The SARS Concert
I might as well admit right away that I didn't go. No one in my family seemed to want to, and neither did I. I don't get that excited about the Stones, I'm sick of the Guess Who, and I didn't know much about the other groups.
So of course when Wednesday evening comes, I'm trying to watch as much as I can--on CBC Newsworld until 9:00, then CBC TV itself. Gian whathisname (Jian Ghomeshi) made a pretty good host on Newsworld; Ralph Benm (Ralph Benmergui)was atrocious; Frank Magazine is right that he just doesn't belong on the air.
I hardly knew who AC/DC were, but they really impressed me. I want to buy one of their albums. Rush was also excellent. Some of the others were OK, more or less as filler. (Tea Party I will want to listen to some more). The Stones sounded and looked like they were in a really shaky rehearsal. Pathetic.
When I bought a coffee at the bus station this morning, one guy who was at the show said: I love the Stones, I went there for the Stones, but AC/DC put on a better show. Another guy didn't like this, and wouldn't really let any of us speak up and say: absolutely.
Of the new Labatt's ads, "Monday" is hilarious.
Does it prove anything about Toronto? I guess it is impressive that such a huge crowd was so well-behaved--like stories about Toronto that go back for decades. The boomers were kind of in the driver's seat (the Stones and the Isleys being...ahem...older than the boomers). Younger Toronto is wildly multi-ethnic and multi-cultural: many skin tones, lots of Asians, exotic types of Europeans. Driving by the high schools, you can see Moslem girls in anything from bare heads, Western-style, to a fairly full veil. Or a family grouping on the street: tiny grandma, in traditional dress, middle generation in transition, teenagers who look and talk like tens of thousands of other Toronto teens.
I'm not sure the "new" Toronto was reflected at the SARS concert. Maybe these kids listen to Justin Timberlake, for all I know.
Update Aug. 1: I guess I should have said first, for any Americans who are reading, that this was an outdoor concert, with the Stones as the featured act. An estimated 400,000 people in attendance. Proceeds net of costs to charities including SARS relief. We've been told the only U.S. media outlet that was here was CNN. I work quite close to the venue, and traffic was lighter than usual, if anything.
And then, in contrast to this rather bland affair, the Stones go back on tour in Europe. Vaclav Havel joins them on stage in Prague with a T shirt that says F the Communists. Excellent.
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