Posted on 10/22/2001 12:03:25 PM PDT by DM1
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:06:56 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 10/22/2001 NEW YORK - Elton John and Billy Joel wearing police caps onstage - and Paul McCartney donning a New York Fire Department T-shirt. Such sights might have been unthinkable before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but were quite normal at Saturday's ''Concert for New York,'' which brought rock stars and civil servants (6,000 police and fire department personnel sat in the front seats) closer than ever before. The marathon six-hour show - a benefit for the Robin Hood Foundation to aid the families of victims of the World Trade Center attacks - ranked with the biggest rock benefits in history, joining Live Aid, Farm Aid, and the ''No Nukes'' concert, along with two more disaster-relief benefits that took place yesterday in Washington (with Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, `N Sync, and others) and Nashville (with many country stars). ''What makes these events special is that they are artist-driven,'' said Rob Light of the Creative Artist Agency, which booked Eric Clapton, Macy Gray, and others for the New York concert. ''All the artists encouraged each other to participate. And that's the only way these things work.'' The New York show - produced by VH1, Cablevision, Miramax, and AOL - was a sign that the healing had begun. ''This show is not about grieving anymore,'' Jon Bon Jovi said backstage. ''It's about putting your chin up, your chest out, and moving on.'' Bon Jovi and John Mellencamp had been the first two acts to sign on, then came McCartney, whose dad was a firefighter during World War II. McCartney hand-delivered tickets to some New York firefighters - and played the longest set (five songs) of the night, as the police and firefighters cheered as though he were a brother. McCartney opened, strangely, with the Beatles' ''I'm Down,'' but touched hearts with the new ''Lonely Road'' and ''Freedom'' (penned for the occasion, though a fairly slight tune), and climaxed with ''Let It Be,'' spiced by a glorious Clapton solo. There were many British acts on the bill, reaffirming their love for New York. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards played ''Salt of the Earth'' (''Let's drink to the hard-working people,'' Jagger sang) and ''Miss You,'' but it was a rag-tag effort next to the act that stole the show - The Who. They blazed through ''Baba O'Riley,'' ''Behind Blue Eyes,'' and ''Won't Get Fooled Again,'' which took on new meaning and drew the night's loudest roar, save for Billy Joel's ''New York State of Mind.'' Elton John was surprisingly low-key with a new ballad, ''I Want Love,'' and oldie ''Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,'' before being joined by Joel for the gentle ''Your Song,'' though it would have been great to hear more duets from them. The blessing and curse of this show (depending on whether you liked a particular act) was that most only did a couple of songs because there was way too much else going on, from chamber-of-commerce-like films about how great New Yorkers are, to endless celebrities sharing a few words (Richard Gere was booed for asking for ''compassion'' for the enemy, and New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was booed for showing up). And there was even the introduction of 19 New York athletes, including old-timers Willis Reed and Reggie Jackson. But the music, when it wasn't sandwiched between films, comedy bits, and speeches (it was nice to hear from some rescue workers, but it got tiring listening to many politicians) was laudatory. Heartland rocker Mellencamp stoked the crowd with ''Pink Houses,'' with its patriotic line, ''Ain't that America - home of the free.'' David Bowie got into the spirit with ''America,'' the Simon & Garfunkel song. Macy Gray did a well-received Beatles cover, ''With a Little Help from My Friends.'' And Melissa Etheridge, despite technical difficulties, sang Bruce Springsteen's ''Born to Run.''
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
The very same Macy Gray. Damage control, don't you know.
I'll wager that she has learned all the words to the Anthem since the last time she massacred it!
I really was just trying to help.
Welcome to Free Republic!
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The second's mostly a rehash of the first, but has some advanced info toward the end.
Minor tip? Print it out, it's much easier to follow from a page than on-screen!
johnr
Welcome aboard.
Y'all gon' make me lose my mind
up in HERE, up in here
Y'all gon' make me go all out
up in here, up in here
Y'all gon' make me act a FOOL
up in HERE, up in here
Y'all gon' make me lose my cool
up in here, up in here
Oh, sorry, I thought it was DMX...
Welcome to FR,
Bootyist
Wow. Free Republic is the VERY LAST place I expected to see a quote from the lyrical stylings of DMX.
Thanks for the chuckle,
CD
Thanks.
Pasta punishment is not one of my favorites.
FRegards,
CD
Some here prefer form irrespective of content and substance.
The moral of that story is don't make a really obvious spelling error in the title of an article about how stupid people are. You are really asking for it then.
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