POP MUSIC REVIEW : Getting to the Heart of Earth Day at the Bowl

As with most benefits, it took quite a while for the National Earth Day concert to get to the heart of the matter on Friday at the Hollywood Bowl.

The four-hour concert, starring Paul McCartney, was designed to encourage greater environmental consciousness, but news of the impending verdict announcement in the Rodney G. King civil rights case added to the social urgency.

The preliminary acts--rappers PM Dawn, folk-rockers 10,000 Maniacs, an acoustic Steve Miller, Bruce Cockburn and Kenny Loggins--all turned in competent, compassionate performances of a half-hour or less.

It wasn’t until Don Henley, however, that an artist defined the sociological currents of the night. In his half-hour performance, the singer-songwriter and his band used both his own songs and guest material (including the Kermit favorite “Bein’ Green”) to touch on the environmental agenda.

Henley then expanded the focus by dedicating his closing number to Los Angeles itself--”especially tomorrow.” The song, “The Heart of the Matter,” is a tale of anger and forgiveness, and Henley’s vocal was a profoundly moving plea for cleansing.

McCartney, making his first Bowl appearance since his Beatles days, followed with a 75-minute set that combined Beatles tunes (“All My Loving,” the civil rights salute of “Blackbird”), later hits (a fireworks-assisted “Live and Let Die”) and several socially conscious songs from his latest album. The latter included “Hope of Deliverance,” with k.d. lang joining on vocals.

McCartney and his band were then joined by the show’s entire cast and former Beatle Ringo Starr on a stirring version of “Hey Jude” that also served on this special night as a moment of benediction for the city.

It was a sweet and generous performance that summarized impressively his special brand of “gentle activism.” In his words between songs and in the music itself, McCartney paid ample attention to the evening’s element of Beatles/Bowl homecoming sentimentality, but at no time did he lose track of the night’s social agenda. Nice going.