The audience from the Kennedy Center gala on Sunday night is still talking about Sting’s amazing gospel finale of “The Rising” as a tribute to honoree Bruce Springsteen. Last night at a “friends and family” rehearsal for his shows this week at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Sting told me: “I just wanted to get it right for Bruce. You could see him sitting there, restrained and watching.” From the looks of it, Sting got it very right. We’ll see it when the show airs on December 29th on CBS.

The whole idea of Sting performing for Bruce sprung from their original collaboration for Amnesty International in 1988. They anchored a six-week “Human Rights Now!” world tour for Amnesty (along with Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman and Youssou N’Dour). So it was only fitting that Amnesty, along with indefatigable producer Martin Lewis, hosted a swell after party following Sunday night’s awards for Sting, Bruce, and all the honorees — Robert DeNiro, Mel Brooks, Grace Bumbry, and jazz great Dave Brubeck. It’s a long time ago now, but people forget: it was Sting’s participation for Amnesty in the “The Secret Policeman’s Ball” in 1981 that got Peter Gabriel, Bono, and others motivated to save the world. If you’ve never heard or seen this amazing spectacle, it’s finally available on DVD.

I don’t think the Amnesty people party much or get their names in print for all the great work they do, so Larry Cox,  Timothy Higdon, Sandee Borgman, Karen Scott, Helen Garrett.  Also present was one of Sting’s oldest friends, former Argentinian prisoner-of-conscience Juan Mendez and wife Silvia.)

The Amnesty party at the Mandarin Oriental was so much fun — with lots of sponsors (Piper-Heidseick, Skyy Vodka, Stella Artois, Bass, Remy-Martin, Cointeau) picking up the tab so that the stars could party until 3am. And so they did. Did you know Robert DeNiro likes cucumber martinis? Did we even know such a thing existed?

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Video: Sting rocks the Kennedy Center with Springsteen’s “The Rising”:

The big guns are rolling out tonight for the Kennedy Center Honors. It’s all hush-hush, and the KC people don’t like it getting out, but it’s a new generation now of Twitter and e-mail. Bit by bit, it’s all seeping out.

Set to perform for honoree Bruce Springsteen are Sting, Melissa Etheridge, Eddie Vedder and John Mellencamp. Anticipated numbers include “Born to Run,” “Born in the USA,” “The Rising” and “My City in Ruins.” Country duo Sugarland are set to perform “I’m on Fire.”

Movie producer/writer/direct0r/actor/comedian/Tony winner Mel Brooks gets his toast in a big way. Old friend and partner Carl Reiner is there, and there will be numbers from “The Producers” with Matthew Broderick, Roger Bart and Gary Beach, including “Springtime for Hitler.” Other Brooks toasters include Martin Short, Jack Black and Richard Kind.

Robert De Niro is also being honored, and he’s brought all five of his kids and wife Grace Hightower. Ben Stiller will toast his “Meet the Parents” co-star, as will Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone, Frank Langella and Harvey Keitel.

There are also tributes to jazz great Dave Brubeck, with Herbie Hancock among the performers, and opera star Grace Bumbry will be serenaded as well. The Kennedy Center tapes the show tonight for airing on CBS on Dec. 29.

Rolling Stone is owned by Jann Wenner and so is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So it should come as no surprise that the new issue of Rolling Stone — now shrunk to the proportionate size of its owner — is a sad reflection of the Hall’s shortcomings on the occasion of its 25th anniversary

Let’s start on the cover: Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Mick Jagger. Jagger wasn’t even one of the hosts of the anniversary shows last month. Stevie Wonder was; there’s only one feature sized photo of him in the issue, and that’s with Smokey Robinson.

But there are roughly eleven — 11 — photos of Springsteen including the cover, nine — 9 — of Bono, and eight — 8 — of Jagger in the special issue.

Sting played on two nights as a favor to the Hall and to Jeff Beck, and got one small black and white picture. Similarly, Ray Davies of the Kinks, Annie Lennox, BB King, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Dion DiMucci, Darlene Love — each got next to nothing. —, who has nothing to do with the Rock Hall except that she’s pals with Jann Wenner, got herself a bigger picture than anyone. I do not recall seeing her on stage.

There’s a tiny picture of guess what — the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland — buried in the back of the magazine.

The magazine should now be called “Bonography.” Or “Bruuuce.”  Both it and the Hall of Fame are over, frankly. Rolling Stone long ago — like at least 1990 — ceased to be of interest to anyone, or important to the world of rock music. It’s now small and poorly thought out it’s a shadow of its former self — the RS of Chet Flippo, Ben Fong Torres, Jon Landau, Cameron Crowe, etc. (What ever happened to Parke Puterbaugh?)

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Bruce Springsteen performs (Ann Lawlor)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are 36 years into their career together. Last night at Madison Square Garden they did something Springsteen declared they’d never done before: played their whole beloved second album from 1973, “The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle,” in its entirety from beginning to end. (Yes, kids, I have the original vinyl album right here, much cherished.)

The 45-minute-or-so album was introduced after the band — which started hot and kept getting hotter — seemed to play the first part of the show as if it were doing encores. First up was the rarity “Thundercrack,” which was recorded for but left off of “Wild, Innocent” for space reasons. Remember — ha ha — vinyl could accommodate only 20 minutes to a side. Anyway, “Thundercrack” was just the introduction to an amazing, a kind of perfect rock concert that ended three hours later with Elvis Costello joining in on Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.”

Also, keep in mind: It was only a week ago that Springsteen played both shows for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Garden. Then on Wednesday night he and Costello appeared at newsman Bob Woodruff’s charity event at Town Hall.

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Friday night: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show at Madison Square Garden ended at 11:30 p.m., two hours earlier than it did the previous night. Mick Jagger substituted for Eric Clapton’s missing star power. Annie Lennox and Lenny Kravitz joined Aretha Franklin onstage. Other acts included U2 and Metallica, Patti Smith, Lou Reed and Ray Davies of the Kinks. Bruce Springsteen showed up again to play with Ozzy Osbourne.

Mick sang with Bono. Tom Hanks made a speech. David Geffen — who’s getting inducted into the Rock Hall next spring whether people like it or not because Jann Wenner says so — made an appearance. Wenner’s making everyone sign some kind of commemorative book. “It’s very important to him,” says a source. Whatever. Celebs: Harvey Weinstein, Lorraine Bracco, Robbie Robertson, Michael J. Fox again, Vivi Nevo, Jimmy Buffett’s wife, Daniel Craig, who came over after “A Steady Rain” finished. Most of the celebs were packed into Jann Wenner’s private box, along with his wife, Jane Wenner, and his lover, Matt Nye…It’s a modern world: Wenner has three kids with each of them…(Now that’s a reality series!)…

On Thursday night, Blondie played a set in Brooklyn for the rock photo exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. Hey — isn’t this what the Rock Hall is supposed to be about?…

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Is Bruce Springsteen a man or a machine? Is he Superman? These are the questions that ran through my mind last night as Springsteen and his E Street Band literally picked up the six-hour Rock and Roll Hall of Fame anniversary show at Madison Square Garden and breathed life into it.

The show, which started at 7:30, lived on a weird mix of sedation, old fights, and punctuations of soul for its first four hours. It was divided into sections after Jerry Lee Lewis emerged to play  “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Crosby, Stills & Nash commanded a deadly hour with Bonnie Raitt — the only featured female of the night, plus James Taylor and Jackson Browne. It wasn’t the artists’ fault but it was too much of the same thing, and — coupled with the 98% all white audience — they lent a creepy start to the history of rock and roll. I kept expecting Pat Boone to come out and join them in an acapella “Tutti Frutti.”

Instead, it was time for “Family Feud” with Simon & Garfunkel. After Paul Simon (who is really a devastatingly good songwriter, if not the best) delivered a couple of his solo hits, he brought out Little Anthony and the Imperials. They were the first black artists on stage after two hours. For some reason, Anthony chose “Two Kinds of People,” a little obscure, instead of “Hurts So Bad.” Still, the audience loved them as much as they adored Dion DiMucci on “The Wanderer.” Simon’s guests actually related to the roots of rock and roll, and were authentic.

Adding Art Garfunkel was good for gossip and harmony — the vocal kind only. How these two make such beautiful music and are so awful to each other is beyond me. “The Sound of Silence” was exquisite. “Mrs. Robinson” was playfully woven into Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.” “The Boxer” was sublime and moving. But then came “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Garfunkel sang the first verse. But Simon cut him off, it seemed, to croak the second verse. This was a mistake. Garfunkel looked pissed, and Simon sounded like Burt Bacharach on a bad day. When Garfunkel took over to begin, “Sail on Silver Girl,” Simon just huffed away. He should have just let Garfunkel sing the song. Anyway, Garfunkel brought it to an emotional and satisfying close.

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The new nine-DVD set of performances from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies is certainly a head scratcher — just as much as the Hall of Fame itself, I guess.

For one thing, there are no appearances whatsoever by Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, The Eagles, The Police, David Bowie, Elton John, or Led Zeppelin. But there are ten — yes, ten — appearances by Bruce Springsteen. He’s sort of the Zelig of Jann Wenner’s invention.

Was there someone named Keith Richards in rock and roll?  Paul Simon? Art Garfunkel? Stevie Wonder? Michael Jackson? The Dells? Dion? Bobby “Blue” Bland? Not in this DVD set.

There’s also a real curiosity: Chubby Checker, doing “The Twist.” The Hall of Fame has so far refused to induct Chubby Checker, and he’s insisted on a statue of himself to be erected at the Cleveland Museum. The performance is from 1986, when the Hall of Fame was forming. Chubby probably thought he’d get in right after that. Sorry!

The DVDs are heavy on Springsteen, but also include three performances by The Pretenders, of all things. I love the Pretenders, and was at their induction, but three songs? Huh? At least there’s no Madonna, from her embarrassing induction. But there’s also no Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, or Ramones but Green Day instead doing “Blitzkrieg Bop.”

Eric Clapton checks in four times solo and three more times with Cream. There’s no Led Zeppelin, but Ann and Nancy Wilson — who are aka Heart — play “Battle for Evermore.” Heart is not in the Hall of Fame, but they are now. So too are a bunch of others who happened to assist at performances including Sheryl Crow, Soul Asylum, Jonny Lang (from France), Joan Jett, and four — four — appearances by non-member Eddie Vedder.

On the soul side, Aretha Franklin and Al Green are each included three times, and there’s a one whole disc devoted to classic R&B. But there’s no sign of Ray Charles (except for a Billy Joel tribute), Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, the Supremes, Sam Moore, or many other soul stars. On top of that, Isaac Hayes’s name is spelled wrong on the website. (So, too, is Blondie’s, which seems hard to do.)

The soul stars who are on the discs, however, do comprise Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Ben E. King, Ruth Brown, the Four Tops, Tina Turner, Percy Sledge, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Jerry Butler, the Staples Singers, Booker T and the MGs, The O’Jays,  Solomon Burke and Wilson Pickett. The latter clip, of course, includes Bruce Springsteen.

There’s also no appearance by Van Morrison. Maybe that’s the reason he decided not to play at the Rock Hall’s 25th anniversary show next week. Mick Jagger does turn up a couple of times, but none of the other Stones roll with him.

Right now, Time Life is offering the discs for $120. As with all things Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including next week’s high priced shows, I have no idea where the money goes. To the artists? The museum? Into the ether? We’ll have to wait and see.

$100,000 — one hundred thousand dollars — that’s what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is soliciting from big names, VIPs and rock stars for their big Madison Square Garden shows on Oct. 29 and 30. The shows — billed as the 25th Anniversary Concerts for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, not the I.M.Pei-designed Museum in Cleveland — feature Bruce Springsteen, U2, Metallica, Simon and/or Garfunkel, Eric Clapton, Crosby Stills Nash & Friends and, in a nod to soul music, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin.

The Rock Hall is offering four VIP packages priced at $100,000, $50,000, $25,000 and $5,000.

This is all “to support the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation” in New York, run by Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner. There is no mention on the solicitation of the Museum in Cleveland, except to include one-year memberships as part of all the packages.

The $100,000 package is the best. It includes 10 premium seats for each night located either on the floor or in the loge — no guarantees, though. Just best seats available. But it also buys an invitation to Wenner’s private dinner on Oct. 28, another pre-concert dinner for VIPs, and rehearsal tickets. The best thing in the package: “Exclusive gift items and collectible laminates.” The total deductible amount is $84,750.

That the Rock Hall has become big business is no secret to readers of this column. The Foundation lists $14 million in assets already, and pays its chief staffer, Joel Peresman, a former exec at Madison Square Garden, more than $350,000 a year in salary.

But the foundation has come under fire in recent years for who it inducts into the Hall of Fame and who has been left out. That’s a list that begins with Chubby Checker, inventor of the the Twist, to artists like Neil Diamond, the Hollies, Neil Sedaka, Rufus & Carla Thomas, Donovan, Carole King, Chicago, Dionne Warwick, Hall & Oates, the late Billy Preston, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, the Moody Blues, Cliff Richard & the Shadows, and dozens more who for some reason Wenner and his nominating committee don’t consider “hip.” Two years ago the Foundation was embroiled in a voting scandal when Wenner ripped up a ballot inducting the Dave Clark Five so he could include Grandmaster Flash instead.

For years, the Rock Hall also paid close attention to rock’s roots, mostly because of the presence of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. But insiders agree that since Ertegun’s death in December 2006, Wenner is working without anyone to modify his behavior. Most of the nominating committee consists of rock writers who have either worked for him in the past for work for him now. It’s funny to think that the original 1986 committee included ’60s deejay Norm N. Nite and the blues musician John Hammond, giving it ties to rock’s origins. That notion must seem quaint now.

I told readers of my old column back in March that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was planning its 25th anniversary for the fall of 2009 at Madison Square Garden.

Now I can tell you that the Rock Hall folks, not exactly my favorite for various reasons, have booked Oct. 29 and 30 for a two-day extravaganza at the Garden.

Tentatively scheduled for the Thursday show are Bruce Springsteen, Simon & Garfunkel, Paul Simon as a solo act, Stevie Wonder, and the whole posse that includes Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young and friends.

Then on Friday: Aretha Franklin headlines, with U2, Metallica, and Eric Clapton. Those are the names I’ve heard so far, but we won’t be surprised if Paul McCartney, Sting, the Rolling Stones and a few other big names like Bob Dylan. I’d like to see some more black acts– like Earth, Wind & Fire, Al Green, Sam Moore, Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson, and Mavis Staples.

Of course, there are all the great acts who have never been inducted into the Hall of Fame, almost too many to name including Hall  & Oates, Linda Ronstadt, Chicago, Moody Blues, Carly Simon, Todd Rundgren, etc.

As I wrote last spring, Jann Wenner let this past year’s induction ceremony take place in Cleveland at the Rock Hall Museum because he knew he had this event coming up, Very clever, no? The question is, will the proceeds from these shows go to the Cleveland museum or into the Hall of Fame’s $14 million war chest for distribution by Wenner at his will. Maybe ticket buyers should specify that their donations — you know the ticket prices will be very high — go to the Museum itself.

Still unknown: whether the shows will be broadcast on Fuse TV, which has a three year contract with the Rock Hall. Fuse TV and the Garden are each owned by Cablevision.