Live 8

[Kenny]

Quote[/b] (Xàbia Shrimper @ July 02 2005,22:19)]Snoop Dogg: awesome, even the Beckhams looked as if they were enjoying it!

I never expected Mike to put those words in the same sentence.

Becks is a massive fan of Snoop Dogg and named one of his dogs after him.

 

[Ron Manager]

Quote[/b] (Andy_S @ July 02 2005,16:13)]2) Why the feck was that tw*t of a junkie Pete Doherty on it?


4) Why do we have to keep watching interviews with Z list 'celebs' by the cheesy Busted loving Fearne Cotton?

2) Because he's one of the most talented artists this country has at the moment. If you took the policy of banning people from such concerts because of a bit of a taste for smack then the old Live Aid 20 years ago would have had half it's artists removed!

3) Because she's as fit as $%&*!

Only saw bits of the day as I was out and about most of Saturday. Have to admit that seeing U2 and Paul Mcartney perform Sgt Peppers was a real 'goosebump' moment and I also enjoyed the very short Killers set (only 1 song, what the feck?) and The Scissor Sisters were good value as always. Looking forward to seeing Pete Doherty with Elton 'You can stick that $%&*ing candle up your arse, oh you already have' John, if only for comedy value. Can't see what all the fuss is about with Razorlight, they've never really caught my imagination - a poor mans, watered down Libertines with a fraction of the spark, wit and imagination if you ask me....which no-one did of course  

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (Kenny @ July 03 2005,03:13)]

Quote[/b] (Xàbia Shrimper @ July 02 2005,22:19)]Snoop Dogg: awesome, even the Beckhams looked as if they were enjoying it!

I never expected Mike to put those words in the same sentence.

Neither did I. I'd heard of Snoop Dogg but was never actually able to name one of his songs ... until now. Absolutely awesome and far better than these melancholy new age groups ... The Killers certainly "killed" my enthusiasm for the event. In my opinion, they were absolute $%&*e.

WS

 

[Upminster Blue]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ July 02 2005,20:50)]Incidentally, I have a pretty decent insight in to why the crowd atmosphere is so terrible.  As soon as I saw a crowd shot, I was incensed to see that they had done exactly the same thing that they did for the Chilli Peppers' gig there.  About 100 m away from the stage, there is a wall that is manned by security guards.

Is this standard practice at Hyde Park? I'm seeing REM there next week and will be well $%&*ed off if I'm miles away.

Overall, thought Live 8 was much better than Live Aid. How good were Coldplay with Pete Ashcroft! Also thought U2 and Razorlights were awesome and The Who still cut it.

Much to my surprise (despite being a Guns and Roses fan) I enjoyed Velvet Revolver. Can anyone recommend any of their albums?

Oh, and what the bloody hell were Dido and Maria Carey doing there. Talentless awful, awful, rubbish.

I still don't "get" Pink Floyd (cue abuse

). What's the secret? Do you need to be stoned or something?

 

[J]

Quote[/b] (Andy_S @ July 02 2005,16:13)]Now I'm sure most, if not all people, will be watching this at some point. So what are peoples opinions?

My early thoughts:

1) The crowd is about as lively as Barrington Belgrave on dope.

2) Why the feck was that tw*t of a junkie Pete Doherty on it?

3) Has the lead singer of REM been attacked by a mugger with a paint roller?

4) Why do we have to keep watching interviews with Z list 'celebs' by the cheesy Busted loving Fearne Cotton?

$%&*ing ridiculous...
if they can't help themselves,
then whats the $%&*ing point

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (CS J @ July 03 2005,10:09)]then whats the $%&*ing point

I was wondering the same thing about your post!

Eh?!

WS

 

[Bob Cratchitt]

Thought you would respond WS

That type of short sightedness as shown by CS J, will hopefully be in the minority.

Gav's post is 100% correct on the fact none of this will matter if the despots continue to run the countries that make up Africa. So it is time to get tough on these people but economic sanctions will not work, as these will not affect the despots but will increase the suffering of the ordinary people. Also South Africa needs to take a better stance in getting democracy into the rest of Africa.

Just think if we could get Africa's issues sorted out do you really think we would have the same immigration numbers coming from Africa?? I know if I had a choice between Europe and Zimbabwe I would definitely choose Zim. Such a beautiful country unfortunately with such an atrocious leader. As Mugabe knows it is easier to rule supreme over people who are starving. That is why areas loyal to the MDC(Oppositon Party) are being targetted to have their townships mown down whereas the Zanu PF(Mugabe's Party) areas are giving all the help from this government. What makes it worse is that our British Government chose Mugabe as the person they felt should take Zimbabwe forward when we gave them their independence.

Also if Africa was allowed to trade fairly then we might find them sorting themselves out as they would have the long term strategy to make money and growth.

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (Bob Cratchitt @ July 03 2005,10:33)]Thought you would respond WS, that type of short sightedness will hopefully be in the minority.
.

Eh?! What have I done NOW?!

WS

 

[Bob Cratchitt]

Sorry Mike it appears you misunderstood my post. I knew you could not keep quiet about such a short-sighted post by little J, and rightly so!!

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (Bob Cratchitt @ July 03 2005,10:42)]Sorry Mike it appears you misunderstood my post. I knew you could not keep quiet about such a short-sighted post by little J, and rightly so!!

Ah! Apologies, Andee! I must be developing some sort of paranoia!!

Yes, CS J certainly misses the whole point of what this issue is all about but then that's not really surprising. There needs to be education amongst the masses that the continent of Africa is in turmoil not because the population haven't the will to help themselves but because the regimes that keep that population in a tight grip of fear won't let them. It has been said many times this weekend but if Africa was a oil-rich continent ... ? Well, who knows. These concerts, no matter how well-intended they happen to be, won't change a thing.

WS

Post-script: Andee, be careful of your words! Commenting that "if I had a choice between Europe and Zimbabwe I would definitely choose Zim" will have a hormonally-charged Barmy Army after you ...

 

[McScriven]

Apparently Bob Gandolf sold corporate tickets (the people at the front) to cover the costs of the event because they weren't sure how popular it would be hence why they were at the front.

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

Hmmm. Not convinced of that. The people at the front didn't look like "corporate ticket-holders" to me ...

WS

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

Watched nearly all of it, great show. Thought the only disappointment was that arsehole Pete Docherty who sounded and looked awful. I also thought the crowd were rubbish, just a load of kids and families who were there for a nice little day out.

Highlights, well, loads. I thought REM were excellent and tried their best to get the crowd started, Razorlight did really well considering they were one of the smallest acts on the bill, Robbie Williams, even thought I don't like much of his music, put in an excellent performance as usual and in terms of rocking the crowd, he was the best act. I thought the moment when the African woman came on with Bob Geldof was special too, one of the more moving parts of the day. Funniest moment was when Peter Kay came on

Well done to Bob Geldof too, I take back any negative comments I had about him.

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (shrimpboy @ July 03 2005,12:12)]Robbie Williams, even thought I don't like much of his music, put in an excellent performance as usual and in terms of rocking the crowd, he was the best act.

Totally agree. I'm not a big fan (although I took the missus to see him at Knebworth a couple of years ago) but I have to concede that he is a real entertainer and the whole event needed someone like him to bring it alive. I know plenty will disagree but, hey! it's all about opinions, huh?!

WS

 

[sufcintheprem]

Quote[/b] (Xàbia Shrimper @ July 02 2005,22:21)]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ July 02 2005,21:50)]Incidentally, I have a pretty decent insight in to why the crowd atmosphere is so terrible. As soon as I saw a crowd shot, I was incensed to see that they had done exactly the same thing that they did for the Chilli Peppers' gig there. About 100 m away from the stage, there is a wall that is manned by security guards.

They did the same thing for the Robbie Williams concerts at Knebworth. It's all to do with crowd control; the first 2,000 or so get into the front "paddock" (and a special bracelet to let them in and out of that "paddock") and it prevents crowd surge towards the main stage area during performances. I guess a similar thing is being applied here, seeing as no-one paid for tickets anyway ...

WS

To be fair, I didn't know why they had done it, just assumed for RHCP at least, it was a way of making more money. One thing that still bugs me a bit though was that there was an entrance for RHCP to the right of the stage that we walked past. I'm almost certain it wasn't a backstage entrance because it would have been more securely held but we had to walk about 3/400m to get in to our entrance with no entrances in between.

Surge control, though, would be a fantastic idea because sometimes these things can get a bit out of hand. The 20/30m gap of unused land between the crowd and the, well, crowd annoys me a lot though, particularly as, from where we were, we were straining to see the band a lot of the time.

Hoping Oasis at MK won't have that problem!

 

[sufcintheprem]

Probably the best for me were either Floyd or The Who. The contrast in styles was quite stark but if only the crowd were better acquainted with their music, it would have got a better reception. Some of the Floyd solos are so incredibly dreamy, you could probably listen to them soloing for hours without getting bored.

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ July 03 2005,12:27)]The 20/30m gap of unused land between the crowd and the, well, crowd annoys me a lot though, particularly as, from where we were, we were straining to see the band a lot of the time.

For once, I agree with you ...

WS

 

[sufcintheprem]

Quote[/b] (Xàbia Shrimper @ July 03 2005,11:34)]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ July 03 2005,12:27)]The 20/30m gap of unused land between the crowd and the, well, crowd annoys me a lot though, particularly as, from where we were, we were straining to see the band a lot of the time.

For once, I agree with you ...

WS

You've definitely had too much s**...

 

[Kenny]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ July 03 2005,11:27)]Surge control, though, would be a fantastic idea because sometimes these things can get a bit out of hand. The 20/30m gap of unused land between the crowd and the, well, crowd annoys me a lot though, particularly as, from where we were, we were straining to see the band a lot of the time.

I think the layout did kill the atmosphere yesterday, plus Hyde Park is not an enclosed stadium like Wembley. The simple fact is we live in an age of Health and Safety and since 1985 we have witnessed Hillsborough and quite a few incidents of crushes at gigs.

My sister had a ticket and somehow managed to get into that paddock bit. She was telling me at great lengths that she was close enough to see Brad Pitt had a spot on his chin. Sadly from what she told me it also sounds like a lot of people were buying up event merchandise in bulk to be sold off on ebay.

 

[A loyal supporter]

Yep its true - 'Golden Circle' tickets were sold at a minimum of £500 each and the allowed access to the very front area of the event. Average Joe was sat half a mile from the stage. Its a disgrace but hey ho that lifes - didnt really give the whole event any time after I found out this hypocracy.

Geldof wont let punters sell tickets on Ebay but then he sells tickets to the rich for £500 a pop - it just doesnt rest easy with me.