Seeing as many of the good bands are still out there to be added to a concert, the Toronto part of Live 8 might work out really well:
Wherever it will be held — Downsview, the Molson Amphitheatre, Molson Park in Barrie — the concert, one of eight being held worldwide July 2 to shine the spotlight on poverty in Africa, promises to be a band-packed musical extravaganza. The Rolling Stones lead the list of groups that might take the stage here. The Barenaked Ladies, Jann Arden and Our Lady Peace have also been mentioned, but organizers say nothing official can be announced until early next week. "We're just flying," said Katherine Holmes, a spokeswoman for Canadian Live 8. "We don't know the venue. All we know is that Toronto is confirmed. There's a lot of work that's going on to try and put it all together. "Many, many elements of the concert are being finalized as we speak," Holmes added. "We anticipate Tuesday we will be able to announce venue, ticketing and the lineup."Coming as it does on the Saturday after the Friday holiday for the fastastically named Canada Day on July 1st, this nation is well set up to put its feet up and watch TV on a sunny day for this event.
In honour of Ian's wish list, I hereby call for a Supertramp reunion rather than yet another Rolling Stone gig in Toronto. Supertramp was always way bigger in Canada than the US, outselling some albums here as opposed to there. Get back AC/DC as well as they were the best thing at SARSfest, the only "a-pa-looza" named after a disease I can think of. And that guy in the front row with the black t-shirt with some band's name of it who jumped up and down all day with a clenched fist? Get him back, too. He was great.
Comments
Brother Iain - June 17, 2005 8:59 AM
Three words:
B ... T ... O ...
Mike - June 17, 2005 9:26 AM
I see some kind of a Trooper/April Wine set, culminating in an Edward Bear tribute, followed by a six or seven hour Rush/Saga/Triumph set.
Alan - June 17, 2005 12:07 PM
Are "B" and "T" and "O" words?
David Janes - June 17, 2005 1:16 PM
How about P...O...L...I...C...E......R...E...U...I...O...N.
Well, a boy can dream...
Mike - June 17, 2005 2:21 PM
How about a Terry David Mulligan vs. Corey Hart cage match?
Ben - June 17, 2005 9:50 PM
Loverboy is playing at the Capital in Ottawa tonight. There's a very interesting crowd hanging out on Rideau before the show... they all looked scared.
Alan - June 17, 2005 10:10 PM
I made Sunday lunch for Loverboy in my brief tenure as a MacDonald's cook at the Truro location in 1979 when I was 16. I am pretty sure I thought they were losers then.
SayNay? - June 18, 2005 12:24 PM
A propos of nothing: these concerts kill me in a way.
Why don't people of influence start to put real pressure on the world's wealthiest people to pony up .5 to 1% of their wealth towards the "Africa project". Of the 25 richest, over half are in the US, having a combined wealth of in excess of $277 Billion. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The are over 550 Billionaires in the world - even JK Rowling is now a billionaire (joining Oprah in the sisterhood), after being a single parent welfare mom at one time.
Maybe Bono, Jagger, Richards, Springsteen, Sting, McCartney et al could start with themselves: form say, "The Ridiculously Weatlhy Former Rock Stars for Africa Foundation" and start dismantling some of their private wealth for the cause. Maybe sell one of the three or four estates or yachts they own and make a donation - or donate the $500k to $1M proceeds from one of their private "gigs" for one of these billionaire's kid's birthday party on the French Riviera - instead of lecturing me and my tax supported government, and soliciting donations from my kids indirectly through these "concerts" ("I know how we'll get the money Judy, we'll put on a show and invite everyone we know", says Mickey). One month of Jagger's $35,000 a month child support payments to one the moms of one of his seven kids, would probably support an entire village in Dafur for a year.
While there's no doubt these "concerts" bring some publicity to the issue, I find it all hypocritcal and tired. We need some real solutions - not more of Sir Bob's deja vu all over again.
I know, I know - go ahead, small font me.
Alan - June 18, 2005 12:51 PM
Not at all - that is perfectly legitimate. I go nutty when millionaires take two days to play golf to gather $20,000 for charity. [Unfortunately we suffer from not making chartiable tax deductions public like they do in Sweden so we are left to guess what the total annual celebrity charitable activity is.] <p>It is clear that if all the money spent on the concert was simply gathered without the expenditure on the concert there would be much more food on the ground. But we must be moved to give apparently.
SayNay? - June 18, 2005 1:39 PM
Just out of interest, I googled a little under "Bono hypocrisy". Yikes! I didn't realize the amount of criticism leveled at Bono. See, for instance,
http://www.bonothepuppet.com/index.htm
I can't say that I share that level of vitriol, but the hypocrisy is not lost on me and it is more than ironic (and a little sad) that these the "Make Poverty History" wristbands bandied about to show solidarity for the cause, were made in sweatshops, see:
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=588782005
SayNay? - June 18, 2005 2:00 PM
I knew it. How do you Canadian, tax-stressed people like this one: Bono, the Edge et al pay NO INCOME TAX. NONE, keine, nada, niet, niente, rien, not one red centime! Achtung, Baby: now that's how I spell "debt relief"!
Oh, how generous we all could be, if only so lucky.
richard margerison - June 19, 2005 6:33 PM
Well a few people seem to be confused about this Live 8. Em for a start its not to raise money at all..........its simply to put pressure on the leaders at the G8 meeting so they do something they are not trying to get the public to donate any moeny at all. The money raised through the texting competition is just to pay for the actual concert......so I think a lot of the critcism is a little bit misguided.....some of the points are valid against other charity events but this one isnt asking the public to donate at all so I think some people should bare that in mind and do osme research before foring an opinion. This is such a good cause and I think its a real shame people are not being very supportive of it. The aim is simply to get world leaders to agree to do something very positivve for some very unfortunate people.
Alan - June 19, 2005 9:11 PM
We will all give our heads a good shake and then get back to you.
SayNay? - June 20, 2005 9:05 AM
Mea culpa, Richard.
At the risk of sounding like an ingrate and some who wants to have it both ways, in some sad, twisted way, the fact that no funds are being raised at all by these concerts makes the whole "event" even more ironic and useless. There was bitingly sacrastic Editorial cartoon in the either the Saturday Star, G & M or the Post (I can't remember which)showing a starving African child taking a bite out of an Fender(?)guitar. What's that saying about not being able to feed your family on "good intentions"?
I still have a problem with the "Millionaire rockstars battle poverty from one of their four mansions" thing.
nowshin - July 3, 2005 1:27 PM
It was the biggest concert ever arranged in my lifetime..totally COOL..i loved the whole idea and execution..i liked the part where Bono said " we dont want your charity..we want justice".