Making Music
A round of the top music events of the year gone by
It’s that time of the year again where we tally all accounts, the gains and misses in the past 365 days. Here, I attempt to look at the international music scenario and reach a decision on the Top 5 Musical Events in the past 12 months. Since opinions vary and perspectives open to challenge, it is more of a testimony of personal favourites.
Without much ado, let’s look at the first and undoubtedly the best musical event of the year, the 49th Annual Grammy Awards night, held on February 4 at Los Angeles. Opened by Madonna, the First Lady of Music, for the third time, the eventful evening packed a punch, with Mariah Carey receiving her first award in ten years. U2 sashayed on stage with five wins and there were performances by the Who’s Who of the music fraternity, including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Kelly Clarkson.
The musical journey continued on February 18 in high spirits and goodwill at the Rolling Stones free concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Three million people showed up, making it one of the biggest-ever music events held in the world.
Some weeks later, on May 23, Madonna began the Confessions Tour, featuring songs from her album Confessions on a Dance Floor, in Los Angeles. Tickets were sold out within minutes in North America, Europe and Asia, resulting in new dates to be announced for New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and London. The tour grossed $193.7 million – the highest grossing tour in history by a female artist. Wouldn’t you now agree with my statement about Madonna being the first lady of music?
I would like to add a couple of events that may seem insignificant. One was a nationally-televised performance by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith with the Boston Pops Orchestra on 4th July. It was the group’s first major performance since Steven Tyler’s throat surgery, and thus was music to everyone’s ears.
Last but not the least was an act by reformed band The Smashing Pumpkins. It deserves mention for the sheer brilliance of its music and the promise of hearing more from the group.
To conclude, musical events in 2006, though not overtly hyped, delivered on style, substance, showmanship and superior sounds.
- By Praful Baweja