Today marks the one year anniversary of Live Earth, the global concert to raise awareness about Global Warming. I won't go into details about the expansiveness of this concert since probably everyone already knows, unless you live under a rock.
It had been some time since I was at a BIG concert, let alone one that had multiple acts and was all day long. My wife and I had never been to a concert of this size together, and I was very excited when word was announced about this show. Bon Jovi were one of the performers so I knew she would want to go. There were several band that I wanted to see so I needed no coaxing.
We managed to get great seats, and we were blessed with a perfect day. It never got too warm and the crowd around us was great. I was a little leery at first since New Jersey audiences tend to be some of the most obnoxious and loud. I could never understand the idea of paying money to talk through a show. Having said that, the audiences when I went to see U2 at the Continental Airlines Arena and Coldplay at the same venue, different dates, were two of the best audiences I can remember. What I thought was great about the crowd at Live Earth, was that if they weren't into a particular artist, they would either head out and take a walk, or watch and give them a shot. Since the concert included a pretty diverse group of acts, everyone around us seemed to be there for a different artist. My Wife was there for Bon Jovi, I was there for the Dave Matthews Band, the couple in front of us for Kanye West, the family behind us for Roger Waters. Everyone was willing to listen to each others band and have a good time.
The big critique of the concerts was that so much energy was wasted putting on these huge concerts, and that we cannot save the planet by changing a light bulb. Those critics are partially correct. You can't save the planet by changing a light bulb, and you can't expect people to go on living and give up everything they are use to. However, if more people did change the type of light bulbs they use and recycled and carpooled and used a little less water and didn't have every light in their house on, it might start to make a difference. And the main point of all the speeches given that day was that nothing will change unless governments(local and national) lead the way.
My life may not have changed that much since that day, but I do try to do a little everyday. A year and a half ago no one was talking about practical ways to save energy, but today it's in our vocabulary. Generally as a country, we expect changes overnight. Real change usually happens a little at a time.
So we went away from Giants Stadium that night with a little hope and of course the memory of some great performances. I'll list a few of the highlights ,for me, that day.
After the concert, my Wife and I headed to the Tick Tock Diner for some food, along with many other concert goers. When we walked in, NBC was showing the highlights from the concert. There were the Police performing Message in a Bottle with Kanye West & John Mayer. The phrase "sending out an S.O.S." was still in my mind, and Kanye managed to salvage his part after adding some pretty lame rhymes earlier in the song by ending with "we can save the world". The reality is maybe we can't, but it's nice to have that hope sometimes and to believe, if only for a day, that you can save the world.
Highlights
K. T. Tunstall - Suddenly I See
Keith Urban & Alicia Keys-Gimme Shelter
Keith Urban-Stupid Boy
A.F.I.-Ziggy Stardust
Fall Out Boy- This Ain't a Scene It's an Arms Race
John Mayer-Waiting On the World
Dave Matthews Band-Whole set: One Sweet World
Don't Drink the Water
Too Much
Kelly Clarkson-Since You've Been Gone
Kanye West-Stronger
Bon Jovi-Whole set: Lost Highway
It's My Life
Wanted Dead or Alive
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Livin' on a Prayer
Smashing Pumpkins-Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Today
Roger Waters-Whole set:In the Flesh-intro
Money
Us & Them
Eclipse/Brain Damage
Happiest Days Of Our Lives
Another Brick in the Wall Part II
Police-Can't Stand Losing You/Regatta de Blanc
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