"The last thing the planet needs is a rock concert," The Who's singer Roger Daltrey recently told a British newspaper. Organizers say the concerts will be as green as possible, with a tally of energy use being kept. Proceeds from ticket sales will go toward distributing power-efficient light bulbs and other measures that will offset the shows' greenhouse gas emissions, they say.
"This is going to be the greenest event of its kind, ever," Gore told The Associated Press recently. "The carbon offsets and the innovative practices that are being used to make this a green event, I think, will set the standard for years to come." More than 150 artists will perform at the eight concerts.
Other venues are in Tokyo, Shanghai, Johannesburg and Hamburg. The New York venue is actually being held in East Rutherford, N.J.
In Johannesburg, four-time Grammy nominee Angelique Kidjo offered a tart response to Daltrey's comment. "Criticism is easy," she said. "And there is a kind of fashion of cynical people around us.
You are cynical _ what the hell are you doing to change the world? Get your butt out there. And it is beyond time to do so, she explained.
"Climate change is visible today, we can see that now. And if you can talk to farmers they will tell you that their crops that they are harvesting are not the same as before. That for me is a wake-up call because if we cannot eat, we cannot sustain ourselves.
We don't eat cameras, we don't eat cars, we eat food." Besides some criticism, Live Earth has run into some organizational hiccups. A judge canceled the Brazil concert because of security concerns before reversing the decision just two days before the event, and lukewarm public interest caused a planned show in Istanbul, Turkey to be called off.
Promoter Michael Chugg said on Friday there were still plenty of tickets available for the Sydney show. But organizers were predicting live broadcasts on cable television and the Internet could reach up to 2 billion people. Scores of short films and public service announcements will be aired giving the audience tips about how to conserve energy and reduce their environmental impact.
Rob Hirst, drummer for Midnight Oil and performing at Live Earth in his new band the Ghostwriters, said at the launch of the Sydney concert lineup that the traditional rock star lifestyle was not eco-friendly. "Any of the musicians here who've spent 24-to-30 years roaming the globe on planes, trains and automobiles should have a mighty guilt complex about what they've done to the environment," Hirst was quoted as saying by local media. "But it's not too late to change.
" Laid-back rocker Jack Johnson is the only international act in Sydney, which features the reformed 1980s pop group Crowded House as top billers. The Tokyo concert, featuring artists including Ai Otsuka, Kumi Koda and Linkin Park, comes next, followed by the other cities. Madonna and the Black Eyed Peas topline London, while the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Alicia Keys are among the acts in the United States.
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