My Live 8 Barrie, ON review/Neil Young the focus of content

[TimmyB]

I needed a full day to recover from Live 8, also I had to make sure that I wrote an interview on Keller Williams today before I did anything else. The interview can be found here

http://www.jambands.ca/sanctuary/showtopic.php?tid/222874/

Now that I'm done that I can start to write my thoughts about Live 8.

Firstly it definitely felt that Live 8 in Barrie, Ontario wasn't the best benefit concert that I have ever attended (One of the Neil Young Bridge School Concerts or Farm Aids I've seen have been better gigs) but it was still a historic day. It might have been the best benefit ever if I was in London though.

I woke up at 4:30AM left Hamilton at 5:45AM arrived in line at Barrie at 7:30AM. Got to the front row on the right side at around 9:30AM and didn't leave that spot for nearly eleven hours when the show ended at 8:22PM. So I couldn't go to the bathroom for that whole time and was on my feet for nine plus hours of the eleven hours.

Since Neil Young is my favorite artist I had to stay up front until the end and I'm glad I did. Though "Rockin' In the Free World" was one big mess, Young's performance of Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds" (Found on Young's 1978 album "Comes A Time" with his wife Pegi was beautiful. Also his debut of "When God Made Me" had me in tears, it is not too often that Neil speaks so plainly about God. Possibly with the his recent brush with mortality and his fathers passing has opened up this door.

Other highlights in Barrie for me was Bruce Cockburn, Randy Bachman, Deep Purple, Blue Rodeo, Gordon Lightfoot, Jet and the Barenaked Ladies.

I have seen Cockburn nine times before, but this three song set finally gave me "Waiting For a Miracle" for the first time.

Though Burton Cummings was ill and couldn't make it, Randy Bachman's BTO set didn't make me miss Cummings at all. "Takin' Care of Business" always gets the crowd going. To all of those who were in attendance at the Toronto Rocks/Rolling Stones concert you know what I'm talking about

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Deep Purple who I felt really rocked for their three song set. Steve Morse is an amazing guitarist!

Blue Rodeo shocked me with their first song "Heart Like Mine" a favorite of mine from their debut album 'Outskirts.' "Try" is always a good choice and the title track "Are You Ready" from their new album reminds me I have to pick it up.

It was great to see Gordon Lightfoot at Live 8, I saw his first full concert back since his illness last November at Hamilton Place. He's not as powerful vocally as he used to be, but he is still a world treasure. Though I wish he performed "Early Morning Rain." The crowd really did enjoy "If You Could Read My Mind."

I had never seen the Austrailian band Jet (named after the Paul McCartney & Wings song from 'Band on the Run') even though it seems they have performed a dozen times in Toronto in the last couple of years. I was happy to finally have seen them here at Live 8. They have a very rock n' roll attitude in both stylistically and musically. I was happy they performed "Cold Hearted Bitch" and their debut single "Are You Gonna Be My Girl." Though I did wish they would perform their closing track on their debut album titled "Timothy" for obvious reasons.

I have seen the Barenaked Ladies at Farm Aids and at a Bridge School Concert and they have the ability to make a crowd smile even during a very somber day due to content of the message of the day. "Brian Wilson" is by far my favorite BNL song and I wish I brought some Kraft Dinner to throw at them during "If I Had a Million Dollars."

Other acts that also enjoyed was Tom Cochrane opening the show, though I wish he got one more song, like his song about Africa titled "Not So Far Away." Bryan Adams though I wish he performed something from 'Cuts Like A Knife' and/or 'Reckless,' not just the new material he performed from the past decade or so. It was interesting to see Motley Crue though I have never owned a Crue album I did grow up on the band in the eighties and finally I was happy to see Dan Aykroyd come out to perform hamronica with the Tragically Hip for the song "Poets." I wish Aykroyd had performed "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" with the Rolling Stones at Toronto Rocks in 2003, but I guess Mick Jagger was too busy singing "Miss You" with Justin Timberlake.

I have yet to watch the sixteen hours plus of video that I taped on July 2nd, so I really don't have an opinion on the other artists that performed around the world. Though I'm very excited to see Pink Floyd's performance as well as Paul McCartney's among many others.

It was a historic day and I was glad to keep my yearly streak of seeing Neil Young alive (It was my 33rd Neil Young Show and I have seen Neil at least once every year since 1996). But a lot of the day was trying as some of the bands didn't keep my interest and it was difficult as I was stuck up front unable to get food or go to the washroom. All in all it was worth it, just for Neil and Cockburn, Lightfoot and others made it all the better. I would do it again, just maybe not twenty years from now.

I hope you too had a good day sunspot and to all others that were in attendance in Barrie and around the world. I don't want to preach now, but I hope all of you have signed up at www.live8live.com and/or have written your MPs or congressmen or women and let them know how we feel about the colonial debt that these third world countries have to continue to pay back the richest nations, even if they can not afford to feed, educate or protect their own citizens.

God bless Sir Bob Geldof and all those unknown workers behind the scenes that work everyday to make this world a better place for those less fortunate then themselves.

Edited July 5, 2005 by Guest

[StoneMtn]

Fantastic review. Thank you Tim.

If I may, however, since Tim did not include one, I would like to add the Quote of the Day, said to me during one of the Afro-beat acts:

"Are you sure that's African music? It doesn't sound like the stuff you hear on those TV specials."

[Booche]

Thanks Tim, and thanks for the interview as well.

Blue Rodeo shocked me with their first song "Heart Like Mine"

Same here, I mean to say, that was one spirited and inspired version. Shocking, actually.

[TimmyB]

I was just watching the video of Live 8 that I taped while I was at the show recently. Specifically Neil Young's closing portion of the benefit.

I can't stress how much those lyrics in "When God Made Me" meant to me being a Christian whose favorite musicians are Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

Now with Dylan there are several songs that are gospel oriented, including three full albums.

But with Young there are just a handful of songs like "Star of Bethlehem," or in "Thrasher" where he states "When the aimless blade of science/Slashed the pearly gates," there is one line in "Big Time" where live Neil would point to the sky when he said "Talkin' bout eternity/Talkin' bout the big time" and "Two Old Friends" with the opening line "Preacher went up to the Golden Gate/And met God there/With the glow of love in his flowing hair" but not much more than that.

The new song "When God Made Me" had the lyrics of an open prayer to God by Neil, it was quite beautiful. I'm really looking forward to Young's new album and hopefully "When God Made Me" will make the cut.