Regis Philbin
Jul 8th, 2007, 09:41 PM
Hey, Reeg, did ya watch 'Live Earth'?
Nope. Not one second of it. :]
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2027517.ece
2007
Live Earth fails to pack large-scale punch
Robert Sandall
It did what it said on the poster – but no more. The British leg of Live Earth started at 1.30 pm sharp with a thunderous five-minute drum fanfare by a 20-odd troupe of flailing percussionists, battering a miscellany of ethnic skinned instruments.
Led by Roger Taylor, formerly drummer with Queen, and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, their SOS pattern, hammered out in morse code, was a cute way of flagging up the Live Earth message: environmental calamity ahoy. But it couldn’t disguise the problem that regularly threatened to becalm this Wembley show.
As a concert, Live Earth was not the repeat of Live Aid/Live 8 it clearly wanted to be. Unlike the events organised by the charismatic Sir Bob Geldof – upon which this one modelled itself closely, right down to its choice of name – the acts who answered the call from Al Gore’s people to play at Wembley Stadium were a bit short on superstar clout.
It was Geldof’s legendarily persuasive powers which got Pink Floyd to abandon a 20-year feud and re-form for Live 8 in Hyde Park in 2005. There was nothing on the Live Earth London bill to command that level of anticipation and potential drama.
With the exception of the closing act Madonna – who played next door at Wembley Arena only last summer – there was nobody on the Stadium bill with the cross-generational appeal, and catalogue of monster hits, to supply the great unifying moments which event gigs need to make their message stick in the mind.
Queen singing We Will Rock You at Live Aid, or Robbie Williams leading the 80,000 Live 8 crowd through a giant karaoke session of Angels, are worth far more in this context than the 20 minutes per hour of worthy exhortations dished out on screen or by guest celebs at Live Earth.
Nope. Not one second of it. :]
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2027517.ece
2007
Live Earth fails to pack large-scale punch
Robert Sandall
It did what it said on the poster – but no more. The British leg of Live Earth started at 1.30 pm sharp with a thunderous five-minute drum fanfare by a 20-odd troupe of flailing percussionists, battering a miscellany of ethnic skinned instruments.
Led by Roger Taylor, formerly drummer with Queen, and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, their SOS pattern, hammered out in morse code, was a cute way of flagging up the Live Earth message: environmental calamity ahoy. But it couldn’t disguise the problem that regularly threatened to becalm this Wembley show.
As a concert, Live Earth was not the repeat of Live Aid/Live 8 it clearly wanted to be. Unlike the events organised by the charismatic Sir Bob Geldof – upon which this one modelled itself closely, right down to its choice of name – the acts who answered the call from Al Gore’s people to play at Wembley Stadium were a bit short on superstar clout.
It was Geldof’s legendarily persuasive powers which got Pink Floyd to abandon a 20-year feud and re-form for Live 8 in Hyde Park in 2005. There was nothing on the Live Earth London bill to command that level of anticipation and potential drama.
With the exception of the closing act Madonna – who played next door at Wembley Arena only last summer – there was nobody on the Stadium bill with the cross-generational appeal, and catalogue of monster hits, to supply the great unifying moments which event gigs need to make their message stick in the mind.
Queen singing We Will Rock You at Live Aid, or Robbie Williams leading the 80,000 Live 8 crowd through a giant karaoke session of Angels, are worth far more in this context than the 20 minutes per hour of worthy exhortations dished out on screen or by guest celebs at Live Earth.