Live Earth Concert Review: Madonna, Black Eyed Peas, Duran Duran, Blunt, PCD
By Alison Ross
LONDON, UK (Hollywood Today) 7/7/07 — London Live Earth opened at 1:30 p.m. GMT with “We Will Rock You” preformed by a troupe of drummers including Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Queen’s Roger Taylor.
But it took until the Black Eyed Peas appeared on stage at about 4:30 p.m. for that promise to be fulfilled.
At Wimbledon, Venus Williams overcame a leg injury to win her fourth title by thrashed Marion Bartoli and Roger Federer over powered Gasquet.
At Wembley, just a few miles north, rock stars thrashed politicians for not doing enough to save the planet.
The concert, at London’s new Wembley stadium, took place in bright sunshine – the first time it’s stopped raining for a month. Only a week ago, on 1 July, the same venue played host to the Princess Diana memorial concert organised by Princes William and Harry.
Stars performed before a world map of red and white discs, each containing flashing lightbulbs – LEDs, one hopes. A giant ticker tape message flashed up ecological tips about how to make your home more energy efficient, from switching off appliances to only filling the kettle quarter-full when you make a cup of tea.
The Live Earth concept has had a mixed reaction in London. Roger Daltry of ‘The Who’ told press, ‘The last thing the world needs is a rock concert’ – a reference to the energy used in powering eight simultaneous concerts across the world and flying rock stars to the gigs by private jet.
Sir Bob Geldof, who organized the 1985 Live Aid concert to raise money for starving Ethiopians, also criticized the woolly aim of the concert – to promote awareness of the greenhouse effect. “Everybody’s known about that problem for years. We are all f***ing conscious of global warming,” he said.
Stars were keen to show they weren’t hypocrites. “Before we start everyone who did not arrive in a private jet put your hands in the air”, Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon told Wembley, raising his along with the crowd. In a television interview with presenter Jonathon Ross, Taboo from Black Eyed Peas pledged to get rid off his hummer to reduce carbon emissions.
The concert took a while to warm up. Veteran singer Phil Collins performed ‘ Land of Confusion’, and ‘Invisible Touch’; Snow Patrol sang ‘Chasing Cars’; Damien Rice and David Gray dueted ‘Que Sera Sera Sera’ (Whatever Will be, Will be) – a surprising laissez faire anthem for an event dedicated to reversing the course of global warming.
More apt was Paulo Nutini’s cover of Louis Armstong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’ against background footage of polar bears.
Links between the acts were weak. Camp comedian Alan Carr’s unfunny routine fell flat, and ‘Crash’ star Thandie Newton ad-libbed embarrassingly when a video link to the show’s organiser Al Gore failed to work.
The TV commentators were similarly struggling. Presenter Jonathon Ross glared at Jack Osborne when he said that he didn’t recycle because he had heard that it was ‘not that beneficial’ – surely not in his interview brief.
Then suddenly Wembley woke up, as Black Eyed Peas bounced on to the stage to the manic Pulp Fiction overture of ‘Pump It’. The lyrics seemed at odds with the show’s energy conservation message: ‘Turn up the radio/ Blast your stereo’. But by the end of the song Wembley was truly ‘fizzlin’ and ‘sizzlin’.
The band went on to perform ‘Bad Girls’ and ‘Where is Your Love’. Rapper apl.de.ap also surprised fans by performed a new composition in honour of Al Gore, whom he met in Brazil.
He said: “Two days ago I had the blessing of being in Brazil, it’s a beautiful place. When I think of planet earth I think of Brazil because 20 per-cent of the world’s oxygen comes from that place”.
Taboo reinforced the point by draping himself in a Brazilian flag.
Spice girl Geri Halliwell came on stage to introduce 80s band Duran Duran. In their second appearance at Wembley this week Princess Diana’s favourite band sang ‘An Ordinary world’. Another clanger of a song choice: ‘I turned on the lights, the tv and the radio’ Simon Le Bon crooned, ‘/Still I can’t escape the ghost of you’.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Corinne Bailey Rae, Keane and Metallica kept up the buzz.
As sun set over the stadium, ‘The Office’ star Ricky Gervais introduced the reunited spoof band Spinal Tap, echoing his controversial comments at Live 8 two years ago. “If this doesn’t save the earth I don’t know what will”, he said, and made reference to the number of private jets used to transport artists to the event.
A lull in pace came with James Blunt’s performance. He covered Cat Stevens ‘Wild World’, which Yusuf (Cat Stevens) had sung himself at the Hamburg Live Earth concert hours eailer,
It continued the trend of singers performing song with ‘world’ in their title. Cat Stevens had decided at the last minute not to fly back from the Hamburg concert to perform the hit. So at least Blunt’s substitution saved some carbon emissions.
Beastie boys were next, in green suits, like a troupe of Irish leprechauns. Followed by Pussy Cat dolls, with their seductive writhing, and Foo Fighters.
By now the BBC commentary appeared to be echoing Gervais’s scepticism about the green message. Jonathon Ross said that Al Gore’s late video appearance was because his ‘gas guzzler’ hadn’t turned up. Comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel questioned whether the oceans were heating up because of mankind’s industrialisation or a natural warming cycle over millions of years. Skinner said it was acceptable for the Chinese to build power stations because they were only trying to achieve the normal luxuries we (and definitely pop stars) take for granted.
Madonna saved the day, if not the earth.
With Wembley plunged briefly into darkness (all non essential lighting turned off) the black cocktail dress clad star sang her new release ‘Hey You’, accompanied by a choir of children in school uniform.
“If you want to save the planet, I want to see you jumping up and down,” she told the crowd.
She went on to sing ‘Ray of Light’, followed by ‘La Isla Bonita’ and a medley of early hit in collaboration with Romany band ‘Gypsy Bordillo’.
She looked very regal at first, then strapped on a Gibson guitar and led the stadium prancing up and down the stage (in heels, yet) with a Hendrix reverb finish to “Ray of Light.”
Ripping off her skirt to reveal black leggings, she then performed disco hit ‘Hung Up’, contorting herself in a range of yoga moves.
‘Time goes by so slowly” she made the crowd sing repeatedly, to tick-tock sound effects and video images of clocks with hands spinning out of control.
The message was clear – time is running out to save the planet.
‘Save the Planet, sign the pledge’ flashed the ticker tape as Live Earth London drew to a close. Cynicism apart, it had been a great show.