Twenty minutes later, Springsteen and the E Street Band took the stage. After Springsteens solo rendition of Star Spangled Banner, drummer Max Weinberg rang out the opening shots for Born in the U.S.A., which soon collided with Badlands (Lights out tonight, trouble in the heartland, Springsteen sang.) Next came the furious No Surrender, Kerrys unofficial campaign anthem.

After mentioning Kerrys triumph in Thursdays debate (I think were on a roll), Springsteen uncorked a full-throttled version of Johnny 99, complete with fiddle break. His 19-song show was not entirely seamless, though. Because of the multiple-act bill, the set was roughly 50 minutes shorter than usual and at times the band seemed to wrestle with finding its rhythm. And why Springsteen continues to resuscitate the plodding Youngstown in concert remains a riddle.

The second half of the show was dominated by collaborations. Fogerty, whose 60s band Creedence Clearwater Revival helped define American rock with its sharp, economical classic songs, joined Springsteen for Centerfield, his jubilant ode to redemption via the ballpark. Like the earlier version of Man on the Moon, the moment was pure joy; nothing to do with politics and everything to do with having fun with bass, guitar and drums.

Things turned sober as Fogerty sang his new antiwar single, Dija Vu (All Over Again): Day by day we count the dead and dying/ Ship the bodies home while the networks all keep score. But when Fogerty stalked the edge of the stage, unveiled the telltale chords to Fortunate Son and growled the opening lines -- Some folks are born/ Made to wave the flag/ Oooh, theyre red, white and blue -- the mood in Philly became electric. When he sang the chorus about being a guy sent to war because I aint no millionaires son, the reference was lost on no one.

Fogerty penned Fortunate Son 35 years ago, sitting on the edge of a bed with a legal pad in his lap. Its a confrontation between me and Richard Nixon, he once said. Friday it served as a biting indictment of Bush. (In recent weeks, the Democratic National Committee, raising questions about Bushs National Guard service during the Vietnam War, even began referring to the president as a Fortunate Son.)

After Fogerty and Springsteen traded vocals on The Promised Land (Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted), Stipe returned to the stage to tackle Because the Night, the Springsteen song that Patti Smith turned into a hit. Stipe devoured the vocals while Springsteen ripped the cover off the guitar solo. During the beach party vibe of Marys Place, Springsteen muttered, Im out of practice, moments before the 55-year-old got up a head of steam, sprinted across the front of the stage and flopped to his knees in trademark style, sliding 20 feet.

Following what Springsteen called his public service announcement about a deeper patriotism, REM guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills joined the E Street Band for Born to Run. During the '80s, REM rose to fame as the face of college radio, the smart band that purposefully avoided larger-than-life rock epics. But with the Wachovia Center house lights up throughout Born to Run, Mills could barely contain his glee. REM has played and probably sold out every major concert arena in America. But as Mills saddled up to Springsteen in anticipation of the songs famous 1,2,3,4 count-off, and 22,000 Bruce faithful erupted, its possible the REM bassist had never experienced a phenomenon quite like it before.

Back came Fogerty for a full-on run-through of Proud Mary. Whenever he fronted the mighty E Street Band, Fogerty had the look of a teenager who was just given the keys to a Cadillac Escalade and was taking it out for a joy ride. But he was so caught up in the excitement that on the second verse of Proud Mary he missed a vocal cue on a song hes no doubt sung a thousand times.

For the finale, the entire lineup emptied onto the stage and unleashed diesel-powered, 16-person versions of Nick Lowes Peace, Love and Understanding and Patti Smiths modern-day call to arms, People Have the Power.

For the next week, Vote for Change will try to spread that power, one encore at a time.

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