthur - 'Born In The USA'
Pete Yorn - 'Dancing In The Dark'
Jesse Malin & Ronnie Spector - 'Hungry Heart'
M. Ward - 'I'm Going Down'
Odetta - '57 Channels'
The Hold Steady - 'Atlantic City'

Some good coverage can be found here:
- New Jersey Star Ledger
- Billboard.com
- NME
- Backstreets.com

And, of course, don't forget to add it to your personal Tracker!