November 2009 Archives

Richard Godwin, London Evening Standard

In Bono's head, it's just possible that the British festival-going public reacted to the news that U2 are to headline next year's Glastonbury by fashioning a series of vast stone carvings of Bono's head and positioning them along the White Cliffs of Dover.

In reality, music-lovers have mixed feelings about the prospect of the authors of Vertigo pitching up on the Pyramid Stage. Every report made the inevitable acknowledgement that the Irish quartet are the biggest group in the known universe, perhaps in other universes too.

Yet almost every media outlet also felt obliged to add a lick of cynicism to their coverage, an acknowledgement that while the band are liked they are disliked in equal measure.

by Richard Moore, Spinner

Echo and the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch has once again singled out U2 for a tongue-lashing, branding the Irish megastars' music as "flag-waving" and "immature."

McCulloch has regularly stated his aversion to Bono and friends and appears to love using the press to express his disdain. Last year he referred to them as "spud peelers" whose ambition was to join music's elite stars like Bob Geldof, Sting and "all them c---s who no one really likes."

This time around, while he was slightly less vitriolic, McCulloch continued to ridicule U2 for appealing only to a younger, less-mature fan base and being nothing more than a commercial enterprise. "Bands all say they want to be as big as U2, but weirdly no one ever says they're influenced by them," he told New York magazine. "That's because there's nothing there, really."

By Kenneth Haynes, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Bono reached out to Sarah Palin when she was running for Vice President and briefed her on his worldwide agenda, Palin has revealed.

The call came at the height of the presidential campaign in 2008, when Palin was under fire for her lack of international experience.

In her new book, "Going Rogue," the former Vice Presidential candidate says Bono was one of several leading personalities she spoke and met with when she became a national figure.

Others included actor Warren Beatty, singer Hank Williams Jr., former football coach Mike Ditka and actor Robert Duvall.

by Richard Moore, Spinner

After Monday's announcement confirming U2 as the first headliner for the 2010 Glastonbury Festival, some music industry commentators have been quick to suggest the show could be a tough one for the Irish megastars.

With their experience of massive venues and crowds, the undertaking is unlikely to be daunting for the band, but their lack of experience of festival crowds could be their undoing, some have warned.

U2's concert at TCF Bank Stadium sold out in a hurry, leaving many fans unhappy with the procedures.

By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

People hoping to score tickets for U2's Twin Cities concert next summer most likely still haven't found what they're looking for.

Tickets for the concert at TCF Bank Stadium went on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Within minutes, only single seats were available at the websites of the merged ticket brokers Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It was sold out within two hours.

Dozens of U2 fans vented their frustrations on the Star Tribune's website, most often angry at commercial ticket brokers who routinely scoop up large numbers of tickets and resell them at a premium.

TwentyFourBit Blog

The "Best Original Song" portion at the Academy Awards is one of the annual Hollywood award show's weirder categories. Most years I have no idea who is even nominated until the live broadcast when the host introduces Sting, Randy Newman, or whoever's pretending to have written a song inspired by a film they likely haven't seen in full that year. But then Three Six Mafia wins a gold statue, indie singer/songwriters Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová upset three nods for Enchanted, or Elliott Smith shows up to play "Miss Misery" dressed all in white, and they've grabbed my attention again.

In order to stir up some hope that next year's broadcast will include a similar event, we'll be posting from time to time on a few interesting possible nominees that come across the radar, starting with U2:

The Wrap reports that Lionsgate Films are plotting a big Oscar campaign for Brothers, a drama starring Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Tobey Maguire, and U2 have penned a song for the Academy's consideration. "Winter," a tune that is also supposedly included on Songs of Ascent, the forthcoming sister album to No Line on the Horizon, can be streamed here.

British director has helmed concert shows with Britney Spears and U2, and the MTV awards.

By Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times

At 82, the Academy Awards are long overdue for some cosmetic enhancement. And the show's producers have tapped a new director they hope can do the job.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced Wednesday that Hamish Hamilton would direct the telecast.

Like the telecast's producers, Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman, Hamilton is a newcomer to the Oscars.

"One of the things that came to mind from Hamish's shows was an unbelievable use of the most current technology with cameras," Shankman said in a telephone interview.

CaribWorldNews

Grammy Award-winning Haitian, singer, songwriter and producer is raking in the honors - the human rights honors.

Jean, along with U2`s Bono, was presented with Ripple of Hope Award at Chelsea Pier in New York City last night by The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

The Haitian ambassador at large was honored for his work to strengthen and inspire change in his native country of Haiti through his Yéle Haiti organization.

`As champions of justice, Bono and Wyclef have brought the national spotlight to human rights violations, empowered local activists, and transformed the lives of millions of people living in poverty from Port-Au-Prince to Darfur,` said Kerry Kennedy, founder of the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights. `Their efforts evoke the spirit of my father and we are honored to recognize them.`

Montreal Gazette

MONTREAL -- U2 is putting up $3 million to expand Montreal's former horse racing stadium so it can accommodate 60,000 to 80,000 people for a show this summer.

The fact that the band is fronting the costs of building the venue for the July 16 event is a testament to its love of Montreal, according to Jacques Aube, vice-president and general manager of promoter Gillett Entertainment Group.

Gillett and tour promoter Live Nation have been working on the possibility of a Montreal date for months. The biggest problem was finding a venue big enough to host the show (including the 150-foot-wide (45-metres) stage, featuring a massive, steel spider-like structure) and comply with U2's request for an open-air stadium.

By Tim Mohr, AlterNet

Would-be revelers divided by a fake Berlin Wall shuffled along in the rain looking for a way out of a festival of freedom.

It was immediately obvious wandering through Berlin last weekend that the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall were in trouble.

In Alexanderplatz subway station, the main eastern transport hub, wall-sized billboards advertising the Fest der Freiheit -- Festival of Freedom -- were side by side with huge Burger King ads for a new grilled cheese snack. The tag line: "The Cheese Revolution."

Sure, it's easy to celebrate the events of November 9, 1989, in the abstract. After all, what's not to like about casting off the shackles of a dictatorial system in which people couldn't freely express their opinion and were shot for trying to leave, in which tens of thousands of citizens spied in each other, and in which you might be denied a place at university or a job if your parents weren't party members -- But when it comes to putting on an actual celebration, as the city of Berlin learned, it gets trickier.

By Louise Hogan, Irish Independent

FINES imposed over U2's breach of noise-level regulations during their Croke Park homecoming concerts have been branded "paltry" in comparison to the estimated €20m the concerts made.

Promoters MCD have been hit for €36,000 by Dublin City Council after the rockers soared over the barrier 12 times during their three concerts in July.

"It is a paltry penalty, it really isn't a disincentive. They would write that off in terms of planning for such things," Pat Gates, chair of the Croke Park Area Residents' Alliance, said.

"Any fines that do accrue to the city council should be invested back into the local community as they were the ones that put up with it."

By Christopher John Farley, Wall Street Journal Blogs (Speakeasy)

The boys from U2 have been marking the 25th anniversary of the release of "The Unforgettable Fire" with a series of re-issues of the album. There's a new remastered version, a vinyl version, a "Deluxe Edition" and even a "Super Deluxe Edition" for $54.99 on Amazon with two CDs, a DVD and a bunch of other extras.

Speakeasy is hoping that they come out with a "Super Mega Magnanimous Deluxe Edition 2.0″ with plane tickets to Dublin, a pub crawl with Bono and guitar lessons from The Edge. We can only hope.

"The Unforgettable Fire" is an album worth celebrating. U2 fans and critics can debate which album is the group's best-"War," "The Joshua Tree," maybe "Achtung Baby." But "The Unforgettable Fire" deserves to be part of the conversation.

Rolling Stone

Over two nights at New York's Madison Square Garden last month, rock history was made again and again: Bono, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and more legends united on one stage to celebrate the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary with a pair of concerts featuring some of the biggest talents of the past six decades. Metallica rocked with Lou Reed. Stevie Wonder sang with Smokey Robinson. The Black Eyed Peas' Fergie and Will.i.am joined U2 and Jagger for "Gimme Shelter." Rolling Stone has the story behind these epic concerts, and an unprecedented look behind the scenes of one of the greatest rock events ever in our new issue, on stands today.

Get a look at all of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's inductees.

by Ashley Iasimone, Spinner

With the recent 25th anniversary special edition reissue of 1984's 'The Unforgettable Fire,' U2 are stepping back to remember the making of the album. Bono and company employed producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois to help them experiment musically, and while it seemed like an unlikely combination then, their work on 'The Unforgettable Fire' led to a creative breakthrough for the band. It also helped to deliver the lead single 'Pride (In the Name of Love),' which became U2's biggest hit at the time.

In the exclusive interview clip after the jump, U2 discuss Eno, Lanois and Ireland's Slane Castle, where the album was initially recorded. Watch the video to find out how the experience "deconstructed U2" and what the band learned from it.

Fontana Herald News

U2's groundbreaking 360° Tour continues to score sellouts with each Southern California stop.

First, last month's huge Rose Bowl show, a historic performance that drew the largest concert crowd in the venue's history and gained a worldwide audience in the millions thanks to YouTube's first-ever live webcast, sold out minutes after going on sale.

Then, on Monday, the band's June 6, 2010 Angel Stadium concert also sold out within minutes.

Now, in an attempt to satisfy such strong demand from their Southland fans, U2 has announced a second and final Angel Stadium date for June 7. The tour is once again produced by Live Nation Global Touring and sponsored by BlackBerry(r).

By Ellen Lampert-Gréaux, Live Design

Inventor Chuck Hoberman joins Willie Williams and Frederic Opsomer to discuss the U2 360° expanding video screen

The ground-breaking expanding video screen that added a WOW factor to the current U2 360° tour was designed by Chuck Hoberman, founder and president of Hoberman Associates, Inc., a New York-based design firm, in conjunction with Innovative Designs and its parent company Barco. Hoberman joins U2 designer Willie Williams and Frederic Opsomer of Innovative Designs on a special panel on the design on the U2 360° tour at LDI2009 in the PRG Light Lab on Saturday, November 21 from 2:00-4:00pm, followed by the LDI awards ceremony at 6pm where they will be honored for their innovative design.

Hoberman, along with Williams and scenic designer Mark Fisher, conceptualized the fusion of architecture, stage scenery, and extreme technology the led to an elliptical video display, approximately the size of a tennis court that morphs into a seven-story high cone-shaped structure, enveloping the band as it extends.

With tickets going on sale today, two fans discuss whether seeing U2 still justifies the price

By Andrew Reilly And Steven Hyden, A.V. Club

Andrew: Steven, you may have heard that U2 plans to bring its gargantuan U2 360 tour back to Chicago's Soldier Field next July. Tens of thousands of people are lining up to buy tickets as we speak, but I can't help but wonder why any self-respecting fan would bother at this point. It's not that I dislike U2--I submit my exhaustive collection of U2 records and my 2001 Elevation Tour T-shirt as Exhibits A and B proving my U2 fandom. What bothers me is the almost laughable similarity between that Elevation show and the current U2 360 show: a ridiculous stage (the band having traded the pink heart for the multi-colored spaceship), all the big hits from U2's middle years, and the remainder of the set dominated by cuts from the lackluster recent album. In 2001, new material at least meant the anthemic, self-aware nostalgia of "Beautiful Day" and effortlessly cool "New York," but this time around the band showcases an album you pretty accurately described as "half-baked" and "a grab bag of underdeveloped ideas"--not exactly a compelling sales pitch.

By Patrick Healy, New York Times

A rock concert promoter with ties to the Rolling Stones and U2 said on Friday that he was taking over as the lead producer of the coming Broadway musical "Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark," and that the troubled multimillion-dollar show would open sometime in 2010.

The producer, Michael Cohl, also confirmed that a relatively unknown actor named Reeve Carney had been cast in the lead role of Peter Parker and his alter ego, Spider-Man.

Mr. Cohl has never been lead producer of a major Broadway show before, though he has been a co-producer of "Spamalot." Still, he is widely regarded in the entertainment community as a man with deep pockets, a Rolodex packed with investors and a knack for presenting entertainment spectacles.

In a telephone interview Mr. Cohl said that he had previously been only an investor in "Spider-Man," and was taking command of the financially troubled project at the behest of U2's Bono and the Edge, who together wrote the music and lyrics for the show.

Pitchfork Media

Stadium-rocking pop titans met last night at last night's MTV Europe Awards when Jay-Z came out during a U2 performance in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. With the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall coming November 9, the collaboration took on a justly political air, with U2 doing "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and Jay-Z unleashing some of his most ripped-from-the-headlines-style lines since his verse on M.I.A.'s "Boyz" remix.

"Out in Iran the election is fixed/ Out in Rwanda the genocide is sick," he rhymed. "Don't make me have to motherfuckin' build some schools!" Then Bono tried to rap with less effective results. Watch the whole performance below. (Via MTV.)

In other (more shameless) Jay-Z news, the rapper recently re-teamed with his "Empire State of Mind" co-star Alicia Keys for something called "Empire State of Mind Part 2", according to MTV News. The sequel will feature a new verse from Jay and show up on Keys's upcoming LP, The Element of Freedom, which is due out December 15.

And Jay has announced some new, Young Jeezy-assisted U.S. arena dates for 2010. Check those out, along with the U2/Jay-Z live video, after the jump:

Performance at the Brandenburg Gate celebrated 20 years since Germany was reunited.

By Kyle Anderson, MTV.com

It was 20 years ago that the Berlin Wall came down, successfully uniting East and West Germany and putting a metaphorical stake through the heart of the Cold War. The historic significance was not lost on the producers of the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards on Thursday (November 5). To commemorate a reunited Germany, show host Katy Perry threw to U2 live at Brandenburg Gate -- the former threshold between East and West Berlin that now stands as a national monument -- where thousands had gathered for a historic performance.

DEREK SCALLY in Berlin, Irish Times

TONIGHT'S FREE U2 concert at the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 will take place behind a wall erected by organisers, metres from the original.

The wall means that only 10,000 holders of free tickets - and very tall people - can find what they're looking for.

The irony was not lost on Berliners yesterday.

"The Brandenburg Gate is the symbol of our unity, the view should be open to all, at all times," said Hans-Joachim. "One wall was more than enough."

Interview by Mark Beech

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- "The Unforgettable Fire," which has been reissued, is the album that helped U2 conquer America.

Its anthemic template, crafted in 1984 with the assistance of co-producer Brian Eno, came three years before "The Joshua Tree," which took the Irish band "from heroes to superstars," according to Rolling Stone magazine, and sold 25 million copies.

Eno recalls in an interview that U2 broke every rule as it revised the trademark stadium rock of its first three LPs. Singer Bono's group reveled in experiments, took risks and improvised prayers and poetry. A new edition of the recording, released last week, showcases its strengths with 25 years of perspective by adding remasters, new tracks and a DVD.

"We started thinking of making sonic landscapes," Eno says. "We weren't trying to reproduce a band playing live, which is what recording was supposed to be about. 'A Sort of Homecoming' was a cinematic piece."

Pitchfork Media

9.3 (out of 10) / Best New Reissue

The first song on 1984's The Unforgettable Fire is called "A Sort of Homecoming"-- not just "A Homecoming". And that shade of uncertainty-- that "sort of"-- is key. Compared to U2's first three albums-- and almost everything that has come afterward-- The Unforgettable Fire is marked by a sketchy in-between-ness that works as a gracious foil to the the band's natural audacity. It's sort of stadium rock, sort of experimental, sort of spiritual, sort of subdued, sort of uncharacteristic, sort of brilliant, sort of a classic.

After their first major breakthrough with 1983's War and its anthems "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day", U2 could have easily continued to perfect the fist-pumping, flag-waving arena battle cry. Instead, they sought out producer Brian Eno, a bold choice for a band looking to parlay semi-success into something Springsteen-ian. While Eno is now seen as a go-to stadium savior (see: Coldplay's Viva La Vida), back then he was still the guy who coaxed magnificent weirdness out of David Bowie and Talking Heads, to say nothing of his own work, which ranged from prog-rock insanity to elegant wallpaper. The U2/Eno braintrust has since become one of the most out-and-out successful in rock history, but The Unforgettable Fire finds the pair-- along with frequent conspirator Daniel Lanois-- feeling each other out and testing limits. The album ebbs and flows along the spectrum between the spiky, post-punk U2 of old and the impressionistic, Eno-assisted U2 they were yearning to become.

411mania.com

U2 has broken the all time U.S. attendance record for best-attended single concert performance. They packed 97,014 people into the Rose Bowl on October 25. What's even more astounding is the fact that the previous record was made by... U2

It took 22 years, but U2 has broken its own attendance record.

Among the top five single-concert attendances on record in the U.S., the top three are all U2 performances. The third-highest attendance is also from the band's current tour at its September 29 sellout in Landover, Maryland with 84,754 people crowding the stadium.

Just for fun, here are the stats on top attendance and sales for US concerts:

by Joshua Klein, Pitchfork Media

"Eno is a postman's son," sums up friend and frequent collaborator Daniel Lanois. "He grew up essentially in a peasant environment, but he had a brilliant mind and was able to get to his mountaintop."

"Brian Eno is someone that you don't want to sound stupid in front of, and everything he said, I was just like, 'Wow'," noted (um) Natalie Imbruglia, who recently collaborated with Eno (and Coldplay's Chris Martin) for parts of her comeback album, on the BBC.

Any way you look at it, Brian Eno is one of the preeminent producers and thinkers of our time. Hell, an extemporaneous conversation between him and scholar Richard Dawkins recently packed the house in Oxford, and Eno's as well known these days for his politics, theories, and criticism as he is for his music. Indeed, the once prolific Eno's own output has slowed considerably since the 1970s and 80s, in part due to these extracurriculars and of course thanks to his ongoing work with U2 and Coldplay, something Eno addressed-- in addition to ABBA and Phil Collins-- when he opened some of his packed schedule for a brief conversation.