November 2010 Archives

When the band returns to the U.S. in May, they 'may even have a new album.'

By James Montgomery, MTV

For nearly their entire career, U2 have only known one way of operating: in the hugest way humanly possible. They've set records and broken banks with their music, their videos and their expansive, all-encompassing tours. The same can now be said about "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark," Bono and The Edge's first foray into the world of Broadway.

Though it has just begun rehearsals, the play has already made headlines for its budget (a reported $60 million), lavish costumes and over-the-top staging, which sees Spidey battling foes and soaring high above the audience at the Foxwoods Theatre.

To Bono and The Edge, however, the scale of their "Spider-Man" show isn't really all that different than what they've been doing for more than 30 years now. Case in point, their eternally running 360 Tour, which just began its fourth leg (hitting New Zealand and Australia) and will return to the U.S. in May. And when it does, U2's dynamic duo promise that it will be worth the wait. After all, they may even have a new album to promote.

by Rick Marshall, MTV

The "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" musical had a rough debut this week, but even a questionable turn on Broadway isn't likely to hurt the 48-year-old character's popularity. The story of Peter Parker's evolution into one of the greatest superheroes in the Marvel Universe has long resonated with hardcore comics fans and mainstream audiences alike -- and the occasional rock star, too.

When MTV News sat down with U2 bandmates Bono and The Edge to discuss "Turn Off The Dark," the pair both saw some similarities between Spidey's story and their own lives.

"He grow up in Queens, we grew up on the north side of Dublin, [we both had] fairly humble origins," Bono told MTV News. "He falls in love with the girl next door, I married the girl next door. He starts to put on a silly costume, yes..."

U2's 360 Degrees tour, the most expensive rock spectacle ever, is here.

Nui Te Koha, The Sunday Mail

The tour, with a daily running cost of $850,000, arrived on six 747 jets to be assembled by a crew of 130.

"You compare a tour by the number of trucks they use," production manager Jake Berry said. "The Rolling Stones ran 46 trucks. We are running 55. This is the biggest."

The centrepiece of 360 is a so-called claw, an imposing bug-like structure that houses 200 tonnes of light, sound and video magic.

Stage designer Willie Williams said: "The breakthrough was to make it so big that it becomes part of the stadium. But, in a funny way, it's invisible because the performance area is not connected to the structure."

Nicholas Russell, Stuff

Two of music's biggest acts paid tribute to the Pike River miners at a sold out Mt Smart Stadium on Thursday night.

There was little doubt that a band with the social conscience of U2 would acknowledge the tragedy, even during the entertainment behemoth that is their 360 tour.

"People have ways of dealing with grief, in Ireland we sing," said charismatic front man Bono before an emotional version of Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.

They followed that with local favourite One Tree Hill as the names of the 29 dead scrolled down the massive screen at Mt Smart Stadium on Thursday night.

By Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times Music Blog

U2 is pitching in with other acts that are offering special releases in conjunction with "Black Friday" promotions Nov. 26 that support independent record stores. The Irish band will be offering a limited-edition three-song live EP on vinyl titled "Wide Awake in Europe."

"Mercy," the freshest of the tracks and recently added to the European leg of the "U2360° Tour," was recorded Sept. 22 in Brussels and is being released for the first time in any form on the new EP. The other two -- "Moment of Surrender" and "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" -- were recorded at earlier stops on the tour. Only 5,000 copies of the EP will be pressed and sold, primarily in North American indie record stores, although some copies will be shipped for sale in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Scheduling conflicts at stadium mean fewer fans, less money for Metro

By Michael Cass, The Tennessean

One of the world's biggest bands won't be playing in Nashville's biggest stadium when it comes to town next summer, forcing thousands of fans to go elsewhere or wait until next time.

U2 will play at Vanderbilt Stadium, which typically holds almost 40,000 people, instead of LP Field, which normally holds more than 68,000. It will be the band's first concert in Nashville since 1981, when it also played at Vanderbilt.

The July 2 show will be unusual for U2's "360" world tour, which is generally stopping at NFL and Major League Baseball stadiums in cities such as Denver, Seattle, Miami, Chicago and Philadelphia next summer.

by John D. Luerssen, Spinner

Great news has emerged from the U2 camp. The Edge's 13-year-old daughter, Sian, is now cancer-free.

"You're in shock then you just go into survival mode," Edge's wife Morleigh Steinberg told WENN. "The whole thing is hell but at the same time you stay positive and you really live."

Sian was only 8 when she was first diagnosed with leukemia in early 2006. But after four-plus years of treatment in Los Angeles and Dublin, where the guitarist has area homes, she has apparently made a full recovery. That year, the illness prompted the Irish rock giants to bump the final leg of its Vertigo Tour, which included dates in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Hawaii, back by several months.

"You live more because you don't want to take anything for granted," Steinberg continued. "She's through it and she's fine."

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Troubled Broadway show will now open in January 2011

By Andy Greene, Rollingstone

The opening of the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark has been pushed back two weeks as the creative team scrambles to get through dress rehearsals and meet safety standards for the performers. Directed by Julie Taymor and featuring original songs by U2's Bono and The Edge, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark has been in development for over three years with a budget that has swelled to an eye-popping $60 million.

Spider-Man was scheduled to begin previews on November 14 and open on December 21, but it will now open in January and begin previews sometime late this month. Two actors were recently injured during rehearsals of the shows complex flying maneuvers, leading the New York Department of Labor to open an investigation into the safety of on-set working conditions. Until they are satisfied with the safety of the flying sequences the play can't open.

By Jason Lipshutz, Billboard

U2, Lady Gaga, Metallica and Taylor Swift capped off huge touring years by taking home the major awards at the 2010 Billboard Touring Awards, held tonight (Nov. 4) at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers.

Rush and Jack Johnson were also honored during the ceremony, which concluded the Billboard Touring Conference held on Nov. 3 and 4 in New York.

In honor of their massive 360 world tour, U2 were presented the Top Tour and Top Draw Awards, which recognize the top grossing and ticket-selling tours based on global box office numbers reported to Billboard Boxscore from Oct. 1, 2009 through Sept. 30, 2010. Lady Gaga took home the Breakthrough Award as well as the Concert Marketing & Promotion Award, the latter an acknowledgment of her partnership with Virgin Mobile.

The Daily Telegraph

There are not many musicians bold enough to ask Jay-Z to open for them on stage.

Jay-Z is considered the best rapper of all time, has won 10 Grammys and his 11 No. 1 albums beat Elvis Presley for the most chart toppers by a solo artist in U.S. history.

He's married to Beyonce and has President Obama's private telephone number.

The rapper may have 99 problems, but warming up the crowd for U2 in Australia is not one of them.

When it comes to concert billing, he has zero ego.

"They deserve it," Jay-Z says. "They are the biggest band in the world. It's out of respect to them, the legacy they've created. It doesn't matter to me. I'm concerned with having great shows and putting on a great show for the people.