live earth 07.07.07

this was not something i had planned on watching
but a call from a friend with an extended invitation
found me watching the live earth concert from sydney
projected and amplified in scale in the comfort of a home
we came in relatively late in the proceedings
as the john butler trio were concluding their set
and seemed to be delivering their message
to a large and appreciative audience
being the fan of live music i admit i am
i then settled in for an expectant enjoyable night's entertainment
band of the moment wolfmother were up next
delivering all the hits in their 5 song set
the crowd seemed to love them
one of the highlights of the concert no doubt
they rocked
they were awesome
they were lots of other cliches as well
they also looked out of their depth i thought
stadium rockers they may wanna be
but for me there's a yawning gap they need to overcome first
next up was jack johnson
resident of hawaii but loved in every beach suburb of australia
uh-oh i'm thinking that's a big stage he has to fill
and a big crowd ready to rock man
he came on stage with a 4 piece band
himself on acoustic guitar
and piano player, bassist and drummer
i'm thinking surely he's not feeling that comfortable
especially after having to suffer an on-screen interview
by one of the channel v good-looking boys....
uh jack, is there something else we should be doing apart from recycling tea-bags
uh jack, are you now going to use guitars made from recycled paper
uh jack, do you think i am a complete moron and have no interest in or idea about this cause
i felt it wasn't much better for jack on stage
i'm sure i detected booing in between songs - the crowd was in rock mode
but jack pushed on regardless
and for those that bothered to pay attention
delivered a set of heartfelt songs
that certainly caught the ear of this non believer
i can now see why he is so popular
there's beauty in them there songs
a special mention has to be made also of the piano player
completely in tune with jack and filling out the acoustic sound
with lovely piano playing and vocal harmonising
all over too soon and then
the honourable peter garrett on stage to introduce the headline act
how appropriate i'm thinking
a man with the musical credentials
and the political aspirations
to provide an appropriate point of reference at this event
but the crowd weren't that interested
they were there to rock
not to be reminded that there's an election coming up
where their vote might actually be quite important
but try as he might they weren't having it
and so did his best to enthusiastically introduce the headline act
crowded house
picking up where they left off 11 years ago
playing to a large crowd at an outdoor concert
pretty well the same lineup playing the same songs
they were very, very good
the crowd loved them and sang along with gusto
just like it was 1996 all over again
except vale paul hester, hello whoever you are on drums/percussions
bit disappointing that neil chose not to do the honours there
or mention it was his son accompanying on acoustic guitar
or thank pg for the kind and generous introduction
or use his moment in the spotlight to make even a small mention
of the reason for the concert
highly ironic then i thought that the lights went out
and they had to complete their set in darkness
neil looked a bit flustered by this unexpected problem
not a good look in front of the supposed 2 billion overseas audience
but they pushed on admirably
to the big climax
with all the performers on stage
singing along to better be home soon
peter garrett left of stage on his own
doing his best to be seen to be enjoying the experience
just didn't seem right to me
he's no saviour
but it should have been his gig
except we were there for the music
not anything else...