My thoughts on the Giants Stadium show:
Fantastic day yesterday! I really had a great time, even though I was only looking forward to 6 of the 16 (or 17?) acts that were there. DMB was pretty good...they were the first band that really got the crowd going and we were of course excited to see them. They seemed a little bit rusty, like they needed a bit more warming up time, but they never have a bad show. I also enjoyed Mayer quite a bit...but was expecting that. I make fun of him a lot (my best friend knows quite well) but he is so musically gifted. I think he should've come on a little bit later in the day though, so he wasn't forgotten by the end of the night.
Now...I'm from NJ, but I have never claimed to be a Bon Jovi fan (as most people think it is just natural to love them if you're from here). Actually, I've always been fairly anti-Jove. Of course, everyone loves their old hits, including me, but I've just never been able to take them seriously. But without a doubt, and maybe this should have been expected since it is like their home venue -- they OWNED Giants Stadium yesterday. The day was theirs, completely.
Maybe I
still can't take them seriously, but they were so much fun, and they had everyone in the palm of their hands. I mean, Livin on a Prayer!! Dead or Alive!! lol It was such good stuff. Seriously, they were great, so that was nice, and pretty surprising. I'll cut them a bit of slack in the future.
It was, however, The Police, Roger Waters, and Smashing Pumpkins I was looking forward to the most. (DMB and Mayer went without saying.) Second to Bon Jovi, I think Roger Waters rocked the hell out of the place. It was great to have seen him. I've always liked Pink Floyd music, so it was pretty exciting. Simply, Roger kicked ass.
The Smashing Pumpkins were...loud. Glad to have seen them. I do like that Billy Corgan, but...wow, I think I went slightly deaf during their set. Still, they are a band I would want to see more of. I wish I could have seen them ten years ago!
The Police...you know, sadly...they were really good but...not like I thought they would be. I'm glad to have seen them just because it was them! But, I'm also glad I got to see them at this type of show, and didn't shell out $100+ dollars just to see their own show. Maybe a full concert of theirs would be different though. Maybe, like DMB, they needed a little more warming up time to really show their full potential. They were really good (they do kick ass no matter what), but I still preferred others to them.
My best friend Allison and her friend Michelle and I luckily got really good seats. We weren't supposed to. We were supposed to be in the 300s level! No way that was happening, so we went to the 100s level and went to the side of the stage in a section that they weren't selling tickets for (but a number of people were sitting there anyway, who probably did the same thing as us). We ended up with some of the best seats in the house if you weren't on the floor. Also, we got lucky with obtaining two passes from Al's work. They weren't for backstage, but instead we were able to go in the bubble where they were holding the press conference and a number of interviews for different television and radio stations. We thought that would be great to keep heading back there throughout the day, but in the end we only hung out there in the beginning, for an hour or so. Once we got to our seats (around 4) we didn't want to leave again for fear of not being able to get back there. We did manage to watch manorexic Carson Daly do a quick interview before we headed out though. (Joy!) Seriously, someone needs to give him a few hundred sandwiches or something.
On to more serious matters...I really do hope these shows did in fact raise awareness among the public about helping our environment. I wish that they do, but I doubt anything will really shake the people of this world enough to change the way we live. I just read an
article where Bob Geldof (Live Aid/Live 8) says that these shows were basically pointless. I'm sure he's not the only one who thinks this. Maybe he's right, to a degree. He says, "I hope they're a success. But why is Gore actually organising them? To make us aware of the greenhouse effect? Everybody's known about that problem for years. We are all conscious of global warming." -- Are we, really? I think people are aware of it, but don't necessarily take it that seriously at all, or not nearly as seriously as they should. I can honestly say that I don't, and it's something I hope to change in myself.
I think Gore organized a good event for a great cause...but I think in the end that many people were going to this show, for the show...to see great bands play together...to see The Police in NYC, to see Madonna in London, etc etc. But just by getting this Giants Stadium show together, to raise awareness, did it not end up being counter-productive to the cause? All those cars that drove to the lots, all the tour buses that drove to the venue (and obviously because of the number of performers there were quite a number of buses), all the trucks at the stadium and the garbage that ended up on the ground by the night's end - I know the organizers and performers of Live Earth meant well, but I definitely feel it was a bit counter-productive in the end.
In another part of that article, Geldof says, "I would only organize Live Earth if I could go on stage and announce concrete environmental measures from the American presidential candidates, Congress or major corporations. They haven't got those guarantees, so it's just an enormous pop concert for the umpteenth time that gets, say, Madonna or Coldplay up on stage." He has a point. (I just came across
another article where Roger Daltrey goes off about the event.) The event shouldn't have been just about raising awareness, or making pledges. I mean, we need to be aware of the issue, we need to take action...but we shouldn't have needed a concert for it. What the hell good is a concert really going to do? It's going to take more than a number of celebrities and rockstars telling us how we should change, to actually get us to change. I hate to sound trite, but hopefully one day we can finally take action and come together as a country, as a planet, and start making things better, instead of having wars and fighting over bullshit. We'll never have world peace, but things are really shitty. Can't we at least get a new American leader already for God's sake? Clearly, we need one. I mean, first of all, why is it
Al Gore that's being the pro-active man in power here, or at least trying to be? Should it not be the responsibility of our American president, of our leader, and the leaders of this world to be the pro-active ones?? (And as much as I don't have a liking for G.W., I know he must work hard...doing...
something) --- I don't particularly trust people in politics, or people with loads of money, but good going to Mr. Gore. At least he's making an attempt to open our eyes up, to really get us thinking. That's more than I can say for Bush, or almost any other president we've had. But you know what? I still don't want to see my favorite band or my favorite actor telling me how I can change the world while they read from a teleprompter at a
concert. It's sad that celebrities make more of an impact these days than our politicians, isn't it? But anyway, I digress, I digress...
Yesterday was a great day. It was a good attempt to raise awareness (although maybe not a very smart attempt), there were great speakers (Jane Goodall, too cool....and thanks to Zach Braff for giving NJ some love!), and of course great performers, for the most part. I apologize for sounding utterly corny, but for a few hours there, it really did feel like the world was working together...at the
very least, on a musical level - and there's nothing wrong with that.
Maybe it didn't do its job of raising awareness, and maybe it did...but it definitely brought people together. All those people, in all different countries, sharing a love for something, for music...that's what made yesterday so special, and I'm proud to have been a part of it.
Saw DMB in Camden July 5-6 ...and also met them! Went to Philly on the 6th and met them outside their hotel in the afternoon. Luckily got pictures with all of them this time. It was incredibly hot out that afternoon, so that explains why I think I look incredibly greaso...even Dave kinda looks wax for I think this reason. This muggy weather has got to stop! :o(
