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March 31, 2006
Who Says Protesting a War Can't be Fun?
If the phrase "anti-war rally" conjures up images of marching, sloganeering, angry voices, and eye-rollingly earnest music, think again. It's 2006 and this is not your father's protest. The new wave of the anti-war movement is about entertainment. Not that last Monday night's Bring 'em Home Now Concert at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom wasn't filled with substance. It's just that it was wrapped in so much musical talent and comedy that it went down easier than a Starbucks mocha frappuccino on a ninety degree day.
With a wildly eclectic lineup headlined by Michael Stipe, the evening featured many highlights. Comedian Margaret Cho delivered a brilliantly cutting routine, taking aim at Republicans and Christians ("They've lost their minds! They want to ban the morning after pill because it promotes promiscuity? What about motherfucking MySpace?") Country singer Steve Earle (The Dixie Chicks aren't the only liberal country performers?) opened the show and got the crowd riled up with his song "F the C C" whose chorus goes: So fuck the FCC/Fuck the FBI/Fuck the CIA/Livin’ in the motherfuckin’ USA.. Surprise guest Moby played an acoustic version of Buffalo Springfield's "For What it's Worth."
Electro-ambient Fischerspooner delivered the most well choreographed and visually outrageous performance. With costume changes between every song, interpretive dancers spewing fake blood, theatrics that were part Ziggy Stardust, part Berlin cabaret, Fischerspooner packed more into their 15 minute set than any other act. Their most political song "We Need a War" featured lyrics by the late Susan Sontag.
Devendra Banhart performed four songs from his 2005 release Cripple Crow including the antiwar "Heard Somebody Say." The stick thin Banhart paced the stage in his black velvet suit and white tie, leaping, dancing, and shaking a percussion instrument disguised as an avocado. With his hippie demeanor and sprite-like presence, Banhart seemed a messenger from a different century: whether past or present it's hard to tell.
The most disconcerting segue of the night (if not of all time) came when Peaches strutted on stage seconds after Barnhart left. Dressed in thigh high silver platform boots and a black leotard, Peaches' electronic disco karaoke couldn't have been more different from Banhart's freak folk. With lyrics about titties, two boys for every girl, and fucking the pain away, Peaches made Alison Goldfrapp look like Charlotte Church.
Speeches from peace activist Cindy Sheehan, actress Susan Sarandon, and Chuck D. of Public enemy were interspersed between musical acts. The most sobering moment of the evening came when an Iraqi doctor explained through her interpreter the devastation the war has brought to her country. Bombs continue to be dropped daily, schools are used as military bases, and hospitals lack the most basic supplies to help the wounded and sick. "Our blood is very expensive," she said. "You cannot exchange it for oil."
Musically, the purest part of the night was Rufus Wainwright. After opening with "Gay Messiah" he dedicated "11:11," written just after September 11,th to New York. Next up was a rare performance of "Liberty Cabbage," the first song he ever wrote. Wainwright explained that during the Second World War sauerkraut was referred to as liberty cabbage, "It was the original freedom fries." An heartrending version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was followed by "Over the Rainbow," with his mother folksinger Kate McGarrigle on piano. This was a preview of Wainwright's upcoming Judy Garland tribute, which will recreate the actress' legendary Carnegie Hall performance at the Hall June 14th and 15th.
Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst elicited the most shrieking from the young women in the crowd. The highlight of his three song set was a supercharged electric version of "When the President Talks to God," perhaps the most trenchant protest song written in the past 30 years.
Michael Stipe closed out the evening with a more somber set. His band included ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, former Miracle Legion frontman Mark Mulcahy, and singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur. The band performed no R.E.M. songs but did include Arthur's "In the Sun," which Stipe recently recorded as a benefit for Hurricane Katrina victims.
Whether or not the anti-war movement will be able to build on this momentum remains to be seen, but as Stipe said, quoting Dante, "The lowest circle in hell is reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, have remained neutral." Take a stand. Make yourself heard.
Posted by Laura at March 31, 2006 02:47 PM
Comments
"as Stipe said, quoting Dante, "The lowest circle in hell is reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, have remained neutral."
Hmmm... the lukewarm... sounds familiar. :D
Posted by: Juliet at April 10, 2006 06:52 PM
indeed. :)
Posted by: Laura at April 11, 2006 04:43 PM