"Are you ready to change history?" an invigorated Madonna asked the 200,000 fans gathered in London's Hyde Park on Saturday for one of the day's Live 8 concerts.
"Yes!" the crowd screamed back.
Whether or not the fans knew it in their excitement, the day had already changed rock history, though not perhaps in the way they imagined.
Live 8 Critic's Notebook -- In the Critic's Notebook by Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn that ran in Section A on July 3, the term "ultraconservative" was added by a copy editor to describe Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly. Hilburn, before interviewing O'Reilly about the social activism of U2's Bono, had told the commentator he would not label him in a subjective way. The adjective that was inserted did not reflect that agreement or the critic's views.
Most of the hundreds of musicians who joined in the worldwide concerts were simply extending the grand rock tradition of taking their message to the streets -- many of them, including the Who in London, with an inspiring energy.
But the lesson of the day was taught by rock singers Bono, of U2, and Bob Geldof, who through hard work and passion have redirected rock-star activism from the streets into the corridors of power.
In their crusades to combat poverty in Africa, the two Irishmen have met with and courted political and business leaders and have been as eager to appear on "Meet the Press" and "The O'Reilly Factor" as most musicians are to guest on MTV.
Rock 'n' roll has usually been at its best when it is on the attack. There's almost always an enemy at a music-related rally: ruthless government leaders, heartless international conglomerates, greedy developers.
But a hostile word was rarely detected in the hours I spent watching portions of concerts on the Internet.
The only enemy this time was poverty. Rather than attack anyone for not acting sooner, the performers chiefly pleaded for the leaders of the Group of 8 industrialized nations to take action this week at their meeting in Scotland to ease the suffering.
One of the day's most revealing displays of this change occurred early in the London concert, when Geldof did something that would have been unimaginable in the anti-establishment '60s, when businessmen were perceived by young rock fans as evil foes.
Describing Bill Gates as "a great businessman" and philanthropist, Geldof introduced the Microsoft co-founder, who drew cheers from the crowd. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among other endeavors, helped create and has given more than $150 million to the Seattle-based Malaria Vaccine Initiative.
Gates praised Geldof and Live 8, and he urged the millions of fans watching on television or the Internet, a medium he helped make ubiquitous, to support the cause.
Bono, because he is a much bigger star and spends more time in America, has been more visible in the U.S. than Geldof in the musician-as-diplomat role.
