Sure, it was an industry event, but even the most skeptical among us would have to admit that the heart was in the right place for LA’s Fire Aid concert, which was spread across the Kia forum and Intuit Dome.
The event kicked off with Green Day and Billie Eilish doing “Last night on earth.” The fact of the matter is, the song might not be that great, but the rendition, especially in light of the recent fires, was particular moving. And to that end, I’ve never been a Green Day fan, nor am I a hater, but they sounded really good and by the time the kicked into “when I come around,” they had the place rocking. I’ll also add that Billie Joe astoundingly hasn’t aged a day since 2003. I’ll also add on top of that, that near the end, Billie Joe said “LA we have your backs!” What does that mean? Who is “we?”
Regardless, the band sounded great and set the perfect tone for the night, which would include icons and some newbies walking the line between fun and poignancy. To my surprise, almost everyone avoided being too sappy and were able to toe the exact right pitch.
Alantis Morissette came out and honestly, she sounded awesome. Kicking out two quick cuts “Hand in my pocket” and “thank u,” she did the tricky task of making ‘90s music timeless music, instead of meme/tik tok fodder. Anderson .Paak turned in a rousing soul/funk set, which included Sheila E and lifted people’s spirits. His grin seemed to be totally genuine. Then, as a surprise, Dr. Dre showed up and the whole crew did “Still Dre.” Dre’s voice was in top form and he locked right in with the live band.
Joni Mitchell, some 80 plus years old, physical showed her age as she sat in a large chair, cane in hand. But, in one of the night’s most moving sections, she did “both sides now,” her voice somewhat weathered, yet none-the-less beautiful and soulful. It just goes to show, art can grow just as humans do.
Dawes was next, and as with a good number of medium-big industry bands, I was like “why are these guys famous, or semi-famous?” They seemed like a “perfectly fine” Wednesday night bar band. Stephen Stills joined the band for a somewhat ragged version of “what it’s worth.” Then, Grahm Nash came out and the whole crew did “teach your children.” Sadly, no sign of Neil Young.
Pink came out and did a three song set, including covers of “Me and bobby McGee” and surprisingly to me, Led Zep’s “Babe I’m gonna leave you.” As to the second and third songs, she was able to catch those difficult vibes, especially as to the Zep.
After Pink, Sir Rod Stewart came out in all his Rod-ness: colorful blazer, blonde spikey hair, sleepy eyes. I’m not gonna lie- I wanted to hate on rod but I could not. He sounded AWESOME. He did his cheesy hits- “Forver young” and “Maggie may” and I loved every second. He also did his now iconic cover of “People Get Ready,” and it was also great. Rod really did capture the soul of the song. One thing, that perhaps works so well for Rod, is he seems to be aware that his whole thing is kind of schlocky, and he just goes in an embraces it. It makes you like the guy. The dude does what he does and he does it better than anyone else.
John Mayer came out, and man, I just do not get why THIS guy was so massively famous. It’s just coffee shop music like you hear anywhere else. He covered Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’,” which people liked. I thought it was a little pale.
Earth, Wind, and Fire, despite the unfortunate name in the setting, kicked out the classics. “That’s the way of the world,” “Shining star,” “September”- they still got it and are one of the last few of the 70s soul groups to really still be at their a-game.
“Black Crowes” were next. They did their hit remedy, and then- it appears people did not link up on their covers- because they ALSO did a Led Zep cover, “going to California.” Slash came out for that tune and it was serviceable entry. At the end, they were joined by John Fogerty. I’m not even a CCR fan, but I will say, the version of “Have you ever seen the rain” was exceptional.
Gracie Abrahams, a relative new comer, turned in a nice set of pop. She seemed genuinely thrilled to be on the huge stage and maintained a sense of human-ness that many pop stars lose.
Jellyroll was next and I do wonder, would he be as massive as he is without his iconic face tattoo. He did a country song called “I am not okay,” which was written in such a literal style I wondered how this song could rise so high up? Then he covered Bob Seger’s “Hollywood nights” with Travis Barker. I still do not understand how Travis Barker is so renowned. He applies the same exact drumming to every song- nom nuance, no style, no understanding of the song. I thought it sucked. Like Jellyroll, it seemed to be about 95% image over substance to me.
Next was No Doubt, who contributed one of the very best sets of the night. They kicked out the hits- “Justa Girl,” “Don’t Speak,” and “spiderwebs.” There was nothing shocking =about the performance except to say, the band definitely has still got it. Gwen was 100% Gwen and sounded awesome. The band sounded awesome. Where’s the reunion tour?!
Next, Tate McCrae came out and did some pop music.
Next, Stevie Nicks made an appearance and she is still 100% Stevie Nicks. Now in her mid 70s, Stevie still generates that mystic-magic-sound and her voice was quite powerful, still. She also stuck to her hits- “stand back,” “landslide,” and “edge of seventeen.” I actually felt a tear or two in my eye during “landslide.” And Stevie being Stevie, announced that she was going off script and talked about how she was personally affected by the fire. At the end, while she was talking, the stage itself started to rotate and move the band off stage. Stevie announced, “I’m moving… for some reason.” Classic.
Katy Perry came out and did three of her hits, “Rise,” “roar,” and “California girls.” She did get the crowd jumping. But, in contrast to the human quality of Gracie Abrahms, Katy Perry just seems like a robot to me. The songs are kind of catchy, but they also feel like they were generated by A.I.
Reunited “Nirvana” was next and it was both a high and a low point. They opened with “Breed,” with St. Vincent singing and frankly, she was in full on punk mood, falling down, kicking, yelling, and it was awesome. I feel it was performative, but it was still rad. Next, Kim Gordan came and did “School” is a howling, bluesy manner. It was also awesome. Somewhat disappointingly, Joan Jett came out for “Territorial pissings,” but seemed lost and confused during the song. Was it a tech issue or something else. It could have been the wham-bam moment of the night, but it ended up being a fumble. What with Patt Smear on stage, I wonder if Joan and Patt (and the audience) recognized the poignancy of those two back in action once again. Also, Krist Novaselic is a really, really tall guy and I liked his wacky beanie.
At the end, Dave Grohl’s daughter Violet came out and the band, seemingly without noticing the irony, did “All apologies.” Violet was fine, but being that she was wedged in between all these rock icons, it seemed like either: 1) Dave was trying to apologize to his daughter for banging around despite being married and being a father; or 2) Dave was actually utilizing his daughter as a tool to desperately regain his status as “the nice guy of rock n roll,” which I never bought into anyway. Frankly, it seemed like the latter which makes the whole thing kind of icky.
Lil Baby followed Nirvana. A star of the newest form of rap- mumbled and heavily processed, Lil Baby seemed very low energy. Maybe he was nervous or maybe he didn’t want to be there, but it was a loose (not in a good way) performance that left the audience seemingly bored. If anything, it, again, made the obvious point that if you are a musician that relies on the studio to a large scale, you are going to suck live. Of all the amazing hip hop in LA, why pick Lil Baby for this event?
Red Hot Chilli Peppers closed out the KIA section of the night. They did four songs in a row about California, which was fitting. Though, strangely for the band, they seemed to be sort of low energy. Maybe it was because Anthony Keidis had on a massive cast, but the band seemed to be struggling to jolt up the energy, but the power surge never seemed to arrive. Flea wore nothing but his underwear which was funny. I will say, despite the criticism, Keidis’ voice is still top notch, and I’,m not even a RHCP fan. He needs to lose the Danny Trejo mustache, though.
Olivia Rodrigo was next and was between Gracie Abrahms and Katy Perry in style. She was earnest, but also in control of the situation and represented modern pop in a positive context.
Sting was next with his band Sting 3.0 (a trio). Now listen, I love the Police. But, maaaaan, sting, for some reason, takes some of the world’s most catchiest songs and turns them into the snooziest of all snooze fests. “Message in a bottle” and “driven to tears” were exhausting. Why take all the catchiness and power and punch out of a song and turn it into a Folger;s commercial? And the later seemed to be too on the nose, dipping into self-parody. He closed with a quiet solo track “fragile.” I only ask- why?
Peso Pluma, a Spanish speaking artist, came out but seemed to underwhelm the audience. In part, it was because the music was stiff backing tracks, and also, his delivery itself seemed to be more about hyping the performance than actually driving the ball home.
Billie Eilish returned to the stage and did three big hits- “wildflower,” “The greatest,” Birds of a feather” acoustic style with her brother Finneas on guitar. Billie really does emote an earnest, vulnerable approach and her songs are overflowing with feeling- though it seems true and not sappy. I can see why the crowd went wild for her. Still, I wonder how her brother feels singing sex songs with his sister and even proving back up. That being said, sometimes it is clear why a pop star is a pop star, as it is here.
And speaking of popstars, the champion himself was the second to last set of the night- Stevie Wonder. Stevie just emits music like most of us breathe. He did a tender version of “love’s in need of love today” and it was as moving as it was when it debuted during the ‘70s fight for equal rights. He then kicked into his funk numbers, “Superstition” and “higher ground” and underscored just how important he is to funk as well as soul and Motown. The dude sounded awesome. Sting and Flea played, too.
Lady Gaga closed the night. She daringly ended her mini set with a brand new tune- “time is a healer.” The crowd was into it. It was a good way to close out the massive concert. And importantly, the whole time, people were reminded that the point of this is to raise money to help those affected by the wildfires. There’s a LOT of negativity in the world, and USA right now- spilling down from the Whitehouse itself and the orange troll dwelling within. So, in light of the current blackness and destruction, a little positivity was very well received.