Live 8 Commentary
Sure, rock won't change the world but if it brings awareness to problems such as poverty, I'm all for it. It's one of those things I feel I can't be cynical about; every little step can hopefully help make things better. Today was all about kickass music to change the world.
I was glued to my TV, radio, and the Internet to catch the wonderful performances. CTV did a great job of covering the event. During the day, they broadcasted the Canadian concert, which was overall quite mellow although full of awesome Canadiana. I didn't see the whole thing but Simple Plan did a good job as did Bruce Cockburn and Our Lady Peace. During the evening, they broadcasted the best moments of the day across the world, and played U2 & Madonna's entire set. I *heart* you, CTV, even though you really need to get rid of Ben Mulroney and Tanya Kim, two of the most idiotic TV presenters.
The one thing that was a bit unsettling about the camera work were the extreme closeups of some stars. You got to see some dental fillings and nasal cavities like never before! LOL
Here are, in no particular order, some highlights of the various concerts for me...
1) U2, baby!!!!!!!! They opened the London concert with Paul McCartney by singing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Very cool to see Bono and Sir. Paul singing together. Then, they sang Beautiful Day (they even released doves during the performance!) which morphed into Blackbird :), Vertigo, and then One. I got chills when he was singing One. Bono also spoke very eloquantly of the need for poverty relief. He looked kind of tired though. Regardless, it was awesome.
2) Like A Prayer! Madonna kicked major ass in London. Like A Prayer is my favourite song of hers ever, and it got to me as it always does. She also sang Ray of Light and Music, and she just got the crowd really excited.
3) Sarah McLachlan and Josh Groban sang a lovely version of Angel in Philadelphia. I've seen Sarah in concert, and she just has so much presence. Two thumbs way up.
4) Stevie Wonder in Philadelphia. I didn't see his whole set but I saw him performing Superstition, Living For The City, Higher Ground with Rob Thomas, Signed, Sealed, and Delivered with Maroon 5. Such a talented artist.
5) London: Bittersweet Symphony performed by Richard Ashcroft (ex-singer of The Verve) with Coldplay. That was a really interesting version.
6) London again: Sting performed a slightly modified version of Every Breath You Take that was talking about watching politicians as they make their choices. "This time we'll see if our democracy is just a game you play, no matter what we say." It was just great, and in the backdrop, there were the portraits of all G8 leaders. Kudos, Sting.
7) In Berlin, Green Day covered We Are The Champions. Me likey Queen, and I thought they did a great job.
8) London: Pink Floyd. I never got what the fuss was about Pink Floyd. I think I do now.
9) London: Mariah Carey. She actually did a good job singing Make It Happen & We Belong Together. The thing though is that she was wearing a really short and tight dress with 4-inch heels (what a surprise..not), and she was trying to run but she looked like a rabbit who was jumping around. I must say it made me laugh more than it should have. LOL
10) London: REM with Michael Stipe looking very odd (not exactly a rare occurrence either!) with a blue, superhero-like, mask over his eyes. They sang Everybody Hurts, and it was touching as always.
11) London: Robbie Williams. I've enjoyed some of his singles in the past but I was never a major fan. I must say he impressed me today with his charisma. At one point when he was singing Angels, he looked straight in the camera and smiled with a little nod of the head. i must say I melted a little.
12) London: Annie Lennox. She sang a piano version of Why with pictures of African children in the back, and I got a bit choked up.
13) I heard Neil Young's Rocking in The Free World which closed the Canadian show was awesome but I missed it! I missed The Barenaked Ladies as well! Here is to hoping I am able to catch those moments!
I was glued to my TV, radio, and the Internet to catch the wonderful performances. CTV did a great job of covering the event. During the day, they broadcasted the Canadian concert, which was overall quite mellow although full of awesome Canadiana. I didn't see the whole thing but Simple Plan did a good job as did Bruce Cockburn and Our Lady Peace. During the evening, they broadcasted the best moments of the day across the world, and played U2 & Madonna's entire set. I *heart* you, CTV, even though you really need to get rid of Ben Mulroney and Tanya Kim, two of the most idiotic TV presenters.
The one thing that was a bit unsettling about the camera work were the extreme closeups of some stars. You got to see some dental fillings and nasal cavities like never before! LOL
Here are, in no particular order, some highlights of the various concerts for me...
1) U2, baby!!!!!!!! They opened the London concert with Paul McCartney by singing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Very cool to see Bono and Sir. Paul singing together. Then, they sang Beautiful Day (they even released doves during the performance!) which morphed into Blackbird :), Vertigo, and then One. I got chills when he was singing One. Bono also spoke very eloquantly of the need for poverty relief. He looked kind of tired though. Regardless, it was awesome.
2) Like A Prayer! Madonna kicked major ass in London. Like A Prayer is my favourite song of hers ever, and it got to me as it always does. She also sang Ray of Light and Music, and she just got the crowd really excited.
3) Sarah McLachlan and Josh Groban sang a lovely version of Angel in Philadelphia. I've seen Sarah in concert, and she just has so much presence. Two thumbs way up.
4) Stevie Wonder in Philadelphia. I didn't see his whole set but I saw him performing Superstition, Living For The City, Higher Ground with Rob Thomas, Signed, Sealed, and Delivered with Maroon 5. Such a talented artist.
5) London: Bittersweet Symphony performed by Richard Ashcroft (ex-singer of The Verve) with Coldplay. That was a really interesting version.
6) London again: Sting performed a slightly modified version of Every Breath You Take that was talking about watching politicians as they make their choices. "This time we'll see if our democracy is just a game you play, no matter what we say." It was just great, and in the backdrop, there were the portraits of all G8 leaders. Kudos, Sting.
7) In Berlin, Green Day covered We Are The Champions. Me likey Queen, and I thought they did a great job.
8) London: Pink Floyd. I never got what the fuss was about Pink Floyd. I think I do now.
9) London: Mariah Carey. She actually did a good job singing Make It Happen & We Belong Together. The thing though is that she was wearing a really short and tight dress with 4-inch heels (what a surprise..not), and she was trying to run but she looked like a rabbit who was jumping around. I must say it made me laugh more than it should have. LOL
10) London: REM with Michael Stipe looking very odd (not exactly a rare occurrence either!) with a blue, superhero-like, mask over his eyes. They sang Everybody Hurts, and it was touching as always.
11) London: Robbie Williams. I've enjoyed some of his singles in the past but I was never a major fan. I must say he impressed me today with his charisma. At one point when he was singing Angels, he looked straight in the camera and smiled with a little nod of the head. i must say I melted a little.
12) London: Annie Lennox. She sang a piano version of Why with pictures of African children in the back, and I got a bit choked up.
13) I heard Neil Young's Rocking in The Free World which closed the Canadian show was awesome but I missed it! I missed The Barenaked Ladies as well! Here is to hoping I am able to catch those moments!
Labels: concert, Madonna, music, Stevie Wonder, U2
posted by Brain Diva at 10:56 p.m.
1 Comments:
I never got what the fuss was about Pink Floyd. I think I do now.
Oh, I'm all va klepmt! I'm so proud of you, my wee one. Hee.
I didn't see any of it, so thanks for the recap. I will probably by the sure-to-be-released DVD to support the cause.
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