(Jake Turcotte)
It’s Obama-palooza starring Bono, Beyonce, Springsteen, Usher…
By Jimmy Orr | 01.13.09
Hey, what do you get when you have Garth Brooks, Beyonce, Bono, Sheryl Crow, Mary J Blige, Usher, Herbie Hancock, Bruce Springsteen, Shakira, James Taylor, John Mellencamp, and Stevie Wonder all on the same stage?
Well if they’re all singing their own songs concurrently — it’s a giant train wreck. But we’re assuming that’s not going to happen.
Big party
The Presidential Inaugural Committee finally released the names of the big-time entertainers that will kick off the 56th Presidential Inaugural on Sunday, January 18 from 7:00 - 9:00pm (ET).
The event entitled “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial” is so jam-packed with entertainers, you may wonder how the heck are they going to cram it into a two-hour window.
Who knows? But the lineup sounds great.
It’s kind of like a 2009 version of Van Halen’s “Monsters of Rock” tour when they toured with Metallica and the Scorpions (except none of these bands are invited).
Historical readings
If you’re not into music but prefer historical readings, Team Obama has you covered.
Packed in between the musical selections will be said readings by Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington.
Top notch
Not surprisingly the people putting on the show are pros. Real pros. They aren’t like the guys who you hired to do your high school Christmas dance in the gym.
They nabbed Don Mischer — he’s the guy who put on the opening ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympics, the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1996 Summer Olympics, the Emmy Awards, and the halftime shows for many of the Super Bowls (but not the wardrobe malfunction one).
He also unknowingly dropped the f-bomb on CNN in 2004 when the balloons didn’t come down on time at the Democratic National Convention. But let’s not bring that up.
“This is a great opportunity to capture an historic event in a very meaningful setting,” Mischer said in a press release. “We will have the statue of Abraham Lincoln looking down on our stage and a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people lining the mall — a tableau any director would relish.”
Food
Speaking of relish, the food at the Inaugural will be a salute to Abraham Lincoln. We speculated yesterday that this meant five-dollar foot-longs from Subway. We were wrong. That means they will be serving Lincoln-era food.
So does that mean squirrel-on-a-stick or ground beat porridge? Nope. Those invited to the ultra-exclusive Obama luncheon will have seafood stew, pheasant, duck, and sponge cake. Click here to read up on the menu.
HBO
How can you tune in?
Well, as we told you last week HBO has the exclusive rights to the telecast. They are distributing the signal, however, all over the place. This means if you have cable or satellite TV, you can watch it.
If you get TV the old-fashioned way, you may be out of luck.
To read the official release, click here.
<< Obama narrows it down to Labradoodle or Portuguese Water Dog | MainComments
2. Andrew | 01.13.09
I agree Devin. This should be for all to see…not just for those that have cable. Who doesn’t like a good train wreck?
3. bambam | 01.13.09
What do you have? A lot of left wing cry babies. Get use to the elite people. That’s who will be in Washington, taking your hard earned money. But brainless people voted for it.
4. Mike | 01.13.09
Everyone involved better be working/performing for free. With a one-trillion dollar deficit that’s about to double, American families can’t afford for the government to be wasteful.
go Jimmy!7. robby | 01.13.09
What do you expect for them to put it on network television? The big corporations would never let such a thing happen. Bad for business and bad for America. We can’t have those that don’t have cable or satellite enjoying something that others paid for.
8. Jon | 01.13.09
When I voted I was hoping that this administration would be different. But as usual the people who cannot afford the luxuries like cable or satellite TV are once again excluded. I guess some things just don’t change.
9. tony | 01.13.09
With the nation in such economic peril (per the Chosen One), why not forego some of the parties and put that money toward, oh I don’t know, maybe the schools in DC???? I pray that this country wakes up, gets the glitter and stars out of their eyes, and sees this whole “change” business for what it is….same church, different pew.
10. lettie | 01.14.09
Actually, this is all being funded by campaign contributions, not tax payer money. Still over the top though.
11. fred | 01.14.09
They are really over hyping this. Never seen such a circus before. I’m gonna laugh if this guy turns out to be as bad as Bush. It will be like the world cup and watching the losing teams faces.
12. C Pierce | 01.14.09
Here we go again. Liberals crying because they think they are left out and Conservatives crying because they can’t control who gets in. Take a deep breath everyone and try to let people have a few days to celebrate something that has never happened before and may never happen again. Whether you voted for him or against him, whether you are proud that he was elected or disappointed, the facts are he one and he will be THE PRESIDENT. So give it a rest and you can start complaining on Jan 21st.
13. jm1 | 01.15.09
Wow, everyone is totally overreacting, jumping to conclusions, and acting hysterically. No wonder I never come here.
HBO is making it available free on the web, and they’re making it free to everyone who has basic cable (not just HBO service). Additionally, NPR has the free web stream and I think public radio stations will also have it on radio:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99389770
I’m not sure, but in all likelihood HBO is underwriting the concert. So before you jump to conclusions about whether it should be free on TV, you should find out whether HBO paid to create the concert (it’s not being done with your tax dollars). In other words, if they didn’t pay for it, there might not be a concert.
14. jm1 | 01.15.09
@Bambam, make up your mind. You just railed against the incoming administration as “the elitists”, then you complained that “brainless people voted for them”, which is seemingly contradictory. So are these “liberals” super-educated elitists, or are they brainless? Which one are they?
Regardless, I’m guessing you don’t like them. We’re past that. This election was all about coming together, and it’s over. You lost, you’re in the minority. Not because you’re a democrat or a republican. Because you’re bitter and you’re part of the problem.
America is not a “left-center” country, and we’re not a “right-center” country. We’re a “middle of the road” country.
15. jm1 | 01.15.09
@Bambam, make up your mind. You just railed against the incoming administration as “the elitists”, then you complained that “brainless people voted for them”, which is seemingly contradictory. So are these “liberals” super-educated elitists, or are they brainless? Which one are they?
Regardless, I’m guessing you don’t like them. We’re past that. This election was all about coming together, and it’s over. You lost, you’re in the minority. Not because you’re a democrat or a republican. Because you’re bitter and you’re part of the problem.
America is not a “left-center” country, and we’re not a “right-center” country. We’re a “middle of the road” country.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
3. Stars, famous and not-so-famous, descend on DC for huge inaugural parties | csmonitor.com | 01.16.09
Leave a Comment
We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. The comments feature is a forum to discuss the ideas in our stories. Constructive debate - even pointed disagreement - is welcome, but personal attacks on other commenters are not, and will not be published.
Tip: Do not write a novel. Keep it short. We will not publish lengthy comments. Come up with your own statements. This is not a place to cut and paste an email you received. If we recognize it as such, we won't post it.
Please do not post any comments that are commercial in nature or that violate copyrights.
Finally, we will not publish any comments that we regard as obscene, defamatory, or intended to incite violence.
Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. Devin | 01.13.09
You know I believe in capitalism for sporting events on pay per view or HBO, BUT this is for the nation and should NOT be for only those who can afford cable or satellite. The Performers themselves should object to such exclusion.