NationStates Jolt Archive

((OOC: The continuation of the other topic, but in here, you can post your news reports, how much money you've raised, maybe even the songs or where your bands played.))

Live Aid performances an "Inspiring, once in a lifetime event"
An Excerpt from the Pharamas Gazette

Live Aid 2007 started of with an emotional "bang" today as the Pharamas venue hosted a four-hour event which attracted a crowd of almost one hundred and ten thousand people at the Pharamas Events arena in the northern quarter of the city.

Unexpectedly warm weather made the concert an even more pleasant event in our normally chilly nation. Though not blistering hot, a temperature of 30°C degrees Celsius allowed the venue to be held outdoors, which allowed for an even higher attendance.

Among the many performances from bands, both large and small, the rock band U2 succeeded in stealing the show. While every song they performed was filled with an emotional energy rarely seen in todays bands, their performance of "Bad" was the highlight of the evening. A full twelve minutes long, it was a more than worthy successor to the performance of the very same song at the Live Aid event in 1985, over twenty years ago.

Though the exact amount of funds raised by the Pharamas venue is classified, the Reich Finance Ministry has let it slip that the ticket sales, combined with the merchandise revenue is well over one hundred billion dollars in worth.

An additionally large sum has been spent by Tocrowkian citizens on pay-per-view events to view the other venues, which we hope have gone equally as well...

At the Darryl Thompson Stadium in Epsom, the first of the 4 Breitenburg performers stepped up. THe Queens of the Stone Age, having just released their newest cd, Era Vulgaris, were a sensation in Breitenburg.They agreed to support the country in Live Aid, and like all four Breitenburg nominated bands they decided that preceding album sales would go to to charity up until 4 months after the concert.

The band had a five song setlist. The first song was "If Only", from their 1998 self titled debut. The opening riff got the crowd roaring, and the band played their bozarre metalish song to an exicted audience.

If it gets you down well then I'll take it
If it gets you up well I don't want it
It let you down so broken hearted
If it gets you down well then I want it

If only we're nothing at all

So blow our mind and make it lazy
Those long long days with no escaping
I hold the wheel to let it go
Don't wanna stop, don't wanna know
If it gets you down, well just don't blame me

If only we're nothing at all

Next up was a fan favorite, "Lost Art if Keeping A Secret". It's strange, catchy, and melodic guitar mezmerized the crowd.

Well I've got a secret, I cannot say
Blame modern movement to give it away
You've got something I understand
Hold it tightly, call on command
Leap of faith - do you doubt?
Cut you in, I just cut you out

Whatever you do, don't tell anyone
Whatever you do, don't tell anyone

Look for reflections in your face
Canine devotion that I can't erase
Out on the corner, locked in your room
I never believe them, I never assume

Stuck in belief, there is a lie
Promise is promise, an eye for an eye
We've got something to reveal
No-one can know how we feel

Whatever you do, don't tell anyone
Whatever you do, don't tell anyone
Whatever you do, don't tell anyone
Whatever you do, don't tell

I think you already know
How far I'd go not to say
You know the art isn't gone
I'm taking my song to the grave

Whatever you do, don't tell anyone
Whatever you do, don't tell anyone
Whatever you do, don't tell anyone
Whatever you do, don't tell


After the song ended. Josh Homme, the lead singer, lead guitarist, and overall leader of the band stepped up to the mic. Despite the seriousness of the event, Josh was always comedic, lightening the crowd with stage banter. After a little talk, he played the opening riff to the bands biggest hit, "No One Knows". The crowd roared louder then before, eager to hear the mega hit live.

We get some rules to follow
That and this
These and those
No one knows

We get these pills to swallow
How they stick
In your throat
Tastes like gold

Oh, what you do to me
No one knows

And I realize you’re mine
Indeed a fool of mine
And I realize you’re mine
Indeed a fool of mine
Ahh

I journey through the desert
Of the mind
With no hope
I found low

I drift along the ocean
Dead lifeboats in the sun
And come undone

Pleasently caving in
I come undone

And I realize you’re mine
Indeed a fool of mine
And I realize you’re mine
Indeed a fool and mine
Ahhh

Heaven smiles above me
What a gift there below
But no one knows

A gift that you give to me
No one knows

The band wasted no time, going directly into the song "In My Head", an often misunderstood love song.

It's the cruelest joke to play
I'm so high, i run in place
Only a line, we separate, so

I keep on playin our favorite song
I turn it up while you're gone
It's all i got when you're in my head and you're in my head so i need it

You're the only thing i've got that i can't seem to get enough
We collide for one embrace, so

Hurry up & wait forever
Hurry up & wait for forever

Finally, the band played their last song, the latest single from Era Vulgaris, 3's and 7's.

Lie, lie to my face,
Tell me it ain't no thing,
That's what I wanna hear.
Take, a lie to the grave,
That's what and old friend told me,
Look at what it did for him.

The truth hurts so bad, wouldn't you say?
So why tell it?
If ignorance is bliss,
Then I'm in heaven now.

Run, you'll never escape,
You see you go nowhere (so new you appear),
Broke, laid to waste,
Turn into sweet nothings,
That kiss you goodbye.

The truth hurts so bad, wouldn't you say?
So why tell it?
If ignorance is bliss,
Then I'm in heaven now.

I keep doin' it over and over again,
The neve rending places I never been
No one is catching on o rcalling my bluff,
The devil made me, only we never met,
Watch you do is say it with a smile boy,
Makin' us all forget

The crowd roared as the band bowed to them. Josh walked up to the mic one more time. "Remeber why all of us are here." The band left the stage. Other Breitenburg bands would go on later after other bands participated.

The Mary Rapers arrived at the city for the show, three males and one female. First, a young, robust Jewish man in his early 20's with a large drum around his neck and two heavy sticks walked onto the stage. He had on a T-shirt with a black Star of David and the words, "PROUD CHRIST KILLER" on it, and had short dark hair, dark eyes, and wore a yarmulke. His beard was shaven, unlike that of an Orthodox Jew.

Next was a smallish youth, probably a teenager, short and thin, with pale skin and white-blond hair, looking like an albino. He wore a long black trench coat and carried a pair of cymbals. A marijuana cigarette dangled from his mouth, about half a meter long and about the thickness of his big toe. That was a lot of high-grade weed, and not only the entire band, but many in the front rows, would get the high of their lives.

A girl in her late teens with a bass guitar was next. She was about average height, with long black hair, dark eyes, with a voluptuous figure and a smooth stomach. She would have been very pretty if not for what she had done to her skin. It was powdered white and she was quite scantily dressed, in an open leather jacket, low-cut sports bra, and low-hanging tight leather shorts with a black thong and the top quarter of her rear end showing underneath, casually displaying her tramp stamp, heavy tattoos, and outsize breasts. She was not only the guitarist, but she also posed on the cover of the Mary Rapers' albums, representing the Virgin in the more irreverent (and in most cases, downright obscene) photography of the band. Contrary to the band's name, she generally looked like she was enjoying it, and some of those album covers were fairly explicit. (Of course, sometimes her tattoos had to be covered up with makeup or otherwise.) Needless to say, Kahanistan had no obscenity laws on the books. If Pharamas did... well, that would be bad for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but not nearly as bad as if they had decided to perform in Urbs Doomanus.

Finally, an Arab youth in traditional Bedouin garb strode onto the stage. He was the vocalist, so he did not carry an instrument with him, not that he could; a close inspection would reveal he had no left arm, having lost it while an insurgent with the National Liberation Army in the Negev. The left hand that hung uselessly from his robes had come from a dummy in a feeble attempt to hide his mutilation.

"All right, you guys," said the Arab male, speaking in a Jordanian accent. "I'm Mohammed, this is Allison," he nodded to the girl, "this is Jason," indicating the small teen, "and this is Saul," he indicated the skullcap-wearing young man. We'll be taking autographs and meeting fans after the show," Mohammed continued, repeating in twelve other languages for the benefit of whatever foreigners might be in the audience.

"Now," the man started. He pulled down a rope, displaying a faked photograph of Maximus, Emperor of Doomingsland and arch-foe of almost all Kahanistanians, printed on a huge sheet. He had a Hitler mustache and very small package. "We're going to sing something that will have the Doomie-lovers in the Questarian Commonwealth, and the Doomie-lovers in the rest of the world, and the rest of the Catholic world shitting themselves with rage. Begin!"

"They came over the seas to invade us,
they came over our lands to raid us,
they came over the air to bomb us,
Deus vult!"

"They took over and our women they raped,
Now the Catholics mass at our gates,
and you accuse us of preaching hate?
Deus vult!"

"We tired of their oppression and their lashes,
and we rebuilt our nation from the ashes,
now our defences their aggression bashes,
Deus vult!"

"They hate other cultures for their belief,
they allow fleeing peoples no relief,
it's about time they turned over a new leaf,
Deus vult!"

"Now we do what we must to defend our cultures,
Deus vult!
We warn the world of those spiritual vultures,
Deus vult!
We protect ourselves from these vile preachers,
Deus vult!"

During the song, the drums beat constantly but hit harder at the end of each line, and during each cry of "Deus vult!", during which the cymbals clanged hard as well while the bass guitar kept tune with the general tempo of the song. In the middle of the fifth stanza, Allison's ill-zipped sports bra came open, allowing her large, gravity-defying breasts to stick out. They were oddly tattooed and slightly scarred; her left breast bore a Wiccan pentagram, while her right had some kind of ancient-looking writing on it, unintelligible to the vast majority of the audience.

Without missing a beat, the girl simply zipped up again when the song ended. She showed absolutely no sign of embarrassment or concern; Kahanistanian women tended to be fairly body casual.

The next song began and the Maximus-bashing print fell down to be replaced by one depicting a wide array of firearms, where the band would collect it during the break that would take place after the song, during which fans could meet the band (which had minimal security with it for this event) and collect autographs or even talk to the band members if they could make it. The Mary Rapers doubted they were that popular in Pharamas that they would have to worry about screaming crowds baying for their attention.

"On a hot summer day in 480 B.C.
Three hundred men gathered at Thermopylae
The vast invading army they all did see
Life or freedom, what would it be?"

"The invaders came up and said
You all know you'll soon be dead
Lay down your arms and bake our bread
Work for us and keep your head."

"And they said, Molon labe!
Ain't gonna take my land
Molon labe!
It's you whose head is in the sand!"

"Twenty-five hundred years later under other names
The Persians over the world play their old games
They want to conquer and put us to shame
But in another 2500 years we'll never be tamed!"

"Molon labe!
Want to be napalm flambe?
Molon labe!
Or a nuclear saute?
Molon labe!
Or maybe gas is more your taste?
MOLON LABE!"

During this song, Allison joined in the vocals, though she was still playing her guitar. This song carried more passion vocally than the last one, and for a Mary Rapers song, it wasn't even especially anti-Catholic. It did, however, carry connotations of resistance, and by extension nationalism and patriotism. (Unless you were Persian.)

The cymbals remained silent until the words, "Molon labe!" (Greek for "Come and take them!" [our arms]) sounded, at which time the cymbals thundered together, probably with the aid of an extremely powerful amplifier. The drums softened during this part, whereas they pounded hard for the rest of the song.

The gun sheet fell, and was collected along with the Maximus sheet, and the band was accessible to fans and autograph seekers for the break...

“Hello, everybody!” – grinned Alexander KAzansky as he paced casually on stage. He was very tall and thin – perhaps downright frail. He wore black clothing, and his head was bandaged. (Nobody knew, but he had fought incognito on one of the fronts the day before). Like the Kahanistani, he was smoking marijuana, but he was doing it with a large Knootian pipe.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am Alex Kazansky, and you have doubtlessly heard of my band, the Cabinets!”

A group of young men and women filed onto the stage, even before the Kahanistani could leave. There were two young women – a drummer and a bassist – dressed in nothing but black bikinis and richly tattooed with various symbols. A boy about 17 years of age carried a portable synthesizer and wore a three-piece suit, and an older man wore a long black cloak, making him look somewhat like a large bat, and carried a guitar.

Kazansky smiled. “Before I begin, I would like to say that I am hereby making a fifty-million dollar donation to this charity. You have only the lovely Kahanistani band to thank for it. I would like to state my support for them, and to tell our friend Maximus to go choke on a penis and die. Of course nobody in Doomingsland has a penis of a big enough size… but I digress. Again, the Kahanistani are awesome.”

He turned to the Kahanistani, who were likely still on stage. “Hi, Allison. Can I write down your phone number later? There’s this awesome restaurant in Liberty-City I want to take you to.”

“And now, people, let us give our public a song . This is a song dedicated to to the brave Kahanistani people who fought against the Doomani on the various fronts of the different wars of liberation. The Kahanistani friends likely know the lyrics already, as I performed this song in Kahanistan before.”

We are the ones who stood on the barricades,
we are the ones who fought on the fronts,
we are the ones who starved in the bunkers,
we are the ones who paid all the costs!

“Come on, Hans, Severus, rock the floor, give it to ‘em!”

This is our truth, this is our sacrifice,
this is our Victory – too!
This is our honor, this is our Victory!
It can't be sullied by you!

The words and tune spoke about rebellion, about sacrifice – no matter who made it, Allanean or Kahanistani, Praetonian or Menelmacari, man or elf. It spoke to the Kahanistani about their honor, about the nation's wide deserts and rugged heroes, about their spirit and about their liberty.

[i]We are the ones who beat off the enemy,
we are the ones who sacked their coasts,
we are the ones who overthrew royalty,
we are the ones who paid all the costs!


“Kahanistani! I dedicate to you this song and this concert!” - screamed Kazansky, pausing the feverish work of the fingers on the keys for only a second – and then, the music resumed anew.


This is our truth, this is our sacrifice,
this is our Victory – too!
This is our honor, this is our Victory!
It can't be sullied by you

And the last stanza was modified a little, to adapt – perhaps – for the times.

We are the ones who will crush their soldiers,
We are the one who will beat them in war,
We are the ones who will stomp on their banner,
Our whip shall make Maximus sore!

We told the truth, we paid the sacrifice,
We’ll have our Victory too!
This is our Honor, this will be our Victory,
And it can’t be prevented by you!

There was a pause as the song ended, and Kazansky nodded to the band members. “Okay, people. Enough war and politics. Let’s talk about love, shall we? That song is about love, and it’s dedicated to someone I love. Of course, it does not depict any real events, and it does not reflect anything except the love I feel, and the suffering of all lovers – and all the hopes for happiness we all share. Severus, Hans, Monica, Rita, go!”

I was trying to hide from my love,
I took a sharp Bowie and I was fixing myself,
I hid underground, I was cutting
The binds on my chest,

The song was different now, sad, not angry or provoking as the previous one. It was tender and sad, a ring of pain made music – and yet it had hope in it, almost derange, there beyond the pain and the despair.

I want to be with you,
I want to be with you,
I want to be with you,
I want to be with you, and I will be with you…

You already bear a different name,
Your eyes are now a different shade.
A drunk doctor has told me – you are no more,
The fireman told me they burned your home down,

But –

I want to be with you,
I want to be with you,
I want to be with you,
I want to be with you, and I will be with you…

In a large white room with a right to hope,
In a room with a view to the sea and a trust in love.

I was breaking glass like chocolate in my hand,
I was cutting these fingers because they couldn’t touch you…
I looked into their faces and I couldn’t forgive
that they don’t have you and they can still live,

But-


There was a long pause, and then the bat-looking man hit the strings again and the band played:


I want to be with you,
I want to be with you,
I want to be with you,

I want to be with you, and I will be with you…
In a large white room with a right to hope,
In a room with a view to the sea and a trust in love.

“Thank you for this. May God bless those we love.”

OOC:

This wiki article has info about Kazansky:

http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/index.php/Alexander_Kirillovich_Kazansky

Note te first few phrases about his appearance. Basically visualize this. ( http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42/allanea/kazansky.jpg). A sort of grown-up, really tall and skinny Harry Potter clone.

The second song is a severely reworked version of a Russian song which I translated and then edited the lyrics to fit the original tune.

Here is the original song: http://youtube.com/watch?v=02HfDIQ4Cf0

Allison smiled. "Sure," she said, writing down her number and handing it to Kazansky. "You look just like Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter!"

She and the rest of the band then walked around to the dressing room. They had no security, so fans still had access to them. So did Kazansky, if he too was on break.

"Once we've played at all the Live Aid venues," said Saul, waving in the Allanean's direction as he stepped down, "I'm sure she'll love to see you again. We've all got a thing for Allanea."

Random hotel in Tocrowkia

Alexander Kazansky woke up with a horrible hangover. Next to him was Allison, the singer from the Kahanistani band 'Mary Rapers'. She was sleeping peacefully with a broad smile – she was clearly happy about what he did last night.

He looked at his watch. Why the fuck am I not asleep? It's like three AM or something.

The phone rang again, and Allison woke up. “Wha?”

“Don't worry.” - he kissed her gently on her lips. - “Wait a second...” he picked up his cellphone. “So, are you calling to tell me you've completed my instructions? No? Why? I said I want the Questarians dead. What? I want no excuses! When I say dead, I mean dead! You should be killing them now! No, you are not killing them now, you are talking to me! Do you know it is three AM?”

Then there was a pause. “What? Oh god, what the fuck.”

He slammed the phone shut. “That does it, darling. I'm sorry about the idiots. Tough job, you know, killing all those thousands of Doomani and millions of Questarians.”

“No, not a problem... I've had enough sleep.”

“Mmm.” - said Kazansky as he kissed Allison again - “I think I have a few ideas for things we can do instead of sleeping, you know...”

“Again?” - Allison blinked in disbelief.

“Yeah. Just let me grab a Ritalin...”

* * *

Two hours later, Kazansky was out of Tocrowkia. He also advised the Kahanistani band to get the hell out of there, really fast. And as soon as he got back to Allanea, 300 Allanean ships were put under way to the Furry Islands.


OOC: Sorry for the liberties taken with Allison. :D

[OOC: No problem, she did after all give Kazansky her number. What do you think she'd expect from him?]

IC:

The Kahanistanian band headed to the next Live Aid venue, Seoul, Grand Korea. Little did they know the rumours the Doomies would invade Kahanistan again might be a little more than rumours.

---

Seoul, Grand Korea, next venue

The Mary Rapers began setting up, and had hired a local translator to interpret the Korean language to them, as well as to translate the lyrics to their songs into Korean. They saw no need to sing in English for a population they figured didn't speak it.