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Pop stars, first responders, rock stars and those who’ve lost everything in the devastating LA-area wildfires came together for FireAid, a massive benefit concert Thursday that combined spectacular performances with moving storytelling from survivors and reminders of the destruction.
In a night full of surprises, a reunion of Nirvana — fronted by St. Vincent, Kim Gordon and Joan Jett in the place of the late Kurt Cobain — tops the list. They launched into “Breed,” “School” and “Territorial Pissings” respectively, inspired and unexpected choices.
Drummer Dave Grohl’s daughter, Violet, then emerged on stage for “All Apologies.”
Closer Lady Gaga, after powering through the Oscar-award winning “Shallow” and “Always Remember Us This Way” from “A Star Is Born,” played a new song on the piano. “It’s just for tonight, it’s just for you,” she said of the song she wrote with fiancé businessman Michael Polansky. “Time is a healer.”
“All I need is time,” she sang in the folk-y pop chorus. “To heal my broken wings and then I’ll soar.”
Green Day kicked off the massive show by launching into “Last Night on Earth” at the Kia Forum and were soon joined by Billie Eilish for the first surprise of the night. The lyrics are surprisingly astute: “If I lose everything in the fire / I’m sending all my love to you.”
After their set, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong hugged actor Billy Crystal, who was there to welcome to the crowd at the Kia Forum.
“Our goal is simple tonight, to spend more money than the Dodgers spent on free agents,” he joked. He told the audience U2 offered the first big donation of the night: $1 million dollars.
Crystal said he was wearing the clothes he had on when he evacuated. He lost his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood that he lived in for 46 years.
Is there any band more Southern California in spirit and geography than the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Bassist Flea did a handstand on stage wearing only a Speedo before they launched into one of their countless odes to the state: “Dani California,” “Californication” and “Under the Bridge.”
The first true-blue Los Angeles moment came from a surprise performance by Dr. Dre. The progenitor of West Coast hip-hop tackled “Still D.R.E.” with Anderson .Paak and Sheila E. before pivoting to Tupac and Dre’s classic “California Love.”
It was followed by the figurehead of Laurel Canyon folk, a moving set of “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell.
Later in the night, the recently reunited, Orange Country ska punk legends No Doubt launched into “I’m Just a Girl,” “Don’t Speak” and “Spiderwebs,” led by frontwoman Gwen Stefani.
Katy Perry was joined by the Pasadena Chorale for “Rise” before launching into “Roar” and “California Gurls.” She paraded across the stage with the California state flag in hand.
And Eilish and her brother Finneas, who’ve called Los Angeles home for their entire lives, performed beautiful acoustic versions of her recent hits “Wildflower,” “The Greatest” and “Birds of a Feather.”
The event was produced by Shelli, Irving and the Azoff family in collaboration with Live Nation and the Los Angeles Clippers. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie, matched every pledge made during the broadcast, organizers said.
Donations can be made at FIREAIDLA.ORG.
More than 16,000 structures, many of them homes, were reduced to ash when the Eaton and Palisades wildfires burned through Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena and Pasadena earlier this month. Damage estimates are in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
At least 28 people lost their lives.
