Bryan Pace for New York Daily News
Madonna, left, introduces formerly imprisoned Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, right, and Maria Alyokhina, center, at Amesty International's concert for human rights Wednesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The universal call for human rights stirred another generation Wednesday.
The first Amnesty International concert for the cause in 16 years took place before a fresh audience and featured a new wave of stars. Moreover, it was the first such event to happen in Brooklyn, at the Barclays Center.
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Affordable ticket prices — as low as $26 — allowed a younger wave of fans to attend the show on the wet and cold night. The event filled the majority of the arena, but did not appear to sell out. The lack of an A-level superstar performer may have been a factor.
Wednesday’s lineup did its best to stress of-the-moment stars like alterna-rock group Imagine Dragons, synth-pop duo Tegan & Sara, singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat and young rock acts Cold War Kids and The Fray. They shared the night with more seasoned stars like Lauryn Hill, The Flaming Lips and Cake.
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To reference the most au courant possible human rights case, the show presented the just-released-from-jail members of Pussy Riot, who’d been imprisoned for two years in a Russian penal colony for “hooliganism.” Amnesty International played a role in their release.
Introducing them was a key supporter, Madonna, who said she wanted to thank the two women “for making pussy a ‘sayable’ word in my household. Now, my 8-year-olds say it all the time.”
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More seriously, Madonna spoke of the death threats she received during her Russian tour, which took place at the same time as Pussy Riot’s trial.
“Eighty-seven of my fans were arrested for gay behavior — whatever that is,” she said.
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The Pussy Riot members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who do not speak English, spoke in Russian with aggression and passion. A translator related the women’s speech.
“Freedom is not a given,” she translated. “It is something we have to fight for every day. It is our duty to speak for those who are still behind bars.”
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For a flash of Amnesty’s storied past, the night worked in fresh, taped soundbites from stars associated with its free-speech mission from the ’80s, including Sting and Bruce Springsteen. Speaking for himself, The Boss said that after he took part in the events 30 years ago, “the world never seemed so foreign again.”
“We’re as committed as we were in the ’80s,” Sting said in his taped piece. “But now it’s time to pass the torch.”
Other names taking part in this long night included Blondie, who performed; Yoko Ono, who spoke; and Susan Sarandon, who was the night’s co-host.
The event’s main purpose was to raise awareness of human rights violations at the hands of repressive regimes around the world and to recruit new members for Amnesty’s efforts. Sarandon focused the night’s point — “to remind us that each of us has the power to turn anger into action.”
The night’s opening band — Cold War Kids, from Los Angeles — echoed the serious-minded tone in song. They began with the righteous rock anthem “Miracle Mile,” about finding one’s own voice without regard to consequence. They followed it with “Hospital Beds,” about soldiers who wake up wounded, pondering the purpose of their suffering.
Deborah Harry called the song she performed with Blondie, “One Way or Another,” “especially appropriate for this event,” positioning its punk defiance as a statement of political determination.
Imagine Dragons tried to connect the importance of the event to the pretentiousness of their sound, rife with overwrought percussion and keening vocals.
The wry band Cake went blissfully off-message, offering several snarky odes to dubious relationships. Their askew perspective, and the band’s odd mix of alterna-rock and Mexican horn music, served to lighten a night that otherwise leaned towards the heavy. It’s not every cause-based concert that chooses to shine as sharp a light on its message. But, given the mainly serviceable nature of the music involved, the emphasis felt right.
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