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Live 8 in BARRIE


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Rumours swirl as Live 8 site still up in air

By GUY DIXON AND KATIE ROOK

Saturday, June 18, 2005 Page A11

Dan Aykroyd is confirmed to host the Canadian Live 8 concert. Bryan Adams will definitely be among the earlier performers, says his manager. But where the July 2, free concert will take place was still unconfirmed late yesterday, leaving media, artist managers and the musicians unsure whether it will be held in Barrie or Toronto.

The event's main organizer, Toronto-based concert promoter Michael Cohl, said in a prepared statement that Barrie's Park Place, formerly Molson Park, is still only an option at this point. An insider close to the planning process also said that despite news reports naming Park Place, other venues were being considered.

"At this time, Park Place in Barrie is one of the sites under consideration for the Live 8 venue," Mr. Cohl said in a statement issued through a publicist.

"Many factors have to come together before this is confirmed. When we have final confirmation, we will make an announcement."

That official announcement is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Another option rumoured to be under consideration is Toronto's Downsview Park, the site of the huge Rolling Stones SARS concert in 2003. It is available, since yesterday the Crown corporation in charge of the site cancelled the International Caravan festival, which would have occupied part of the site on July 2, because festival organizers did not meet certain contractual obligations.

However, Tony Genco, chief executive officer of Downsview Park, said the cancellation was not related to Live 8 and that concert organizers told him they weren't considering the park as a site.

Meanwhile, Barrie's city hall said it is eager to have the concert and is organizing planning permits and extra police and sanitation staffing in case Park Place is chosen.

City hall spokeswoman Sheri Harris added that the City of Barrie and the concert promoters would share the cost of municipal services.

The developers who own Park Place, and who have been in close contact with concert organizers, are also working under the assumption that the event will go ahead there, although no contract has been produced or signed.

"We're hoping," said Pauline Stevenson, a spokeswoman for Park Place. The site is considered the only place in Barrie large enough to hold a concert with up to 50,000 or 60,000 people.

One insider said the concert will be large, making a smaller venue such as the 16,000-capacity Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto a less likely option.

Earlier yesterday, there had been talk the event would be held on five barges floating on Lake Ontario. Event organizers quashed that rumour. Another report said the Rolling Stones would not be among the performers, despite Mr. Cohl's close association with the band.

Whether it is held in Toronto or Barrie the concert will fall on a weekend that is full of entertainment events, including Edgefest, a rock festival slated for Canada Day.

Edgefest organizers say they are unconcerned that the Live 8 concert will be held on the same weekend and say organizing a concert in a few weeks will be a huge challenge.

"They've got two weeks to pull together, and man, they've got a real job in front of them," said Alan Cross, promotions manager at 102.1 The Edge, which is holding Edgefest.

"They're going to have to route people in who are already on the road, on tour. It's not just bands, it's crews and rental gear and maybe work permits if they're coming in from the States. It's a monumental undertaking."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050618/LIVE818/TPNational/Toronto

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Yup. I'd be down with that.

Are Mother Tongue still around? They've certainly never been "huge" as far as widely known, but a great Afro-Canadian band with a great sound. (I sincerely doubt they'd even be on the radar as a possibility, but it'd be fun.)

Edited by Guest
To add Mother Tongue as an option.
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Live 8 spawned by Live Aid success of '85

By: JASON BODNAR (Sun, Jun/19/2005)

Editor's Note: This is one in an occasional series of stories leading up to the July 2 Live 8 concert and fund-raiser in Philadelphia. Today's story looks back 20 years to Live Aid, the predecessor to this year's event.

The 16-hour, trans-Atlantic concert started with the band Status Quo playing "Rockin' All Over the World" and ended with a group of musicians singing "We Are the World." Fitting, since on that July day 20 years ago, Live Aid captured the eyes and ears of the world.

About 72,000 people filled London's Wembley Stadium and 90,000 packed into Philadelphia's John F. Kennedy Stadium for the historic, two-venue benefit concert for the poor of Africa. An estimated 1.5 billion watched on television and 1.2 million tuned in by radio.

"This is what rock 'n' roll is all about," Sting, who played in London, said that day. "It's an event as much as it is music."

Jack Nicholson, Bette Midler and Chevy Chase introduced acts in Philadelphia, the royal couple of Prince Charles and Princess Diana took in the show in London, and practically every big musical act of the day was involved.

Madonna, Mick Jagger, Duran Duran, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, the Beach Boys and Black Sabbath played in Philadelphia. Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Queen and U2 played in London, along with the Who, which reunited for the event.

Phil Collins played a morning set in London, hopped on a Concorde, and played a night set in Philadelphia.

The rest of the Live Aid logistics was just as staggering. Somehow in the days before cell phones and e-mail, organizers managed to coordinate dozens of musical sets, most lasting about 15 minutes, in two venues separated by the Atlantic Ocean. Plus, they managed to broadcast it live on MTV, ABC and the BBC.

Sting was wrong, though. Live Aid was more than an event. It was a cause. Punk rocker Bob Geldof organized the concert for poverty relief in Africa, or more specifically, Ethiopia. That country was suffering from a famine caused by drought and exacerbated by civil war.

"If there's a problem, you have to go out and solve it," Geldof said during the concert.

Through ticket sales and donations, the show raised about $100 million to combat Ethiopia's famine.

Wayne Glasker, an associate professor of history at Rutgers-Camden, said some of the money might have been skimmed by Ethiopia's Marxist military dictator at the time, Haile-Mariam Mengistu, and other government employees.

However, Glasker said most of it did help the starving poor.

"Far more people would have died from that famine if not for Live Aid," Glasker said.

Live Aid may not have the cultural significance of Woodstock or the Beatles' appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," but the concert had other effects. It spawned similar benefit concerts, such as Farm Aid, and drew more attention to African issues.

But poverty remains in Ethiopia, which is part of the reason why Geldof has organized a sequel, Live 8, to take place in Philadelphia and five other cities July 2.

Email: jbodnar@phillyBurbs.com

http://www.phillyburbs.com

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You know, I was just listening to my recording of The Clean Air Concert from last year in Duncan, BC, and I was thinking that Live 8 is exactly the kind of gig Neil Young shows up for! As well, he was in Kingston just 7 days ago, and may still be around. At the very least, that's also the home of Dan Ackroyd, who's hosting this one. Ohhhhhh..... c'mon Neil ......... !!!

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Barrie police and firefighters have been notified that the event will most likely be held at Park Place in Barrie. Nothing's set in stone yet, but people up here are pretty confident that it'll be going down there. I'm pretty sure Akroyd owns a significant chunk of that property too. Hmmmmm...

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Yeah, it's going to be developed into a work/live community. There's a school opening there in September, plans to build condos and it's zoned for about a billion offices/businesses to go up. As of now though, nothing has been built. I guess they're trying to milk whatever concert revenue they can get out of it while it just sits there waiting.

I can tell you though, once that sucker is built, don't even bother trying to get up to the Muskokas on a summer weekend. It'll be like Vaughan Mills, Wonderland and Highway 11 north on a Friday all combined. Yuck!

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Sharon, come to Live 8 after the Ottawa rager on the 1st! That way you can get like 63 birds with one stone...or nearly that many skanks in one trip. ;)

I can't wait to party with you kids (and darling Abbey) in the Tdot one of these days. There's always a place for you to stay. :)

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Sharon, come to Live 8 after the Ottawa rager on the 1st! That way you can get like 63 birds with one stone...or nearly that many skanks in one trip. ;)

I can't wait to party with you kids (and darling Abbey) in the Tdot one of these days. There's always a place for you to stay. :)

I don't think I could stomache the Bare Naked Ladies, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Avril...etc.

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Stay a few extra days and come to Ottawa. Puuuuulllllease!

I am flattered and honoured by the invitation. Unfortunately, my family is divided between Muskoka and Toronto, and I'll barely be able to squeeze Live 8 into my plans. I have way too much family-visiting to do in way too short of a time-period. Believe me, I would otherwise be in Ottawa for Canada Day!

Come to Live 8! Leave that Bouche guy at home if he can't stomach the bands on the bill. (Note, that was really a dig intended to get Bouche off his ass and to Toronto...)

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