Bruce, Billy, and Barack Last Night....

In a dream-come-true pairing for East Coast fans, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen joined forces last night (October 16th) at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom for the "Change Rocks" fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama. The show marked the first time that Springsteen and Joel have performed together since March 15th, 1999 when they both were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

According to fan reports, John Legend with special guest India.Arie opened the show, with Springsteen and Patti Scialfa joining them for a song. Springsteen then performed "The Promised Land" and "This Hard Land" solo on acoustic guitar. Joel performed "Miami 2017 (See The Lights Go Out On Broadway) and then duetted with daughter Alexa Joel on "Baby Grand." Springsteen and Joel -- along with Joel's band -- then tore through a joint set, featuring the two of them often trading off vocals to each other's classic hits -- even playing a good natured bit of "Hail To The Chief."

Among the songs performed were, "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" -- with Springsteen changing the song's key line to "The piano man joined the band," "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," "Thunder Road," "A Matter Of Trust," "Spirit In The Night" -- with Springsteen and Joel trading verses," "Allentown," "The Rising," "New York State Of Mind," "Glory Days," "River Of Dreams" featuring a bit of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" squeezed in, "Born To Run," and Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)."

Last night's show marked Joel's first benefit for Obama. Earlier this month Springsteen played acoustically at rallies for Obama in Philadelphia, Columbus Ohio, and Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen have both been labelmates on Columbia Records since 1973.