SOUNDCHECK

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"If you're like me," Laura Ling said just after Stevie Wonder finished playing "Superstition" Saturday evening at the Hollywood Bowl, "you're here tonight because President Clinton has inspired you in some way."

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Most of us aren't like journalists who have been rescued from North Korean detention by the former Commander in Chief.

Certainly there were an overwhelming number of Clinton Family friends and fans on hand at A Decade of Difference, a four-hour charity event at the landmark amphitheater celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Clinton Foundation and the belated birthday of its namesake (he turned 65 in August). Their ticket costs, after all, donated $50-$550 to the organization, which has made admirable, life-changing strides in improving global conditions via initiatives focused on health, the world economy, the plight of children and the environment.

But I suspect most people sitting beyond the garden boxes - where the Clintons, including daughter Chelsea and the Secretary of State, sat dead-center, with Bonnie Raitt, Jane Fonda and more to their right - didn't hike up to the Bowl first and foremost to feel generous. Before this show I bet the majority of the audience's knowledge of the Clinton Foundation amounted to Clinton is Bill and he has a foundation.

Most people, I believe, plunked down cash or credit because they wanted to witness two things: U2′s Bono & the Edge performing acoustically and Lady Gaga's debut appearance at a venue she was born for. On that account they got their money's worth - a tastefully restrained three-song turn from the latter followed by a loose but moving seven songs from "a pair of Irish buskers" that "you've shelled out a million quid for."

Both performances, though vocally sharp, were still a tad wobbly, although at times they felt more honest than parts of either act's regular shows. Each attempted to personalize the occasion without over-thinking the auspiciousness of it or fussing over every last detail.

Gaga, true to form, deftly blended pop art with social commentary, all while indulging "my first Marilyn moment. I always wanted to have one, and I was hoping that it didn't involve pills and a strand of pearls." Replete with teased-up platinum-blond hair and coy rewrites for Clinton - she got "caught in a Bill romance" directly in front of his missus, but then re-imagined "You and I" as a portrait of "Billary," as she accidentally dubbed them - that cheeky retro move was nevertheless cast against a modern design.

Emerging atop a stark-white dilapidated tree-house (symbolizing poverty with child-like clarity), she delivered "Born This Way" with an urgent sense of hope and freedom. Madonna ripoff or not, that song packs current significance for a variety of disenfranchised people, and I daresay it's rush of liberation is more exhilarating than "Express Yourself."

Bono and Edge, though they sounded perfectly robust, still seemed as though this was only a fleetingly rehearsed lark - which thankfully provided a refreshing dose of realism.

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" wasn't quite fast enough for Bono, so he called for his longtime mate to pick it up before he, too, took the catwalk to get closer to the Clintons. It also looked like he needed a lead sheet for "Staring at the Sun," one of two less-obvious but most welcome selections in this set - although he sang it superbly. The other rarity, the first-ever live airing of "A Man and a Woman" (from 2004′s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb) in dedication to Chelsea and her husband Marc Mezvinsky, required Edge to fiddle about on his Mac until he found the right background beat.

Of course, no one had more to say on stage than Bono - not even Clinton himself, whose speech time was used primarily to deliver thank-you's and single out the achievements of this evening's guests. Of the reasons why he and Edge wanted to appear here, "right at the top of the list" is that their home country "is truly at peace, north and south, because of the 42nd president of the United States of America," who he called "the most beloved president since JFK for us Irish."

Such off-the-cuff moments lent tenderness and intimacy to a lengthy run of performances that otherwise veered toward arena size: surprise kickoff star Stevie Wonder getting bass-blasted across five classics ("Sir Duke" and "For Once in My Life" were a sound-engineering mess), Usher dancing so vigorously through "Yeah!" and "OMG" that he split his pants open, guitar-strumming Colombian heartthrob Juanes rocking out in a trio of hits.

Indeed, the caliber of talent that can be pulled together by the Clintons and their people (presumably not the Ben Stiller-led Celebrity Division shown in a cameo-filled Funny or Die Donate clip between Gaga and the headliner) is unlike anything in global politics. Who else could gather a half-dozen titans from as many shades of popular music? They're American royalty; this played out like a stateside version of the U.K.'s Prince's Trust Concerts.

Logically it should draw from as many genres as possible. From country music: Kenny Chesney, though his tequila-swilling beach-bum approach seemed out of place, with our without the assist from Grace Potter. Representing Africa (Somalia specifically): K'Naan, whose three songs - an Afrobeat jam, a Bono-enhanced new one and a rousing "Waving Flag" - were all highlights among highlights.

Naturally, plenty of Friends of Bill were on hand as well: Ashton Kutcher, Ellen DeGeneres, Jason Segel and Maria Bello made introductions, and celeb-spotting ranged from TMZ mainstays (La Lohan was in the house) to certifiable music legends (Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson).

Still, once-in-a-lifetime experience though this was, it easily boils down to two exceptional performances, the only truly tremendous ones this bash yielded.

The first came from Usher, who uncharacteristically took several pages out of Marvin Gaye and other old-school soul giants and flat-out nailed the Joe Cocker version of "With a Little Help from My Friends." No, he didn't bother with the scream on the second bridge - but his pure sustained tone sold the moment strongly. Anyone still fool enough to think he's merely a savvy hook-and-dance man needs to play the following Yahoo-provided clip at least five times.

The other was the way Bono sang "One," which I doubt I'll be able to explain even weeks from now. It isn't that he delivered it better or more profoundly than ever before. There was just something about the delicate way it was performed ... without the plodding rhythm or any Mary J. Blige wail ... reduced instead to its soulful yet sorrowful essence, lightly framed by strings ... deep in the moment, somehow I heard the words like never before.

(To satisfy the U2 geek in me, here's their setlist: Desire / I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / A Man and a Woman / Sunday Bloody Sunday / Staring at the Sun / One // Encore: Miss Sarajevo.)