Live8 DVD: 1st half of first disc

To be perfectly honest, I was a bit underwhelmed by the Live8 concerts a couple of years ago. Music tastes change and I sort of gravitated away from pop/rock to more classical and new age genres, along with just a few modern acts (Sigur Ros, Sun Kil Moon, Autechre…basically the top 3 on my list). But when the DVD set was released I thought
it might be a good idea to own it, if for no other reason than to compliment my copy of the original Live Aid DVDs. I figured there would be at least more than a few entertaining performances in the lot. It’s almost worth the admission price for the Pink Floyd reunion alone. I remember seeing that one when the shows were on TV. Who could forget the tension between longtime foes Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour? But that’s just about all I can remember about the event.

A good idea to have both seminal concerts in my collection, so I went ahead and purchased the Live8 DVDs. I’m glad I did…having scanned a good portion of the first disc I think it will be just fine.

I come to this conclusion very early on…the first performance, actually. Paul McCartney, with U2, whip out a decent rendering of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band”. Those Dublin boys sure make a good backing band. Nice and tight. The Live8 folks spared no expense and pulled out all the stops with a 4 piece French horn section, all decked out in original “Sgt. Pepper” uniforms. It all comes together as a fairly accurate representation of the original version.

Unfortunately Big Macca leaves the stage for now (I think he comes back later on, but I don’t have the program notes with me now, so I’m guessing). It’s all good, though, because U2’s performance is stellar. It was at Live Aid where they first broke through to a global audience, and they seem to be completely in their element in this follow-up. Nothing as awesome as the 1985 version of “Bad”, but “Beautiful Day” is exuberant and “Vertigo” does rock. The former is capped off with a nice (impromptu?) take on “Blackbird”. Perhaps a tip of the hat to Paul, who may well have been watching from the curtains. I can’t think of any other reason they may have done it.

The upbeat tone settles in as Bono croons out “One”. It is amazing how comfortable he seems to be on this stage in front of God knows how many thousands of people. He belts this song out as if he were in a small room amongst a small circle of friends. I suppose that’s how it’s supposed to be done. To all the people out there who think Mr. Vox is too cocky (and there are more than a few), I say “Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaze!” That’s what rock and roll is all about.

Then again, maybe not, as Chris Martin exudes a similar, not-quite-as-endearing cockiness trotting onto the stage with his Coldplay mates. They kick off with a nice enough version of “In My Place" which is all fine and good until the end vamping begins. Martin throws out the chorus of the Stones' “It’s Only Rock and Roll”, a propos of nothing. It sounds silly, but not have so much as when he tries to rev up the crowd with a little escalating call-and-response thing. You will have to see it to believe how pathetic it is.

And can anyone tell me what the fuck is up with all that colored tape around his fingers? And the bar-bones tattoo on his wrist that reminds me so much of Black Flag’s logo? I like Coldplay well enough, but I never realized what a bozo Chris Martin is (though I have heard rumors). Between “In My Place” and the next song, he tells the audience, “…thanks for coming to the Live8, and uh…this, of course, has to do with the G8, and uh…those people ARE pretty G8, but, uh, the person we’re going to introduce to you now would really make those guys look not so cool.”

HUH???



At which point Richard Ashcroft (formerly of the Verve) takes the stage and proceeds not only to make the “guys of G8” look “not so cool”, but Martin and Coldplay in the bargain. Ashcroft has a swagger and a confidence that suits “Bittersweet Symphony” well. I’d forgotten what a kick ass song this is. “I can change, I can change, I can change, I can change…but I’m here in my mold, I am here in my mold…” This live version is even better than the original, and that’s no small feat. Not to mention that he’s got Coldplay behind him, so that’s either a positive or a negative depending upon your personal opinion of that band.

Unfortunately Ashcroft only sticks around for the one song and CPlay get to do one more. “Fix You” is one I’m not too familiar with, even though I PROBABLY have the CD and, if so, have heard it enough times to where I SHOULD recognize it. This performance doesn’t bring back any memories, if such is the case. As they breeze through the number, pleasant enough as it is, I have to ask myself just how big a fan of theirs I actually am. My original thought was that these Coldplay songs might be highlights, but oh boy was I disappointed.

Elton John strides onto the stage next, flashing “peace” signs to the crowd, jumping up onto his piano bench where he stands defiantly as if daring the tough younger boys in the audience to step up to his geriatric ass. He soon settles behind the piano and backs up his claim of relevance with a super-charged “Bitch Is Back”. It’s as if he’s saying, “I can’t believe this song is 30 years old…I don’t even feel like I’M that old!” Indeed, he does rock pretty hard for an older bugger. “Saturday Night’s Alright For Frighting” follows, and the ivory-tinkling continues, veering even further into aggressive mode.

Reginald brings out Pete Doherty to massacre the old T Rex song, “Children of the Revolution”. I have not heard Doherty or his band, Babyshambles, though I have heard a lot about them. Not a whole lot of good things, either. I can tell, on first glance, that all the naysayers are probably right.

Pete shows up with uniform unbuttoned, hat cocked obnoxiously to the back of his head, a smattering of purple eye make-up and the most ridiculous cigar I’ve ever seen hanging from his mouth. It’s like bright green. Maybe I’m just too un-hip to know what’s up with that, but regardless, it looks mighty foolish.

Even so, I would have forgiven his fashion sense, had he impressed me with his vocal talents. No such luck. It can’t be hard to sing a Marc Bolan song. Surely not. Judging by this guy, though, it must be impossible.

Next, Dido is joined by Yousou N’Dour. I won’t pretend that I have the slightest interest in this pairing…for that matter, I have no plans to investigate the respective canons of either artist, now or in the future. It isn’t that I’m not “impressed”, just apathetic and this performance doesn’t change that at all.

A bit of culture shock kicks in as the Stereophonics turn up the distortion. I don’t know jack shit about them, either, although if this song (“The Bartender and the Thief”) is any indication of their typical style, I would have to come to the conclusion that the singer is a big Kurt Cobain fan. These guys aren’t too bad, even if the leather gear is a little too obvious for such a punk-influenced group.

Okay, this is where it gets wacky.

Michael Stipe strides to the center of the stage and---get this---he’s got this funky looking deep blue Lone Ranger mask---PAINTED ON HIS FACE!!! I’m thinking, who does he think he is, Peter Gabriel? Maynard from TOOL? This is Michael Stipe, people! The style of his band’s music lately lends itself more to cashmere sweaters than face paint. The sheen of the blue color really accentuate all the veinage on the side of his head. Another good reason he should have left the spray paint at home.

He grabs the mic as Berry & Mills get situated and pronounces, “Hello, we’re REM, and THIS is what we do.” What’s that, Mike? Paint your face and sing “Everybody Hurts” for the millionth time (50 of which were for similar “benefit” type things where it just seemed to be relevant to the cause)? I never really liked the song in the first place. The success of this song has been an unfortunate contributing factor to Stipe’s deciding he can actually sing. He can’t and he never could. He didn’t NEED to before they started doing pablum like this. This Live8 take is par for the course, Stipe’s delivery having degenerated with every performance he’s done since he recorded since the original.

They do one more song (only natural, since that’s “what they do”), “Man on the Moon”, before thankfully retiring from the show, about 10 minutes too late as far as I’m concerned. God, how I hate this song. It’s so weird…honestly, I was REM ‘s number one fan in the early-mid 80s. I thought Michael Stipe was the best frontman in all of alternative music. Now he grates on my nerves and, guilty by association, I cannot stand the band. Even though there may be a few of their tracks between “Document” and their recent album that I like well enough, Stipe’s bizarre streak and the overall vibe of REM over the last 15-20 years has disappointed me so much that I almost wish I’d never heard them.

Ms Dynamite has the luck to follow the REM contingent. Even though I have no doubt she’s kicking their collective asses, this is another case of a musical style being so alien to my tastes that I don’t feel qualified to offer an opinion. So I won’t.

My brother likes Keane and has tried, for some time, to bring me into the camp of music connoisseurs who appreciate them. “Somewhere Only We Know”, the song they do here, is decent enough. Actually it is very good, and makes me want to call the bro and take him up on his offer to let me borrow his Keane CD.

And so we leave the London concert for now to cross the pond and head to Philadelphia. All in all it was a decent opening. U2 and Richard Ashcroft were definitely the highlights. Elton performed above and beyond the call of duty, proving that you’re never too old to…well, to do whatever it is that Elton John does. Coldplay weren’t so bad as all that. The band itself was good, it’s just that Chris Martin seems so full of himself that he brings them all down. REM were the low point of this show. It really does pain me to say that. But every time I think of that insane blue mask I'll remember why I felt justified in saying it.

Lots of material on this disc...I'm barely halfway into it and I've got to take a break. More to come.

Until then...

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

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