Backed by a rock star, Kerry hits a new note
If you've got a major rock star endorsing your candidacy for president, you can't promise that every event will be rated "G."
No, when he played cover songs at a John F. Kerry fund-raiser last night at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, electronic star Moby made a point of telling the crowd that "Walk This Way" had dirty lyrics. And then he introduced Kerry as the candidate who will "kick" a part of George Bush's anatomy in 2004.
The gray-haired women sitting on top of the speakers might have been surprised -- Kerry himself looked a little sheepish -- but then, maybe that was the point. Last night's $75-to-$100 per ticket event was marketed toward young professionals, a bid to modify Kerry's boomer image and appeal to the 18-to-34 demographic that was once interested in Bill Clinton's underwear preference.
Granted, amid the crowd of about 600, not everyone looked professional, and not everyone was young. Susel Gonzalez, 27, of Somerville, a Kerry volunteer, said she had trouble bringing some of her friends out for the night; one had a date, a few were working, and one had just spent $400 on Springsteen tickets.
Gonzalez considered it her civic duty -- "I grew up in Texas, where this sort of thing, you don't really have access to as much" -- and she did get a Springsteen show of sorts. Kerry climbed to the stage near the end of the evening and, backed by the local band Popgun Seven, played electric guitar to the Boss's "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out."
His playing could only be described as tentative; Kerry, wearing shirtsleeves and casual pants, kept looking over at his aide, Roger Fisk, and apologized both beforehand and afterward. But his performance was not forced, or at least not as forced as a politician riding in a tank.
Kerry did not share the stage with co-headliner Moby, who was performing for the first time in Boston since he was attacked outside the Paradise Rock Club last December.
While Kerry favored Springsteen, Moby opted for Boston-flavored tunes, from Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" to the Cars' "My Best Friend's Girl." He also played the Standells' "Dirty Water," and said he still loved Boston.
Kerry had high praise for the man who might well be his hippest fan; Moby, he said, "represents the genius of America." When Moby talked to reporters before the event, he gave a heartfelt shout to Kerry, lauding the senator's foreign policy experience and his "compassionate pragmatism." Moby said he volunteered his services to the campaign and performed for free. It was the least he could do for the cause, he said.
"If they want me to clean the bathrooms afterwards . . . I'm happy to clean bathrooms," he said.
Glen Johnson of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
