Welcome to the pond

I'd like to talk today about this Live 8 thing. Ten cities, ten concerts, millions of people watching. I tried to watch some of it on TV, but I didn't watch all of it. This is mostly because I wanted to talk online with my friends, and also because I'm sure a DVD set will be put out with most or all of the concerts for home viewing pleasure. Unfortunately, I missed the acts I most wanted to see: U2 and Coldplay. Oh well, I'm sure they'll turn up online or elsewhere eventually. I was, however, very impressed with what I did see. Jay-Z and Linkin Park rocked it, as did The Who. They may be old, but they can still raise a fuss. Annie Lennox gave a very inspiring performance and got really intense near the end of the song I saw. Green Day put all their punk energy in to a cover of Queen's rousing anthem, "We Are The Champions." As for Paul McCartney, well . . . he's Paul McCartney!

As good as Live 8 was, it wasn't perfect. This article explains all the reasons why, and I definitely agree with most of it.

Live 8 was not at all a TV-friendly event, nor was it an attendee-friendly event. The crowds streched far out beyond the stage area, meaning that most people would just be seeing it on the monitors. That is, if they could see the monitors at all. The point of Live 8, however, was simply getting the masses out there. If these were normal, music-oriented concerts, the experience would be quite crappy. This was more about the message than the experience.

As for the TV experience, it's simply impossible to show ten concerts from start to finish. Most of the coverage was on MTV and VH1, and I think the above article explains well why TV was not the way to experience Live 8:

Part of it was simply the way things were structured. Concerts held more or less simultaneously in 10 venues are next to impossible for television to get its arms around. Live Aid 20 years ago, with concerts only in London and Philadelphia, was much easier.

And part of it was also MTV's failure to really try. There were as many commercial breaks as performances, and MTV's stable of correspondents spent more time talking about what a fantastic event it was instead of showing it.

They're absolutely correct on that. The impression I had was that MTV did not give each perfomer enough time. They showed one song, or even part of one song, and then moved on to the next. Several times the hosts were talking while a performance was happening right behind them! I want to see the performance, not the MTV personalities talking about it.

I did catch the last part of the highlights shown on ABC. That presentation was a much better format, although still not comprehensive enough for the sheer number of songs performed. ABC showed a song by one performer in a city, then switched to the next by showing a screen with the city name on it near the Live 8 logo. There was no commentary, just one performance after another.

I did try to watch on AOL, but I think TV is much easier even if it isn't well equipped to show such a large event. The video feed on AOL did not seem to work for me, and my experiences with online video are uneven at best. I really hope the organizers put out a DVD of these concerts, perhaps with half or more of the proceeds being put toward helping African poverty.

That brings me to my next point. These concerts were being put on for "awareness." That is all well and good, and I am aware that what Bob Geldof and the other organizers are trying to do is put pressure on politicians and countries, who really CAN make a difference. However, why can't we also raise MONEY as well as awareness? As far as I know, awareness doesn't solve poverty. Awareness will not put food in the mouths of African children. Supposing that one million people in total attended the concerts, a $5 donation from each of them would raise at least $5 million dollars! The performers themselves could donate $10,000 each at least, and that would be a significant addition to the total raised. Basically, the only way these concerts will truly help the African continent is if the G8 leaders really DO increase aid to Africa and erase the large debts these countries owe. You know what, though? No matter what happens, Bob Geldof, the musicians and world gave it their best shot and that's the very least we can do.