Live 8

Spent most of yesterday (and some of today) watching the coverage of Live 8 concerts, from all over the world.

Was watching out for specific artists of course - Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Deep Purple, The Who and Pink Floyd uppermost in my viewing schedule.

One thing I realised after the event, was how the older rockers managed to put on such a great show, with all the above showing real Rock Star qualities - something that the younger, up and coming bands need to learn from. A lot.

Bands like Coldplay and Travis came across as shoe-gazing scruffy students, dull and introspective. I mean, come on! Where's the fucking SHOW?

Christ, I could just sit at home and play your CDs with the EQ all fucked up, through some really crappy speakers to get the same fucking effect...!

Got to admit, Robbie Williams does put on a good show. He's a rock god in the waiting, that boy...if only he'd cut out the sentimental shite ballads, he'd be up there with Rob Halford and Bon Scott as a frontman.

So, I was well impressed with Motley Crue in Toronto - they just came out and rocked the place, but just older and a bit fatter! Encouraging to see Mick Mars actually walking about on stage! By the accounts in "The Dirt" I half expected him to get wheeled about in a wheelchair or something...

Bon Jovi just were! A band born for the big stage.

Def Leppard put in an unsurprisingly American performance, complete with dodgy lead vocals. No surprise there, but at least they did act like Rock Stars!

Deep Purple were brilliant too - even without Ritchie and Jon, and even though both Ian Paice and Ian Gillan look as if they are 70! A cracking dose of classic rock!

The surprise of the day (for me) was The Who..

I've never really been much of a fan of theirs, and I only know a few of their songs. Yet they really put on a good show, an ageing but still lively burst of strained and stretched guitar and vocals, all fitting in well with their unmentioned backing band members.

Pink Floyd, while not being my type of thing, seems to have stolen the show.

(Not really that hard to do I suppose with only a surprisingly sweary (!) Madonna and the aforementioned Robbie Williams even coming close.)

Good to see the Floyd band members all getting on so well together after all the acrimony and backstabbing over the last god-knows-how-long!


Biggest Disappointment? - Velvet Revolver. Came across as true Rock Stars, but failed to deliver musically. In my opinion, they should ditch the dodgy singer, write some great rock songs, and get back on the drink and drugs...

(A bit of credit is due to the Stereophonics, who at least tried to wake the London crowd up early doors. Showed a bit of promise, and a fair bit of Rock Star quality.)

One last thing - Watch the re-runs of all the concerts on US AOL and UK AOL. At least there is none of that infuriating Jonathon Woss, and that utterly vacuous bint off of TOTP...Fern Cotton is it?