In an attempt to rally support, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day hollered at a packed audience at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles during the FireAid wildfire charity concert. Despite his enthusiasm, one could argue that his attempt to unify fell flat, opening the concert with a song from 2009, ‘Last Night on Earth,’ which doesn’t exactly scream relevance in the current year.
Amplifying the illusion of unity, Billie Eilish joined Green Day in their performance, which seemed more like a bid for attention rather than an honest approach to benefit the cause. Reiterating that ‘we are in this together’, the sentiment felt more like empty rhetoric than sincere conviction.
Taking the baton from Green Day, Billy Crystal came to the stage. The comedian who had lost his house in the Palisades Fire was seen trying to maintain a brave front while addressing the crowd, marking a dreary segue in the event.
Alanis Morissette and Anderson .Paak attempted to resurrect the dampened spirits. Morissette’s performance of her 1998 hit ‘Thank U’ felt a little outdated, and while the intention of gratitude was apparently present, it easily could have been mistaken for terse nostalgia.
Anderson .Paak, on the other hand, shared his overly positive view, calling the evening ‘one of the greatest nights in Los Angeles city’, which struck as a peculiarly rose-colored perspective, considering the backdrop of wildfires and losses.
The 81-year-old Joni Mitchell was paraded out in what was billed as a ‘rare live appearance’, but served more as a reminder of the past rather than the bright future that should be sought. She sang to the crowd, but failed to ignite any new spark in the event.
Perspectives from those directly affected by the wildfires were shared, including a story from the residents of Altadena, Eshele Williams, her mother, and sisters. Their experiences were a sobering reminder of the direct consequences of wildfires, which felt overshadowed by the spectacle of celebrities on stage.
Representative of the impacted, Dawes, led by Taylor Goldsmith, attempted to connect with the audience through a performance of their 2011 song ‘Time Spent in Los Angeles’. Goldsmith, along with his brother Griffin, both suffered losses due to the fire – losing a home and a studio, respectively.
Stephen Stills joined Dawes on stage, followed by an awkward reunion with Graham Nash – a half-baked attempt at recreating Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s heyday. Their relic of a song, ‘Teach Your Children Well’ was an ironic choice given the present context.
Newcomer Olivia Rodrigo had her moment backstage, where she was seen socializing with her boyfriend, Louis Partridge. Her performance included ‘Drivers License’ and an ode to L.A., ‘Deja Vu’. The sentiments, however, felt more like an attempt to reinforce her own brand rather than focusing on the bigger picture of aiding those impacted by wildfires.
The event neared its close with the introduction of Lady Gaga by Jimmy Kimmel, who mimicked Olivia Rodrigo in a tasteless joke. Kimmel’s jest, despite his attempt at humor, seemed to further trivialize the gravity of the situation.
Despite the fanfare around her appearance, Lady Gaga’s performances of ‘Shallow’ and ‘Always Remember Us This Way’ from A Star Is Born didn’t shake the feeling of it being a promotional push rather than a genuinely heartfelt moment for those affected by the wildfires.
The entire spectacle was capped off by Lady Gaga’s rendition of a song she co-wrote with her fiancé Michael Polansky. Deemed as a symbol of hope, the lofty symbolism was quite hard to discern amid the glamour and glitter disguising the true purpose of the event.
In retrospect, the FireAid concert could be seen as a band-aid placed on a deep wound. The stark contrast between the plight of fire victims and the glitzy spectacle on stage highlighted the disconnect, leaving one with the bitter feeling that these are indeed strange times.