He loves doing this. He does this every year, which means I have to do this every year, too. Every fall, Bruce Springsteen plays Stand Up For Heroes, a benefit show that raises money for wounded veterans. At that gig, Springsteen always shares the bill with other musicians and with comedians; his buddy Jon Stewart is always among them. In between his acoustic songs, Springsteen uses this forum to try his hand at telling dirty jokes, and the end result always comes off like a bad comic doing a Bruce Springsteen impression. It is not uncharming.

Last night, the Stand Up For Heroes once again went down at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. This time, Springsteen shared the bill with Norah Jones, Questlove, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, Mark Normand, and old reliable Jon Stewart. I bet all those people are in great moods this week. Springsteen sometimes performs with other musicians at this show, but he didn’t do that last night. Instead, he did four songs on his own, and most of them were about vague and possibly doomed optimism: “The Power Of Prayer,” “Land Of Hopes And Dreams,” “Dancing In The Dark,” and “Long Walk Home,” the last of which he introduced as “a prayer for our country.” He also told his jokes.

Springsteen’s best joke was this: “Bakery burns down. Business is toast.” His worst was considerably less economical. It was a long one about a wife bringing her husband to a strip club on his birthday, and my wife just walked in and made a face while I was listening to it. Watch Springsteen’s jokes and performances below.

@songsbybruce

Bruce Springsteen – The Power of Prayer – Stand up for Heroes – Live David Geffen Hall, New York City (11/11/2024) emw212

sonido original – Songs by Bruce

@songsbybruce

Bruce Springsteen – Land of Hope and Dreams – Stand up for Heroes – Live David Geffen Hall, New York City (11/11/2024)

♬ sonido original – Songs by Bruce

@songsbybruce

Bruce Springsteen – Dancing in the Dark – Stand up for Heroes – Live David Geffen Hall, New York City (11/11/2024)

♬ sonido original – Songs by Bruce

@songsbybruce

Bruce Springsteen – Long Walk Home – Stand up for Heroes – Live David Geffen Hall, New York City (11/11/2024)

sonido original – Songs by Bruce

Those are sympathy laughs, right? Or is this simply the power that Bruce Springsteen has over crowds in the greater New York area? In other Springsteen news, the cast for the upcoming biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere, in which Jeremy Allen White will play the Boss, is getting fleshed out. Variety reports that Marc Maron whill play Nebraska producer Chuck Plotkin, while Gaby Hoffman will portray Springsteen’s mother Adele and David Krumholtz has signed on to play record exec Al Teller. Also, Springsteen recently visited Jeremy Allen White on-set.

The Substance (2024) pic.twitter.com/rUuag4E2zH

— Kevin T. Porter (@KevinTPorter) November 5, 2024