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Stipe, Moby rock against Iraq War
03/21/2006 8:39 PM, Reuters
Michael Stipe, Rufus Wainwright,
Moby and surprise guest James Iha marked the third anniversary
of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq Monday during a concert in New
York interspersed with speeches by anti-war advocates like
Public Enemy's Chuck D and activist Cindy Sheehan.
The Bring 'Em Home concert, held at the Hammerstein
Ballroom, kicked off with Steve Earle, who sang "Rich Man's
War" and "F the CC," both drawn from his highly political 2004
album, "The Revolution Starts... Now."
Moby strummed an acoustic guitar alongside singer Laura
Dawn and guitarist Darin Murphy for a cover of Buffalo
Springfield's anti-war anthem "For What It's Worth." Devendra Banhart followed with "Heard Somebody Say" from his most recent
studio album "Cripple Crow" ("I heard somebody say that the war
ended today/but everybody knows it's going still... it's
simple/we don't want to kill").
After Chuck D addressed the crowd, condemning the Bush
administration for "deluding the citizens with weapons of mass
distraction," Wainwright delivered "Gay Messiah," "11:11" (a
song he "wrote right after 9/11") and "Liberty Cabbage."
Wainwright finished with a cover of the Leonard Cohen-penned
"Hallelujah" on piano and "Over the Rainbow," alluding to his
upcoming Rufus at Carnegie Hall date in which he'll recreate
Judy Garland's historic 1961 concert at the venue.
Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst unleashed the scathing "When the
President Talks to God" during his three-song set, declaring it
"a song that goes out to the New York Press and the New
Republic magazine."
To cap the evening, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe asked the
crowd, "Do you ever have one of those decades?" He was then
joined by former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist/co-founder Iha and
songwriter Joseph Arthur for a rendition of Arthur's "In the
Sun," which Stipe released a charity single for Hurricane
Katrina victims.
Stipe was later joined by musicians like
actress/singer/activist Rain Phoenix and bassist Catherine
Popper, as well as 1 Giant Leap collaborators Jamie Catto and
Duncan Bridgeman. He debuted "Don't Talk Crazy," a song about a
husband being sent to war, and "I Have Seen Trouble," which
will be included on 1 Giant Leap's next album. Iha played a
lengthy guitar solo with an E-bow as Stipe sang, "I have been
quiet/quiet is good/I have listened/and I understood."
Reuters/Billboard
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