Global Citizen Festival: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Foo Fighters, Black Keys
Recap of The Global Citizen Festival with Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Foo Fighters and The Black Keys
Words and Photos by Autumn Walden
Saturday, September 29, 2012 was the Global Citizen Festival on The Great Lawn of Central Park in New York City. The crowd was estimated to be about 60,000. Many festival goers had to obtain their free tickets beforehand by becoming Global Citizens. They were tasked with learning how to help end extreme poverty by reading, viewing, and sharing key messages via the internet and social media (hash-tag #globalcitizen) on things such as malaria, maternal health and child mortality, polio eradication, education, and gender equality.
I was fortunate in attending this event because it aligned not only with my passion for music but also with my passion for social impact. I’m part of a small, innovative team at the Center for High Impact Philanthropy in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice. We help donors learn how giving to charities and nonprofits can make the biggest difference in the lives of others.
The Global Citizen Festival, which is an initiative of the Global Poverty Project, combined the energy and inspiration of popular music—Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Foo Fighters, The Black Keys, Band of Horses, K’NAAN, and a surprise performance by John Legend—with the reality of the many social injustices that still exist around the world due to extreme poverty.
Celebrities like Selena Gomez, Katherine McPhee, Katie Couric, and Olivia Wilde talked about their partnerships with organizations and movements such as UNICEF’s Believe in Zero campaign, Malaria No More, and Half the Sky Foundation. Fundraising commitments of hundreds of millions of dollars were made from organizations like Pencils of Promise, Global Partnership for Education, and World Vision. And in between the speeches, the video segments, and the presentations of Global Citizen Awards, there was rock.
Thanks to Soundpress.net for providing the setlist for the evening:
NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE:
- “Love and Only Love”
- “Powderfinger”
- “Born In Ontario”
- “Walk Like a Giant”
- “The Needle and the Damage Done’
- “Twisted Road”
- “Fuckin’ Up”
- “Rockin’ in the Free World”
There isn’t an audience that Neil Young can’t scare or silence into submission. Luckily, he allowed himself to smile and make jokes every so often—enough to soften the blow of his volcanic intensity. Let’s briefly look at the man who is Neil Young: He has survived polio and epilepsy in youth, was also later diagnosed with diabetes, and was recently treated for a brain aneurysm. His wife survived a brain tumor and he has two sons with cerebral palsy. And he’s a Scorpio.
When Neil took the stage, his guitar summoned the fury of hardship, suffering, despair, and the power to overcome it all. His band Crazy Horse is just that—the cavalry that rides with him, come hell or high water. They performed a few songs from their upcoming album Psychedelic Pill, one of which was “Walk Like a Giant.” This song stood out more than the others because the end was thunderous and eternal—sounds that embodied a fearsome giant stomping, threatening, destroying. The guy next to me in the crowd was upset by it, yelling “Aw, c’mon Neil, cut that shit out!” I laughed because he obviously didn’t understand that Neil Young is a force of will and perseverance. He stops for no one.
FOO FIGHTERS:
- “Times Like These”
- “All My Life”
- “My Hero”
- “Learn to Fly”
- “Arlandria”
- “These Days”
- “Walk”
- “Best of You”
- “Everlong”
The Foo Fighters ceremoniously rocked many of their hits with Dave Grohl screaming at the crowd, providing a much needed wake up call to those in the VIP section standing around with their arms crossed or sitting on the grass as if we were at a symphony. But as hard as Dave and the band rocked, even Dave had to admit that he also just wanted to hear Neil Young. I was also a little sad when Dave indicated that this show may be their last—a least I can die knowing I finally heard “Everlong” live and got to bang my head back and forth amidst a sea of stagnant people waiting to get back to their couches.
THE BLACK KEYS:
- “Howlin’ for You”
- “Next Girl”
- “Run Right Back”
- “Same Old Thing”
- “Dead and Gone”
- “Little Black Submarines”
- “Money Maker”
- “Strange Times”
- “Nova Baby”
- “She’s Long Gone”
- “Tighten Up”
- “Gold on the Ceiling”
- “Lonely Boy”
- “I Got Mine”
The Black Keys were loud and pulsing. Though I must say, I was not impressed with the drummer and bassist as there was an audible mismatch with the timing in many of the songs. Since I dance to almost anything, I’m always aware when the beat is off—if I need to change up my steps and find the “1″ multiple times, there’s a problem. That said, I still danced like a fool, especially to “Little Black Submarines” and yelled out loud throughout their set.
JOHN LEGEND: Imagine
When they announced that John Legend was in the house as a special guest, I was impressed. When he began to play and sing John Lennon’s “Imagine,” my heart melted. His voice swooped and soared, his keys trickled down over the crowd in remembrance and took us all to a dreamy state where we could try to imagine a world with less injustice, less hatred, less suffering.
BAND OF HORSES:
- “Knock Knock”
- “The Great Salt Lake”
- “No One’s Gonna Love You”
- “The Funeral”
When Band of Horses started with “Knock Knock,” I was reminded that I am allowed to like songs that I hear in commercials as long as they make me feel good. Band of Horses is a feel good band. Even their slow songs are tinged with hope. Lead singer Ben Bridwell’s humility was unexpected, at least to me, when he remarked, “Even if you don’t know who we are, thanks for coming.” Well, I’m one of the more unforgiving critics of popular music but I know who you are, Ben, and THANK YOU!
K’NAAN
- “Does It Really Matter”
- “Seed”
- “Wavin’ Flag”
K’NAAN started off the music for the evening and treated us to a story of how fame and pop star status can change how songs are marketed to the public. But he allowed us to hear “Wavin’ Flag” — the World Cup theme song — the way it was originally written: spoken word poetry mixed with singing, percussion, and truth. Of all the musical acts, K’NAAN reflects most one of the main messages behind the Global Citizen Festival—spreading awareness of hardship, hope, and ACTION around the world through storytelling and music. I will be listening…
