Live 8 poll

What are your opinions on Live 8?

edit - just to say this question is in regard of the musical event, disregarding the charitable aspect.

 

Far too many bands had over-rehersed the life out of their performances. Very flat. Audience looked bored for most of it. U2 looked so tired they were nearly asleep. I think the expectations for many (not myself) were too high. It couldnt match the sheer pioneering spirit of 1985. That was a first, we have seen many such concerts since then.

I think also the venue has a big effect on the atmosphere. A Stadium keeps you all together, whereas a field or park dosnt give the same sense of surrounding and concentration of energy.

Good cause and good weather for it though. I hope it has some effect on matters.

The Who were the highlight for me.

 

PumaMan, I couldn't have put it better myself. Exactly my sentiments.

Having said that I guess a majority of the guys here where just babes in arms when the first one happened, so don't have that one to compare to.

 

Good intentions, very naff show

 

Perhaps even they're getting tired of the music they make. I missed nearly all of it, saw a few bits, they were ok but nothing to get that excited about. Would have liked to have seen Floyd and the Who tho.

 

The Who were good, Floyd were good although I'm not a fan myself. I thought U2 were very good, and Bono manages a level of sincerity when talking the politics that no-one but Sir Bob could match. Stereophonics were good, better than I've seen them in a while, I think the new drummer has reinvigorated them. Madonna and Robbie Williams were both really great, engaged with the crowd and sang their biggest hits, just what the crowd wanted.

 

I'm sorry to sound negative about it but I felt it that musically (leaving the intent and message aside) it was up it's own backside big time. A bunch of self-professed superstars, many of whom are pretty bloody talentless doing the usual excrutiating facial textures as they attempt to push out a few notes or vocal sounds with little technique. As such I thought it was an opportunity missed. I can't take issue with the popularity of the music but music at it's most potent it was not.

What do I think would have been better? Why not have Maxim Venegerov or someone else popular in a wider musical sense and representing eastern bloc for exmaple saying we're here too. His talent playing something conventional and perhaps something left-field or rock-based would have been fascinating. Likewise a reunion of Paco de Lucia and Al dei Meola bringing Latin nations into the equation. Why not include some big band or great classic jazz. Where were the ethnic musicians? Where was someone showing what it is really like to play a piano captivating an audience. Maybe some Lizst, Chopin or Rimsky-Korsakov followed by Scott Joplin and then some blues with the likes of Cassandra Wilson or Shirley Bassey out front. Even with rock, why not have the likes of 3G (Satriani, Vai, Johnson or alternative) really letting rip.

Given that this was about music making the G8 leaders take notice, music was not used as well as it could have been for my taste. Just my 2p worth. I hit the indie and has-been button sadly.

Paul

 

I was dissapointed (as Lenny Henry pointed out) that there was almost no black musicians. I especially would have liked to have seen African musicians play.

It seems criminal not to include people like Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

I know they were going for big names... so why no James Brown? BB King?...

At least they had Stevie Wonder in Philidelphia.

The music choice smacked of a Radio 1 hit-list.

 

I watched it in the evening, the only two i enjoyed were Velvet Revolver and Pink Floyd.

 

Didn't see much of it but what bits I did see, Robbie was as expected -great showman, and I'm sorry lads but he can sing . The Who were Ok but Floyd, for me were absolutely excellent.

 

Velvet revolver?!
They were gash!
I thought it was pretty good. The Who and Floyd were really good and it looked amazing as darkness fell on that huge crowd and the old fellas really showing how big events are handled. So slick and didn't lose anything by being live. Class.
Weren't many bad acts. As they were only on for 15 miuntes you didn't have long to wait until the next one.

 

Unfortunately, the message is why the music was as it was. This was about getting a lot of people to notice, thus it gravitated towards pop music, and pop music is rarely if ever about talent.

 

Chris
If it was African musicians you wanted you should have tuned into the Eden Project Webcast instead. Fantastic stuff.

 

?

 

i missed all of it and don;t feel badly, which kind of says it all. the cause and message is great but none of the bands playing interested me except for perhaps the reformation of pf and even that wasn;t enough to keep me in watching the boob tube.
cheers


julian.

 

I saw about ten minutes of the Hyde Park thing (Paul McCartney's closing bit), plus bits of the Philedelphia show and, best of all, Green Day in Berlin.

Not something I'd pay money to see, for the most part. In fact, I'd pay good money *not* to see U2.

 

I actually liked velvet revolver - they can rock old skool style!

As ever Robbie Williams was by far the most gash - the most overatted talentless twat to ever walk.

PF were good - especially Roger Waters (I am undergoing somewhat of a RW revival at the moment in the car - Amused to death - still 100% relevant and still superb. Robbie W could only dream of having that type of talent).

did i mention how much I hated robbie williams?

 

I didn't see or hear any of it and TBH really couldn't give a toss. Basically a bunch of extremely wealthy, mostly white, middle aged rockers (many hasbeens amongst them) playing to an audience of mainly white middle class youngsters so that the whole lot of them, performers and audience, can feel good about themselves in the belief that they're "doing something" for Africa .

As with Live Aid before it, I'm almost certain that Live 8 will do nothing of any significance for poverty in Africa. Sorry to be cynical, but that's just how I see it .

Michael.

 

I didn't think it had the same feeling about it as Live Aid but then 20 years ago I was 17 and in the crowd about 3 or 4 people back from the front of the stage!

It was a decent enough event - not that I saw all of it mind. Highlights for me were The Who and of course Floyd (who were amazing considering they hadn't played together since 1981/82). As for Robbie, like him or loathe him (I fall in the latter catagory) you can't deny that he entertains.

Will it solve the Africa problem? Unlikely - it might help a bit and get more aid and debt relief but until trade barriers are removed (can't see France agreeing to that) and all African countries are governed by decent, honest men and women then the problem will remain.

On that last point, I read on the weekend that in the last 40 years, 220 billion £ or $ have been fraudulently disappeared from Nigeria i.e. more than the total amount of aid given to Africa overall has been stolen by dishonest leaders, politicians, governers or what have you in one country alone!

Matt.

 

I bought the cd - 1st track is grand!
However, if you want to hear Slash rockin in a much more rockin old school manner try his Snake Pit cd...
Properly pumpin..

And as for Live8, I read in Sunday's paper that the "artistes" playing at Philadelphia were given a goodie bag containing "high fashion trinkets" worth $12000...
Nice that less money will go to whoever it's meant to so that Madonna can have a free pair of Prada nose hair tweezers!

And Robbie Williams does appear to be a prize ****.

My beef with the whole thing is that the "stars" preaching to us don't seem to realise that they're part of the problem - I don't see how a cult of celebrity is going to Make Poverty History..