Live 8

For goodness sake! What is wrong with having a concert!? Not everyone can rush off to Africa and administer vital medication to dying children. Not everyone wants to post their leftover food to starving children. This concert was simply a way for everyone (who wanted too) to feel that they have done something positive towards making a change. It was a POSITIVE thing to do.

Those of us lucky enough to be at the concert left that evening feeling human. Those who watched it on TV felt the power of that message. We had been forced to get in touch with our emotions, whether that be elation, excitement, empathy, passion.... whatever the emotions we felt, they made us remember what it was like to be human.

Reminding us fortunate westerners what it is like to be a real human.

And that, my friend, is what i believe is the key to making a change in this very un-human world.

Other than seeing Pink Floyd play together probably for the very last time ever, this whole fiasco was a gigantic waste of time. I'm sorry, I know we all want to believe it was a great event helping people in Africa, that signing petitions online does something (I call this slactivism) but I'm afraid to say it wasn't and they don't.

What we have is a bunch of aging and not so aging rockers and pop stars patting themselves on the back and stroking their collective egos by playing for hundreds of thousands of people (live) and millions on TV and the web. Its a great big feel good fest, the musicians get to play for a large crowd, and the audience gets off the hook, they don't have to do anything but watch one of the most fantastic lineups ever. At least when the SARS-AID show in Toronto was going to help Toronto recover from the SARS epidemic. What did this event do? "Raise awareness" they say, well how many people really understand the issues in Africa? I do probably more than most, but I still don't really know why the hell Africa is such bad shape. I don't really know why the AIDS epidemic has hit Africa so hard. Is it just pure poverty? Was is the root cause of this poverty? Is it dictatorships? Foreign debt? That seems to be main focus of guys like Bono, but realistically what how does a concert help this? Do you really think that the leaders of the free world give a damn that bunch of people go together to listen to some music? I'm sorry, call me cynical, I do think music is important and effects our lives in a meaningful way but when I think Geldof has kind of lost his mind. He stands there so proud of himself, but is there any surprise that so many people would watch the most popular musical acts in the world? It could have had nothing to do with Africa, it could have been to celebrate sponges and people still would have shown up.

I am sorry, in 1985 it seemed magical, but it's a movie sequel, too polished, quite expected and simply a rehash of what we've already seen.

I was reading the previous commentary about Live 8, it stated that is just a cynical excuse to re-make Live Aid. It also says that it didn't created any awareness whatsoever. First things first, it was (at least the Hyde Park concert) a magnificent concert, a marvelous show. For starters U2 and Paul McCartney playing Sgt. Pepper, Coldplay w/ Richard Ashcroft playing "Bittersweet Symphony", Elton John w/ Pete Doherty playing "Children of the Revolution", in other stages Kaiser Chiefs, Green Day, Brian Wilson, Duran Duran, Stevie Wonder, etc. Going back to Hyde Park: Madonna, Sting, Robbie Williams, Velvet Revolver and to end one of the greatest final line-ups: the Who, followed by an unforgettable (probably last) performance by Pink Floyd playing "Comfortably Numb" in the best version that I've ever heard and to close Paul McCartney. It was indeed a brilliant Rock show. Now according to Bob Geldof approximately 50 out of the 90 petitions that the Live 8 agenda included were accepted by the leaders of the G8. To see if really Live 8 made a difference we have to wait for long term effects to arise in the African situation. Whether it was worth it or not, Live 8 was an effort to raise consciousness and avoided asking for money. This is called solidarity, very different is to give the fish than to give the fishing tools, always remember that, is not the money is the idea. I don't believe that it didn't create awareness, and in any case if ten percent of the people that watched the show began reading and studying and learning about poverty, fair (not free) trade with third world countries then it was worth it. I'm from Costa Rica, I live with everything I need (and want), but 1/4 of my country is poor, tough we have a 100 percent of electricity and telephone coverage (from the state owned company with the lowest rates in Latin America) and our literacy rate is 99%, still Costa Rica faces the same disgraces as all of the "third world" countries and 1/4 of my country lives below poverty lines. Around me my fellow latinamerican brothers live far worst than Costa Rica, not even compared (just read about the situation in Bolivia, Haiti, Honduras or Nicaragua). I feel connected to Africa because right here in Costa Rica I see poverty disgrace and I can't imagine what kind of poverty Africa lives, we here live perfectly fine as oppose to most African countries. Live 8 was not only about Africa, Live 8 was a signal for the people of the super-powers of the world to open their eyes study and learn about the disgrace that the world is suffering, the disgrace that is extreme poverty around the world in the so called "third world" countries. As I said before maybe Live 8 didn't raise the awareness that some expected, but there's no way to measure how many young people from around the world became interested in the injustices that this world carry. Probably more than a million young persons started reading about Africa, and then about Latin America, and then about south Asia, and of course about the poverty in their own countries. I really hope that if that concert made just a few people aware about the injustices in the world, if just a few people started reading great contemporary economists like Joseph Stiglitz or Jeffey Sachs, if just a few of us started learning about history and why we have come down to having 2/6 of the worlds population living in extreme poverty then it was worth it. I, myself study Political Sciences and Economy, I knew about everything Live 8 was talking about but certainly Live 8 reminded me that you have to speak up, say things and study as much as you can to do your little part for all the injustices committed every day with the poorest people in the world... it's a violation of human rights having so many poor people in the world. Aside from being a great rock concert if just a few people got interested in reading and getting in themselves the idea to do something then it was worth it.

Live 8 was a great concert with great artists from the present and the past.The greatest thing about the music was the choice of songs by a great number of performing artists and bands.The Who played "Won't get Fooled Again" and Sting "Every Breath You Take".All songs with a double meaning during this concert,cause it's all about raising awareness towards the poverty in Africa and pressuring the G8 leaders.

Still,the ultimate highlight for me was the performance of my favorite band (together with Sonic Youth) Pink Floyd in their entire line up (except Syd Barrett of course).They also had a great choice of songs (Money,Wish You Were Here,Breathe).Still,there final song took my breath away and I wasn't the only one. "Comfortably Numb" was sung so beautifully and played with such intensity that it was unreal (considering the fact that they are old rockers and haven't played together in this set for over 20 years). Truly the musical highpoint of the day! But all in all it was about the message and it was spread out in a good and sincere way,thank you Bob Geldof! Now we can only hope that the G8 leaders have a heart...

Missing bands: Sonic Youth,Radiohead,The Prodigy,Lou Reed,Underworld,etc... But hey,you can't have them all!

I really enjoyed Live 8 at the time.

There was a real sense of occasion about it, that it might have an influence on world poverty.

Now watching the DVDs some of that sense of occasion has gone. Although there are still children dying every few seconds and the haunting video to Annie Lenox's 'Why?' still affects as it should.

What disappointed me most was the removal of some tracks, presumably due to shortage of time. I was particularly looking forward to seeing Keane's 'Bedshaped' again and found it was one of those that had been left out.

The sound quality however is excellent through my hifi speakers but not all the bands performed that well on the day. For me Pete Doherty and Black Eyed Peas were a little bit poor.

Overall it is still an excellent concert to watch, the variety of artists and the reason they were all there make it unique...apart from Live Aid of course