Tours: Vertigo - 3rd Leg - North America Archives

December 20, 2005

12.19.05 Portland, Oregon

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Happy Christmas, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One, Help, Instant Karma. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 05:48 PM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2005

12.17.05 Salt Lake City, Utah

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) - Norwegian Wood, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One, Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40.

Media Review:

U2's bombast and subtlety rock Delta Center Crowd

by Dan Nailen, Salt Lake Tribune

It sometimes seems that as long as U2 keeps touring, the state of rock music can't be too bad.

Saturday at the Delta Center, the long-running Irish quartet delivered the kind of inspirational, life-affirming set that only feels routine in this band's hands. Touching on all eras of its career, U2's energetic performance was only surprising in that it came at the end of nearly a year straight of touring in support of the band's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" album.

Opening with "City of Blinding Lights" and "Vertigo," both from that album, U2 set the stage for an intense evening as glaring lights filled the venue with color and giant video screens projected the band's images to the far reaches of the upper deck.

Bono was in a frisky mood from the start, racing around an oval ramp on the Delta Center floor, pulling a "beautiful Santa" on stage from the crowd during "Beautiful Day" and boasting a bit after singing the praises of opening act Kanye West as a "great American voice."

"We're just a young band," Bono announced in an interlude between "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and a verse of "In a Little While." "We're still getting started. We're still hungry."

U2 paid tribute to its influences several times, particularly The Beatles. "Vertigo" ended with a snippet of "She Loves You," while Bono picked up an acoustic guitar for "Norwegian Wood." "Beautiful Day" ended with a chorus of John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)."

The band's newest songs came to vivid life in the hands of guitarist The Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr., much more enthralling than their recorded versions. "Original of the Species" was an epic ballad, while "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" was a poignant dedication to Bono's father.

"Sunday Bloody Sunday" turned into a benediction of sorts, with Bono saying the song, originally about the civil war in Ireland, now belongs to America.

"Co-exist," Bono intoned, pulling a small child on stage. "Co-exist. A beautiful, simple thought that's getting harder and harder to hold on to."

The remainder of the show alternated between moments of power and bombast and moments of subtle intensity. An explosive "Bullet in the Blue Sky" made way for the gentler "Miss Sarajevo." The churning "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" led to the stunning close, "One."

Among the encore songs that left the audience spent and satisfied were "Mysterious Ways," "Until the End of the World" and "With or Without You."

Posted by Jonathan at 02:38 AM | Comments (4)

December 17, 2005

12.15.05 Omaha, Nebraska

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo - She Loves You, Elevation, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Sgt. Pepper's, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - All I Want Is You. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Crumbs From Your Table, Yahweh, 40

Media Review:

U2 rocks Omaha with atomic force

by Niz Proskocil, Omaha World-Herald

With passion and precision, U2 delivered an exhilarating concert that transcended entertainment.

During the Irish rock band's sold-out performance Thursday night at the Qwest Center Omaha, the arena took on the reverence of a worship service and, at times, the urgency of a human-rights rally.

Before a crowd of more than 16,000 fans, the band used its music to convey compassion, hope, tolerance and spirituality during a jubilant two hour and 20-minute performance.

The veteran rockers stopped in Omaha as part of the third leg of the band's "Vertigo" tour, which has grossed $260 million and was recently named the year's top-grossing tour by Billboard magazine.

The concert started with a 40-minute set from confident, charismatic rapper-producer Kanye West.

Accompanied by an all-female, six-piece string section, a harpist and a turntablist, West delivered an entertaining set of songs from his latest album, "Late Registration," and his Grammy-winning debut, 2004's "The College Dropout."

About 9:25 p.m., U2 took the stage as confetti rained from the rafters. The band opened with "City of Blinding Lights" and "Vertigo" from its latest album, 2004's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."

The opening numbers, and the rest of the set, for that matter, generated deafening cheers, enormous applause and lots of crowd participation.

"I don't know why we don't come down to these parts more often," Bono told to the crowd. "Thank you for giving us a great life."

Though the Omaha show was the band's third-to-last concert of a North American tour that began in March, band members showed no signs of wear.

Frontman Bono commanded the stage with his powerful lyrics and rock-star charisma. Guitarist the Edge laid down one searing riff after another. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton provided solid, muscular rhythms.

The show was a visually stunning production with retractable curtains of beaded lights that flashed images during certain songs. Other cool elements included the "ellipse," an oval-shaped ramp that served as a catwalk for band members and enclosed several hundred lucky fans on the arena floor.

The set list featured a nice mix of old and new songs. For old-school fans, there were classics like "I Will Follow" from 1980. Newer cuts included "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," which Bono dedicated to his late father, Bob Hewson.

He dedicated "Original of the Species" to Omahan Susie Buffett, who serves on the board of his DATA organization (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa).

An outspoken political and social activist, during the opening notes of "Sunday Bloody Sunday," Bono exclaimed: "This is your song now, America."

During the chills-inducing performance, he pulled a young girl on stage with him to help him chant "No more!" over and over again. He also told the audience that "we must not become a monster in order to defeat a monster."

The band then launched into an explosive version of "Bullet the Blue Sky," in which Bono pulled a white bandanna with the words "coexist" over his eyes, fell to his knees and put his hands over his head like a prisoner of war.

Before the anthem "One," Bono asked crowd members to hold up their cell phones, which lit the arena with thousands of blue-tinted screens. He encouraged fans to join his ONE Campaign to combat AIDS and end poverty.

After a short break, the band returned for two encores. Among the highlights of the first encore was "With or Without You." Bono plucked a young woman from the crowd, then danced with and embraced her onstage throughout the song.

U2 proved that the band hasn't lost its ability to take fans on an awe-inspiring, musical journey.

Posted by Jonathan at 01:23 AM | Comments (1)

December 15, 2005

12.14.05 St. Louis, Missouri

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo - She Loves You, Elevation, Gloria, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Instant Karma, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 04:00 AM | Comments (4)

December 13, 2005

12.12.05 Charlotte, North Carolina

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Gloria, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 02:27 AM | Comments (2)

12.10.05 Cleveland, Ohio

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo - She Loves You, Elevation, Gloria, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Original of the Species - Norwegian Wood, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Help. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Instant Karma, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 02:25 AM | Comments (2)

December 10, 2005

12.09.05 Buffalo, New York

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Gloria, The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Help. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Instant Karma, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 05:48 PM | Comments (2)

December 08, 2005

12.07.05 Hartford, Connecticut

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Gloria, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day - Happy Christmas (War Is Over), Original of the Species - Norwegian Wood, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One, Help. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Instant Karma, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 04:24 AM | Comments (2)

December 06, 2005

12.05.05 Boston, Massachusetts

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo - Dirty Water - Take Me to the River, Elevation, Gloria, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Original of the Species - Norwegian Wood, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - She's a Mystery To Me. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Crumbs From Your Table, Instant Karma (full band), Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 06:36 AM | Comments (4)

December 05, 2005

12.04.05 Boston, Massachusetts

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Yahweh, Bad - 40, All Because of You, Fast Cars

Media Review:

U2 dazzles with passionate, powerful show

By Jonathan Perry, Boston Globe Correspondent | December 5, 2005

When he's not busy stumping for human rights across the globe, meeting with world leaders and presidents, or being considered for peace prizes, Bono sings for a fair little rock and roll combo called U2. You might have heard of them: aside from some geezers called the Rolling Stones, they're just about the biggest band touring the world right now.

Last night's dazzlingly celebratory, pitch-perfect performance (the first of two sold-out shows in Boston, and one of seven this year in the city alone) illustrated why. Jubilant, poignant, impassioned, grateful, and always, always musically brilliant -- U2 was all of these things during a show in which one magnificent song from one era (an urgent, joyous ''I Will Follow") bled into another (''I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For") and fed into yet another (''Beautiful Day").

What U2 reminds us every time the four take the stage, some 25 years into their run as Ireland's most popular export this side of Guinness, is that they've never let up, looked down, or looked back. They've been the ambitious architects of monumental rock statements (''The Joshua Tree"), brazenly thrown themselves headlong into new sonic adventures (''Achtung Baby"), and effortlessly re-established their greatness by hitting new creative peaks (''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb"). But they keep striding forward, a pop institution yet inimitable and still challenging themselves, and us.

Surrounded by a circular catwalk and flanked by a curtain of blinking lights that constantly shifted patterns and flashed like Las Vegas neon with a message, U2 had no trouble matching the electricity of the surroundings. At the center was Bono, of course, a bulky yet sensual presence in superb, soaring voice, preening and exhorting the crowd to exultation like a left-wing holy roller, as if he were leading a political rally inside the world's biggest pub. At his side, as always, was The Edge, peeling off those lovely shimmering guitar tones to match the easy majesty of the songs.

The evening started, appropriately enough, with ''City of Blinding Lights," dipped into the slippery dance-floor groove of ''Vertigo," and then the boisterous pomp and stomp of ''Elevation," with The Edge's bumblebee guitar buzz swirling Bono's cavorting romp around the lip of the stage.

Showmanship and sincerity collided beautifully on the evening's early showpiece, ''Sunday Bloody Sunday," an apocalyptic war-torn vision still timely to the world's events. ''America, this is your song now!" Bono called out. Someone from the audience then handed him an American flag, which he gingerly draped across an amplifier onstage, before shouting ''No More!" He immediately dedicated a howling, white-hot ''Bullet the Blue Sky" to the ''brave young men and women of the United States military." The sequence proved something of a paradox, but it was honest. And that's what U2 has always been about.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:02 AM | Comments (6)

November 29, 2005

11.28.05 Montreal, Canada

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day - Blackbird, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Get Up Stand Up, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Love Will Tear Us Apart, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 04:18 AM | Comments (0)

November 28, 2005

11.26.05 Montreal, Canada

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Until the End of the World - Instant Karma, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Yahweh, Bad - The Maker - 40

Media Review:

Vive U2 ... a Montreal!

by T'cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette

'Vive U2 ... a Montreal!'
The Arcade Fire may not have been the only hometown band to ignite 20,300 delirious fans last night at the Bell Centre, as Bono proclaims 'U2 vient vivre a Montreal.' Whether they're serious or not, the world's biggest rock band proved they would be more than welcome

T'CHA DUNLEVY
The Gazette

Sunday, November 27, 2005

"On a une annonce tres importante," said Bono, after U2 played its fourth song, I Will Follow, to a capacity crowd of 20,300 at the Bell Centre last night.

"U2 vient vivre a Montreal."

The audience, obviously, went nuts. And though Bono never explained exactly what he meant by the statement - when, why, for how long - there was definite synergy between band and fans as the group powered through hit after hit, interspersed with moments of spirituality, theatrics and politics.

This was, after all, U2; perhaps you've heard of them - world's biggest rock band, given to pomp, larger-than-life songs, activism, feel-goodism and occasional existential wisdom.

They opened with City of Blinding Lights, off last year's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Confetti raining down, glittering disco curtains, Bono putting the cat in catwalk, venturing out onto the circular ramp surrounding the stage. It was the first song, and already we were in encore mode.

"Ca va bien aujourd'hui?" Bono asked, after. Then: "Vive les Montrealais. Et les Habs! Vive U2 ... a Montreal!"

The last words were swallowed by the roar of the crowd, into which Bono shouted, "Un, deux, trois, quatre," as the band kicked into Vertigo, Atomic Bomb's rockin' first track.

Even a nearby beer vendor couldn't resist the swelling energy; he set down his wares and turned to sing along and dance.

Then came Elevation, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day - in that order. There was no stopping this runaway train.

Along the way, bits of poetry, trademark Bono spontaneity and showmanship. During elevation, he paused on the catwalk, motioned for the Gazette photographer to hand over his camera, and snapped a few shots.

After I Will Follow, he took a moment to praise openers the Arcade Fire, hailing the Montreal band as "troubadours, psychedelic minstrels," and "the most (amazing) musical thing we've seen in a very long time."

He took off his shades for Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, striding slowly back onto the catwalk and basking in the deafening cheers of the crowd.

"Wow," he said.

Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky and Miss Sarajevo - time to get serious. After Pride (In the Name of Love) and Where the Streets Have No Name, Bono donned his humanitarian cap.

Saying he had spent the previous day meeting with Canadian politicians, "all of them - Jack Layton, Stephen Harper, Gilles Duceppe and Paul Martin" - he urged everyone to push them, during the coming election, to eliminate Third World debt.

In this first of two sold-out shows (the band returns tomorrow), U2 proved it can still be all things to all people, while remaining relevant, pushing its humanitarian agenda and putting on a helluva show.

tdunlevy@thegazette.canwest.com

Posted by Jonathan at 04:49 AM | Comments (0)

November 26, 2005

11.25.05 Ottawa, Canada

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Yahweh, 40

Media Review:

One great night

by Ann Marie McQueen, Ottawa Sun

"IT'S TAKEN 20 years," boomed Bono, "here goes."

From the moment the charismatic U2 frontman appeared at the bottom of a giant oval stage last night, his arms raised in the air, framed against a curtain of lightbulbs as confetti rained down during the stirring opening notes of City of Blinding Lights, to the last, audience-perpetuated "how long to sing this song?" 40 chorus, U2 made up for lost time.

The sold-out crowd of more than 18,000, who stayed on their feet right up to the Corel Centre roof throughout the much-anticipated two-hour show, seemed to agree.

"Has this city got soul?" Bono belted out early on in the show, over and over and over, during Beautiful Day, the band's 2000 gratitude anthem.

"You say that to all the rock stars," he joked later, during another near-deafening moment.

There couldn't have been much more buzz if the building was hosting Game 7 of a Stanley Cup final for its beloved Ottawa Senators. When U2 finally took the stage -- 15 minutes late, prompting the restless crowd to launch into an enthusiastic bout of "the wave" -- the place seemed ready to take off.

'SEXY PEOPLE'

"Sexy people, here in Ottawa, Friday night," remarked Bono, shortly after watching us sing the first verse of Elevation.

The band made full use of the stage throughout, with The Edge, bass guitarist Adam Clayton, even drummer Larry Mullen, at different times seeming to stride out into the crowd, fans on either side rocking out to their tight, precise chords.

Things hit a high right after a human rights message during the elusive Miss Sarajevo, when the group slid from a spine-tingling Pride (In The Name of Love) into a welcome Where The Streets Have No Name. We were there for the music, but the anti-poverty sermon -- complete with contact numbers for Canadian political leaders scrolling across an elevated video screen -- proved a fitting intro for One. It was made all the nicer when Bono urged everyone to turn on their cellphones, transforming the place into a glittering sea of light.

"We can change the world," he pleaded, "things don't have to be the way they are."

There was plenty to love and few surprises during the 95-minute concert, augmented by two powerful encores. The group stuck to their script, mostly, though periodically borrowed snippets of tunes like Rock The Casbah and Many Rivers To Cross.

Though some critics have complained about Bono's vocals this tour, the only times he seemed croaky to me came during a few between-songs sections. It was a nice tribute when, recalling his many conversations with his late father that began with "take those f------ sunglasses off," Bono removed his trademark eyewear before beginning the sweet ode Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own.

And there were a few lovely acoustic moments too, at the beginning of the second encore, when Bono and The Edge stood at the bottom of the oval to perform Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of and the newer Yahweh.

MARRIAGE PROPOSAL

I couldn't help but think about Jack Crocker during With Or Without You, because that's when the Ottawa chef told me he'd planned to pull out the diamond ring hiding in his pocket and propose to Brie Gilmore, his girlfriend of two years, right down there on the floor. Or imagining being the girl Bono dragged up on stage for a sexy slow dance right about the same time.

Ah, music brings us together, doesn't it? It took 20 years all right, but at least it was worth the wait.

And I've said it before, but until I caught Arcade Fire's opening act last night, I couldn't have meant it: The Montreal-based, partially-Ottawa comprised group played their hearts out.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:35 AM | Comments (0)

November 23, 2005

11.22.05 New York City, New York

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co. - Send in the Clowns, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One, MLK. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Instant Karma (abrupt ending)

Posted by Jonathan at 06:58 AM | Comments (2)

November 22, 2005

11.21.05 New York City, New York

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day - Blackbird, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Instant Karma (w/ Patti Smith), Bad - People Have the Power

Posted by Jonathan at 03:37 AM | Comments (2)

November 21, 2005

11.19.05 Atlanta, Georgia

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Happy Birthday, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One, MLK. Encore: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You, The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Bad

Posted by Jonathan at 05:25 AM | Comments (0)

11.18.05 Atlanta, Georgia

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Beautiful Day, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Mysterious Ways, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: Until the End of the World, The Fly, With or Without You, Happy Birthday, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Yahweh, All Because Of You, 40

Media Review:

U2 at Philips Arena Friday night

by Phil Kloer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

There’s a fine line between being the most charismatic rock star working these days and a fairly large serving of ham, and reasonable people can disagree on which side of the line Bono falls.

Of course, if there were any reasonable people heading into Philips Arena Friday or Saturday night for back-to-back, sold-out concerts by U2, there weren’t any going out, because U2 just flat-out put on a synapse-frying show. One of the most intense rock ‘n’ roll light shows ever and a barrage of decibels combined for sensory overload.

Beaded curtains of light hung above the stage in sheets, flashing and showing shimmering images. The stage was surrounded by a huge, egg-shaped catwalk, which was itself lit with pulsing lights around the perimeter. It allowed the band members — mainly famous frontman Bono— to get off the stage, into the arena, and play to the crowd.

And play to the crowd he did, with as much showboating as Wayne Newton working a lounge in Vegas.

Friday night, he got a young woman out of the audience for a long slow dance to “With Or Without You.” He donned a blindfold and pretended to be a political prisoner. He gave one shout out to America’s military, another to New Orleans clean-up volunteers. He threw a few bars of “Georgia On My Mind” into the staggeringly propulsive opener “City of Blinding Lights.”

He talked about his dad, and how he died recently, but was always asking Bono to take off his sunglasses. “So anyway, this is for you, dad,” he said, taking off his ever-present shades, as the band launched into its recent hit “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own.” “And it’s you when I look in the mirror,” he sang, to everyone’s aging or dead parents. And he even hit the high notes.

That ham metaphor isn’t a knock, more a nod of respect. U2 could charge triple digits for tickets (which they do), come out, play the tunes and move on, but they apparently want their fans to experience everything from emotional turmoil to a political awakening to partial hearing loss. (Man, were they loud.)

They’ve always been this way, more or less, for 25 years, with some slight missteps in the ‘90s when they got a little too cutesy, some felt. They’ve long since ditched the irony; Bono in concert these days is as serious as a biopsy report. The self-described “Irish megalomaniac” donned a headband with a Star of David, a Christian cross and a Muslim crescent moon on it for the anti-violence anthem “Sunday Bloody Sunday, announcing that “We are all sons of Abraham.”

He promoted the One “campaign to make poverty history,” got in a plug for his efforts on African debt relief, and scrolled the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the Jumbotron.

What U2 has gotten really good at, though, is integrating all that into two hours-plus of rock ‘n’ roll kick-in-the-head catharsis. That Jumbotron was frequently divided into four panels so all four band members were on display: Guitarist the Edge, with his stocking cap and array of killer licks, chiming, chopping, soaring and just filling Philips; bassist Adam Clayton, as stoic as Bono is histrionic; drummer Larrry Mullen, shown in close-up so you could see the tendons popping on his forearms.

Opening act the Institute suffered the same fate of most acts that have to go out in an arena of people still trickling in to see the headliner: Hardly anyone cared. Singer Gavin Rossdale, formerly of Bush, tried a little showboating himself, and he’s got some moves, but after 45 minutes, the band hadn’t really moved the needle.

Posted by Jonathan at 05:23 AM | Comments (0)

November 17, 2005

11.16.05 Tampa, Florida

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Mysterious Ways, Until the End of the World, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In a Moment, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Media Review:

Still going strong

by Sean Daly, St. Petersburg Times

TAMPA - There is no greater rock frontman than U2's Bono.

And there is no one who believes this more than U2's Bono.

Part shaman, part carnival barker, part politico obsessed with saving the whole world, the vainglorious singer of the world's biggest band led the Irish quartet through more than two hours of fist-pounding anthems, soul-penetrating ballads and over-the-top rock-god posturing at a sold-out St. Pete Times Forum Wednesday.

A massive crowd of 21,353 fans - so hungry for the band that moves them like no other - reacted to almost all of the 20-plus songs as if high-priest Bono were blessing them with something far more powerful than rousing radio hits.

And who knows? Maybe he was.

When U2 is finished spanning the globe in support of 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the band is expected to gross more than $300-million worldwide, a figure that will far surpass earnings by 2005's other whopper tours, including the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen.

So it was more than appropriate that one of the most talent-stuffed concert seasons in Tampa Bay history would conclude with the year's hottest (and toughest-to-get) ticket.

And don't you know U2 loves being the cherry on top.

Proving that a quarter-century of togetherness has made them one of the tightest outfits in rock 'n' roll, Bono, guitarist the Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. opened with the new City of Blinding Lights, a crescendoing piece of uplift that makes you want throw your hands in the air and holler. Long, tall drapes of light bulbs acted as blissfully blinding backdrops, and confetti rained from the skies.

Although it's always fascinating listen to Bono work out his issues with The Man Upstairs - a friend once theorized that all of U2's songs are directed at God, and she might be right about that - the band's true heart is the Edge, whose tingly, shimmering riffs and piercing solos are the stuff that goosebumps are made of.

A true musical magician, the Edge can make his instrument sound raw and raunchy as he did on the thunderous punk rage of Vertigo. He can unleash truly wicked solos as he showed on a slinky, sexy Mysterious Ways. And he can whip up a thick wall of chugga-chugga doomsday punch as he did on Until the End of the World, one of the best cuts from U2's best album, 1991's Achtung Baby. (Bring it on, Joshua Tree fans. I'll debate you all day long.)

Ultimately, it always comes back to Bono, of course. There he was, prowling the oval ellipse that enclosed the stage and a few hundred fans, leading the charge of Sunday Bloody Sunday like the good Christian soldier that he is. ("This is your song now!" he screamed.) There he was, crawling on the floor during Bullet the Blue Sky. There he was, busting out opera - in Italian, no less - on Miss Sarajevo, originally a duet with Luciano Pavarotti.

That lovely song was followed by a short film on human rights - which in turn was followed by epically minded Martin Luther King tribute Pride (In the Name of Love). Say what you will about U2's speechifying, but these boys sure know how to make a point and make that sucker stick.

Of course, for all his egomania, Bono can also be a charming dude. "Where are we?" he asked at one point. "Ah, yes, Tampa." He remembered playing a club here way back in 1981. "The End Zone," he said, before adding the oh-so-Bono-esque: "The Beginning Zone is more like it."

Without missing a beat, the band then kicked into the gospel-edged bliss of I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, which naturally turned into a glorious sing-along of lost souls.

That moment right there was the night's highlight ... well, until Edge plucked out those life-affirming opening notes to Where the Streets Have No Name, which still gets me all weepy almost two decades later.

The show's six-song finale was relatively sobering after such a thoroughly rocking show. But that's just my opinion. I'm sure the young woman who slow-danced with Bono to With or Without You feels a wee bit differently.

Posted by Jonathan at 05:59 PM | Comments (0)

November 15, 2005

11.14.05 Miami, Florida

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, The Electric Co., I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day - Blackbird, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: Until the End of the World, The Fly, With or Without You, All Because Of You, Walk On, Bad

Posted by Jonathan at 03:53 AM | Comments (2)

November 14, 2005

11.13.05 Miami, Florida

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Mysterious Ways, Until the End of the World, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Here Comes the Sun, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Rock the Casbah, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, Happy Birthday, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 04:01 AM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2005

11.09.05 Oakland, California

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, Gloria, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In a Moment, With or Without You, All Because of You, Fast Cars, Bad - People Have the Power

Posted by Jonathan at 04:00 PM | Comments (3)

11.08.05 Oakland, California

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Mysterious Ways, Until the End of the World, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - One Tree Hill. Encore: Zoo Station, The Fly, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 03:58 PM | Comments (3)

November 07, 2005

11.05.05 Las Vegas, Nevada

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Mysterious Ways, Until the End of the World, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day - All These Things That I've Done, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Zoo Station, The Fly, With or Without You, Happy Birthday, All Because of You, In a Little While, Bad

Posted by Jonathan at 03:59 AM | Comments (0)

11.04.05 Las Vegas, Nevada

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co. - Send in the Clowns, The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Can't Help Falling In Love. Encore: Walk On (acoustic), Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Media Review:

The Touching Personal Message of U2's "Miss Sarajevo"

By John Katsilometes

Thirteen years ago when I was living in Redding, Calif., a worldly friend of mine dating to junior high school pulled into town for a short visit. He brought with him unedited tapes of a documentary film he'd been working on called, "Miss Sarajevo."

"Brace yourself," he said as he popped the first tape into the VCR.

From Bill Carter, it was sound advice. He had spent the previous few years on a humanitarian effort in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia, which in the early '90s was under siege during a violent civil war. Bill recorded much of the carnage with a

camcorder. Through daring determination and an unbridled belief in his project, he connected with Bono of U2 just before a show in Bologna, Italy, during the European leg of the band's "Zooropa" tour.

The band arranged for live satellite reports from Sarajevo to be splashed across 90-foot screens. Bill served as a sort of field reporter, spreading the disturbing news internationally that the city was in the grip of violence. "Miss Sarajevo" was the title for the project, as Bill recorded a stunning beauty pageant that was held even as the city was being pounded by mortar fire.

At the end the contestants unfurled a long banner that read "Please Don't Kill Us All."

The footage of the courageous pageant closed the film, which was released in 1995 and has won national and international documentary film awards. Bill has since written his memoirs, "Fools Rush In" (WennerBooks, $14.95) about the events that led him to Sarajevo and the making of the film. The book's cover is a powerful shot of a young boy, probably 7 or 8 years old, walking along a sidewalk clutching schoolbooks in his right hand and a pistol in his left.

Bill's project inspired the beautiful U2 song "Miss Sarajevo," in which Bono sings a duet with Luciano Pavarotti. Many years later, as Bono began to tell the story of "Miss Sarajevo" Friday night at

the MGM Grand Arena, I felt chills. And more than 15,000 fans, who moments earlier were in full roar, fell silent. It was the unmistakable sound of an audience bracing itself.

It's an all-U2 column today, music fans ...

Adam's eve: Bono is the center of attention almost constantly. The Edge is the guitar god, frequently out front and under the spotlight. Larry Mullen Jr. is noticed because, hey, the drummer is impossible to ignore. But let us give a nod

to Adam Clayton, U2's no-nonsense bassist.

He might look like one of Uncle Dave's golfing buddies, with that short-cropped gray hair and casual long-legged gait, but when the tempo gets loose -- and it did a few times Friday -- count on Clayton to turn to Mullen and hit reset. Great attire, too -- a brick-red shirt with a yellow starburst on the right side, with charcoal-colored cargo pants ...

Cell of the century: Cell phones have replaced lighters as the audience's choice of illuminating a concert hall. Thousands were used Friday night, and trying to enforce any "No Cameras Allowed" policy these days is folly. Armed with cell-phone cameras, fans fired away at will ...

Elvis does Vegas: An Elvis impressionist -- this one a 1976 model, clad in the unfortunate cape/sequined jumpsuit ensemble -- clambered to the round walkway (at Bono's invitation) as the band performed a ragged version of "Can't Help Falling In Love" ...

Buy the numbers: A concert program cost $15, T-shirts went for $35 to $40 and a U2 "Vertigo" tour jacket for twice that price. But U2 fans are flush with disposable income these days -- a woman in front of me in line, apparently getting the jump on Christmas shopping, spent a quick $260 on her buying spree. Talk about vertigo ...

--Las Vegas Sun

Posted by Jonathan at 03:57 AM | Comments (1)

November 04, 2005

11.02.05 Los Angeles, California

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One, MLK. Encore: Walk On (acoustic), Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, With or Without You, All Because of You, Bad

Posted by Jonathan at 08:11 PM | Comments (1)

November 02, 2005

11.01.05 Los Angeles, California

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co. - Send in the Clowns, The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In a Moment, With or Without You, Happy Birthday, All Because of You, Out of Control, Fast Cars, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 04:51 AM | Comments (1)

October 30, 2005

10.29.05 Dallas, Texas

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In a Moment, Angel of Harlem, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Media Review:

U2 marries religion and politics

by Manuel Mendoza, Dallas Morning News

Neon is back. U2 says so.

The world's biggest rock band – or at least the most revered – bathed American Airlines Center in shimmering light Saturday night. It was an arresting visual backdrop for the Irish quartet's soaring wall of crystalline sound.

U2's imminent arrival was heralded by the descent of red neon in the shape of chandeliers, and the sold-out crowd roared in anticipation. As the band took the stage, curtains of fluttering light surrounded them. The song, appropriately enough, was "City of Blinding Lights."

It was also a city of deafening, if state of the art, sound as the rockers "Vertigo" and "Elevation" followed. U2 then reached back to its 1980 debut album, Boy, for "The Electric Co.," confirming a motif that would continue throughout the show: the insertion of snippets of songs by other acts.

"The Electric Co." bled into the Who's "See Me, Feel Me." Before the set was over, Bono had referenced "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "Old Man River" and Patti Smith's "Rock N Roll Nigger."

The show hit its stride with a round of political tunes mid-set, including the provocative "Love and Peace or Else" and the classic "Sunday Bloody Sunday."

For the former, drummer Larry Mullen played a tom-tom on the circular catwalk , and Bono donned a headscarf that read, "Co-Exist." He looked like an ersatz Steve Van Zandt. Images of the Jewish star, the cross, and other religious symbols played across the stage in drapes of light.

And during "Sunday Bloody Sunday," the singer brought a kid on stage and called him "a son of Abraham." Religion and politics: For U2, it's a natural marriage.

As is typical in rock 'n' roll, the band saved several of its signature tunes for the end of the pre-encore show: "Pride (in the Name of Love)," "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "One."

Posted by Jonathan at 03:18 AM | Comments (1)

October 29, 2005

10.28.05 Houston, Texas

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, The Electric Co. - Send in the Clowns, The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In a Moment, With or Without You, All Because of You, Fast Cars, Yahweh, 40

Media Review:

Big, brassy U2 reigns supreme

by Michael D. Clark, Houston Chronicle

It's official. No one does live music as big and brassy as U2.

A concert stage can be decked out with enough colorful lights to rival the sun, but without an iconic band — led by an enigmatic and charismatic lead singer — creating a sound that is instantly recognizable and distinctly its own, all you have is a hall decorated for a king who isn't there.

On Friday, veteran Irish supergroup U2 made the sold out Toyota Center its castle and, in front of thousands of its loyal subjects, the band reigned supreme. Even Astros pitcher Roger Clemens was in attendance to party a little with the lads from Dublin.

The set was a mix of songs that drew generously from the group's most recent studio album, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, as well as 2000's multi-Grammy winning All That You Can't Leave Behind. In the spaces were crowd favorites and early singles like I Will Follow, breakthrough anthems like Sunday Bloody Sunday and rock 'n' roll classics like Pride (In the Name of Love) and Where the Streets Have No Name.

Ever since the late '80s, U2 has been more adept than any other rock band at making its shows memorable experiences to cherish for a lifetime. Back then the band did it with anger in its political rants. After that the allure was in the technological and visual gaudiness of the glitzy Pop Mart tour. On Friday, elements from each of those eras were represented in both song and spirit.

The stage, with its beaded curtains of shimmering lights, lit up the arena like a giant Lite-Brite. It was an appropriate look as vocalist Bono, guitarist The Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr., opened the show with City of Blinding Lights.

Opening to the electric church bell-like jangle that is The Edge's signature effect, two-thirds of U2 took the stage in front of a large half oval catwalk. The middle was filled with a standing stage-front crowd. Bono then appeared at the tip of the catwalk to sing the opening verses. He flirted and cantered to the stage to join his band.

U2 can be as bold as it wants to be, but unconscious little touches of pop culture savvy set the band apart. Mixing a chorus of Send In the Clowns into The Electric Co. and Peter Tosh's Many Rivers To Cross into Beautiful Moments (ed. note: he must mean "Beautiful Day") were once-in-a-lifetime mash-ups that fans will talk about for decades.

U2 does it because it hasn't lost touch with the fans.

Posted by Jonathan at 07:04 AM | Comments (1)

October 26, 2005

10.25.05 Detroit, Michigan

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, Gloria, The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - MLK. Encore: The First Time, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, With or Without You, Crumbs From Your Table, Bad

Media Review:

U2 pleases, politicks two sold-out Palace crowds

by Adam Graham, Detroit News

No one goes to a U2 concert expecting an evening free of political soapboxing. Peace, unity, yada yada yada -- but hey, you're still going to play "Where the Streets Have No Name," right?

Even so, the Dublin quartet took its message of "Love and Peace or Else" to the edge -- pun intended -- during the band's very sold-out two-night stand at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

During a mid-show stretch through the band's most political material, including "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)," U2 frontman Bono fell to his knees and crossed his arms above his head while pulling a bandana with the message "Coexist" -- decorated with the Islamic crescent moon, the Jewish star of David and the Christian cross -- over his eyes, while images of war planes flickered on a wall of lights above his head.

Things were breezier at the onset of the 135-minute, 20-plus song shows, with Bono appearing as if out of thin air at the tip of the stage's ellipse-shaped catwalk, in front of more than 20,000 mostly thirtysomething fans each night. Confetti already raining from the ceiling, Bono shrugged his shoulders and casually strutted to the stage while the band played "City of Blinding Lights," the most timeless-sounding, classic-U2-minded track on their current album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."

The band elegantly powered through "Vertigo" and "Elevation" before dipping into its back catalog for songs from 1980's "Boy" ("I Will Follow," "The Ocean," and Monday, "The Electric Co.") and 1981's "October" (Tuesday night's "Gloria").

Driven with confidence and percision by ace drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., bassist Adam Clayton and the Edge's jangly, effects-laden guitars, U2 hit its stride while powering through its new material, most notably the soaring "Miracle Drug."

But Bono wasn't entirely on his game Monday. Acting slightly tepid, he stuck a little too closely to his home base on the main stage, only venturing out onto the stage's massive catwalk -- surrounded by fans on either side -- a handful of times. Audience response suffered as a result, but when he finally clicked with the crowd, who turned from receptive to rapturous during "Where the Streets Have No Name," he made sure to make note of it. "Wow," he said as the crowd roared, "this is a Monday night in Detroit? You can change the world with a sound like that."

Earlier in the evening Bono, who did something he rarely does -- take off his sunglasses -- during the tender "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" -- remarked, "This feels not at all like a Monday night. This feels like a Saturday night."

If that was the case, Tuesday felt like an even better Saturday night, with the band pulling out a few crowd faves it didn't Monday (including an intimate, acoustic "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" and closer "Bad," not to mention the powerful newbie-but-goodie "Crumbs from Your Table") and engaging in less political rhetoric than the night before. Instead, the band paid tribute to Rosa Parks in a pair of songs, with Bono shouting "for Rosa Parks, sing!" during "Pride" and dedicating set-closer "One" to the fallen civil rights legend, whom Bono called the "Mother of civil rights." "Because of her strength and quiet dignity, America became a better place," he said.

U2's stirring and surprising inclusion of "Miss Sarajevo" -- recorded with Luciano Pavarotti, under the pseudonym the Passengers, in the mid-'90s -- in the set was a revelation, especially with Bono capably filling in Pavarotti's vocal duties.

Both nights the band displayed considerable grace and charisma. Though heavy-handed at times -- in ways only U2 could get away with -- they put on a muscular show that proved why they still hold the title of the World's Greatest Living Rock and Roll Band.

The real head-scratcher was opening band Institute. By cranking out more than 40 minutes of recycled grunge riffs, ex-Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale's new band failed to justify either their exorbitant volume or their opening slot on one of the year's biggest tours.

Posted by Jonathan at 02:31 AM | Comments (5)

10.24.05 Detroit, Michigan

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, The Electric Co., The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: Walk On (acoustic), Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Media Review:

U2 brings message of peace to The Palace

by Adam Graham, Detroit News

No one goes to a U2 concert expecting an evening free of political soapboxing. Peace, unity, yada, yada, yada -- but hey, you're still going to play "Where the Streets Have No Name," right?

Even so, the Dublin quartet took its message of "Love and Peace or Else" to the edge -- pun intended -- Monday night at the band's sold-out show at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Things were breezier at the onset of the 135-minute, 20-plus song show, with Bono appearing as if out of thin air at the tip of the stage's ellipse-shaped catwalk, in front of more than 20,000 mostly thirty-something fans.

Confetti already raining from the ceiling, Bono shrugged his shoulders and casually strutted to the stage while the band played "City of Blinding Lights," the most timeless track on their current album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."

The band elegantly powered through "Vertigo" and "Elevation" before dipping into its catalog for a trio of songs -- "I Will Follow," "The Electric Co.," and "The Ocean" -- from 1980's "Boy."

Driven with confidence and precision by ace drummer Larry Mullen Jr., bassist Adam Clayton and the Edge's jangly, effects-laden guitars, U2 hit its stride while muscling through its new material, most notably the soaring "Miracle Drug" and "All Because Of You."

But Bono wasn't entirely on his game Monday.

Acting slightly tepid, he stuck a little too closely to his home base on the main stage, only venturing out onto the stage's massive catwalk -- surrounded by fans on either side -- a handful of times.

Audience response suffered as a result, but when he finally clicked with the crowd, who turned from receptive to rapturous during "Where the Streets Have No Name," he made sure to make note of it. "Wow," he said as the crowd roared, "this is a Monday night in Detroit? You can change the world with a sound like that."

Earlier in the evening, Bono, who did something he rarely does -- take off his sunglasses -- during the tender "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" -- remarked, "This feels not at all like a Monday night. This feels like a Saturday night."

Still, for the poor saps sitting behind the stage, it might as well have been Sunday afternoon; despite the filled seats, the band paid very little attention to the fans in back.

Worst of all was the guy who kept holding up a sign that read "I've waited 20 years for this day!!!" Fella, was it worth it just to look at U2's backs?

No matter where you were sitting, U2's stirring and surprising inclusion of "Miss Sarajevo" -- recorded with Luciano Pavarotti, under the pseudonym the Passengers, in the mid-'90s -- in the set was a revelation, especially with Bono capably filling in Pavarotti's vocal duties.

For as much noise as they made during the show, the band -- who plays again tonight at The Palace, and best believe they'll have something to say about the late civil rights legend Rosa Parks -- closed quietly with the religous-themed "Yahweh" and "'40,'" from "Atomic Bomb" and "War," respectively.

Posted by Jonathan at 02:23 AM | Comments (0)

October 23, 2005

10.22.05 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, The Electric Co. - Send in the Clowns, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Happy Birthday, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Party Girl, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Media Review:

U2 brings powerful music and message to Mellon Arena

by Ed Masley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

U2 lead singer Bono, at center, acknowledges fans during their sold-out concert last night at Mellon Arena.

Long before he'd sprayed the crowd down front with the foam from a bottle of champagne during a spirited encore performance of "Party Girl," with an audience member joining The Edge on acoustic guitar, it was clear that Bono had come to Mellon Arena last night in the mood to celebrate.

This is the year of U2's Hall of Fame induction after all, not to mention the 25th anniversary of "Boy," the band's debut.

But Bono was clearly more thrilled at the thought of the quarter of a million Africans he said were still alive this year because of U.S. aid, more thrilled that 2 million people and counting have joined the ranks of "One," a Bono-led campaign "to make poverty history." By 2008, he said, those numbers should grow to 5 million. "And that's bigger than the NRA, ladies and gentlemen," he announced with a grin.

Throughout the concert, he offset impassioned performances of U2's greatest hits and new material with a message of hope while advancing a social agenda based in human rights and bringing an end to not just poverty but war. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was scrolled across the giant screen above the stage at the end of a moving rendition of "Miss Sarajevo," in which he asked "Is there a time for human rights? Is this the time?" And in the most dramatic gesture of the night, after singing a line of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" in the middle of "Bullet The Blue Sky," he dropped to his knees, arms raised above his head, a blindfold covering his eyes.

It's rare to see a pop star work so hard at advancing a social agenda in the context of a big arena show. Not even Springsteen goes to these extremes. But it made for a natural fit with the music -- at times on an obvious level (an electrifying "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and an anthemic "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" in particular).

They dug as deep as "I Will Follow," which sounded as fresh as ever, and blew the dust off "The Electric Co.," going on to touch on many of the early songs that still in many ways define their legacy -- "With Or Without You," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "Where The Streets Have No Name."

But this was not an oldies show. They set the stage with two songs from their latest album -- "City of Blinding Lights" and "Vertigo" -- and a third from their previous effort, "Elevation." And even after "I Will Follow," it didn't hurt the show's momentum any when they kept coming back to those two latest albums. In fact, if anything, they spawned a number of the concert's highlights, from an anthemic "Beautiful Day" and a stripped-down, soulful performance of at least one critic's pick for U2's finest hour, "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," to such lesser-known treasures as "Miracle Drug" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," which Bono sent to his dad in a moving elegy.

That speech about his dad was merely one of several very human moments in a huge arena show. And that human connection more than likely has as much to do with all those bodies they keep packing into the Mellon Arena as all the millions they sold of "The Joshua Tree."

Posted by Jonathan at 03:05 AM | Comments (3)

October 21, 2005

10.20.05 Washington, DC

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., Out of Control, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Happy Birthday, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Walk On (acoustic), Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, With or Without You, All Because of You, Bad

Posted by Jonathan at 12:03 AM | Comments (0)

10.19.05 Washington, DC

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, The Electric Co. - Send in the Clowns, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - In a Little While, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else,, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2005

10.17.05 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, The Electric Co., I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Walk On (acoustic), Fast Cars, People Get Ready (w/ Bruce Springsteen), With or Without You, All Because of You, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 01:41 AM | Comments (2)

October 17, 2005

10.16.05 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Fast Cars, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 05:40 AM | Comments (5)

October 15, 2005

10.14.05 New York City, New York

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., Gloria, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - She's a Mystery to Me. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Fast Cars, With or Without You, All Because of You, Party Girl, Yahweh, Vertigo

Posted by Jonathan at 03:24 AM | Comments (1)

October 12, 2005

10.11.05 New York City, New York

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, Out of Control, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Fast Cars, With or Without You, All Because of You, Crumbs From Your Table, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 07:16 AM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2005

10.10.05 New York City, New York

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, The Electric Co., I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Happy Birthday, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: Zoo Station, The Fly, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, Bad, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 01:59 AM | Comments (8)

October 10, 2005

10.08.05 New York City, New York

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, All I Want Is You, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: The First Time, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, With or Without You, All Because of You, Fast Cars, Original of the Species, 40

Fan Review:

U2 Review at Madison Square Garden

By Chris Lowrey (cwlowrey@mac.com)

Saturday 8/10/05

As an opening Id like to pose the question.
Who really does not like U2?
Whether its the real early times with anthems such as Gloria and New Years Day early times with anthems such as Sunday Bloody Sunday and critically acclaimed masterpieces such as the Under and Blood Red Sky Joshua Tree and the Unforgettable Fire an interlude with Rattle and Hum through the 90s with the brilliant Achtung Baby featuring the remarkable One, Zooropa including The Edges lead vocal debut on Numb or Johnny Cash dueting with Bono on The Wanderer and even Pop with its trance grooves right up to the 00s on All that you cant leave behind (including new Wedding song favorite:Beautiful Day) and most recently How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb with the back-to-form Vertigo ode to New York City of Blinding Lights and optimistic Miracle Drug U2 have always been there for the masses.
Rare, indeed, is it to find a band that is able to infuse such strong political and humanitarian content/causes into its music and actually make them tuneful, sing along-good songs at the same time! And while The Edges staccato riffing can at times sound like other tunes in their repertoire it has evolved and been tweaked enough to make their 26 year career full of variety and hit tunes so as to allow for two maybe even three totally different set lists without repeating tunes!
It never happens like that of course, most bands have to stick to similar set lists for logistical reasons and it is the same with U2 although one look below can see how they are able to keep each night fresh for their adoring fans who well might attend more than one concert on any given tour!
It was an extremely wet Saturday in New York but huge full-page headlines of Bomb Scare in the Subway and a mere few inches of rain werent enough to keep the masses from Madison Square Garden on this night. The support act Keane, an up and coming English band with a singer, keyboardist and drummer (no guitarist in sight!) warmed the growing crowd up with their melancholic and beautifully sung tunes owing a lot to U2 as singer Tom Chaplin mentioned on several occasions. This band with parts of Coldplay, Travis and Starsailor are yet distinctive enough and have the charm and presence to ensure a burgeoning career will continue in an upward trajectory. Groups of young women around my area sang along to many tunes including the brilliant Everybodys Changing and This is the Last Time from their debut album Hopes and Fears and the signs are good for a long and illustrious career for the three Englishmen.
Right on cue at the stroke of 9:30 the lights went down and a tremendous roar erupted as Larry Mullen Jr, Adam Clayton, The Edge and finally Bono emerged from various parts of the stage and the stunning sound and light show commenced with the tribute to New York City of Blinding Lights What a way to get 20,000 rabid New Yorkers into the groove!
The stage itself was circular with wild snippets of light flashing and chasing each other around the floor in patterns as the band performed. The outer stage which was a two metre wide oval, encapsulating the lucky fans in The Pit and allowing band members to get out and closer to their audience- it also featured the blipping, racing lights resembling a gigantic circular heart rate machine. Most stunning of all however was the giant clear glass/Perspex type tubes which hung down at the back and sides of the stage and were raised and lowered on cue, these resembled giant door hangings that one may have on their caravan annex to keep flies out over the Summer and at various times had images of New York buildings, International flags and humans in a kind of join the dots formula that was visually stunning!
The familiar refrain of Un, deux, trios, quatre heralded the arrival of the best promotional tool Apple Ipod has ever had in the form of monster world wide hit and tour title Vertigo The crowd participation was astonishing even threatening to drown out the band at one stage and even dwarfing my memories of an English soccer final! This dancing, clapping and vociferous singing continued through the tracks Elevation and I Will Follow and on everyones wet clothing was now accentuated by sweat as well as the New York downpour- The Hoo
Hoo
Hoo. chant in Elevation had Bono grinning from ear to ear.
At this point I commented to my concert going partner Anna How will they keep this up? and true to form like the old pros they are, the ballad All I Want is you followed allowing the punters to relax their bodies if not their voices. This was short-lived as the band bounced into Beautiful Day causing the already fever pitch atmosphere to grow another leg. Miracle Drug undispersed with People Got the Power was well-received and set the tone for many messages of world peace and living together that underpinned the evening either directly or indirectly World Peace, as tired and general as it can sometimes sound, cant be a bad thing!
The next couple of tunes echoes Miracle Drugs ballad tone and wistful introspection was palpable in the crowd as Bono crooned Sometimes You Cant Make it on Your Own and Love and Peace or Else. The crowd erupted again for Sunday Bloody Sunday seemingly trying to outdo the live version of the same song off THAT live album so many moons ago. Perhaps they had inside knowledge that the gig was being recorded for a future live release as in 100s of concerts I havent heard anything like it on tonights effort U2 Live from Madison Square Garden would make such an effective live album so as not to require overdubs of any description (excepts perhaps the false start The Edge had on the acoustic guitar for Whos Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses to which Bono laughingly mocked his long time pal with a friendly Thats not very professional)
The medley of Bullet The Blue Sky / The Hands That Built America / When Johnny Comes Marching Home, was stunning and had every American in the house (AND some Australians) feeling supremely patriotic!
Next up came the highlight of the night: Miss Sarajevo in which Bono told the story of the young woman who performed a beauty pageant amidst a hail of mortar and bullets in defiance of war on her city. He also told us that although Luciano Pavarotti was not there to sing his part, he was and would do both! What followed was the most moving moment of the night as Bono seemed to take on the persona AND voice of Pavarotti singing the part completely in Italian and hitting the notes so well that Im sure the great man would have clapped as wildly and had tears in his eyes as most in the house did. The highlight of the night for yours truly!
The still resonant and relevant Pride (In the Name of Love followed, whipping the crowd back to fever pitch before Where the Streets have No Name maintained the passion. The next surprise and the final song of the set, was the entrance of Mary J Blige who dueted with Bono on the bands signature tune One. Although I felt she was a bit rusty for the first couple of lines (but that could have been due to an hour and a half of attuning my ears to Bonos still powerful vocals!) she redeemed herself and really enhanced the song with her arms draped around Bono to receive rapturous applause at the conclusion of the tune!
After a brief interlude the Bono and The Edge returned with the The First Time and the acoustic Whos Gonna Ride Your Wild horses at the top of the larger oval part of the stage and when Larry Mullen Jr and Adam Clayton returned for With or Without You the crowd were already back in the bands hands. A very touching moment occurred when Bono danced with a pretty young woman, during With
and then picked out another girl to dance with before finally pulling a heavy set man wearing a turban onto the stage and dancing with and hugging him! The turban-wearing guy sang with gusto and the moment was unbelievably poignant and followed the nights theme we are all in this world together!
The final encore of All Because Of You, Fast Cars and Original Of The Species capped the night off beautifully but the very LAST song, my favorite, the fabulous 40 closed the night off in spectacular fashion. Even 5 minutes after the lights went down the crowd were still singing How looooong, to sing this song, How looooong, to sing this song. How looooong, to sing this song over and over and over. Incredible this was STILL happening as we walked down 5 or 6 flights from the top tier at Madison! No kidding people were still singing this refrain as they walked right back out into the heavy rain and down the subway to catch the Bomb Threatened Subway trains!
The gig was beyond stunning and exceeded my expectations in every facet, the band still sound in top form- form they have held for at least 20 years and at the end of their career I wonder if anyone will be more revered other than the Rolling Stones and The Beatles.

Set List on Saturday Night!

1.City Of Blinding Lights,
2.Vertigo / Glad To See You Go (snippet),
3.Elevation,
4.I Will Follow,
5.All I Want Is You,
6.Beautiful Day,
7.Miracle Drug / People Got The Power (snippet),
8.Sometimes You Can\'t Make It On Your Own / The Black Hills of Dakota (snippet),
9.Love And Peace Or Else,
10.Sunday Bloody Sunday,
11.Bullet The Blue Sky / The Hands That Built America (snippet) / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet),
12.Miss Sarajevo,
13.Pride (In The Name Of Love),
14.Where The Streets Have No Name,
15.One (Duet with Mary J Blige)
Encore 1:
16.The First Time,
17.Who\'s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses,
18.With Or Without You,
Encore 2:
19.All Because Of You,
20.Fast Cars,
21.Original Of The Species,
22.40

Set list from the night before!
1.City Of Blinding Lights,
2.Vertigo / Rockaway Beach (snippet),
3.Elevation,
4.The Electric Co. / People I Don\'t Know Are Trying To Kill Me (snippet),
The Ocean,
5.I Still Haven\'t Found What I\'m Looking For / In A Little While (snippet),
6.Beautiful Day / Sgt. Pepper\'s Lonely Hearts Club Band (snippet) / Blackbird (snippet) / Many Rivers To Cross (snippet) / Across The Universe (snippet),
7.Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can\'t Make It On Your Own / The Black Hills of Dakota (snippet) / Torna A Surriento (snippet),
8. Love And Peace Or Else,
9.Sunday Bloody Sunday,
10.Bullet The Blue Sky / Please (snippet) / The Hands That Built America (snippet) / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet),
11.Miss Sarajevo,
12.Pride (In The Name Of Love),
13.Where The Streets Have No Name, One / Ol\' Man River (snippet)
Encore 1:
14.The First Time,
15.Stuck In A Moment You Can\'t Get Out Of,
16.Fast Cars,
Encore 2:
17.All Because Of You,
18.Crumbs From Your Table,
19.Yahweh,
20.With Or Without You

Posted by Jonathan at 05:58 AM | Comments (3)

October 08, 2005

10.07.05 New York City, New York

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day - Blackbird, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, Fast Cars, All Because of You, Crumbs From Your Table, Yahweh, With or Without You

Photos by Gary Hershorn (Reuters) and Henny Ray Abrams (AP):

Posted by Jonathan at 04:21 PM | Comments (0)

October 05, 2005

10.04.05 Boston, Massachusetts

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., Crumbs From Your Table, Still Haven't Found, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In A Moment, With Or Without You, All Because Of You, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 02:35 AM | Comments (3)

October 04, 2005

10.03.05 Boston, Massachusetts

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - MLK. Encore: The First Time, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 02:29 AM | Comments (0)

September 27, 2005

09.25.05 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The First Time, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

Media Review:

Bono and the boys throw a birthday bash

by Gemma Tarlach, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Life is too short to save the confetti for the encore.

That was just one of the lessons learned Sunday night at the Bradley Center when a sold-out crowd joined U2 for a birthday celebration that affirmed the power of music to inspire, unite and even effect positive change in the world.

"Twenty-nine years to this day, this band met for the first day. Little boys with big ideas - probably just big heads," said Bono after the quartet treated fans to a pair of songs, "The Electric Co." and "The Ocean," from its first album, 1980's "Boy."

Both songs underscored just how big the Dublin teenagers were thinking when they formed - and how thinking big, not to mention a healthy sense of humor about themselves, would become a hallmark of the band. The early songs, already full of Edge's lush, unbounded guitar work and Bono's emphatic vocals, stood as equals in quality and vision to 2000's "Elevation" and 1987's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," which book-ended them.

The near-two hour set was more than an anniversary retrospective of the band's career, however.

After opening with crowd-showering confetti during "City of Blinding Lights" and "Vertigo," both from 2004's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," U2 used songs old and new as segues for causes the band believes in.

Bono dedicated "Miracle Drug" to nurses and doctors, particularly those waging war against the AIDS pandemic. The singer prefaced "Miss Sarajevo," the band's haunting song of humanity during the Balkans War, with a salute to the bravery of the men and women of the American military. As the song came to a close, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights scrolled overhead on a widescreen jumbo TV.

After leading the crowd through a rousing version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday," Bono took an Irish flag from the crowd and explained there was a time he wasn't comfortable waving the symbol of a country torn by war and division.

"But tomorrow sees the end of what is known as 'the Troubles' in Ireland," Bono said, citing a disarmament agreement.

Perhaps the evening's most emotional synthesis of sound, vision and heart came as Bono dedicated "Where the Streets Have No Name" to the nations of Africa, which have been the focus of his politicking for global debt relief.

Ceiling-to-stage curtains of light bulbs displayed a scroll of the flags of that continent's nations during the song, then changed to the American flag as Bono segued into "Old Man River" and spoke of compassion for victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The evening was not all about the causes of rocks stars who loom larger than life in pop culture, of course. Bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. performed solidly but largely kept to the background, as usual. Edge's guitar has rarely sounded more immediate and complex - well, except for a fumble during one of the encores, "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses," when the guitarist, on the walkway with Bono, seemed to be playing a different song.

Both men stopped, looked at each other and laughed.

"Just give us a minute," Bono told the crowd, pulling out his ear monitor and leaning into Edge's shoulder for an all-too-human confab about what to do next.

E-mail Gemma Tarlach at gtarlach@journalsentinel.com.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:53 AM | Comments (1)

September 24, 2005

09.23.05 Minneapolis, Minnesota

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co. - Send in the Clowns, The Ocean, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day - Many Rivers to Cross, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The First Time, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, With or Without You, All Because of You, Crumbs From Your Table, Yahweh, Vertigo

Media Review:

U2's Bono reaches out and touches

Minneapolis Star Tribune, 09/24/2005

by Jon Bream

September has brought to the Twin Cities an unprecedented parade of popular music's performing masters: The newly minted (Coldplay's Chris Martin), the one not many knew about (Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong) and, of course, the veterans (Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Bono of U2 and even the eternally unhip Neil Diamond, who satisfies his faithful like Bruce Springsteen does his).

On Friday in front of an arena-record 20,240 people at Target Center, Bono proved why he stands alone. First of all, he has the best band (more on that later). While the music world is full of kings and princes, gods and goddesses, Bono stands as the pope of pop.

Not only is he music's conscience onstage and off, but his mere presence can carry a show. Unlike Jagger, Armstrong or Martin, Bono, 45, didn't rely on physicality on Friday. Rather, he moved like a mime in slow motion, not a rock star in overdrive. He could reach out and touch the huge throng with his sincerity and spirit -- or just literally with his hand.

During "Beautiful Day," a parent in front of the stage held up a young boy and, as Bono sang, he held the boy's left hand and the kid's right index finger pointed at Bono, bouncing perfectly to the beat, as if to say "you da man."

Similarly, before "Elevation," a young woman held up a sign declaring "I lost 75 lbs to dance with you."

Bono invited her onstage and announced, "You know Irish men don't dance. We do lots of other things." Then, of course, he danced with her and kissed her on the hand.

For 2¼ hours, Bono came across as part politician, part preacher -- and all passion. His crusades and campaigns were not about rebellion but about unity. "Coexist" was the word he wore on his headband, with the C being a Muslim crescent moon, the X a Star of David and the T a cross. He acknowledged the hurricane hardships and recoveries in the South, declaring, "We're so proud to see America at its best."

Bono also thinks globally, translating Zulu words, scrolling the Declaration of Human Rights across a giant screen and preaching that Martin Luther King's dream is "a European dream, an Asian dream, an African dream."

Sometimes Bono seemed pompous and pretentious (especially the hokey blindfolded prisoner-of-war bit) but there were enough self-deprecating moments to deflate his big head. (Best: When he was doing "Miss Sarajevo," which he'd recorded with Pavarotti, he said, "He's not here, but I've been putting on a little bit of weight.")

Indeed, Bono seemed like Pavarotti, Springsteen, King and Nelson Mandela all rolled into tight black jeans, a black leather jacket and wraparound sunglasses. He occasionally stepped out of that persona, especially during "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own." Dedicating the song to his late father, he shed the shades and offered his most emotional vocal, his eyes filled with bittersweet tears.

Bono could not have pulled all this off without the rest of U2. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton were the engine that drove the heroic sound. And it was the Edge, a true rock original, and his mostly subtle and always sublime guitar that made things magnificent. He provided the metallic fury during "Bullet the Blue Sky," the grace during "Yahweh" and the dizzying circular patterns during "Vertigo," which U2 curiously performed twice.

"In Italian, encore means play the song a second time," Bono joked before the finale. The pope of pop knows a good benediction -- even if it's a roaring one.

Posted by Jonathan at 02:16 PM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2005

09.21.05 Chicago, Illinois

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., The Ocean, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Yahweh, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: Bad - The First Time, Original of the Species, With or Without You - Love Will Tear Us Apart, Fast Cars, All Because of You, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 04:17 PM | Comments (1)

September 21, 2005

09.20.05 Chicago, Illinois

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., The Ocean, Walk On, Beautiful Day - Sgt. Pepper's, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Yahweh, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: Discotheque, The Fly, With or Without You, All Because of You, The First Time, Bad - 40

Media Review:

U2's Well-Worn Arena Rock Script Rouses Fans

Chicago Sun-Times, September 22, 2005

Bobby Reed

How many U2 members does it take to screw in a light bulb? Four: One holds the bulb while two others participate in Bono's press conference regarding the social, economic and spiritual ramifications of using electricity to illuminate a room.

Joking aside, there is little middle ground among rock fans regarding U2's frontman. Supporters applaud Bono's efforts to fight AIDS, promote human rights and alleviate poverty around the globe. Detractors think Bono epitomizes the self-absorbed windbag rock star who pumps up his ego by telling fans how they can help him change the world.

Bono, of course, was the center of attention Tuesday as U2 brought its "Vertigo" tour back to the United Center for the first of two sold-out shows. The same venue hosted four sold-out U2 shows in May during the initial leg of the tour, and two-thirds of Tuesday's set list consisted of songs that U2 played at the venue on May 7. The band also used the same elaborate stage design, which had a gigantic, oval walkway that encircled a group of fans standing in a pit near the stage.

The bulk of the concert was a meticulously rehearsed, carefully choreographed presentation of hit songs, social commentary, video segments, cinematic lighting and Bono's trademark theatricality. But despite the relative lack of spontaneity, the Irish quartet -- particularly (and perhaps surprisingly) drummer Larry Mullen Jr. -- delivered an engaging, hook-heavy, expertly executed arena rock show.

Bono kept his speeches short, so they didn't disrupt the show's pacing. Two of the evening's highlights occurred when U2 ventured away from its well-worn script.

Accompanied solely by the Edge on acoustic guitar, Bono sang a passionate version of "Walk On.'' In the midst of this tune, the singer forgot the words and requested that a roadie bring him a lyric sheet. Bono recovered splendidly from this slightly awkward glitch, which injected some unexpected humor into the proceedings.

During the second encore of the 140-minute show, U2 surprised hardcore fans with "The First Time,'' a rarely performed song from the 1993 album "Zooropa.'' Bono's muscular vocals were particularly effective as he crooned, "He said I have many mansions / And there are many rooms to see / But I left by the back door / And I threw away the key.''

This lovely tune was one of a handful in which only Bono and the Edge performed. The band was at its peak, however, when all four members locked into a groove. Bassist Adam Clayton held down the low end with graceful panache, and Mullen proved once again that he is one of the best musicians in rock 'n' roll.

Bono may get all the press, but Mullen provides the musical bedrock that makes this quartet such a powerful live presence. His rumbling kick drum on "Miracle Drug'' and bright cymbal splashes on the classic "One'' were just as mesmerizing as any of the Edge's textured guitar solos. The soaring vocals and fine fretwork on hits such as "Beautiful Day,'' "Sunday Bloody Sunday'' and particularly "Where the Streets Have No Name'' gained much of their power because they were merged with Mullen's inventive percussion.

Mullen's style is straightforward enough to rouse an entire arena of fans but complex enough to keep the songs from growing moldy over time. The best vantage point at a U2 show isn't in the pit near Bono, but on the side, about 20 rows up, where fans can carefully study Mullen as he works his magic.

Crisp versions of "The Electric Co.'' and "The Fly'' were reminders of the depth of this band's impressive oeuvre. By mixing old material with recent songs, the group attempted to satisfy both its faithful followers and those who own only U2's most recent album, the uneven "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.''

Posted by Jonathan at 04:08 PM | Comments (0)

September 20, 2005

09.17.05 Toronto, Canada

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo - Rockaway Beach, Elevation, The Electric Co., The Ocean, Beautiful Day - Sgt. Pepper's, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - Dirty Old Town, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: Popmuzik, Discotheque, The Fly, With or Without You, All Because of You, Fast Cars, Yahweh, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 03:05 AM | Comments (2)

September 17, 2005

09.16.05 Toronto, Canada

City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., The Ocean, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - (opera), Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: The Fly, With or Without You, All Because of You, Fast Cars, Happy Birthday, Yahweh, Out of Control, 40

Posted by Jonathan at 08:20 PM | Comments (0)

September 16, 2005

09.14.05 Toronto, Canada

Vertigo, The Electric Co., Elevation, Beautiful Day, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, City of Blinding Lights, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: The Fly, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, Bad

Media Review:

Elevation: U2 takes Toronto higher

Buffalo News, 09/15/2005

by Jeff Miers

Turning arena rock into an intimate tent-show revival isn't just a daunting task; it's a task no one else from U2's generation has ever bothered to take up.

On Wednesday evening, inside Toronto's Air Canada Centre, that's exactly what the Irish quartet did. For more than two hours, the ephemera of faith - a trust in the evidence of things not seen - seemed as real as the concrete floor under the jubilant crowd. This is U2's gift as a band, and also its gift to us; it makes us believe that life can be better, that faith, hope and love are real, that we can become better people if we try, and that sometimes, the music can point us in the right direction.

Don't care about any such things? U2 still puts on a rock show better than any other band currently beating the boards. If you desire to take the low road and indulge solely in the surface, the inviting waters surrounding the message, dive right in. U2 welcomes everyone. That's part of what makes it the most important populist rock band since the glory days of the E Street Band.

The band was in fine form from the get-go, when the house overheads dimmed and huge beaded curtains of light dropped behind them. "Vertigo" was the opener, and it cooked. But hearing "Electric Co.," from the band's debut effort, "Boy," set the scene more suitably; The Edge's patented digital delay-fueled guitar figure hopped and skipped and swayed all over the tune, as rhythm section Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton laid down the groove that introduced U2 to the world 25 years ago.

Sublime - and Bono gave it all he had, which is no small amount. "Elevation" segued beautifully into "Beautiful Day," (with an addendum of the spiritual "Many Rivers to Cross") its partner on the band's brilliant "All That You Can't Leave Behind" album. That was the record that made it clear that U2 was going to enter its third decade together with all engines firing. "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" deepened that strain, and that album's "City of Blinding Lights" was an early highlight, following the gospel-based psalm "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

"Miracle Drug" followed, and by this point, it became crystal clear that there was a subtext to all the grandeur; U2 can write beautiful love songs, pop songs with big hooks, tunes that sound great on the radio, but the band is always flush with a sense of spiritual yearning. A large, circular runway - called "the ellipse" by the U2 cog-noscente - jutted out from the stage and encircled a few hundred lucky fans chosen at random. Down there, it was like seeing U2 in a club, not an arena. This offered an effective means for the band to connect with its audience in a more intimate fashion, though for many pressed up against the runway, it seemed to offer only an opportunity to ogle Bono up close. Nothing wrong with that, but the singer, deep in the midst of a heart-wrenching "Pride (In the Name of Love)," did express frustration with the cameras flashing incessantly. But U2 can't be stopped. During "Bullet the Blue Sky," Bono donned a blindfold and assumed the position of a prisoner of terrorism, hands bound above his head. It was an entirely disturbing imag. The set's theme? The clear and present need for coexistence and acceptance, and the band's unyielding belief that things can indeed change for the better.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:59 AM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2005

09.12.05 Toronto, Canada

Vertigo, I Will Follow, The Electric Co., Elevation, Beautiful Day, In a Little While, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, City of Blinding Lights, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One - Ol' Man River. Encore: Zoo Station, The Fly, With or Without You, All Because of You, Fast Cars, Yahweh, 40

Media Review:

Bono skillfully balances humbug with sincerity

The Globe and Mail, 09/13/2005

by By ROBERT EVERETT-GREEN
U2
Air Canada Centre, Monday.
U2 plays the Air Canada Centre
tomorrow, Friday and Saturday.

'Sexy people, Toronto people, don't get too big for your boots, with your film festival," Bono called out, a few songs into U2's show at the Air Canada Centre. "Don't forget your rock and roll."

No danger of that, and no real need to warn against it. U2 had sold out all four of its Toronto dates long before the reels began spinning at the continent's biggest film spree, along with all 46 of the remaining stadium dates on this leg of the band's world tour.

From another angle, however, Bono reminding us not to forget rock and roll was a bit like a magician telling you to keep your eyes on the black silk hat. You just knew that some kind of transformation was about to take place.

In fact, it already had. U2's dominance on the stadium circuit has much to do with the way it has translated the sounds and postures of rock into something that seems to express much more (or less, for the unbelievers) than the need to kick out the jams.

From the start, last night's show was more about jubilation than about throwing over the restraints of everyday life. (I'm not counting the compulsive singing along, but more on that later.) For the first half-hour at least, you got the feeling that each song was a full-volume offering of praise.

But praise for what? Praise for the gift of a beautiful day; for the way you make me feel like I can fly so high; for the acknowledgment that sometimes you can't make it on your own. Mainly, for the capacity to feel that light and decency can be shared and expressed, with all the bone-shaking power of a Marshall stack.

The band came ready to please, launching the show with a barrage of hits and crowd favourites, beginning with its biggest single of the year, Vertigo. It didn't matter that this song is all about disorientation and disquiet. In practice, it meant the same thing as Beautiful Day. When the band got to I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Bono stuck his microphone in the air and the crowd sang the first chorus, and that too became a beautiful-day moment.

We knew we were getting down to the real source of the magic when Bono suggested we should feel for a moment as if we were in church. It was the cue for a well-placed series of iconic attitudes, including a scarcely credible sequence in which glitter fell from the ceiling and he walked along an oval catwalk with his hands in a palms-up position common to portraits of Christ and the Virgin Mary. You might have thought that this glitter was manna from heaven.

Some time before, Bono had got on his knees and pulled a rag from a disbelieving roadie's hand, so as to mop up some water he had flung at the crowd. It was a tremendous gambit that completely upstaged the fiery solo the Edge was trying to put across at the far end of the catwalk.

In Ireland, blarney might be the word for this kind of theatre. Here it's probably enough to say that Bono is a rock star who hasn't lost his swagger so much as he has tamed it to his own ends. He is the master of a finely balanced mixture of humbug and sincerity.

"We'd like to turn this next song into a prayer, and the prayer is that we do not turn into a monster in order to defeat a monster," Bono said, before launching into Miss Sarajevo, a song about the beauty of everyday things in impossible situations.

The show as a whole (as much as I could catch before deadline) was sleek and efficient, with a stripped-down set and lighting design that still managed to meet the opposing needs of intimacy and monumentality. The catwalk was underused by Madonna's standards, but U2 is up to a very different kind of transformation than hers, with less need for kinetic display.

The whole drama was contained in Bono's subtle control of gesture, both physical and verbal, and in the bright, glimmering, expensive guitar sound pouring from the Edge's guitar and Adam Clayton's bass. It was more than enough for a wildly supportive crowd.

"We're just getting started here," Bono said. "This whole band is just getting started."

Photos by Aaron Harris (AP):

Posted by Jonathan at 02:23 AM | Comments (2)

Vertigo and more

December 20, 2005

12.19.05 Portland, Oregon

December 18, 2005

12.17.05 Salt Lake City, Utah

December 17, 2005

12.15.05 Omaha, Nebraska

December 15, 2005

12.14.05 St. Louis, Missouri

December 13, 2005

12.12.05 Charlotte, North Carolina

12.10.05 Cleveland, Ohio

December 10, 2005

12.09.05 Buffalo, New York

December 08, 2005

12.07.05 Hartford, Connecticut

December 06, 2005

12.05.05 Boston, Massachusetts

December 05, 2005

12.04.05 Boston, Massachusetts

November 29, 2005

11.28.05 Montreal, Canada

November 28, 2005

11.26.05 Montreal, Canada

November 26, 2005

11.25.05 Ottawa, Canada

November 23, 2005

11.22.05 New York City, New York

November 22, 2005

11.21.05 New York City, New York

November 21, 2005

11.19.05 Atlanta, Georgia

11.18.05 Atlanta, Georgia

November 17, 2005

11.16.05 Tampa, Florida

November 15, 2005

11.14.05 Miami, Florida

November 14, 2005

11.13.05 Miami, Florida

November 10, 2005

11.09.05 Oakland, California

11.08.05 Oakland, California

November 07, 2005

11.05.05 Las Vegas, Nevada

11.04.05 Las Vegas, Nevada

November 04, 2005

11.02.05 Los Angeles, California

November 02, 2005

11.01.05 Los Angeles, California

October 30, 2005

10.29.05 Dallas, Texas

October 29, 2005

10.28.05 Houston, Texas

October 26, 2005

10.25.05 Detroit, Michigan

10.24.05 Detroit, Michigan

October 23, 2005

10.22.05 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

October 21, 2005

10.20.05 Washington, DC

10.19.05 Washington, DC

October 18, 2005

10.17.05 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

October 17, 2005

10.16.05 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

October 15, 2005

10.14.05 New York City, New York

October 12, 2005

10.11.05 New York City, New York

October 11, 2005

10.10.05 New York City, New York

October 10, 2005

10.08.05 New York City, New York

October 08, 2005

10.07.05 New York City, New York

October 05, 2005

10.04.05 Boston, Massachusetts

October 04, 2005

10.03.05 Boston, Massachusetts

September 27, 2005