The anti-Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and his band of a similar name, will headline a free concert this Thursday in Times Square:

The members of Bon Jovi say their upcoming performance in Times Square will not only kick off the football season but celebrate New Yorkers' resilience after Sept. 11.

The NFL approached the group about headlining Thursday's free concert, which is being promoted as a massive tailgate party. After the performance the band will take a helicopter to Giants Stadium to perform at halftime during the game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

The group's latest album, "Bounce," was inspired in part by the Sept. 11 attacks. Middletown, N.J., a community 45 miles south of Manhattan where singer Jon Bon Jovi lives, lost 32 people in the attacks.

The singer said he saw the smoke rising from the World Trade Center from a beach near his home.

"When I was a kid, the Army and Marines would call, wanting me to enlist," he told the New York Daily News. "I used to jokingly say, 'The day they invade Asbury Park, give me a call.' ... Here I am 22 years later and I felt like ... this is the beach at Asbury Park and they're here."