Live 8

It was twenty years ago today ... well not quite but it was twenty years ago this month that the world experienced Live Aid that raised tens of millions of dollars for famine relief in Africa and Bob Geldof was the reincarnation of Jesus . What a guy , and as the G8 leaders got ready to meet in Scotland Sir Bob got a few friends together to have concerts all over the world to send out a message to the world leaders to end poverty . I won't be cynical here because even the harshest critic recognises Geldof is nothing but sincere and he'll always visit Africa to do his best regardless if there's TV cameras filming him or not , but Live 8 must be the most cynical concert event in history

First of the artist line up . Hyde Park had REM a band who have their best days behind them by about ten years . Are they really a big name act ? Same as UB40 . At least with Live Aid we had the biggest acts of the day take part even if most of them disappeared from the radar soon afterwards . I mean who are Velvet Revolver or Razorlight ? Are they off the stature Queen or U2 were in 1985 ? Of course not . Oh and what idiot thought The Who would be a welcome addition ? Pete Townshend was asked to perform ! No doubt Gary Glitter is upset his invite got lost in the post

Secondly the language . Bob swore live on air in 1985 but he organised the life saving world changing concert so he can get away with it , but here we saw Green Day swear in a pre recorded piece from Berlin while Hyde Park heard the F word come from Velvet Revolver ( I've still no idea who they are ) while Snoop Dogg continually ranted on about a " mother figure " or something . I'm no prude but all this took place well before the 9pm watershed . Robbie Williams too let out some colourful expletives but this was around 10.15 pm and is acceptable I guess . But even so the swearing shows a lack of maturity

Lastly my major gripe is what's the cause ? Live Aid raised money via the £20 ticket for the concert , and the pledges , tens of millions were raised but the concert goers for Live 8 attended via a text messaging system and this means the world wide concerts were effectively free , no money was raised for NGOs and the general public who unfortunately are ignorant on African affairs went home still ignorant on African affairs . One thing we did learn was that Velvet Revolvers guitarist used to be in Guns N Roses and that Mariah Carey has a new single out . Forgive me being cynical but aren't the biggest - Perhaps only - winners on Saturday 2nd July 2005 the artists who performed ? I see the record sales of some acts have risen by over 1,000 per cent

" Theo you're so cynical you disgust me "

Sorry that wasn't my intention but I did read in the press that all the artists at Hyde Park received goody bags with contents that cost several thousand pounds while the African children who appeared on stage with the artists got a free T-Shirt . Oh and seeing as there's all these kids dying in Africa because of lack of medical facilities or clean drinking water I wonder how much money the performers spent on drink and drugs that day ? Yup rock stars are the sort of people who can really empathise with the starving souls of this world . I won't condemn them all of course because as I said Geldof is a genuine living saint while other artists appearing are genuinely caring about the suffering in Africa especially Bono whose set with U2 was far superior to the performance seen at Wembly 1985 . But apart from that opening moment Live 8 is totally unfit to be compared to Live Aid

For goodness sake! What is wrong with having a concert!? Not everyone can rush off to Africa and administer vital medication to dying children. Not everyone wants to post their leftover food to starving children. This concert was simply a way for everyone (who wanted too) to feel that they have done something positive towards making a change. It was a POSITIVE thing to do.

Those of us lucky enough to be at the concert left that evening feeling human. Those who watched it on TV felt the power of that message. We had been forced to get in touch with our emotions, whether that be elation, excitement, empathy, passion.... whatever the emotions we felt, they made us remember what it was like to be human.

Reminding us fortunate westerners what it is like to be a real human.

And that, my friend, is what i believe is the key to making a change in this very un-human world.

I was reading the previous commentary about Live 8, it stated that is just a cynical excuse to re-make Live Aid. It also says that it didn't created any awareness whatsoever. First things first, it was (at least the Hyde Park concert) a magnificent concert, a marvelous show. For starters U2 and Paul McCartney playing Sgt. Pepper, Coldplay w/ Richard Ashcroft playing "Bittersweet Symphony", Elton John w/ Pete Doherty playing "Children of the Revolution", in other stages Kaiser Chiefs, Green Day, Brian Wilson, Duran Duran, Stevie Wonder, etc. Going back to Hyde Park: Madonna, Sting, Robbie Williams, Velvet Revolver and to end one of the greatest final line-ups: the Who, followed by an unforgettable (probably last) performance by Pink Floyd playing "Comfortably Numb" in the best version that I've ever heard and to close Paul McCartney. It was indeed a brilliant Rock show. Now according to Bob Geldof approximately 50 out of the 90 petitions that the Live 8 agenda included were accepted by the leaders of the G8. To see if really Live 8 made a difference we have to wait for long term effects to arise in the African situation. Whether it was worth it or not, Live 8 was an effort to raise consciousness and avoided asking for money. This is called solidarity, very different is to give the fish than to give the fishing tools, always remember that, is not the money is the idea. I don't believe that it didn't create awareness, and in any case if ten percent of the people that watched the show began reading and studying and learning about poverty, fair (not free) trade with third world countries then it was worth it. I'm from Costa Rica, I live with everything I need (and want), but 1/4 of my country is poor, tough we have a 100 percent of electricity and telephone coverage (from the state owned company with the lowest rates in Latin America) and our literacy rate is 99%, still Costa Rica faces the same disgraces as all of the "third world" countries and 1/4 of my country lives below poverty lines. Around me my fellow latinamerican brothers live far worst than Costa Rica, not even compared (just read about the situation in Bolivia, Haiti, Honduras or Nicaragua). I feel connected to Africa because right here in Costa Rica I see poverty disgrace and I can't imagine what kind of poverty Africa lives, we here live perfectly fine as oppose to most African countries. Live 8 was not only about Africa, Live 8 was a signal for the people of the super-powers of the world to open their eyes study and learn about the disgrace that the world is suffering, the disgrace that is extreme poverty around the world in the so called "third world" countries. As I said before maybe Live 8 didn't raise the awareness that some expected, but there's no way to measure how many young people from around the world became interested in the injustices that this world carry. Probably more than a million young persons started reading about Africa, and then about Latin America, and then about south Asia, and of course about the poverty in their own countries. I really hope that if that concert made just a few people aware about the injustices in the world, if just a few people started reading great contemporary economists like Joseph Stiglitz or Jeffey Sachs, if just a few of us started learning about history and why we have come down to having 2/6 of the worlds population living in extreme poverty then it was worth it. I, myself study Political Sciences and Economy, I knew about everything Live 8 was talking about but certainly Live 8 reminded me that you have to speak up, say things and study as much as you can to do your little part for all the injustices committed every day with the poorest people in the world... it's a violation of human rights having so many poor people in the world. Aside from being a great rock concert if just a few people got interested in reading and getting in themselves the idea to do something then it was worth it.

Live 8 was a great concert with great artists from the present and the past.The greatest thing about the music was the choice of songs by a great number of performing artists and bands.The Who played "Won't get Fooled Again" and Sting "Every Breath You Take".All songs with a double meaning during this concert,cause it's all about raising awareness towards the poverty in Africa and pressuring the G8 leaders.

Still,the ultimate highlight for me was the performance of my favorite band (together with Sonic Youth) Pink Floyd in their entire line up (except Syd Barrett of course).They also had a great choice of songs (Money,Wish You Were Here,Breathe).Still,there final song took my breath away and I wasn't the only one. "Comfortably Numb" was sung so beautifully and played with such intensity that it was unreal (considering the fact that they are old rockers and haven't played together in this set for over 20 years). Truly the musical highpoint of the day! But all in all it was about the message and it was spread out in a good and sincere way,thank you Bob Geldof! Now we can only hope that the G8 leaders have a heart...

Missing bands: Sonic Youth,Radiohead,The Prodigy,Lou Reed,Underworld,etc... But hey,you can't have them all!

This concert is just great.With over 10 hours of continuous playing spread on 8 cities that represents the 8 leaders that will be meeting in Scotland. The main cause of this show is to support the poverty in Africa and to draw the attention of the 8 leaders to consider it in there talking. Hundreads of famous artists performed, from pop to rap, and from punk to metal, with the expected viewing of 2-3 billion people. I had some dull moments of boredom (considering I watched it on TV), but if you watching live this is another case, especially in London that had the main events. In my opinion the greatest thing about this concert is Pink Floyd, which was an event that will be remembered for a long time. Its the reunion with Roger Waters, the master mind behind there greatest albums such as the wall after an almost 20 years breakup. It is sure a show to remember, but I hope just this effort will not be wasted.