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The worst benefit concert ever!

Forget the Paul McCartney show -- Michael Jackson's interminably long, incompetently presented Washington show hit a new low in charity.

By Eric Lipton

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Oct. 22, 2001 | I really wanted to like the concert. "United We Stand" it was called, an all-day benefit Sunday at RFK Stadium in Washington. I really wanted it to be a great time.

We all did. After all, what's not to like about helping the victims of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon? And if it involves a day of performances by more than 20 of the biggest stars of pop music -- so much the better, right?

Organized by Michael Jackson, and scheduled to be broadcast on ABC in November, the theme of the show was "What More Can I Give" -- not coincidentally Jackson's new Sept. 11-related single, being debuted live that evening. Unlike New York, D.C. has had few opportunities to publicly grieve and give support to one another. This show seemed a good opportunity to give back to the community, and spend some time healing with 50,000 of my neighbors.

Unfortunately, among the things being given back were the invites to perform by top billers Mick Jagger, Kiss and others. None of them showed up. With other announced participants Ricky Martin, Aaron Carter and MC Hammer MIA, the lineup for the show had become rather fluid. So much of the lineup had been replaced by showtime that it was an altogether different show than the one fans bought tickets for.

But the organizer, Clear Channel Entertainment, part of the massive radio and concert promotion firm that dominates the music industry right now, was a professional outfit -- the sort of operation that could handle anything, right? And hey -- it was a benefit concert. It didn't matter who performed -- everyone will like the concert for the cause, right?

Right?

No. To all of the above. This was the worst benefit concert ever. As President Bush might say: "The cause is just." But the show was just terrible.

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There is much reason for hope early on for the show. After all, it is billed as the first time the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync ever shared a stage -- unless you count the Super Bowl. It is the first time Michael Jackson has performed since ... well, there was the MTV Video Music Awards, and a couple of shows before Sept. 11. It is the first time Mariah Carey has performed since her various breakdowns and her unrelated crappy movie was released. It is the first time I had ever seen any of the above in concert, but only because I don't get out much.

The Backstreet Boys open with a heavily harmonized "Star Spangled Banner," which was also how the group kicked off the Super Bowl. In fact, over half the set is similar to what they played during the weekend's other big rock benefit, Paul McCartney's Concert for NYC. No problem, but you would have thought that with the advance warning, and previous night's practice, the technical problems would be worked out.

They aren't. The audio is choppy, and continues to be so for the following act, Crystal, and '80s rocker Huey Lewis. No one worries. It is early -- they are just working out the bugs!

Note: This is foreshadowing. They never did work out the bugs. Apparently, Roosevelt Jr. High School's 8th Grade AV Club was unavailable to do sound and tech, and they had to get a less-experienced crew.

Some early highlights:

  • James Brown's mike is silent for the first half of "Living in America." Maybe he just isn't singing, but I doubt it. No one sweats that much mutely lip-syncing.

  • The pre-taped audio track for pre-teen C&W sprite Billy Gillman gives out midway though his single "Down Here on Earth." The kid soldiers on, and gives one of the best performances of the entire event.

  • There is a pixel problem on the Jumbotron. It distorts the logo for the concert, making it "Unit We Stand." Various immature people in my row find this quite amusing. OK, only me.

  • It takes one hour to set up a mike for Carole King's acoustic rendering of her classic "Far Away. The settings are too high; the mike is "hot," making her even more shrill than usual.

  • John Stamos and Kevin Spacey welcome us to the show, three hours after it has already begun. However, the too-high volume, mixed with poor acoustics, and RFK's delayed echo, make their potentially inspiring words totally and completely incomprehensible.

  • O Town, from the ABC show "Making the Band," performs, and unfortunately, you can hear them perfectly.

    • Next page: Pink steals the show!

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