Monday, October 17, 2011

The Clinton Concert - Usher, Lady GaGa, Bono & Edge, Kenny Chesney


Great things happen when stars align.  This weekend stars of the celebrity variety aligned at the Hollywood Bowl for a little celebration for the William J. Clinton Foundation's 10th year anniversary.  Good will, good deeds, and great stories came out of the evening.  And so did some great musical performances.

Regardless of what you think of the man or his politics, or anything else for that matter, it's no secret he loves music.  This night was clearly no exception, with performances by Stevie Wonder, Usher, Lady Gaga, Kenny Chesney, K'naan, Juanes, and Bono and The Edge.   The concert itself was nearly 4 hours long with varied interstitials (I'd suggest skipping right to the music).  Yahoo! is currently airing the entire concert on its website.   Here are some of the highlights to come out of the evening.

Stevie Wonder doing For Once In My Life
This song starts at 3:57 and he rocks it.  He also sings Overjoyed and rocks it.  He also sings...oh hell, just watch his whole performance- its well worth it.
Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection - Stevie Wonder


Usher Covers With A Little Help From My Friends (and he nails it)
Raymond v Raymond - Usher




Kenny Chesney sings You and Tequila with Grace Potter
Hemingway's Whiskey (Deluxe Edition) - Kenny Chesney


Lady Gaga sings You and I
Yahoo! is only showing her whole performance, but I'd suggest heading right to You and I.  She does a large set with Born This Way, Edge of Glory, Bad Romance and finally, You & I, but the vocals & dance on Edge of Glory are just meh. (at best), and there's a lot of yappin'....so if you're like me (as Toby Keith says, a little less talk and a lot more action) skip ahead to 23:55.  Her vocals are killer on You and I.
Born This Way (Bonus Track Version) - Lady GaGa


U2
Annnnd...the piece de resistance...the entire performance by The Edge and Bono.  They perform Desire, Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Between A Man and A Woman, a very poignant performance of Sunday Bloody Sunday, a performance of One with a full string section, and Miss Sarajevo.  Bono's voice sounded extraordinary this night, particularly on Miss Sarajevo (he belts out the Pavarotti part in stellar fashion), reminding us all why he's called Bono (from the Latin phrase bonovox, meaning "good voice").

All you need is an acoustic guitar, three chords and the truth.
Achtung Baby - U2

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