The concert was coordinated by War Child, an organization that helps children in areas of conflict and post-conflict around the globe, in celebration of their 15th anniversary and the release of their Heroes album. The charity managed to score two of its biggest supporters, Coldplay and The Killers, to play the February 18th show. The concert easily sold out and set the stage for an amazing performance.

The Killers hit the stage first, blasting through a shortened, eight-song set that included the first two singles of Day and Age, as well as their past hits.  Coldplay, fresh from their earlier performance at the BRIT Awards, followed up with a set of their own hits, ranging from “Viva La Vida” to “Yellow”. While the concert probably felt like a unique and great event already, Coldplay’s encore gave the fans more than they could have hoped for.

In the last song of Coldplay’s set, the band brought out Gary Barlow of Take That for a cover of “Back for Good”, a single from the band’s third album, Nobody Else. Following up this performance, Coldplay invited The Killers back to the stage.  The audience cheered while Brandon Flowers sat behind the piano and sang out the first lines of “All These Things That I’ve Done.” As the two bands kicked into the song’s dusty melody, the cheers became a defining roar as Bono casually walked out on stage to join in.

Bono and Flowers exchanged verses while Chris Martin played rhythm guitar and joined in for the chorus.  The bridge quieted everything down for a second but the crowd soon began singing, “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier” before any of the artists on stage could. Martin noticed that Barlow had slipped away during the song’s intro and used the small break to retrieve the Take That singer.

By the time the large assembly of musicians went into the final chorus, everyone in the venue was swept up in the song. Both the artists on stage and fans in the audience looked like they were ecstatic to be there. When Bono continued to shout out the soul/soldier line with the audience as the two bands wrapped up the song, it was easy to tell that everyone there knew they had experienced one of the greatest finales of their lives. The fact that the show was for War Child only added to the strength of the performance. The crowd was shouting out not just for their love of the music but also for their support of the organization and the chance to be part of such an intimate show.

Take the below performance for example. From the onset, it’s evident something isn’t right. What weird alignment of planets or flux in the space time continuum has caused two of music’s most polarizing figures, Brandon Flowers and Chris Martin, to join forces – with their respective bands – for a performance of The Killers‘ “All These Things I’ve Done”? Don’t give me the charity excuse. That explanation flies out the window as soon as Bono emerges on stage to lend his vocal talents.

Yes, you read the above correctly. Brandon Flowers, Chris Martin, and Bono appear on stage, under the same roof, performing the same song, at the same time, and set aside their same enormous egos long enough to produce a rendition that is somewhat tolerable. I must be dreaming. Thank goodness David Bowie didn’t show up…

Until Heroes, Vol. 2…

Ahead of next week’s release date, the fine folks at War Child have decided to offer a full stream of the album. So if Lily Allen’s rendition of “Straight to Hell”, or The Hold Steady’s cover of “Atlantic City” didn’t tickle your fancy enough to have already shelled out $13.99 on the pre-sale, perhaps Hot Chip’s take on Joy Division’s “Transmission” or Estelle’s stab at “Superstitious” will.

Either way, I think I’ve found my entertainment for today…

Stream:
War Child: Heroes

The song is part of another contender for best charity compilation ever, along with the forthcoming Dark Was The Night. The comp, appropriately titled Heroes, features 16 artists covering 16 other artists.The charity of choice is War Child, an organization that aids in helping children affected by war. With a stellar list of covers, the bands’ song choices seem very fitting. Of course, this is not without reason. War Child knows what they are doing and mentioned this about how the songs were picked:

We asked 15 ultimate icons to select a favourite song from their classic back catalogue and to nominate the new act they most trust to create a unique interpretation of that hand-picked track. This album is the result: 15 exclusive and breath-taking cover versions. (via Stereogum)

What an interesting, practical, and awesome concept. Among the selections are The Hold Steady covering Bruce’s “Atlantic City”, Beck’s take on Dylan’s “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat”, and Hot Chip trying out Joy Division’s “Transmission”.

Additionally, the latter has been released for your listening pleasure over at the War Child website. In the same vein as TVOTR’s cover sounded just how you’d think a TVOTR cover of Bowie would sound, Hot Chip’s Joy Division cover makes the more depressing post-punk original a little more danceable and upbeat, without compromising the song’s distinctive qualities. Doesn’t touch the original, but it’s still pretty cool.

The full tracklisting for the release follows:

01. Beck (Bob Dylan: “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat”)
02. The Kooks (The Kinks: “Victoria”)
03. The Hold Steady (Bruce Springsteen: “Atlantic City”)
04. Hot Chip (Joy Division: “Transmission”)
05. Lily Allen (The Clash: “Straight To Hell”)
06. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (The Ramones: “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”)
07. Franz Ferdinand (Blondie: “Call Me”)
08. Duffy (Paul McCartney: “Live And Let Die”)
09. Estelle (Stevie Wonder: “Superstition”)
10. Rufus Wainwright (Brian Wilson: “Wonderful/ Song For Children”)
11. Scissor Sisters (Roxy Music: “Do The Strand”)
12. Peaches (Iggy Pop and The Stooges: “Search And Destroy”)
13. Adam Cohen (Leonard Cohen: “Take This Waltz”)
14. Elbow (U2: “Running To Stand Still”)
15. The Like (Elvis Costello: “You Belong To Me”)
16. TV On The Radio (David Bowie: “‘Heroes’”)

Exciting stuff.  The disc will be available February 16th in the states via EMI. Like Dark Was The Night has been doing, War Child will continue to “tease” us with tracks over here, with adequate information about each track’s history and how it came to be covered for the release. Who knew that 2009 would be the year of awesome charity comps?

First things first. The cover is definitely not what we were expecting. Maybe it’s because the original version will always be known for its one-of-a-kind passion and fire, or the fact that Mick Jones had a hand in the cover, but prior to the listen, images of Lily wearing a studded belt and punching an electric guitar crossed out minds. Ultimately however, this particular rendition of “Straight to Hell” will cater more to those who enjoyed M.I.A’s “Paper Planes” than traditional Clash fans. That’s not to say, it’s not good, and considering Joe Strummer was one man known for his musical diversity, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the legendary frontman would dig this particular rendition.

Musically, Lily’s “Straight to Hell” features the English pop star’s usual bouncy radio-friendly sound and crisp vocal pattern. As mentioned, it’s definitely different, and the more subdued nature does seem to take away from both the themes and power of the original song. Still, it’s fun, we like Lily, and it’s for a good cause; the cover will appear in the upcoming War Child benefit compilation, Heroes, due for release on February 24th via Astralwerks. By the way, what’s with all the stellar compilations these days? Does the music industry just like toying with the minds of completists and OCD kids?!?!?!