By Laura Medina
Fire Aid LA was one for the history books.
Not only did it raised $100 Millions (keep it coming on https://fireaidla.org/ because recuperating, recovering, and rebuilding homes and lives are a long term effort), Fire Aid LA, in juggling and managing the logistics of all these rockers became every music fans’ wet dreams of legendary duets and collaborations. Whom, some of them, unfortunately lost everything in the fires.
Fire Aid LA was a night of duets of dreams. Established rockers sang with their childhood idols. It was a cross-generational and cross-gender collaboration night.
Altadena Fire victims, Dawes, sang with folk-rock legends, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, putting aside their past petty differences aside, to support a city that gave them opportunities to let their musical careers come true. It was a night of paying it back.
Since this is about giving an helping hand to LA, a city that birthed so many’s dreams, Fire Aid LA was a collection of love songs to the City of Angels.
The Black Crowes and Slash covered Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California.”
This was the beginning of a love letter to Los Angeles and the golden state of California.
The dream team of Anderson Paak with Shelia E. and Dr. Dre did LA love, Inglewood style (since the fundraiser concert was in the heart of black-pride Inglewood, split between the legendary Kia Forum and the high tech newbie Intuit Dome), performing Tupac Shakur’s hip hop classic, “California Love.”
Continuing the theme of California Love was the quintessential LA, Californian band, The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Each performers, with a multitude of bands were limited to one song to no more than four songs. The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ set was solid “Californication” set. They started their set with “Dani California.” The word, “fuck,” is becoming increasingly an adverb and adjective, in terms of authentic intensity. Flea the Bassist, “Los Angeles is our home. We fucking love you!” Anthony Kiedis shows his caring, singing “Under the Bridge” about when more Angelenos cared more about him, than he did about himself.
The idolization of rockers continues with Jelly Roll and Travis Barker covering Bob Sager’s “Hollywood Nights.”
Each song covered by these musicians, represents what City of Angels and California mean to them.
Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters proved to be gentlemen with Joan Jet, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, and his daughter, Violet Grohl, covering his old band, Nirvana’s greatest hits. It was also his daughter’s official debut as a singer. Yes, the remaining members of Nirvana regrouped, with Women Who Rock as lead singers.
The ultimate dream wet team was Sting and Flea jamming with Stevie Wonder, their idol, over his classic funk jam, “Higher Ground,” a Red Hot Chili Peppers’ favorite cover song.
