I'm going to admit it right up front here. I didn't watch all 24 hours (or whichever) of the video segments on msn.com, but I did watch most of what was broadcast on TV, and I watched the bits that they left out online.

And with that, I really like the idea that the guys over at MSN are keeping the content up for us all to view. Yes, I realize that they're making money off of it either directly, or indirectly, but it does cost a lot of money in servers and bandwidth to support that kind of streaming media, so it's nice to be able to jump back and check it out.

I really only care about the music. I'm not going to go into the fact that this whole "save the earth" awareness probably used more resources in 72 hour period than a small country does in a month. The artists had to fly or drive to their destinations, which probably used up some gas. The amplifiers, lights, concession stands, etc., had to be powered. They say that they recycled everything, but the only thing they showed was some display with a bunch of old bottles. (How do you recycle power?) Anyhow, I don't really want to get too deep into that, as I'm sure plenty of other people out there have gotten on their own soap box, and given forth their own opinions on the greenness (or lack thereof) of this event.

After I had a chance to review some of the content, I decided to spew my thoughts forward here.

• John Butler Trio - I was first introduced to these guys live at Street Scene '04 here in San Diego. Oh man, I don't think they could do a poor performance. John Butler is a great musician, lyricist, storyteller, poet, etc. He's got a great band backinig him up, and they really deliver a killer performance.
• Wolfmother - I've heard a few of their songs. I've read the "if you like _____, you will like Wolfmother" bits. I've decided I like the overall idea. Their performance sealed it for me. This is a great live band. I would definitely pay to see them perform. They were great at Live Earth. I dig the 70's vibe, the 70's hair, and the long-drawn out psychedelic solos. Long live the 70's.
• Jack Johnson - Ya know, he's got one song, and he's played it 40 times on however many different albums he has. Yeah, it's the same song. The same dynamics, the same melodies, the same rhythms, the same chords, the same... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh! I guess you can say this about a lot of bands. Jack has his own style, and he sticks with it. He does it well, but did we really need to hear his one song seven times? (Er, I mean, seven of his songs.) Shouldn't some of the other groups been given a little more time to play? Like Metallica???
• Crowded House - Alright, I'm sure they're probably popular somewhere other than the United States. Their performance was fine, but I would have rather heard Squeeze. :puzzled:
• Linkin Park - These guys are not one of my favorite bands, but they do have some catchy songs. Some of them are pretty-well written. Some of them I can stand to listen to. Some of them I'll even turn up a little louder, and rock out. I really wanted to hear them live, but someone over there in the audio booth was either doped up, or not used to mixing "loud rock" music. The mix was horrible. It was right up there with one of the worst live mixes I've heard. It was all guitar and vocal. You couldn't hear much of the drums, or accent instruments. Just blah! Not to mention the fact that the vocals were way out of tune in places. Oh wait, I did mention it. :smile:
• Rihanna - I haven't listened to a lot of Top 40/Pop/whatever it's called these days lately, but who the hell is Rihanna, and why does she get ten songs, and Metallica only gets two?
• 12 Girls Band - Now, I kinda thought this might be an interesting performance, but I really couldn't figure out if they were even playing their instruments. It seemed as if they knew what they were doing, and had some choreography going on, but at times, it seemed as if the music I was hearing had nothing to do with the way the fingers were moving. It was just confusing. If I was just listening to the music, and not trying to watch a performance, I might have enjoyed it. Oh well...
• Joss Stone - I like the concept behind her music, but I was never really able to get into it and enjoy it. I'd rather hear her doing Motown covers. I think she would do better at that.
• UB40 - COME ON! This falls right under the category, "Heard it in the 80's, didn't like it then." That's all I have for those guys.
• Shakira - Yeah, uhm, this is a much better watch on "mute". I can't stand her voice.
• Chris Cornell - The man with a voice that can peel paint off of walls. He's losing it a little in his old age, but can still belt it out for the most part. Kudos to him for pulling out a Soundgarden tune.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - What's not to like here? Great songs, great energy, great performance. They're definitely in-shape, and ready to rock. My only complaint is that there wasn't enough of them.
• Genesis - Sounding pretty strong here. The guitar tone could have used a little more oomph, but other than that, this was a solid performance.
• Metallica - These guys died for me after the And Justice For All... album, but they still deliver a great, solid, rockin' performance like you would expect from these metal veterans. I would have liked to have seen more, and more of the older stuff!
• Black Eyed Peas - "mute", and after 60 seconds, "fast forward".
• Spinal Tap - What a surprise! If you don't know who they are, it's hard to tell if they're serious, or messing around. Hell, even if you do know who they are, it's still hard to tell. I think the peak of this was when they had the "army of basses" playing Big Bottom.
• Beastie Boys - Yeah, man. Not only did they pull out some of their classic hits, but they also pulled out their "old school" instruments. I have known for a long time now that these guys started out as a punk group before they were known for their Hip-Hop. It's nice to see Hip-Hop guys playing real instruments. And, playing them well, at that.
• Foo Fighters - Dave Grohl will always be a hero to many, myself included. I saw them live at the aforementioned Street Scene. I don't think it's possible for them to give a poor performance. Dave sounded like he was straining a little bit, but he's ALL HEART. I could have used a few more tunes by them as well. More Foos!
• KT Tunstall - Catchy, poppy, dancable, good performance. I'm not sure what the Black Horse or the Cherry Tree signify, but this song always has me snapping my fingers. She and her band did a great job. *oooh oooh... oooh oooh...*
• Keith Urban - I'm not a huge country fan. Let me rephrase that. I pretty-much hate country, but I have seen Keith perform in a few different settings. He writes good songs, and some of them have a little rock edge to them. I like that. He plays lead, and plays it well. I like that, too. I like the fact that he covered a great Rolling Stones song with Alicia Keys. Very, very, very cool performance with the two of them. My only complaint is that Alicia's keyboard was a little low in the mix.
• Bon Jovi - The classics were cool, but what was this new song? Did they get all Christian on us? Have they lost the metal, and are now just "hair"? Er, they cut that, too... Are they just... What are they? What happened? I want my 80's back!
• Roger Waters - Good selection/medley/sequence of songs. He touched on most of the Pink Floyd classics. Unfortunately, the camera man showed a second bass in the background. Was Roger "air guitarring" it? Oh man, that's not good. Why was the "choir" up there if they weren't actually singing? The choir track was clearly from the original recording. Now, I realize that it's hard to replicate a bunch of British kids on stage, but he didn't really need to. I would have had more respect if he let the kids on the stage actually sing along. And was it just me, or did the rest of his band (hired guns?) look pissed off to be there? Roger was the only one that seemed to be enjoying himself. Is this his Modus Operandi? "Just play the notes, and let me be the star." Roger: Go make up with Gilmour, and get the band back together!
• The Police - Long-awaited reunion of classic, ground-breaking, meaningful rock band. Yep, so why did they go all improvisational on Roxanne? I'm all for improvisation, but it seemed like they wanted to re-arrange the whole song. Ugh. And, I can respect them having John Mayer up there. John's got some chops. He even covered this song at one point, but Kanye West? It's not the Hip-Hop thing that bugs me. The dude just didn't know the words. He seemed completely lost. WHY was he up there? Publicity? Trying to get the kids to listen to The Police? I just don't understand it. If he would have pulled out some cool rhymes, and went along with the song, I may have enjoyed it, but the guy was just lost. Sting, Andy, and Stewart: Don't piss off your fans by inviting people who don't know your songs to "jam along" with you. Just don't do it.