At the London show, the stadium's nonessential lights were turned off before the closing act - Madonna - came onstage, leaving the venue dark except for the glow of exit lights and the flashes of cameras. "Let's hope the concerts that are happening around the world are not just about entertainment, but about starting a revolution," said Madonna, who sang a song she wrote for Live Earth called "Hey You." The Beastie Boys wore their feelings on their sleeves, Al Gore the main organizer for the event, attended the concert at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.
J. The concert series took place in the United States, Australia, China, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and Antarctica. performing a furious set of their hits in tailored green suits and shades when they took the stage at Wembley Stadium.
"Let's all try to do our parts and see if we can get it together," Beastie Boy Adam Yauch told the crowd. In New Jersey, rocker Melissa Etheridge pounded out her song "I Need to Wake Up," which was featured in Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," and won an Oscar for best song this year. Gore later introduced Bon Jovi, which hails from the Garden Colombian superstar Shakira performs in Hamburg, Germany, as part of Live Earth, the global concert to raise awareness about climate change.
Some questioned the event s green credentials. State, telling the crowd that the band was one of the first to volunteer its musical services when the concert was announced. Band members didn't make any environmental statements during their five-song set, but that didn't seem to matter to their cheering fans.
Gore also made a live video appearance from Washington to open the first show on the other side of the world in Sydney, Australia, and a few hours later appeared onstage in Tokyo as a hologram. The former vice president attended the New Jersey show, taking mass transit from Washington. He called on members of the crowd to commit themselves to a seven-point pledge to combat global warming, including steps such as demanding a moratorium on building new coal-powered plants and fighting for more renewable energy.
"I would like to ask each and every one of you to answer the call," Gore said. Many of the celebrities and musicians - if they mentioned global warming at all - focused on what everyday citizens could do to help out and stayed away from partisan politics. Among them was actress Cameron Diaz, who told the New Jersey crowd that this day "is not about gloom and doom.
Organizers promised the huge shows were made green by using recycled goods, shuttling some concertgoers from distant parking lots in bio-diesel buses and using biofuels for generators. Critics have faulted the Live Earth concerts for lacking clear-cut, achievable goals, and for lauding rock stars whose jet-setting, high-consumption lifestyles can often send a different, less environmentally friendly message. In London, after fans went home, the stadium's floor was covered with discarded plastic cups and litter.
Many of the musicians acknowledged that they weren't rock stars when it came to the environment but said it was important to start a discussion about climate change. "If you want to peg me as not being entirely eco-friendly, you'll win," said John Mayer, speaking to reporters after his set. "I also think it's very difficult to judge the success of a movement.
You can't find out by 9 o'clock this evening how much awareness was raised. What you're really talking about is the placement of an idea at a rock show." At other shows around the globe, an estimated 50,000 people grooved through a set by singer-guitarist Jack Johnson, while country stars Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood opened the Washington concert and Linkin Park entertained fans at a Tokyo concert.
The shows appeared to come off without major hitches despite some 11th-hour activity. The concert in Washington was added Friday, and a Brazilian judge rejected a last-minute bid to shut down South America's concert after a prosecutor had argued safety could not be guaranteed for an audience of 700,000. At the New Jersey concert, the crowd was dotted with people who heeded the call to wear green.
Many said they were already taking steps at home to lead a little more green lifestyle, and felt the concert wasn't just about music. "Personally, I think it makes people more aware," said Sherry Ramsey, 44, who came to the concert with her husband by plane and train. "It was mass transit all the way here.
" On the Net www.liveearth.org At the London show, the stadium's nonessential lights were turned off before the closing act - Madonna - came onstage, leaving the venue dark except for the glow of exit lights and the flashes of cameras.
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