Third Eye Blind, Seal, Liz Phair Rock For Breathe Breast Cancer Benefit

Oct 29, 2001, 11:30 am PT

 

Third Eye Blind

Perhaps Dr. Drew of the syndicated talk show Loveline put it best when he announced from the stage: "Tonight, it's all about the boobs."

Yes, there were the expected jokes about boyfriends and husbands assisting in those self-examinations, but, for the most part, Breathe -- a benefit concert for Breast Cancer awareness in L.A. on Saturday (Oct. 27) -- got the point across.

The benefit concert -- put together by Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins and the Step Up Women's Network – was plagued by delays, bad mikes, and slight confusion, and lasted way too long for overall audience tolerance, kicking off at 7:30 p.m., and finally winding down around half-past midnight. The event didn't draw a full house, despite moving from the outdoor Greek Theater in L.A. to the smaller Wiltern Theatre, seating a little over 2,000.

Though Jenkins and his band seemed the apparent headliners, the group turned the stage over to Seal for a mellow ending to the evening that included a new song, "Love is Better," along with the British crooner's crowd pleasing "Crazy," on which he played acoustic guitar.

 

Seal

While there's no denying the sincerity of Jenkins' efforts to pull together an eclectic mix of acts (albeit with promised collaborations that didn't happen much), his own posturing seems no better than an '80s hair band frontman. Only when he teamed with Liz Phair for "Fuck and Run" (from her alt-rock landmark album, Exile in Guyville) did he ditch that behavior.

Another top draw was Sugar Ray, with singer Mark McGrath mugging it up with a wink as usual, jumping into the orchestra for a sing-along, then later taking to the balcony for "Fly," swathed in the hugs and kisses of the female fan contingent.

Some of the strongest performances came from the less famous: soul mama Nikka Costa unleashed explosive funk, including the title track from her album, Everybody Got Their Something, and Remy Zero took an acoustic-based turn for its few numbers. The band's singer, Cinjun Tate, also sat in with Julia Fordham, who opened the show.

Bad boy rap-rockers Crazy Town dedicated "Butterfly" to "Rita and Tom," referring to Rita Wilson, one of the night's main hosts, and husband Tom Hanks. The couple sat in the crowd shaking hands, signing autographs, and posing for pictures between the acts.

 

Deftones

While the Deftones unleashed their pummel stomp (although their melodies were buried in the mix), the wounded animal mutterings and cathartic howls of singer Chino Moreno -- looking like Joe Preppy in khakis and a dark pullover -- registered on the sensitive guy meters of scattered standing female fans. For their final number, the group became the backing outfit for rappers Jurassic 5, which turned out to be a fun contrast to the Deftones' utter darkness.

Seal also appeared earlier in the night to sing "Prayer for the Dying" for the late Aaliyah, who had planned to be part of the event. Her brother Shawn presented a check for more than $40,000 for the cause.

Cute more than tarty, Lil' Kim won fashion MVP, rapping onstage in a bikini-ish top that read "stop" and "go" above each, well, you can figure that out. Meanwhile, celeb host Rachel Hunter almost spilled out of her baby doll-like stripper dress.

Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, Rebecca Rankin of VH1 (who accidentally called Jurassic 5, "Jurassic Park"), and Aisha Tyler of E!'s Talk Soup were also emcees. The crowd was overpopulated with Hollywood and hipster types, and the biggest irony may have been a room full of numerous enhanced chests on a night for breast cancer.

Proceeds from the concert went to the UCLA Breast Center and the Breast Examination Center in Harlem.

-- Darryl Morden