It’s July 7, 2007, which means two things: For twenty-four hours, scores of musicians around the world will be devoting themselves to spreading awareness about global warming, and Rock Daily will be right here reporting on all of it until the very end (or our caffeine stash runs out). Our coverage begins right now:
8:00 AM: Since Bravo’s coverage of Live Earth doesn’t start until 9 AM, let’s summarize what was TiVoed last night beginning at 4 AM on Universal HD. The Australia concert kicked off at roughly 11 PM New York time. The Japan show followed shortly afterward. Or we could live-blog about Hey Paula, that Paula Abdul reality show that’s on Bravo right now. We opt for TiVoed Live Earth coverage.
8:04 AM: Our first performer is … a hologram. She sings about heavenly stars over dance music. There’s a Pink Floyd-esque light show that’s no doubt draining all the electricity in Japan.
8:08 AM: Al Gore appears at the Tokyo show, as a hologram. He says he’s in Washington, D.C. Gore is in An Inconvenient Truth mode, explaining what Live Earth is all about.
8:11 AM: Madonna’s “Hey You” makes its first appearance, providing the soundtrack for the first of what will likely be thousands of PSAs we’ll watch today.
8:15 AM: The PSA concludes by taking us to our first commercial break. (Yes, the revolution will not only be televised, it will have commercials. Our first: The Bourne Supremacy. Jason Bourne is back, and he’s pissed.)
8:21 AM: The TiVO takes us to Sydney, where a group called Blue King Brown made a band decision to all wear “Say No to Nuclear Power” shirts.
8:28 AM: Another PSA. We’re fast-forwarding now because we want to catch Wolfmother’s performance before the Bravo coverage starts.
8:34 AM: Stop the TiVo! Sneaky Sound System performs in Sydney. We caught SSS last night when we were checking to see if liveearth.msn.com actually worked. It did, caught this band, and kinda enjoyed their new wave sound.
8:38 AM: Xzibit is performing at the Tokyo concert.
8:45 AM: Nunatak, that band of scientists in Antarctica, shows a music video of them performing on a glacier, or a floe. They’re pretty catchy, they got a lo-fi thing going, with a sax AND a violin. There are obligatory penguins in the clip. The band is dressed like they’re about to go shovel a driveway in the middle of winter.
8:50 AM: Linkin Park takes the stage in Tokyo. For the most part, these bands are getting two or three songs and they’re off the stage. Right now, LP is performing “Somewhere I Belong.”
8:53 AM: Three hours and forty-five minutes into the TiVoed coverage, and after at least 548 PSAs, Wolfmother takes the stage in Sydney. Andrew Stockdale grew his afro back out. Song number one: “Woman.” Stockdale is getting all environmental, insisting the crowd chant “Call an S.O.S.” Next up is “Joker and the Thief.”
8:59 AM: Jack Johnson immediately takes the stage after Wolfmother, but it’s almost 9 AM, so live Live Earth coverage starts on Bravo… now.
9:02 AM: Bravo got not one but two ex-MTV veejays to host their coverage: Dave Holmes and Karen Duffy. Was Matt Pinfield unavailable? Aamer Haleem is their man backstage. We make the startling discovery that Whoopi Goldberg is narrating the PSAs. Bravo airs the Jack Johnson Sydney footage.
9:12 AM: Is there an easier job in rock & roll than being Jack Johnson’s drummer? Johnson wraps up “Good People,” Bravo goes to PSA then commercial.
9:18 AM: Duffy interviews David de Rothschild, the author of the official Live Earth guide. Giving examples of how to conserve resources, Rothschild tells people to “share a bath.” There are kids watching, Dave. The Wolfmother footage is replayed. It’s becoming evident that Bravo’s live footage isn’t entirely “live.”
9:27 AM: It’s official: Dave Holmes likes Wolfmother. Another Whoopi PSA, another iPhone commercial, a PSA of Ben Affleck digging through his garbage, and we’re back … Aamer is interviewing Taking Back Sunday in the “green” room. They tell us about Al Gore’s firm handshake. By the way, Taking Back Sunday will be guest-blogging from the event for this here site.
9:36 AM: Crowded House perform “Fall At Your Feet” in Sydney. It’s the band’s first Aussie performance in over a decade. The Australian crowd is really into it, while the confused American television viewers ponder whether Bravo is going to broadcast “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” Thankfully, they do.
9:42 AM: Our first technical problem of the day: During Crowded House’s performance of “Something So Strong,” the entire stadium goes black. Even though the lights are out, the PA system continues to amplify and the band finishes their set in the dark.
9:55 AM: More Linkin Park footage from Tokyo, this time it’s “In the End.” There’s some ticker at the bottom of the screen that’s showing people’s names. Maybe they donated money, maybe they’re members of the Live Earth fan club. Either way, the name “Melissa H from Hendersonville, TN” scrolls across the screen four times, prompting the guys in the control room to put the ticker to bed. LP launches into “Breaking the Habit.” Chester is sweating a lot, like Axl Rose-level sweating. Someone needs to turn on the air conditioning.
10:03 AM: Ed Begley Jr. gives us a tour of his eco-friendly house. ROCK!
10:14 AM: Rihanna takes the stage, but she doesn’t perform “Umbrella” or “Shut Up and Drive.” Both she and Linkin Park completely ignored new material, leading us to believe that Japan is two years behind us musically.
10:24 AM: We are live at Live Earth London, where the crowd is a lot more awake than we are. There’s a giant drum circle going on, with Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer/Will Ferrell impersonator Chad Smith the most prominently featured. Out of the cacophony comes Genesis performing “Turn It On Again.” The ticker reappears … and “Melissa W from Hendersonville TN” once again dominates it.
10:33 AM: We’re hearing Madonna’s “Hey You” for the eleventh time since 8 AM. What’s up with the “$” in place of “S” in the text of the video?
10:40 AM: The 12 Girls Band performs in Live Earth Shanghai. It’s updated classical music performed by 12 girls wearing yellow dresses. The cameramen have problems keeping track of which girl is soloing, resulting in choppy editing. We cut back to Live Earth Tokyo, where Rihanna is performing “Umbrella.” We’re assuming Rihanna released the single in Japan during the commercial break.
10:49 AM: Bravo shows the Nunatak video, or as we’re calling them, the Antarctic Monkeys.
10:55 AM: We learn Keith Urban and Alicia Keys are going to perform “Gimme Shelter,” which we’re not sure is a Rolling Stones cover or an original in the sense that Madonna’s “Hey You” is an original and not a Pink Floyd cover.
11:07: After Robert Redford tells us to all be friendly to the environment, we see Live Earth Hamburg for the first time. Shakira is on stage, showing thousands of Germans that her hips don’t lie. It’s raining in Hamburg, there are open umbrellas throughout the crowd, yet it looks like the show is taking place in a dome.
11:20 AM: Bravo goes Shakira-heavy, then commercial-heavy, so we venture over to Universal HD/Sundance Channel to see how the other half lives. We catch David Gray performing “Babylon” at Live Earth U.K.
11:25 AM: Someone that Bravo is interviewing promises a big surprise at the end of the Live Earth New Jersey show. Meanwhile, Snow Patrol performs “Chasing Cars” on the London stage.
11:33 AM: On Sundance/Uni HD, Al Gore introduces Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks, who take to the makeshift stage in Washington, D.C. There was no soundcheck in D.C., apparently, as Brooks’ vocals barely come through. Yearwood’s mic comes in loud and clear though. Overall, the performance has a Good Morning America vibe to it as they perform “We Shall Be Free.”
11:40 AM: Dave Holmes tells us we’re going back to London to check out Genesis’ “Land of Confusion,” but instead we get “Invisible Touch.” Good trade.
11:45 AM: We cut back to Sundance/Uni HD just in time to catch Snoop Dogg in Hamburg, Germany. He fires through “Drop It Like It’s Hot.”
11:57 AM: The Black Eyed Peas hit the London stage with “Pump It,” even though the song recommends people “blast the stereo,” which is a major energy killer. Bravo sticks with the BEP coverage, but at least they got their ticker issues worked out. Half of the BEP don’t know if they should sing “Let’s Get It Started” or “Let’s Get Retarded,” so they’re singing what sounds like “Let’s Get Restarted.” To segue away from the Black Eyed Peas, Bravo next shows Fergie performing “Big Girls Don’t Cry” solo. We’ll take this opportunity to listen to a couple minutes of John Legend perform “Ordinary People” on a baby grand. Despite the empty seats in the upper deck, the U.K. show is sold out. The same can’t be said for the Live Earth NY/NJ show, where tickets are still available. If you’re reading this, you still have time to jump on mass transit and head to Giants Stadium.
12:13 PM: We’ll say this: Not being on TV for 15 years has not dampened Karen Duffy’s teleprompter-reading abilities one bit. She can still read cue cards with the best of them. AFI is interviewed backstage at Giants Stadium, Davey Havok looks especially less emo today.
12:18 PM: Duran Duran in London. The big question going into today was whether or not Justin Timberlake would join the band onstage. The band performs, fittingly, “Planet Earth.” So far, sound problems yes, Timberlake no.
12:30 PM: Duran Duran performs “Ordinary World,” despite a constant noise that sounds like a chainsaw refusing to start. Simon Le Bon totally blows the last note. And now it’s time for the crazyyyy antics of Blue Man Group.
12:40 PM: Dave Holmes tells Bravo producers he’ll go storming back to the Game Show Network unless they show more Duran Duran. We get “Notorious,” still no, no, no Timberlake. It’s looking grim for any JT cameo. Duran Duran launch into “Girls on Film,” an unprecedented fourth song. Crowded House didn’t even get this much Bravo love.
12:52 PM: While Bravo shows the David Gray performance we saw on Sundance/Uni HD, Sundance/Uni HD shows the Black Eyed Peas performance we saw on Bravo. After a few minutes, we finally see Genesis play “Land of Confusion,” as we were promised before. Does anybody else think Phil Collins resembles Locke from Lost?
1:05 PM: Bravo fills the gap between songs by interviewing Daryl Hannah and showing a PSA with Rip Torn and Harry Shearer dressed up as polar bears. Captivating television.
1:12 PM: The musical lull comes to a roaring end as the Red Hot Chili Peppers take the stage in London. They first perform “Can’t Stop,” then “Dani California.” Somewhere, Tom Petty is watching in his easy chair, saying to himself “Hmm, this sounds familiar.”
1:21 PM: Dave Matthews is interviewed, expresses the need to be green, doesn’t discuss that time his tour bus dumped shit on unsuspecting people. That was eco-fun for everyone.
1:29 PM: Bravo is showing Linkin Park again, even though they played roughly 12 hours ago. Meanwhile on Uni HD, master salesman Billy Mays is advertising something called Hercules Hooks. We totally just ordered a hundred of them.
1:44 PM: We finally get to see Live Earth Johannesburg. Singer Danny K has a whole drum circle and choir in tow. It’s like Paul Simon’s Graceland meets Enrique Iglesias. In the Bravo control room, the producer is likely yelling at someone, anyone, to get him more Duran Duran footage. Instead, we cut back to London to catch Corinne Bailey Rae duet with John Legend on Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy, Mercy Me.” Legend infuses some “What’s Going On?” during the sax solo. One of the highlights thus far.
1:52 PM: Chad Lowe sells his soul to the Devil and gets serious face time during the Live Earth broadcast. They show a film clip from his upcoming documentary, which is about something environmental.
1:58 PM: Two more performances from U.K. — first Corinne Bailey Rae, then RHCP playing “By The Way” — as Bravo readies their nonstop Live Earth Giants Stadium coverage. Thankfully, Anthony Kiedis has changed his outfit since we last saw him.
2:17 PM: Thirteen minutes to Live Earth NYC. Also: Much music in the past twenty minutes, on TV at least — obviously what you’re seeing on Bravo/Sundance is not necessarily live. Anyway, we just saw Keane rocking London with “Is It Any Wonder” and “Bedshaped,” and Xzibit kicking off his set in Tokyo with “X.” Then Bravo caught up with Snoop Dogg doing “Next Episode” in Hamburg, then cut to Metallica doing “Sad But True” in London. And over on Sundance, Baaba Maal turned in a killer set in Johannesburg.
2:35 PM: We’re underway at Giants Stadium! Kenna performs “Out of Control” and two other songs, then it’s back to Tokyo for Rihanna, finally doing “Umbrella.” Song of the summer, so far? We think yes.
2:50 PM: Back in Jersey: Kevin Bacon, apropos nothing, introduces KT Tunstall, one of the world’s most green-conscious performers. She kicks off with “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” and shows off some gold spandex pants, no doubt recycled from … Paula Abdul’s closet?
3:03 PM: At Giants Stadium, KT Tunstall plays “Other Side of the World,” then closes with “Suddenly I See,” but not before she calls for “an emotional awareness revolution,” then asks the crowd to do the “Mexican wave” and to “eat more soil.” Speaking of the crowd, lots of empty seats at the Stadium. Jersey Turnpike clogged?
3:07 PM: Al Gore is in the house! We know because Dave Holmes and Karen Duffy just said they were almost run over (or something) by his security. Meanwhile, Bravo fills a gap between Giants Stadium acts by re-running Duran Duran doing “Notorious” in London. Better than a commercial, we guess.
3:17 PM: Duffy/Holmes are highly adept at reading teleprompters, not so much when it comes to witty banter. Anyway, we’re back at Giants Stadium. Taking Back Sunday have driven all the way from Long Island to open with “What’s it Feel Like to Be a Ghost?”
3:22 PM: Taking Back Sunday launch into “Liar (It Takes One to Know One),” and it sounds … rough. How many teenage girls do you think will leave Giants Stadium when their set is over?
3:29 PM: Has anyone noticed that Taking Back Sunday frontman Adam Lazarra’s onstage banter sounds exactly like Mitch Hedberg in tone and diction? Weird. TBS are closing with the emo-pop hit “Makedamnsure.” Four songs total, one more than Tunstall.
3:33 PM: Karen Duffy notes how Taking Back Sunday “took back Saturday.” Cute. Then Holmes says Al Gore just walked by, bringing the Al Gore name-drop counter (during Giants Stadium Concert) to two. Bravo cuts away to Enrique Iglesias in Hamburg. We’d rather have a commercial.
3:41 PM: Back in Jersey. Leonardo DiCaprio comes onstage to announce “a tipping point in our history” regarding the climate crisis. Huge cheers. Then he introduces …
3:43 PM: Al Gore! In jeans and a black button-down, he’s dressed more casually than any performer so far. He says a quick hello, then introduces Keith Urban and Alicia Keys. Then he leaves. He’ll be back, right?
3:46 PM: Urban is rocking out with Keys on “Gimme Shelter.” Weird pairing, good song choice.
3:57 PM: Urban is still on, now playing a guitar solo longer than KT Tunstall’s whole set.
4:01 PM: Urban is wrapping up with “I Told You So.” Quick note: The Giants Stadium stage is decorated with what appear to be used tires. Very Jersey.
4:05 PM: Duffy says she was pleasantly surprised by Urban and calls the Urban-Keys duet “mindblowing.” Then Bravo re-runs the Black Eyed Peas doing “Lets Get Retarded” in London. Hilarious mistake here: The Peas are apparently so energetic onstage that the cameraman didn’t know what to focus on, and ended up getting will.i.am swigging water. Ludacris, Fall Out Boy and Akon on the way. We’re going to step away for a second to check our eharmony inbox.
4:13 PM: Ludacris!
4:16 PM: Three minutes in and Luda has already run through “Number One Spot” and is now rocking “Stand Up.” Now he’s finished, and he just said Live Earth is “pimpin’ all over the world.” He’s almost as enthusiastic as Karen Duffy.
4:27 PM: Luda continues to run through the hits so quickly the crowd barely has time to recognize them. He just did “What’s Your Fantasy” and “Move Bitch,” both self-edited for TV, thank goodness. Meanwhile, on Sundance, Spinal Tap at Wembley Stadium! Rob Reiner introduces them as a rock band with two great qualities: Volume and punctuality. They take the stage. “Hello, Wimbledon!”
4:32 PM: Luda wraps up with “Money Maker.” Bravo re-runs the clip of the indie-rock scientists in Anarctica, Duffy’s favorite moment so far.
4:34 PM: On Sundance, Metallica, and some other bands — Beasties? — have joined Spinal Tap in London. The stage is packed, and it looks as if hilarity is going to ensue. Superjam on Sundance vs. Nunatak on Bravo. Tough call.
4:39 PM: Alicia Keys is interviewed on Bravo. Very quick, though she does name-check Al Gore, bringing our Al Gore Name-Drop Counter to four, if you include Leo’s introduction of the man himself. Sundance is re-running that video for Madonna’s “Hey You,” which seems to be the unofficial Live Earth theme — or, at least, it’s being used in many of the PSAs. Not Madge’s best work, to say the least.
4:42 PM: AFI have taken the stage at Giants Stadium. In a white pinstripe suit and bug-eyed shades, Davey Havok looks a little less like Count Chocula than usual, but still very much like he’s afraid of sunlight.
4:49 PM: AFI just played “Love Like Winter” and are now covering “Ziggy Stardust.” Uh, cool? Sundance is showing Spinal Tap, Metallica, et. al., superjamming on “Big Bottom.” Nice!
4:56 PM: AFI wrap up with “Miss Murder.” Then Holmes interviews a very enthusiastic Ludacris, who talks about meeting Al Gore at a house party — a “rich house party.” Hilarious. Gore Name-Drop Counter stands at five.
4:58 PM: Bravo cuts to a London performance by Pussycat Dolls, who are doing their bit for the environment by using very little fabric in their outfits.
5:04 PM: Holmes interviews tsunami victim/James Blunt squeeze Petra Nemcova. Ironically, or not, Blunt is on Sundance right now, and Duffy’s on a bathroom break.
5:07 PM: Fall Out Boy just hit the stage with “Sugar, We’re Going Down.” Very little camera time for Pete Wentz so far.
5:13 PM: Fall Out Boy are running through the hits almost as quickly as Ludacris did. Now they’re playing “Dance, Dance.” They sound okay — only a little sloppy. But isn’t Patrick Stump hot as hell in that leather(?) coat?
5:19 PM: FOB close rather sloppily with “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s An Arms Race.” Duffy declares them “Fall Out Men,” and Holmes smells liquor on her breath. (Kidding!)
5:21 PM: Aamer namechecks Rolling Stone during a Fall Out Boy interview; meanwhile Pete Wentz looks seriously sad about something. Whattup dude?!
5:22 PM: Duffy says she was almost run over by the former Veep backstage (again). Gore Name-Drop Counter stands at six. Cut to Jack Johnson in Australia. We decide to go grab another Zima.
5:28 PM: Akon hits the stage at Giants Stadium, saying, “Tell me where y’all from, baby!” Crowd: “The Tri-State Area! Woooo!”
5:31 PM: Akon bouncing around the stage and rocking “We Taking Over” with a live band. Sounds good, and he seems even more enthusiastic than Duffy — at least when he’s shouting out to the ladies in the crowd. Meanwhile, on Sundance, the Beasties are playing “So What’cha Want?” in London. Then they get cut off right after starting “Intergalactic.” Too bad.
5:36 PM: After sprinting through “Smack That,” Akon keeps it PG-13 by telling a rambling story about falling in love with a stripper, then stripping off his shirt.
5:39 PM: Akon explains how we’re all African. Very little — any? — green-related banter from him so far, which is a change from everyone else who’s played. Now he’s closing with “Mama Africa.”
5:45 PM: Holmes/Duffy interview Abigail and Spencer Breslin, apparently because they happened to be nearby. Cut back to Linkin Park doing “In the End” in Tokyo.
5:50 PM: Before an iPhone commercial, Duffy promises Bon Jovi, John Mayer and Kanye West are on their way, but she’s looking a little peakish. Too much sun?
5:51 PM: Holmes interviews a still-shirtless Akon, who says he met Gore at a party thrown by Clive Davis. Gore Name-Drop Counter stands at seven. Also, Akon loves John Mayer, who just hit the stage with “Belief.”
6:03 PM: Mayer says he’s going to “bring it down just a second” for “Gravity” and makes a remarkable array of serious-guitar-player faces.
6:09 PM: Yes, Mayer is still “Waiting on the World to Change.” So are the drunk girls in the crowd the camera keeps cutting to.
6:13 PM: Duffy remarks on Mayer’s guitar face, then the singer-guitarist gets ambushed by Aamer on his way offstage and talks about recycling on the road. Holmes and Duffy follow that up with an awkward segue into footage of Shakira in Hamburg.
6:20 PM: Bongo mania! Shakira shakes herself to near-exhaustion. Duffy refers to the singer’s fierce booty-shaking as Chippendale’s-style “five-dollar moves.” She adds, “I hope you can feel the excitement backstage as well as on our stage.” Wait a second … are we actually watching Hey Paula?
6:26 PM: Melissa Etheridge takes the stage and stands perfectly still saying nothing for several painfully long seconds before debuting a new politically themed track, “Imagine That.”
6:29 PM: Dave Grohl is screaming his throat raw performing “My Hero” (which includes a shout-out to Al Gore) in London on Sundance.
6:30 PM: Back on the East Coast, Etheridge goes into a lengthy rant about American politics and consumerism that somehow involves a detour into a story about when she got her first credit card.
6:42 PM: Etheridge goes a tad down-tempo while Grohl bashes away at “Times Like These.” Back on the mic, Etheridge praises Al Gore, telling his story as poetically as possible and adding, “I have changed my life. Now I’m the crazy driving around with the bio-diesel, because I believe in this man’s dream.”
6:49 PM: Gore is back! He’s asking everyone to take a pledge to demand governments cut pollution, to take personal action to help solve the climate crisis, to fight for a halt on the construction of new coal-generating facilities that won’t safely store carbon dioxide, to work for an increase in energy efficiency of homes and workplaces, to fight for laws and policies that promote renewable resources, to plant new trees, and finally, to buy from businesses and support leaders that support solving the climate crisis. Then he tosses to the Foo Fighters in London.
6:57 PM: It’s been a curiously long time since Holmes and Duffy had any significant screen time on Bravo. Sundance continues to air the short films commissioned specifically for Live Earth to fill the downtime.
7:01 PM: What’s up, dawg!? Randy Jackson takes the stage to introduce Alicia Keys. Obligatory reminder he works for that popular talent show? “On American Idol we’re always trying to find that great new voice, but today, we want to hear your voice.” Nice touch.
7:04 PM: It’s Keys’ second appearance of the day (following her “Gimme Shelter” duet with Keith Urban earlier in the afternoon). Now she’s wearing a hot-pink dress and making a factually incorrect shout-out. “We’re in New York right now, but we’re worldwide tonight. So since we’re in New York, I want to represent New York,” she says, leading the crowd in a “New York City” sing-chant. She is, of course, in New Jersey.
7:08 PM: Keys settles in at the piano for a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy, Mercy Me” that comes with a ripping sax solo. Next she plays a new song from her upcoming album that’s called “That’s the Thing About Love.”
7:18 PM: After demurely blotting her sweaty face with a towel, Keys takes on “If I Ain’t Got You,” reaching a bit for the high notes. Somewhere, Randy Jackson is saying, “You did your thing.”
7:22 PM: Madonna is in London singing that song we’ve been hearing all day, “Hey You,” accompanied by a choir stocked with kids who look like Harry Potter extras.
7:27 PM: Holmes and Duffy return, and they can’t get over Madonna’s arms. “Did you see the wingspan on her?” Duffy asks. Thankfully we’ll have Kanye West, Bon Jovi, Smashing Pumpkins and The Police to distract us soon.
7:31 PM: Dave Matthews comes onstage and says it’s a great honor to follow Jane Goodall, so perhaps we all missed something chimp-related while Holmes and Duffy bantered about chasing A-listers around all day. Matthews’ first song: “One Sweet World.”
7:43 PM: Now it’s Matthews who’s grinding his vocal cords to a pulp: His rendition of “Don’t Drink the Water” is super-charged, and he’s doing more bellowing than usual.
7:48 PM: Bass solo! DMB gets a bit jammy so Matthews can catch his breath. Over on Sundance, somebody is issuing a statement from the Vatican confirming the church’s support of Live Earth. When we return to New Jersey, DMB is funking it up bigtime on his closer, “Too Much.”
7:55 PM: Cameron Diaz’s advice for folks who want to halt climate change morphs into a moment of self-analysis. “You can’t be perfect. No one’s perfect. You can’t do it all. I don’t do it all. I wish that I could. I wish that every aspect of my life I could just do it perfectly.”
8:00 PM: Madonna is back! She’s performing “Ray of Light” the way she did on her Confessions tour — rocking a black electric guitar while her dancers mechanically dance in a line.
8:07 PM: Unlike many of today’s singers who had difficulty nailing those high notes, Kelly Clarkson has no trouble on her opening number, “Walk Away.”
8:14 PM: NASCAR spokeswoman Clarkson says she digs the stage’s tire motif, sings “Never Again,” says she’s “stoked” a few times, admits she’s learning a ton today, and then slows it down with “Sober.”
8:22 PM: We’re all going to know this next one?! Could it be? Yes! It’s super-single “Since U Been Gone.” We don’t want to hear the crowd sing, silly Kelly!
8:26 PM: Sting and Trudie Styler are talking to Ann Curry somewhere where we can hear the muddled sounds of Bon Jovi playing “It’s My Life” as NBC’s primetime coverage beings. The network then cuts to Chris Rock tells us all to buy “smaller-ass cars” as part of his Red Hot Chili Peppers intro.
8:29 PM: Now both NBC and Bravo are showing “Dani California.” Didn’t this happen hours ago? How many times must we see Anthony Kiedis wear the ugliest poncho in history?
8:36 PM: Rosario Dawson just introduced Kanye West, after telling us to all vote with our pocketbooks. She’s a celebrity, so she gets to vote early and often.
8:41 PM: Kanye tears through “Gold Digger,” still doing that thing where he twitches his head back that he did on his last tour. Fighting global warming hurts your neck.
8:45 PM: In the future, when the our climate is ten degrees warmer, we will all be forced to wear odd sunglasses and silver lamé.
8:48 PM: For our money, Kanye is one of the best large-venue hip-hop performers out there — he just tries so hard that he doesn’t let himself be bad. Not feeling the new songs so much, though.
8:50 PM: Sorry, can’t blog right now, busy listening — damn, “Jesus Walks” is still a great song.
8:53 PM: Meanwhile, back on the major networks, NBC is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to recycling, and broadcasting Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood’s performance of “We Shall Be Free” from this morning.
8:55 PM: Is it a coincidence that those energy-saving twisty lightbulbs look exactly like one of Flea’s old hairdos, and the Chili Peppers played tonight? We think not.
8:57 PM: Damn, we were watching Anne Curry hold up that lightbulb on NBC while Bravo was showing the Beasties play “Sabotage.”
9:02 PM: Cameron Diaz again, introducing Al Gore, who introduces … Bon Jovi! Everything’s gonna be okay.
9:06 PM: Richie Sambora has rehabbed himself, now he’s ready to rehab the planet.
9:09 PM: Sambora goes Peter Frampton with the voice box! Everything really is gonna be okay.
9:14 PM: Bon Jovi: “Across the country and around the world, you know that this is my house. Let them know what New Jersey is all about. Please rise for our national anthem.” He then launches into “Dead or Alive.” Pandemonium ensues as New Jersey secedes from the union, claiming Bon Jovi as its king, and “Dead or Alive” as its anthem.
9:19 PM: Where is Alicia Keys? She said this was New York!
9:20 PM: Ludacris and Carson Daly are on NBC, talking about how putting your music on iTunes can help the environment. Has L.A. Reid told him that he makes, like, ten cents on the dollar with that digital stuff?
9:26 PM: Back on Bravo, Bon Jovi are onto a special melting-icecaps version “Living on a Prayer.”
9:30 PM: Al Gore has just told Ann Curry on NBC that this is “the largest global entertainment event in all of history.”
9:32 PM: Ann Curry presses him on whether he’s running for president. He’s caught a little off guard and mumbles something about how he’s “59, and that’s the new 58.” The plot thickens.
9:37 PM: Dave Holmes on the Foo Fighters playing “Best of You”: “That was the best of them!”
9:40 PM: Africa gets the shaft again, as UB40 play Live Earth Johannesburg on the Sundance Network. Can Bono do something about that lineup?
9:44 PM: Zwan, we mean Billy Corgan and some dudes, we mean the Smashing Pumpkins, thunder onto Bravo, cruelly playing a new song.
9:47 PM: Corgan starts soloing our actual national anthem on the guitar. Is some shit going to start backstage with Bon Jovi? Can that D’Arcy replacement with the hair take Sambora? The plot thickens further.
9:48 PM: Mmm … iPhone ad … want one … oh yeah, global warming, live-blogging, save the planet. On it!
9:52 PM: The new Pumpkins start to sound more Pumpkin-like as they power through “Bullet With Butterfly Wings.” Take that, Jovi!
9:56 PM: Did Corgan just pronounce the name of his new song, “Tarantula,” TAH-ran-TOO-la? Oh, the mysteries of the Pumpkins.
9:59 PM: Corgan tells the fans not to illegally download his new album like they did all of his old albums, then offers a half-hearted “just kidding,” before ripping into “Today.” Today may not actually be the greatest day for the Pumpkins, but it’ll do. Great song.
10:06 PM: The Duff Stuff interviews Rachel Weisz backstage. We learn Weisz is pronounced “Vice,” like Miami Weisz. Bravo jumps back to the Johannesburg replay to show us Joss Stone. Finally, an artist we know takes the South African stage.
10:09 PM: S.O.S., someone help me: Bravo is showing Rihanna again, even though she performed at the Tokyo show nearly 24 hours ago.
10:15 PM: Mayor Bloomberg announces a new recycling program for New York City. In addition to paper, plastics and glass, we will now recycle video of Genesis performing “Invisible Touch.” Ah, recycling jokes never grow old.
10:18 PM: The Police are set to take the NY stage … and pick up Al Gore’s son for marijuana possession!
10:24 PM: We’ll take all the Roger Waters footage we can get. Roger teases “In The Flesh?” before launching into “Money.” Predictably, the lyric “do-goody-good-bullshit” morphs into “do-goody-good-bull_____.”
10:30 PM: Roger Waters looks like actor Eric Roberts in twenty-five years. Meanwhile, someone who is definitely not Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright is singing “Us & Them.” We’re definitely gonna bust out our Live 8 DVDs after this song.
10:42: Waters and non-Pink Floyd play a subdued version of “Brain Damage/Eclipse.” A group of kids from Trenton, New Jersey, come running on stage to join in on “Happiest Days of Our Lives/Another Brick in the Wall Part 2.” The kids don’t actually sing, they just groove back and forth as the original kids vocal track off The Wall blares over the speakers. Giants Stadium looks pretty packed. Way to go, day-of ticket sales!
10:49 PM: Dave Holmes and the Duff Stuff remind us once again of this “biggest surprise of the night.” Let’s speculate who it can be:
1) Billy Joel (4-1 odds)
2) Van Halen (8-1)
3) Paul McCartney (12-1)
4) A reunited Pink Floyd (200-1)
5) The Boss, The King of Asbury Park, the one and only Bruce Springsteen (2-1)
Over in Rio, Lenny Kravitz performs “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” We sorely miss that chick drummer with the giant fro who was in that music video.
10:51 PM: Kanye West is performing “Message In A Bottle” with The Police on NBC. Go! Now! NBC!
10:57 PM: Dave Holmes told Bravo he’s going home for real this time unless they showed more Duran Duran. “Girls On Film” is played again, we change channels again. With NBC in commercial break, we switch over to the Mets/Astros game, which is currently in the 14th inning.
11:03 PM: The Police take the stage on Bravo, only ten minutes after taking the stage on NBC. They open up with “Driven to Tears.” Alec Baldwin is in the crowd, and he’s wearing a lei, even though this is Live Earth NY and not Live Earth Honolulu. By the way, Sting’s outfit tonight was provided by Simon Cowell.
11:12 PM: The Police rock “Roxanne.” Between songs, Stewart Copeland posts in his blog that the performance was terrible and that Sting is a pansy.
11:18 PM:
Hughros l 7/7/07, 11:13 PM EST
Who WERE those guys playing with Madonna on La Isla Bonita… the Russian-sounding fiddler and the gypsy-like guitarist. ?? Need a name.
Hughros, the name of that band was Gogol Bordello. The lead singer was in that movie Everything Is Illuminated, if he looks familiar. The Police just wrapped up “Can’t Stand Losing You” and Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets just made the greatest catch we’ve ever seen. That’s where we’re at.
11:28 PM: John Mayer joins The Police on “Message in a Bottle,” then Kanye West pops onstage. Only Kanye could rhyme “bottle” and “tomorrow.” Kanye raps that we need new leaders like Al Gore and (?)Gary Brown(?). If Kanye is our super-secret surprise guest, that’ll be a letdown. Either way, let’s add Prince to the “Surprise Guest” sweepstakes, odds at 6-1.
11:30 PM: That’s it. Al Gore comes onstage and tells us to put a little bit of today in our hearts. We will Al, we will. Al bids us goodnight, as he and his team of a dozen Secret Service bodyguards pile into a fleet of hybrid S.U.Vs. and drive off into the musty New Jersey night.
