News: March 2006 Archives

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March 28, 2006

Norton hails 'humble' Bono

Hollywood star Edward Norton has praised the 'humbling' efforts of crusading rocker Bono - because he can work with people he doesn't like.

The U2 frontman and anti-poverty campaigner is hailed for his ability to shed personal prejudices to progress the causes he champions.

And the Fight Club star insists Bono's courageous behaviour should be an example to all.

Norton says: "I've been pretty impressed with him. It's very enlightened to choose to seek as much positive connection as he does, even with the people who are the instruments of these terrible terrible policies.

"In essence it's 'turn the other cheek', 'hate the sin and love the sinner', which is a lot more forgiving - more Christian, more Buddhist - than a lot of these things these more radical people talk about.

"It's saying, 'You're still my brother, I still want you in on this with me, even if I disagree with you. I'm going to find some common ground.'

"It's humbling to realise the degree to which we all indulge in anger, in response to these things. It's humbling to realise that the people who have affected real change embraced their adversaries.

"You realise what courage that takes, because it's easier to be angry."

Posted by Jonathan at 12:53 AM | Comments (11)

March 15, 2006

U2 May Have to Work with UH

by Derek Paiva, Honolulu Advertiser

The final 10 shows of U2's Vertigo tour will be rescheduled for November, vocalist Bono told Australian television yesterday. But a fall date for Honolulu will have to accommodate football at Aloha Stadium.

According to U2's Web site, www.u2.com, the band hopes to make an official announcement on specific dates soon.

The Vertigo tour's final shows, including an Aloha Stadium date on April 8, were postponed last week when an immediate family member of someone in the band fell ill. Honolulu fans were advised to hold onto their tickets and wait for a new date.

Bono commented about rescheduling the postponed shows on Australian Broadcasting Corpo's Enough Rope TV show, saying that he didn't want to leave the country without confirming the band's intention to make up the shows.

"I can't really get into details why," Bono said, regarding the family illness that postponed the dates. "The good news is I think I can announce tonight we are coming back. Looks like November, and that's a great relief to me."

Bono did not say which U2 member's immediate family member was ill but said, "Our music does come out of (a) very tight community. So if one of us is going through it, we're all going through it."

Last week's postponement affected U2 shows in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Hawai'i.

Aloha Stadium Authority spokesman Patrick Leonard said he had not yet heard from the band's management about rescheduling the Honolulu show or specific dates that could be in play.

"But we'd have to know what date they were looking at, because almost every weekend in November has UH football," Leonard said.

University of Hawai'i football home games are scheduled for the stadium on Nov. 11, 18, 25 and Dec. 2. After that, stadium dates are available until the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Christmas Eve.

A U2 concert on a UH football home game week in November would have to be scheduled to allow time for concert stage setup and breakdown between the Warriors' Saturday games.

The stage and seating layout would also have to be modified to accommodate the stadium's football configuration instead of the baseball configuration originally set for an April 8 concert.

The configuration change would affect vantage points for some fans holding reserved seats, Leonard said, and would create a narrower field that would alter the space for fans holding general admission tickets.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:58 AM | Comments (4)

March 10, 2006

Bono lays low

By Kathy McCabe

It was meant to be a short holiday with the family before the start of the final gruelling leg of U2's world tour.

But yesterday singer Bono was taking comfort from his wife Ali and their family, including sons Elijah and John, after the Irish supergroup put the Vertigo tour - including two sold-out Sydney dates - on hold due to the serious illness of one of the band's relatives.

As Bono and his family spent the day boating on Sydney Harbour, sympathetic fans speculated that the tour was halted by an illness affecting one of guitarist The Edge's children.

U2's international promoter The Next Adventure and local agent Michael Coppel said: "This action is unavoidable due to the illness of an immediate family member of the band."

TNA president Arthur Fogel said: "Any fan of U2 will realise that this decision has not been taken lightly.

"We will announce further details as soon as we have them."

Ten shows in Auckland, Australia and Hawaii, including the two Telstra Stadium gigs on March 31 and April 1, have been postponed.

Representatives of Michael Coppel Presents and the band's Australian record label Universal refused to confirm or deny reports about the nature of the illness or which band member's family was affected.

The postponement could cost many diehard fans thousands of dollars in non-refundable airfares and accommodation.

But even those fans were quick to post notices on U2-related internet forums expressing their sympathy for the band members and their families.

The Edge dedicated one of the band's recent Grammy wins to his eight-year-old daughter Sian, who it is believed was suffering a serious illness last year.

The Edge has four daughters and a son.

Several containers of staging and other production equipment for the massive outdoor extravaganza has already arrived in Australia. Mr Coppel yesterday confirmed American hip-hop superstar Kanye West, who was the major support act for the tour here, will go ahead with his own headlining shows.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:35 AM | Comments (17)

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