Rolling Stones and Friends Concert for Toronto

[kramdenfan]

I didn't see a thread for this; is anyone else here going to this show? It's a concert to benefit Sars relief in Toronto on 7/30.

here's the lineup:

Rolling Stones
AC/DC
Rush
The Guess Who
Justin Timberlake
Blue Rodeo
The Tea Party
Sam Roberts
The Flaming Lips
Kathleen Edwards
The Isley Brothers
Sass Jordan
La Chicane
Jim Belushi/Dan Ackroyd & Have Love Will Travel
Host: Dan Ackroyd

Tickets are only $16.50 US!!!!!!

I've had my ticket for a few weeks. I'm pretty psyched (especially since Rush will be there). So far they've sold over 500,000 tickets.

[cdollaz]

I wonder how badly Justin Timberlake will be booed by a bunch of rock and roll fans. Could be funny.

[kramdenfan]

Yeah- I was kind of stunned to see him on the list. I guess every band has volunteered to play, which is why the ticket prices are so low. Maybe they figured he'd attract the young crowd? I just hope his is a short set!

[Brain Stew]

Originally posted by kramdenfan

here's the lineup:

Rolling Stones
AC/DC
Rush
The Guess Who
Justin Timberlake
Blue Rodeo
The Tea Party (Were they on the Big Audio Dynamite album?)
Sam Roberts
The Flaming Lips
Kathleen Edwards
The Isley Brothers
Sass Jordan
La Chicane
Jim Belushi/Dan Ackroyd & Have Love Will Travel Blues Brothers 2000 failed for a reason Danny Boy.

[cultshock]

Originally posted by Brain Stew

Blue Rodeo
The Tea Party (Were they on the Big Audio Dynamite album?)
Sam Roberts
Sass Jordan

Not overly familiar with Canadian bands, huh?

The Tea Party is a major band up here these days, but I don't think they've made much of a dent in the US market (I don't know if they were on a BAD album though).

I'm passing on the concert though. Considering the hell that parking and traffic will be, and how strict they are about what you can't bring in with you, the whole thing would probably just be irritating to me. And its a loooong day. I'm getting too old to go to shows like this I guess.

[mdc3000]

Originally posted by cultshock
how strict they are about what you can't bring in with you.

Well, they changed the rules, so now it's pretty easy to bring almost anything you want with you...ok, not quite, but it's pretty leniant... still, I think it'd be a bigger headache than value....

MATT

[kramdenfan]

I'm not looking forward to spending the day with 500,000 of my closest friends; I hate crowds. BUT I've yet to see the stones, or AC/DC. (I've seen Rush 9x). This may be my last chance to see the Stones.... at least for only $20.

[borisdisco]

I have a feeling it is going to be hard to SEE any of the bands. I do think you will see a lot of babes though.

[kramdenfan]

we're bringing our cameras...disposables...but cameras! The map shows the stage in kind of an awkward layout, and only one stage. I'll post a review in a couple of days!

[kramdenfan]

Well....here's the review. Bare with me, all- I got home at 6:00 this morning, and made it to work before 8!

The Music: The earlier bands, if you didn't know their music already, we're difficult to make an opinion of. Most of the bands only played about 15-20 minutes, and for my first complaint of the entire show, the sound was not very good. For that many people, there was not adequate sound. It was muffled, and not very loud at all. ...but back to the bands: I was extremely impressed with Tea Party (my wife has all of their CDs and I've never heard them; they are a college favorite of her's) and Sass Jordan, who surprised the crowd by having Jeff Healy play a tune with her. He just simply jammed!! The headliners (Guess Who, Rush, AC/DC & The Stones) played "greatest hits" sets, ranging in lenth from 45-90 minutes. The Guess Who sounded the best of all of them, but I personally feel AC/DC stole the show. They had the crowd in the palms of thier hands (especially when Angus did his strip tease to reveal boxers with the Canadian Flag), and were the only band (other than the Stones) to do an encore. Rush was great, but it wasn't their crowd. They did 8 songs, all radio favorites.
....And then there was Justin- the review you were all waiting for! I actually felt bad for the kid. CDollaz had it right: the crowd did not want him there, and let him know it. During his set, empty water bottles were tossed at him. The crowd, for the most part, was silent. It couldn't have been an easy show for him to perform. THEN, to top it all off, he comes out to do a song with the Stones!! That didn't settle well... more water bottles. Keith actually got mad, since he stopped playing momentarily to yell at some people in the front row during the song.

The Crowd: Except for the Justin incidents, I was impressed with how well behaved the crowd was. This wasn't a repeat of the last woodstock; if anything- it was closer to the first (not that I was there- this is hearsay!). Everyone seemed to be there for one thing: the music. People were camped out EVERYWHERE, and there was no real place to walk in between. So as you leave for food, bathroom, or water, it was inevitable that blankets would be stepped on and people would be stepped over. No one seemed to mind, though! The crowd stretched back FOREVER. I never could see an end to the sea of people. I fully expected there to be at least some fights, but I saw none...... This was the tamest crowd I've ever seen!!

The Food: This is where my second complaint comes in. Organization of food/beer was the only real problem. It took us almost 3 hours to get pizza. There were no lines, just a crowd around the stand. People were jammed to the point that I felt like I was at the front of the stage. (but even then, no one seemed mad, just frusterated)

The Visuals: Borisdisco was right on both accounts: It was tough to see the stage, and there were definitely some hotties roaming around! There were enough screens setup throughout the park that it was easy enough to see, so it was like watching the show on TV.

Over all, I give the show a thumbs up!

[atlantamoi]

I heard on the news last night that some bands were not performing for free... what gives?

[Brain Stew]

Originally posted by kramdenfan
THEN, to top it all off, he comes out to do a song with the Stones!!

Blasphemy! My favorite band working with my most hated artist !

[kramdenfan]

Originally posted by atlantamoi
I heard on the news last night that some bands were not performing for free... what gives?

I really hope that's not true....

Does anyone know if all of the food/food-profits were donated?

[atlantamoi]

Originally posted by kramdenfan
I really hope that's not true....

Actually, the question I heard posed was if the Stones were playing for free and the reporter kind of laughed and said no. But, no matter.... the whole point was to bring some cash to the city... they said around $50 million was had from this. And it drew attention to Toronto. Good enough.

[Brain Stew]

Originally posted by atlantamoi
Actually, the question I heard posed was if the Stones were playing for free and the reporter kind of laughed and said no. But, no matter.... the whole point was to bring some cash to the city... they said around $50 million was had from this. And it drew attention to Toronto. Good enough.

Yeah, I think we remember what happened the last time the Stones played for free...

[cultshock]

Originally posted by Brain Stew
Yeah, I think we remember what happened the last time the Stones played for free...

Good point.

I picked up the Toronto Sun today and they had a huge section about the concert (or as they called it, SARS-Stock). It sounded like a fun time with an overall well behaved crowd (I'm sure the large incidence of pot smoking helped. And yes, the police mostly turned a blind eye to it). I was surprised that many of the artists only performed for 15 minutes. The paper said that a large amount of people left after AC/DC, who were reported to have had the best crowd response. Many people just felt that they had a long day and wanted to beat traffic. There were alot of complaints about the over 2 hour wait at the beer tents (!!!). The newspaper has a two page color photo of almost the entire crowd, shot from above. I can't believe the amount of people, wow!

[Rypro 525]

how many bands went after ac/dc, and is it possible that mtv2 will re air parts of this concert.

[PJsig08]

Originally posted by Brain Stew
Yeah, I think we remember what happened the last time the Stones played for free...

Yeah, and I was there, front row It was amazing.

Check out this article at MTV.com: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/147...headlines=true

I don't hate Timerblake's music, but he has no right to be on stage with the Stones. What a deucsh.

[cultshock]

Originally posted by Rypro 525
how many bands went after ac/dc

They were 2nd to last, just before the Stones.

[Aghama]

Originally posted by PJsig08

I don't hate Timerblake's music, but he has no right to be on stage with the Stones. What a deucsh.

Yeah, he should have snubbed Jagger when he was invited on stage. Pelting someone who is performing at a benefit concert is beyond rude, but then I've had my own bad experiences with Toronto concert goers.

[Capo2002]

I really think it was a huge mistake to have Justin Timberlake performing at this concert. Pretty much all the performers on this bill play rock music, and then you have Justin Timberlake doing his Michael Jackson wannabe impression, things aren't going to be pretty after that. He just didn't fit in with the rest of the bands, and the fans let him know.

But it's not fair to generalize either and say Toronto concert goers are rude because of the Justin Timberlake incident. With 500,000 people attending one concert I think that things went relatively well.

[mautos]

whats the point in bashing justin timberlake? I live near Toronto and he is there to help out a cause and help bring fans to Toronto. I saw a girl from Norway who came all the way to see him, and thats money and tourism back to Toronto. So to all of you bashing him, lay off...the guy has talent, whether you enjoy his music or not he is ver talented. Get up there and do it yourself if you can do better, otherwise leave him alone. If Mick invited him he must be pretty damn good.

AC/DC definately stole the show...they were absolutely amazing...my god.

[Norm de Plume]

Here's a heli-photo from early in the day, when the attendees were still arriving in droves.

[kramdenfan]

That's a great shot, Norm!

Can you guys see me? I'm the one wearing a grey shirt, and I have on a blue hat!

[Jason]

Originally posted by mautos
whats the point in bashing justin timberlake? I live near Toronto and he is there to help out a cause and help bring fans to Toronto. I saw a girl from Norway who came all the way to see him, and thats money and tourism back to Toronto. So to all of you bashing him, lay off...the guy has talent, whether you enjoy his music or not he is ver talented. Get up there and do it yourself if you can do better, otherwise leave him alone. If Mick invited him he must be pretty damn good.

But he doesn't fit in with any of these bands. There was no logical reason for him to be there (he isn't even canadian). If this was a truly multi-style event, with rap, rock, pop, alternative, electronica, etc., Timberlake would have fit in fine, but the three headline acts are all old-school hard rock acts. I'm not familiar with the "opening" acts, but I know enough aboot canadian music to know they probably aren't boy band pop acts.

Timberlake is easily the most talented person to emerge from the 90's pop scene, but he simply didn't fit in with the rest of the show. Jurassic 5 are a great group, but they would be out of place playing inbetween Rush and AC/DC.