Well I'm finally finding the time to write back from the zzz.netaid.bore concert, an 8 HOUR extravaganza of music and... silence!
That's right. The concert lasted 8 hours. No, that's not including London and Geneva. The New York concert lasted from 5:00pm to 1:00am. And within those 8 hours, we must have heard a maximum of 3 hours of music. The other five consisted of a) down time between each performer as the sets were completely replaced, and b) Busta Rhymes ("What De Dilly Yo?") Wyclef Jean came on with Bono, along with all the night's performers (including Michael Stipe who didn't perform (?) ) to warm up the crowd. Unfortunately, the stadium wasn't even half full by that time. Wyclef told everyone to come up to the stage, so everyone rushed at the opportunity. But we were quickly held back by security guards who clearly despised the human race. Sections of the field were blocked off with barricades, so you couldn't enter the front sections without an appropriate ticket. The UN is so deviously democratic aren't they? Anyway, Wyclef and Bono performed "New Day" (no "Brand"!) after which we were rushed to ou
r seats by the goons. Bono then sang "One." Unfortunately for U2 fans, that would be the only U2 song for the night. And the U2 fans who weren't there before 5:00 missed it!The concert officially started with Zucchero who was greatly under-appreciated by the audience. Then Jewel came on to call Heidi in for a fondue! The stadium wasn't full yet, and the crowd just wasn't warming up. And it was taking a LONG time to set up the stage in between each performer. Counting Crows changed the mood with an upbeat set. Everyone was on their chairs trying to dance without falling. Then Counting Crows go off stage, everybody sits down, we get mind-numbing pre-recorded netaid preaching from Meryl Streep, and we wait 25 minutes for the next performer...Sheryl Crow. Good set. Then 30 more minutes of waiting until Mary J Blige. Then a lot more waiting: fireworks had to be installed for the Puff Meister. I actually enjoyed Puffy's performance - it was entertaining. The bit about him having been through some tough times but being saved by his best friend (God!) was a bit much. And then that unmistakable Andy riff! Puffy brought on a stage-full of choir singers for "I'll Be Missing You." (I was singing my own version!) And surprise surprise: no Sting! (I was expecting him to at least team up with Zucchero.)
And then, the moment we had all been waiting for, or at least a handful of us had been waiting for (and I do mean wait, 'cause it was 9:20 by that time): STING! My stomach was in knots though because I had set my VCR according to VH1's schedule: 5:00-9:30. So I knew I would miss a part of Sting's set. (I'm missing Melli Melli and Desert Rose) Sting came on and did a cross sign (he seems to be reverting back to religion these days - I've never heard him say "God Bless" on such a regular basis) From the first note of IYLSSTF, I was ecstatic. It was clear judging by the Bono T-shirts and others that I was a minority - which didn't damper my enjoyment the least. Set Them Free was great. Then, the usual hum-drum of BND. It's about time Sting performed a powerful version of BND rather than giving us limp dick (in his own words...) Same version as on Letterman: the edit of the edit! He fads out with "It's a brand new day" after the "I'm the flagpole to your nation" bit. So it loses steam
before it even picks up. Which is the same mistake he made with LYSBYP on the MF tour. The crowd reaction just wasn't the same as IYLSSTF. Next, Sting said: "It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you one of the biggest stars in France, from Algeria: Mr. Cheb Mami!" I was expecting Desert Rose of course, but they kicked in with Cheb's "Meli Meli." It was quite a unique sight to see Sting and band performing backup. Sting is obviously very respectful of Cheb because you could see he put a lot care in leading the band through that number. People were very confused when Cheb came on. I heard people say " Who? Who is this guy?" Small children were frightened and the adults thought Armageddon was upon us because they couldn't understand what Cheb was singing. You see, Americans aren't aware that there are different cultures and languages outside of the US! (no need to flame me, I'm an American citizen myself) They then performed Desert Rose, which unfortunately didn't sound good at Giants Stadium (it might have sounded better on TV.) Sting's mike was scratchy, and I still think the arrangement is too busy. Kipper's whirling electronics, Cheb's backup (when Sting sings) and Sting's vocals are all competing too much. Four songs (3 Sting songs) and that was it.Another half hour later, Dinosaur rocker Jimmy Page came on to numb our ears with his vintage double neck guitar (can someone tell him those aren't cool anymore?) The Black Crowes did a couple of songs with him too. His was the longest set. Then Busta' Rhymes made my ears bleed with pulsating static at 2,000 dB. Then some more Black Crowes. Yawn... Then Wyclef came on, a bit concerned about the fact that more than half the stadium had already gone, and that the concert had dragged on too long. So he really put his heart into it to get people groovin'. He covered the spectrum from ol' fashioned rock n roll to Frank Sinatra to Reggae. I was impressed. Then Bono came out of his trailer to do "New Day." It seemed like he'd rather be somewhere else. Very disconcerting since this was his brainchild. I feel sorry for the U2 fans who stuck it out just to hear Bono. Wyclef then played "Hot, hot hot" as he directed people to calmly leave the audience. People were leaving in a conga line! Wher
e was Wyclef six hours ago!So there you have it, a rather tedious rundown of NetAid. If you go to www.netaid.org
Btw, I didn't take any pictures since it was clear you would have been shot dead on the spot if you took out a camera (I was very far from the stage anyway - maybe someone can do a video capture?) So no photos, no foul language, no selling your tickets on the Giant Stadium premises, no sneaking to the front... Ah, Sweet Land Of Liberty, Of Thee I Sing!
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