My general impression of the Canadian Live 8 show was that it was a sedate affair, with surprisingly little emotion. But whatever your opinion of the concert, it didn't matter because the point was made before anyone hit the stage.
Whether you hated the lineup or loved it, the point was not who was on stage, but rather why they were there in the first place.
If we can understand that and stop sweating the small stuff about why certain bands weren’t there, then maybe Sir Bob Geldof and his entourage of international musicians are right: we can make a difference.
We can understand Geldof’s incredibly simple point, that in a world of surplus, none should go hungry. Prime Minister Paul Martin and all leaders of heavily industrialized economies, like Canada, must do their part to honour the minimum targets of the Millennium Development Goals.
The main one emploring the richest countries to finish what former Canuck PM Lester Pearson started: spend 0.7 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product or national income on foreign aid. In Canada’s case it would mean raising our aid spending by 15 per cent each year for the next decade.
According to Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie we’re currently lagging at around 3.8 per cent.
Out of all those artists who spoke at Live 8 in Barrie, Downie’s rage was the most effective. When he played “Ahead By A Century” he tweaked the words to “You should be ahead by a century” and emphatically delivered the line “and the disappointment is getting me down.”
Anyone who had witnessed the ever-intense Downie in the press tent minutes before, knew he was referring to Martin’s broken promise to Bono to up his aid contributions to meet the Millennium goals.
“I think I was like any other Canadian, who was floating along for a long time thinking that we we’re tops in the world in this department of compassion and it turns out we’re actually not and not only are we not, but we’re lagging way behind,” Downie delivered through clenched teeth. “I don’t know what foreign policy we’re clinging to in this country.”
As Downie sees it Canada can’t afford to get this next one wrong.
“I saw the 90-year-old veterans strolling down the streets of Holland about a month and a half ago and the streets were lined with children and their grandparents and people thanking Canadians for what they did to liberate Holland in World War II. I think this is the war that Canadians want to fight, I really do. I think this is the one we’re
really interested in fighting and we can afford it.”
The Barrie show struggled to find a groove musically and emotionally until Downie and the boys stormed the stage more than seven hours after Tom Cochrane kicked things off. After finishing their set with Dan Aykroyd playing harmonica on “Poets,” Downie left the stage after getting the crowd to chant “NGOs, NGOs, NGOs,” in deference to the work that private organizations like Make Poverty History do to try to end suffering around the world.
Rapper DMC took it from there, performing Bob Dylan’s classic “All Along The Watchtower” as well as his own hit “Walk This Way,” which he played at the original Live Aid show in 1985.
The Barenaked Ladies revved up the crowd even further with “Brian Wilson,” “If I Had A Million Dollars” and Steven Page’s operatic version of Bryan Adams’s “Tears Are Not Enough.”
Neil Young took it from there. Two months removed from a brain aneurysm that caused him to miss a live gig at the Junos in April, the Canadian icon gave a soulful treatment to Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds," that had some in the crowd broadcasting the moment on their cell phones to loved ones.
He then hit the piano, accompanied by a choir, to introduce a beautiful new song from his upcoming album titled “When God Made Me.”
Two hours after the final non-Canadian Live 8 show ended in Philadelphia, Young gathered the remaining acts back on stage for an ensemble version of “Rockin’ In The Free World.”
Young was joined by Downie, Blue Rodeo, Bruce Cockburn, Gordon Lightfoot, Our Lady Peace, BNL, Jet, African Guitar Summit and others.
Page then closed out Live 8 for the world with “Oh Canada,” which was the non-French version.
Afterwards event promoter Michael Cohl said the Barrie show went much better than anticipated for the short notice he had to put it together.
“The thing I’m most proud of is that we only ran 17 minutes late. London ran three hours late,” beamed an exhausted Cohl, who said the show was not as logistical a nightmare as some he has run for bands like The Who.
“When I first got into it I didn’t think it would be that much work and I'd be able to keep my normal life and work on it. As it turned out the last 10 days I had no life except for this."
In the end Cohl, whose assertion that 40,000 attended the show which was very generous, was proved right because the message was delivered on target.
The world listened and now it's up to our politicians to pick up the baton.
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