Grammys 2012: Tony Bennett watches Bruce Springsteen rehearse

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You know you’re a big star when Tony Bennett comes to watch you rehearse.

On Friday, during prep for the 54th annual Grammy Awards that air on Sunday, Bennett was guided by flashlight to a center seat in the nearly empty Staples Center so he could watch Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band run through ‘We Take Care of Our Own,’ which will open the awards show.

Springsteen and his band — now, sadly, moving forward without the late Clarence Clemons — played with a 14-piece string section but far more guitar thunder than Bennett would ever use.

PHOTOS: Grammy Awards 2012 rehearsals

Springsteen, in gray jeans, a dark V-neck shirt and a necklace laded with silver charms, executed some guitar windmills and jumped up on an amp at the finale.

Not exactly the way Bennett did his set at Carnegie Hall back in 1962. ‘I like the way it looks, it’s great, the stage,’ the elder icon said with a smile. ‘The song repeats itself a lot, though, doesn’t it?’

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— Geoff Boucher