Jacko, Aerosmith: D.C. "United"
Steve Tyler of Aerosmith | 
P Diddy | 
One night after rock legends stormed Madison Square Garden, another batch of music heavyweights converged on RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., Sunday to ask, "What more can I give?" The answer, quite simply, was another marathon day of spirit-lifting music, from the Backstreet Boys' a cappella "Star Spangled Banner", to Aerosmith's stadium-rumbling rendition of "Walk This Way" and a late-late-night finale debuting Michael Jackson's "We Are the World"-style benefit single, "What More Can I Give?"
Flanked onstage by 'N Sync, Mya, Mariah Carey and little country crooner Billy Gilman, the Gloved One led performers in a not-exactly polished version of his new come-together anthem to wrap up United We Stand: What More Can I Give?, the Jackson-headlined D.C. benefit for relief from the September 11 attacks. Jackson sang just one song on his own - a performance of "Man in the Mirror", during which the pop star draped himself in an American flag while a platform raised him over the crowd. But he then quickly shifted attention to his new single.
"Tonight we all stand united and ask, 'What more can I give?' " Jackson said. "To the families of the victims of September 11 that are here with us tonight, you are not alone. You are in our hearts, you are in our thoughts and you are in our prayers." The new tune didn't exactly come off as planned: Singers flubbed the verses, and technical glitches drowned out everything but the overpowering chorus. But their heart was in the right place, as Sunday's show helped calm the nerves of the nation's capital and drew a crowd of 47,100 flag-waving music buffs.
Fans | 
Michael Jackson |
Other performers included James Brown, 'N Sync, Bette Midler, Usher, O-Town, Rod Stewart, Carole King, Billy Gilman, Al Green, Train, Destiny's Child, Mariah Carey and the Goo Goo Dolls. Of course, those who didn't appear Sunday could at least take comfort that their music was probably sampled by Sean "P.Diddy" Combs, whose red, white and blue-loving set actually turned into one of the night's most rousing performances.
Dressed in military fatigues, the rap mogul opened his set with images of U.S. fighter jets and the flag-raising at Iwo Jima, with the crowd chiming in during one of his newest tracks - giving patriotic new meaning to his Bad Boy battle cry, "We ain't goin' nowhere". In true cheerleader fashion, the Puffster then managed to pump up the crowd by simply playing clips of Queen's "We Will Rock You" and Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A" while leading them in the wave. He closed by launching into the Zeppelin-riffing "Come with Me", before a gospel choir joined him onstage for "I'll Be Missing You", his tribute to the victims of the terror attacks.
Proceeds from Sunday's concert benefited the Pentagon Relief Fund, the American Red Cross Liberty Relief Fund and Salvation Army Relief Fund, aiding recovery from the September 11 attacks. The concert, produced with radio giant Clear Channel Entertainment, will also be edited into a two-hour broadcast to be aired November 1 on ABC and hosted by Thieves star John Stamos.
'NSync | 
Rod Stewart |
Of course, those ABC editors will have plenty to sift through. Sunday's show dragged more than three hours past its scheduled 9 p.m. wrapup - no thanks to the time-consuming stage prep between performances. RFK Stadium began to empty even before many of the final acts hit the stage, and the delays prompted some scattered boos toward the end of the night.
But for the most part, the weary crowd kept in good spirits. Earlier in the day, Stamos was joined onstage by surprise guest Kevin Spacey, who reminded them "we're sending the best message we can possible send - that America is alive and well."
Aerosmith proved its commitment to the nation's capital, chartering a plane to get in and out of D.C. in time for a show later that night in Indianapolis. Due to scheduling conflicts, the group initially considered performing via satellite from Indiana. But they opted against it. "We've just gotta get off the stage as quick as we can," frontman Steven Tyler said backstage. Despite the tight deadline, the Boston boys stuck around long enough to churn through "Livin' on the Edge", "Don't Want to Miss a Thing", "Just Push Play" and "Walk This Way", bringing the roaring crowd to its feet. Tyler even ripped through a couple lines of "America the Beautiful". "We've got something you can't kill," he shrieked. "Freedom, love, God, liberty and the pursuit of rock 'n' roll!"
Other highlights Sunday included a blonde Pink - who changed not only her hair color but her entire musical image, as the R&B pop diva perched herself on a stool and, with a lone guitarist, pounded out two powerful acoustic rock songs: "My Vietnam", an emotional tune from her new album Misundaztood and a cover of Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee". "Sing along if you know the words," she told the crowd, perhaps confounding her teeny-bopper fan base as they watched their parents join Pink in crooning the "la-la la, la-la" refrain.
Kevin Spacey | 
All-star finale |
Meanwhile, Bette Midler covered "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"; Al Green was in spirited form for "Let's Stay Together"; and James Brown couldn't have picked a better time to sweat and grind to his modern patriotic classic "Living in America". But in another tough break for Mariah Carey, the recovering songbird struggled through her performance, as she seemed incapable of hitting the high notes on her hits "Never Too Far" and "Hero".
For his part, Rod Stewart rocked the crowd with "Hot Legs", while images of World War II pinups flashed behind him. As the night's lone British act, the raspy-voiced Rock Hall of Famer also dedicated "Rhythm of My Heart" "to the Allies". Earlier Sunday, Carole King enlisted the help of Stewart's back-up band for songs such as "Monday Without You". King told reporters backstage that she was not only in New York on September 11, but also in the Hart Building on Capitol Hill during the recent anthrax exposure.
"I've been tested for anthrax," the singer-songwriter acknowledged. "I don't have my results back, but I'm taking my Cipro." Despite the scare, she and other artists emphasized that the weekend concerts in New York and D.C. were not just fundraisers, but opportunities for Americans to show their solidarity. "When you see 50,000 people in the stands... they're making a statement," said 'N Sync-er JC Chasez. "They're not going to be bullied into their homes." (E! Online)
|
