Blue Turtles: 1985/86

Committed rockers lead 'Conspiracy of Hope'...

A plea for human rights is the focus of a six-city nationwide rock tour that began Wednesday night in San Francisco's Cow Palace.

Built on the notoriety of a wealth of the world's foremost entertainers, the tour is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Amnesty International, a worldwide organization dedicated to the release of political prisoners everywhere and the easing of human suffering - most importantly torture and execution stemming from one's political beliefs.

The performers' commitment to the cause meshed with the audience's desire see and hear the creme de la creme of rock 'n' roll.

One came away with not only the satisfaction of having witnessed a superb concert but also with the feeling that musicians and audiences alike can make a real impact on repression throughout the world.

A ray of hope was initially gleaned as concertgoers streamed through the doors of the Cow Palace to be handed postcards demanding the release of six political prisoners "adopted" by the tour. All were asked to fill out the cards and deposit them in nearby mail drops, urgent pleas to the governments of the Soviet Union, Guatemala, Korea, Syria, South Africa and Vietnam for the release of the six men and women.

Interspersed with the music were consciousness-raising Amnesty International TV spots made by Robin Williams, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and others.

Even the music rang out the theme, a "Conspiracy of Hope" for the oppressed everywhere.

The five-hour-plus event opened on a stirring note New Orleans' Neville Brothers warning that 'Everybody Better Wake Up'.

Joan Baez joined the Nevilles to remind all 'The Times, They Are A Changin'', and to harmonize on John Lennon's 'Imagine'.

Jackson Browne put Central America in his musical sights with a stirring acoustic rendition of 'Lives in the Balance'.

Peter Gabriel rattled the senses with his heartfelt dramatic political piece, 'Biko', a tribute to the late Steven Biko who died in a South African prison.

"The Russians Love Their Children, Too," Sting intoned. Then, alone with his guitar, the dashing, intense Englishman, auguring the coming outcry for fellow man, warned: "I hope someone gets my message in a bottle." The crowd took up the cry and repeated the refrain again and again as Sting declared: "I'm sending out an SOS."

U2 continued the theme by underscoring political violence in their native Ireland, offering a touching rendition of 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', followed by Bono's reiteration of a plea by the assassinated John Lennon, 'Help'.

San Francisco's Bill Graham is producing the Amnesty tour. He did a remarkable job Wednesday in keeping the show moving. The pace was hectic, but, for the most part, breaks were kept in the five-to-ten minute variety, with only two major set changes during this lengthy concert.

It was a remarkable evening, but that doesn't mean there weren't a few musical boo-boos. Joan Baez was out of her league with Tears For Fears' 'Shout'. Lou Reed's half-hour set was a perfunctory one. For example, Reed introduced his big hit, 'Walk on the Wild Side', as "the Honda song."

No act played for longer than 45 minutes, with most sticking to a half-hour or less.

Jackson Browne was on stage for only three songs. Brilliant as the trio was, I feel he could have played a few more.

Bryan Adams didn't seem to fit in this line-up, yet the a number in the crowd really got into his basic rock'n'roll a driving beat and trite lyric that is easily interchanged with any number of Top 40 aggregations these days.

Peter Gabriel, the thinking man's rocker, got the crowd up and moving to hits present and past, namely 'Sledgehammer' and 'Shock The Monkey'.

The concert's high point came with Sting and his nonpareil sidemen. With Branford Marsalis on reeds, and a powerhouse of others on keyboards, guitars and drums, plus two sensational female backup vocalists, Sting soared on two classics, 'Fortress 'Round Your Heart' and 'If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free'.

Fired up by the crowd's response, Sting and his sensational band delivered a rendition of 'Bring on the Night' that few will soon forget. Layers of varying rhythms, polyphonic riffs and jazz licks were an undercurrent to Sting's voice, a raspy rock tenor that is unlike any other voice on wax today. The band sounded like a full orchestra, breaking into Latin tempos, dancing, shuckin' and jivin', even a rap by  Marsalis.

Sting's half-hour left both performers and audience limp.

U2's set was a little disappointing. The opening song, Eddie Cochran's 'C'mon Everybody', left a lot to be desired. Bono's heart didn't seem to 'Pride' and the aforementioned be in some of the material, although 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' showed off this sensational quartet to best advantage. 'New Year's Day' was also done to a turn.

However, the outspoken anti-apartheid song, 'Sun City', didn't have the expected conviction. Maybe that's because Lou Reed had joined the Irish rockers.

However, the climax proved a crowd-pleaser. All participants took to the stage for a 'We Are The World'-type rendition of 'I Shall Be Released'. What else?

This proved to be more than a gala rock concert. It was an eye-opener, a chance to become involved with an organization that has been up to now for many just a name.

The final concert on the tour will take place in New Jersey's Meadowlands stadium. It will be televised live by MTV, on Sunday, June 15. Music lovers should mark this one on their calendars.

(c) The Napa Examiner by L. Pierce Carson

Freedom Rockers Deliver a Message of Heart & Soul...

The house lights went down and a spotlight went up on promoter Bill Graham. ''Welcome to 'A conspiracy of Hope,' '' he said. ''We are here to support Amnesty International.''

From the very start, the idea was to take the human-rights message and mission of Amnesty International to the vast American public via the power of rock 'n' roll.

Wednesday night, that idea became a reality as ''A Conspiracy of Hope'' began its six-city tour across the country with a star-studded show at the Cow Palace in Daly City.

Over the course of three and a half hours, the Amnesty message was slammed home with the music of U2, Sting, Bryan Adams, Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed and the Neville Brothers. There were also video-taped appearances by Phil Collins, Pete Townshend and Sting at the Secret Policeman's Other Ball, another rock benefit for the organization held in London in 1981. To its very great credit, ''Conspiracy'' was a show with a message but also simply a show. Overt calls for support were relatively few, with the artists allowing the power of their music to speak volumes about the values of freedom. Thus it was that Browne delivered a stunning version of 'Lives In The Balance', accompanied by a guitarist from Costa Rica and a musician from Chile who played a curious, lovely wooden flute. At the end of the song, Browne remarked that the flutist had once been put in jail in his country simply for playing the flute.

Similarly, Gabriel romped and cavorted about the stage with the best moves since the Talking Heads' David Byrne, bringing the crowd of 15,000 repeatedly to its feet. He then quietly offered a ''small effort,'' a moving piece dedicated to the late black South African activist Steven Biko.

Reed didn't say anything about politics at all, opting for an impassioned rendering of his droning, maniacal rock 'n' roll. But again, the message was very clear - freedom begats free spirits such as Reed.

There were slow moments in the show, notably a stale opening segment by the Neville Brothers and a shrill rendition of the Beatles' 'Let It Be' and John Lennon's 'Imagine' by Baez. The crowd was polite, as was fitting, for Baez has supported Amnesty International for decades, long before it became fashionable. Adams was also something of a letdown with derivative rock that was energetic but also dismissible. Not dismissible was the simple fact that he was there to give his support.

Support was really what the show was all about. When introducing the artists, Graham made note of their contributions to the human-rights movement, referring to Browne as ''a committed human being.'' It might have sounded hokey and contrived, but in the circumstances, it was a suitable accolade.

Not mentioned but equally the ''stars'' of the show were six ''prisoners of conscience'' who were chosen to represent thousands of political prisoners around the world. Distributed to each of the concertgoers was a ballot of sorts, which called upon the leaders of the respective governments to reconsider the cases of these six and release them. Ballot boxes were scattered about the lobby of the Cow Palace.

The real stars of the show were U2 and Sting. It was U2 that spearheaded the idea for the rock ''caravan'' to support Amnesty International and U2 was the musical force that attracted all the others.

Sting was the next to join the caravan and his appearance on the tapes from the Secret Policeman's Ball emphasized his continuing efforts for the organization.

Finally, that is what ''A Conspiracy of Hope'' came down to, rock 'n' rollers taking time to add their voices and names to a cause in which they believed.

In the 1970s, rock was reduced to a selfish, self-obsessed triviality, no good to anyone including itself. Now, it still has some of the same bad qualities but they are offset by concerts such as ''A Conspiracy of Hope,'' events that offer as much hope for rock as for the causes they serve.

(c) San Jose Mercury News by Harry Sumrall

Amnesty tour opens in San Francicso...

No doubt many in the audience at the Amnesty International 25th anniversary concert here were at tending to get their fill of world-class rock'n'roll.

It was provided by the incomparable likes of Sting and U2, Lou Reed and Peter Gabriel, and a long, glittering line-up of other superstars. Wednesday night, more than 13,000 people packed the house, each having paid $36 to experience some of the finest of contemporary rock 'n' roll.

The Neville Brothers started things off sublimely with a jolt of their special New Orleans brand feel-good juice, and they were soon joined by Joan Baez, who did a shimmering version of Dylan's 'The Times They Are A Changing', and then combined with Aaron Neville for a sensational rocking rendition of 'Shout'.

It was Joan Baez who once a long time ago remarked that there is no denying the existence of a dark and hateful side of the human soul, but that the essential question simply comes down to what you want to pursue and promote that negative element, or the loving, positive side we also possess. At the Cow Palace Wednesday, there was no debate.

"Sure, we came to hear Sting and U2," said Elisa Dumesnil, 16, who was there with her friend, Kristy Lepley, also 16. "We have finals tomorrow, but we couldn't miss this.

"But we're also aware of Amnesty International because there's an Amnesty club at school where you get together and write letters to governments about their political prisoners. We saw a film strip in religion class about some of the stuff going on in South Africa, and it makes you embarrassed to be a white person. There are people unrighteously in jails there and in South America and Ireland who have been helped by Amnesty letters."

Next up was that old erst- while duke of decadence Lou Reed, who punched out a powerful set of boogie that celebrated the would you believe it? sterling virtues of marriage and sobriety. Well, Reed did take a little walk on the wild side with all his old subterranean gender- bender East Village characters, but it somehow seemed all clean and sparkly in the context of things.

Jackson Browne followed with a moving acoustic set, then Peter Gabriel roared out with all flags flying to do his searing, dramatic political song, 'Biko', a tribute to Steven Biko, who died in a South African prison.

Bryan Adams performed a short, tasty and intelligent set, and then Jack Healey, executive director of Amnesty, introduced a documentary video on Amnesty's work around the globe. which was shown on a huge screen above the crowd. Robin Williams and Glenn Close also made video appeals for those whose voices have been muted by repressive governments.

Then it was time for the exotic Sting and his incendiary aggregation to drive the huge crowd into a clapping, stomping, frenzy that just kept building until you wondered if the Cow Palace could contain it.

Finally, it was U2 to take the whole thing home in explosive, fashion with their boogie bedlam before the boys from Ireland finished things off and brought everybody back onstage for a finale of, what else?, 'I Shall Be Released'.

(c) The San Francisco Examiner by Burt Snider