Farm Aid Rocked

This weekend the folks from DirecTV outdid themselves again with their presentation of Farm Aid 2008.  The event was shown live (and then repeated all weekend long) exclusively on DirecTV in full high definition.

The way DirecTV presented the show made it more than a concert; it was a first class event.  The show was hosted by Carson Daily and Bob Costas who not only introduced acts but held some great backstage interviews with many of the acts.  The interviews also told in great detail the plight of the American Farmer and why Farm Aid was important.

The shows production was first rate, the video and audio quality were first rate and DirecTV even stepped up to the plate for a fun Farm Aid live interactive experience.  The Interactive application not only told you about the Farm Aid story but also offered fun interactive trivia questions which were changed every hour.  In addition the interactive application told you who was going to be playing and when you could tune in to see them.  The only thing that the interactive application did not do was accept donations for Farm Aid via the viewers receiver. DirecTV directed viewers to visit farmaid.org to make donations.  And in another touch of class from DirecTV, the satellite company offered to match any donations made by DirecTV customers at the Farm Aid website.

For me one of the highlights of the show was a sit down interview with Bob Costas and Farm Aid Founder and President Willie Nelson.  Normally Willie is known for being a down home type of guy, but here he was well spoken with a true vision of what the problems are with American farmers and how to fix the problem.

The other highlights had to be of course the music, from a total acoustic set from Dave Matthews to a rocking performance from John Mellencamp and a great performance from Willie Nelson which seemed to have everyone at the Comcast Center on their feet to close out the show.

Hats off to DirecTV for a very well produced show, this was not just a concert it was an event. It would not surprise me to see DirecTV nominated for an Emmy Award next year for this world class presentation.

Punk Music Fans Mad at XM/SIRIUS

Rabid fans of Punk Music as spitting mad at Sirius XM Satellite Radio who dropped the popular Fungus channel last week and replaced it with a channel which plays nothing but AC/DC.

From the sound of things, it does not appear that Punk Music will be returning to satellite radio anytime soon.

While I never personally listened to the channel I know plenty of folks who loved the channel which was programmed by Lou Brutus.  The killing of niche channels has me concerned, some of the channels that made satellite radio great are now all gone.  Channels such as On the Rocks, Special X, Vacation, Super Shuffle and others have all gone away.

It seems like the programming which was great is now aiming for the FM radio crowd.  If I wanted FM radio I wouldn’t be paying for satellite radio.  The days that Sirius/XM kills my favorite channel “Cinemagic” is the day I cancel all of my satellite radio subscriptions.