Coldplay Kings of Leon Provide Relief
Sound Relief Concerts Raise Millions for Bushfire Fund
Mar 18, 2009
Five weeks after the firestorm of 7th February tore apart the countryside north of Melbourne, Australia, killing 210 and destroying thousands of homes and hectares of forests the fundraising efforts continue.
To date the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal has raised in excess of $245 million (AUD). And after last weekend’s Sound Relief concerts in Melbourne and Sydney where all the artists waived their fees the fund is expected to swell by another $5 million.
Coldplay and Kings of Leon Headline Sound Relief
Two of the hottest bands on the planet were in Australia in the same week. An opportunity too good to pass up the organisers of the massive Sound Relief concerts, held simultaneously in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday 15th March, secured both bands for the concerts.
Coldplay took the stage in Sydney opening with Viva La Vida. Hyped up lead singer Chris Martin raced through the crowd throwing the security guards into a spin and thrilling fans by getting up close and personal.
An unlikely stage partner, singer John Farnham joined Coldplay for a rendition of his huge hit, You’re the Voice. The crowd was in fine voice as it joined Farnham in what Martin playfully referred to as Australia’s national anthem. Martin in full flight pronounced that “today, is the only day we can claim to be honorary Australians,” delighting fans with a spirited rendition of the band’s hit Yellow as a spray of yellow balloons floated across the audience.
Kings of Leon Front Melbourne Sound Relief
Kings of Leon headlined the Melbourne concert where an audience of more than 80,000 rocked out to all but their greatest hit single – Sex on Fire – a song they chose not to cover at the fire relief gig in respect for the victims.
Kylie Minogue Opens Melbourne Concert
Kylie brought down the house opening the Melbourne concert with a stirring rendition of I Still Call Australia Home the crowd singing along with her. The diminutive star had just stepped off the plane from India where she is filming a Bollywood movie.
Midnight Oil Makes a Comeback at Sound Relief
Sound Relief could have been called the Comeback concert. There were so many bands on the bill that reformed for this gig only – Midnight Oil, Split Enz and Hunters & Collectors the big names that pulled it together to put on a mighty show.
Midnight Oil’s lead singer Peter Garret left his day job temporarily with the permission of his boss the Prime Minister – Garret is the Federal Minister for the Environment. Garret gyrated across the stage flaunting his signature dance style as the band played some of its most well known hits.
Split Enz Reforms for Sound Relief
Nobody expected to see Split Enz play again after their last tour in 2006. This wild and zany seventies band headed by music maestros, brothers Tim and Neil Finn, were a real treat for the crowd who danced to Six Months in a Leaky Boat and other Enz hits.
Hunters & Collectors Together Again
But the surprise reformation was that of Hunters & Collectors who had vowed never to play together again. Lead singer Mark Seymour said that the unprecedented events of Black Saturday prompted the band to put their personal views of each other behind them. Seymour said the greatest challenge would be to find that original energy that made the band a unique force in Australian music.
Judging by the performance they gave on Saturday, the old magic wasn’t that hard to recreate, but if Seymour is to be believed don’t expect to see this band touring in the near future.
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