So I received two tickets from my boss for the Live Earth Concert here in New York that was held yesterday and I went. 8th row from the stage and it was AWESOME!!!

Some random guy named Kenna was the official opening act and he was kinda bad. I’m sure he sounds better on record, but I was not feeling him live.

Kevin Bacon came out and introduced the first real performer – KT Tunstall, best known for Black Horse and the Cherry Tree and Suddenly, I See. She sounded and looked great!

Next, Leonardo DiCaprio came out and introduced Al Gore, who talked a little about Global Warming and organizing the concert before introducing Keith Urban and “Special Guest.”

Keith started performing a cover of “Shelter” and then the Special
Guest was revealed to be Alicia Keys. She came out and together they BLEW THE ROOF OFF!!!!

Afterwards, Alicia left the stage and Keith performed a few of his hits, including a great live version of Days Go By.

(Somewhere during the day AFI, Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, and the Dave Matthews Band performed, but I didn’t take pictures of them b/c I couldn’t have cared less. Oh, well.)

Next was Ludacris! Up until that point, he had the best set. He’s a great entertainer and I’m glad I got to see him.

John Mayer was next, and let me say that I’ve been a fan of his for going on about 5 years now and I was not disappointed at all! Not only does he look better in person than you could ever imagine, he was a true singer/songwriter and a true star!

I think Akon was next. I didn’t take a picture of him b/c he was too busy actin’ a fool by jumping over the fence and riding on some random audience member’s shoulder throughout the crowd. Hey, at least he didn’t throw a kid off the stage this time, right??

Next up, Al Gore came back out and introduced a true legend – Melissa Etheridge, who seriously spent about 20-30 minutes on stage playing the guitar and singing/singing-talking about “America” and what has happened to us. Truly phenomenal stuff!!!

Randy Jackson then came out and welcomed back the stunning Alicia Keys. She performed a couple of songs, including a cover that I did not know and, of course, her masterpiece If I Ain’t Got You.

Next up, Oscar Nominee Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine and her brother came out to introduce the LADY OF THE NIGHT – KELLY CLARKSON!!!!!

She started out by singing Walk Away, then went into How I Feel, Sober, Never Again, and, of course, Since U Been Gone. She was ABSOLUTELY BREATH-TAKING!!!! By far, the best performances of the night! (Maybe, I’m a bit biased?)

Next, the beautiful Rosario Dawson came out and introduced Kanye West. After witnessing Kanye’s set of performances, I quickly realized he pretty much owned the night after Kelly Clarkson. He was a great performer and audience-engager.

After Kanye, we decided to leave b/c I was sunburnt, tired, and we wanted to be able to get out and get to the buses in time to get back to NY before the crazy mobs of people started to swarm the exits. So, unfortunately, we missed an introduction by Cameron Diaz (which I’m bummed about) and performances by Bon Jovi, the Smashing Pumpkins, Roger Waters, and The Police. But, oh well. I still had a BLAST!

You can catch videos of some of the performances in youtube if you missed them on TV. Just search for “(their name) live earth.”

My ratings:

1) Kelly Clarkson “Since U Been Gone”
2) Keith Urban & Alicia Keys “Shelter”
3) Melissa Etheridge “Imagine That”
4) John Mayer “Waitin’ On the World to Change”
5) Alicia Keys “If I Ain’t Got You”
6) Kanye West “Golddigger/Jesus Walks”
7) Ludacris “What’s Your Fantasy/Move Bitch”
8) KT Tunstall “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”