Why I Didn't Go To Live 8 Philadelphia

I suppose ignorance would be the main reason. I wasn't even aware that Philadelphia was to host a concert. That probably sounds strange to most of you, especially considering the oversaturation of Live 8 coverage, but I tend to keep myself very insulated. I'm not really proud of that - it can be bad or good depending on the situation. In this case it was very bad. Not that I missed an artist that I really wanted to see. The only performer that appeared for the Philly concert that I have any real interest in is Stevie Wonder. But seeing Stevie would have meant sitting through the other acts I don't have much interest in, because Stevie's the closer. [According to my local news Stevie is on stage at this very moment]

Now if I were there I would have to push my way through a ridiculously huge crowd just to try to make my way to a choice vantage point, which in all likelihood would already be overflowing with people. I think you had to show up yesterday just to get a stage side spot. I've been to big events at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in the past, but none were as big as today. According to our local news there are 1 million people crowding into the BFP. Being among that many people would have seriously killed my enjoyment. 50,000 or 100,000 I can deal with. But 1,000, 000? Forget about it! So why am I disappointed that I didn't go? The only reason I'm disappointed is because Live 8 would have been a perfect event for me to try some onsite blogging. I've never done that before, and it's not like I'll have many other worldwide events to take advantage of in my hometown. Philly tends to get overlooked. I remember in '94 when it seemed certain that Philadelphia would host a few World Cup games when unexpectedly the matches were moved to (if memory serves me correctly) Orlando. It's not surprising that I blew Live 8 given my impression of Philly's place in the whole scheme of things. Oh well, no use crying over things you can't change. When is the next once in a lifetime concert?