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20 Sep 05 - 12:29 PM (#1566891) Subject: 'Higher Ground' concert on PBS 9/17/05 From: CapriUni Did anyone else see this? It was part of the "Live from Lincoln Center" series, and was organized by Winton Marsalis to raise funds for Katrina relief in general, and New Orleans musicians in particular. I thought it was excellent... though because it was live, it went on two hours longer than scheduled. I liked the mix of music and spoken word (readings from Mark Twain and other historical personages about their love for the city). I also liked how they allowed for silence between the performances, as people came and left the stage (at least on the TV -- the radio simulcast had constant commentary). One of the performers (whose name escapes me) wrote a new song just for the event that was absolutely beautiful. I was a little disappointed by Bill Cosby's contribution, though. While I agreed with his point that this is what happens when we take our democracy for granted, he wasn't as eloquent as I've come to expect... it was more like an angry rant, to my ear, simply for the reason that he took a few key words to make his point ("We, the people") and repeated them with such frequency that they all started to blur together. The website is still up, and still taking donations, if you're interested, here: Higher Ground Relief Fund. There's an link to a fundraising auction on ebay, too. Open for another week, it looks like. |