Size does matter, U2 overpowered

Review: Poor

Globe Staff / September 21, 2009

Editor Note: Be sure to see the video below.

The nearly sold-out crowd was indeed, but the show, which repeats tonight, didn’t quite take off like it should have. Instead it revved its motor, flashed its headlights, and stayed firmly grounded as U2 stumbled over an unlikely hurdle: a sprawling stage setup that often dulled the sensation of a tight-knit performance.

If there’s any outsize band with the charisma, chops, and catalog to pull off a tour of this magnitude, it’s U2. And it certainly tried, relying on Bono’s magnetism and his bandmates’ inspired playing, not to mention an audience that was clearly stoked.

The insurmountable problem, however, was the expanse of the stage, which connected to an outer circular one where Bono and guitarist the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton roamed like satellites. At times each member, in his own spotlight, was working a different part of the stadium, to the point that they sometimes lost the intimacy of playing as a unit.

Granted, these guys are so good and seasoned that they don’t need to be rubbing shoulders to convey their camaraderie. But when they really connected - when Bono seemed awed by the Edge’s acoustic accompaniment and backup singing on “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of,’’ or when Bono leaned into Clayton during the high point of “Elevation’’ - the chemistry was intense and contagious.

Entering to the swelling strains of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,’’ a fitting opus for a show that was supposed to shoot into orbit, the band tore into “Breathe’’ with the Edge wailing lyrically as Bono slowly surveyed his devoted flock.

The arena anthems, which at a U2 concert tend to be shouted rather than sung, came fast and furious, from newer (“Get on Your Boots,’’ “Beautiful Day’’) to older (“Mysterious Ways,’’ “Sunday Bloody Sunday’’). It’s hard to deny the charm and vitality of those classics, which inadvertently made some of the more recent songs, especially the ones from the band’s latest album, “No Line on the Horizon,’’ pale even more than they should have.

“Magnificent’’ and “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight,’’ with its playful dance-floor coda, felt like stadium rock for stadium rock’s sake. “Unknown Caller’’ dampened the spirited vibe mid-set with elliptical lyrics (“escape yourself and gravity’’) masquerading as self-help advice.

But even that misstep couldn’t deaden Bono’s charisma. He’s become the prototypical frontman who knows how to work stadiums; in fact, you suspect he’s at his best in front of 50,000 people. During “City of Blinding Lights,’’ Bono plucked a young girl from the crowd and essentially serenaded her as they walked the length of the outer stage, even putting his famous tinted glasses on her at one point.

It was a small gesture, a fleeting moment of intimacy, that reminded you of how magical Bono and his bandmates are when they connect to the audience - and with one another.

Would you agree ? Let us know your comments below.

 

Landing Perfect

Last night the spaceship - as Bono called the in-the-round stage setup - landed at Gillette Stadium and four Irish aliens emerged as the biggest rock stars in the world. That’s what happens when you project yourself on a 360-degree, 14,000-square-foot video screen.

Those who despise Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. for growing up (and up and up) to be a parody of the furious, little new wave punks they began as would have hated U2’s latest, greatest show on earth. But for 60,000 fans last night (and for thousands more tonight), it was a mothership - a 150-foot tall, pastel green and orange-spotted, claw-shaped mothership buzzing with a million points of light - come to take them to planet U2.

Bono’s king, but Edge is the prime minster, the genius who fearlessly leads his ace rhythm section. His complex-and-simple, full-frontal, buzzing, reverbed, shimmering guitar drove “Get on Your Boots” and “Elevation,” “Vertigo” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Even Bono’s bigness was overcome by Edge’s intimate acoustic guitar and delicate high harmonies on “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of.”

Taken in total it was a typical U2 show, which means it was unlike anything else. Bono championed peace and political awareness - “Sunday Bloody Sunday” was recast an anthem for a free IRAN, “MLK” and “Walk On” were dedicated to Burmese political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi. Edge was, as Bono said, a test-tube baby born of Jimmy Page and Stephen Hawking. Mullin and Clayton provided the brilliant heartbeat for hits from “One” to “With or Without You.”

Not the flash of Zoo TV or the earnestness of the Joshua Tree Tour, but a middle ground that topped neither. But not bad for a band that played the Somerville Theatre six-months ago.

 

 

U2 lands with a bang at Gillette Stadium

Review: U2 lands with a bang at Gillette Stadium
BY KEN ROSS


FOXBORO - U2 didn’t so much play Gillette Stadium on Sunday night as it landed there, in a spaceship no less.

The Irish rockers brought their 360 Tour to Foxboro for the first of two concerts (the second being tonight), and while they’re touring in support of an album that hasn’t exactly torn up the charts, this tour has blockbuster written all over it with its dazzling displays of lights, fog, imagery and sheer size.

The band got a late start, not taking the stage until almost 9 p.m. after being ushered in by the sound system blaring David Bowie’s classic “Space Oddity.” Immediately, they ripped into four numbers from their latest CD, “No Line on the Horizon.” Bono started out with “Breathe,” then went into the CD’s title track, the toe-tapping “Get on Your Boots,” and finally “Magnificent.”

“We’ve got new songs, we’ve got old songs, we’ve got songs we can hardly play, and we’ve got a spaceship,” Bono declared to the crowd before launching into “Mysterious Ways” and “Beautiful Day.”

The “spaceship” Bono referred to resembled a giant canopy with green legs stretching over the round stage and catwalk, much like a giant bug, and a soaring steeple topping it all off. Hovering above the stage was a giant cylindrical projection screen that ascended and descended throughout the show and displayed the band in a gargantuan form just right for a stadium show.

The band followed “Beautiful Day” broke into a ripping version of “Elevation” with Bono sweating profusely in the chilly night and the crowd frenzied for the first time, fists pumping wildly.


“I think you’ll feel right at home in our traveling rock and roll laboratory,” Bono said in introducing his band mates, The Edge, Larry Mullen, and Adam Clayton, referring to them as Experiments 1, 2 and 3.

From there, they broke into “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and let the 60,000 or so assembled sing the first few stanzas.

And it seemed as though no one was at a loss for the lyrics.

Then Bono transitioned into a heartfelt few choruses of “Stand By Me,” again with the masses providing the sing-along. Then it was back to the “No Line on the Horizon” CD with the inspirational rocker “Rise Up.”

The band dipped back into the vault with a stirring “New Year’s Day” with Clayton crossing one of the stage’s two bridges to the catwalk to play before the fans and the Edge playing to the thousands who were watching the show from the rear.

The Edge grabbed an acoustic guitar for a poignant version of “Stuck in a Moment,” and also provided an effective falsetto at the end of the song.

At one point the giant circular projection screen extended almost to the floor and resembled a multicolored honeycomb with Bono and the band standing about ten stories tall over the audience.

For “City of Blinding Lights,” Bono plucked a young girl who looked about 12 out of the audience, though she didn’t seem to know quite what to do up there.


The concert struck a nice blend of rockers and rock ballads, with tunes like “Vertigo” picking up the crowd when needed.

One of the more inventive moments of the evening was an incredibly throbbing, rhythmic rendition of “I Know I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight.” “Sing for your sanity, Boston,” Bono implored as black and white images of the band members’ faces flashed rapidly on the screen.

Bono ended the song on his knees begging for “freedom on the streets of Iran,” then the band broke into “Sunday Bloody Sunday” as the images of Iranian reform protestors flashed on the screen.

Dozens of audience members walked out onto the ring in support of a woman named Aung Aun Syung Sun Kyi imprisoned in Burma for her opposition to the government.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu delivered a message that “God will put a wind at our back if we work with each other as one,” after which Bono broke into a heartfeld rendition of “One.” For the uplifting number “Where the Streets Have No Name,” Bono went into after singing a few bars of “Amazing Grace.”

The encore was ushered in by a poem by Maya Angelou while the video screen showed the solar system with floating apples, car keys other objects.

Snow Patrol, also from Ireland, warmed up the crowd in fine fashion after the inner circle of fans enthusiastically participated in a sing-along, something that hasn’t always been the case for the band in their role as U2’s opening act. Fans reacted enthusiastically to “Light Up” and, especially, “Chasing Cars,” and “All that I Have.”

360 Stage Triva

U2 has a concert that starts in just 17 minutes and all of the band members must all cross a bridge to get to the stage. The four men begin on the same side of the bridge and you must help them to get across to the other side.

Due the weakness of the bridge, a maximum of two people can cross at one time. To make matters worse, it is night-time and there is only one flashlight. Alex MargosThe flashlight is always required when crossing the bridge and it must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each band member walks at a different speed and a pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man:

  • Bono takes 1 minute to cross
  • Edge takes 2 minutes to cross
  • Adam takes 5 minutes to cross
  • Larry takes 10 minutes to cross

For example, if Bono and Larry walk across first, it takes them 10 minutes to cross. If Adam then returns with the flashlight, a total of 15 minutes will have passed. How do they all get across in 17 minutes?

 

Review Chicago Sunday

Bono singing ’Chicago’ in the introduction to Magnificent, with the audience, unsurprisingly, in seventh heaven. ’One for the money, two for the show, where are we in the world… Union Street.’

The second show a chance to win over the Chicago news. The band was rehearsing “Your Blue Room” earlier in the day and they did not disapoint. For Your Blue Room, widely agreed to be among the most beautiful tracks the band have ever written, released on the 1995 album Original Soundtracks when the band recorded as Passengers with Brian Eno


It debuted live during the main set, 14 years later.

Fact: This was the only second Passengers song that U2 has ever played live. Adam did not have his spoken verse rather it as done by te astronauts (International Space Station) pre-recorded from the first show.

Couple of points

  • During “One” a few of the vocals, missing
  • Elevation was mixed into a couple of songs
  • Unknown Caller was incomplete, mixed in a some of Breathe

The band had some other changes, most of the tweeter comments said while the flow was different it fe

lt little like a start and stop. This joint was jumping for Elevation, while Until The End of the World and Stay, another couple of songs which have been played sparingly to date, also had 65,000 people lost in the music. ’Green light, Seven Eleven/ You stop in for a pack of cigarettes/ You don’t smoke, don’t even want to/ Hey now, check your change….’ And if the suit of lights for Ultraviolet is making a name for itself, welcome to the steering wheel microphone swinging low from high up in space station - now with added LED’s.

Most will agree its an amazing show. Song selection is key we wonder what you thought ?

Videos posted on U2TOURFANS channel - Credits to twitter followers, and wide news release.

First Review In U2 at Soldier Field

U2TOURFANS NOTE: Before you start sending hate mail to us about this review please consider that we only report the news, we don’t make the news. Those of you that attend the show. Please post your comments below. Share your videos, photos and speak up ! We all know how reviews go. Let your voice be heard ! Dre


Jim DeRogatis on September 12, 2009 10:47 PM 

(http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/2009/09/u2_at_soldier_field.html)

 

Touring in support of its first two albums in the new millennium, the unadventurous U2-by-the-numbers “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” (2000) and “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” (2004), Bono and the boys were in danger of becoming their generation’s Rolling Stones—a rote if occasionally rousing arena act more devoted to selling tickets than to breaking new musical ground.

Released last February, “No Line on the Horizon,” the Dublin band’s 12th studio album, came as a welcome surprise: Though they didn’t always succeed, the musicians at least took chances again, veering from that familiar U2 bombast to deliver their most creative disc since “Achtung Baby” (1991). Unfortunately, the new album also has been the slowest selling of their career, with U.S. sales yet to reach platinum status of a million sold—a fact that can be attributed to no one buying CDs anymore, or to fans being turned off by the group’s experimentation.

Eighteen years ago, “Achtung Baby” inspired the Zoo TV Tour, a multi-media sensory assault that stands as the most inventive arena jaunt I’ve witnessed. The question looming over Soldier Field Saturday night as U2 launched the North American leg of its 360° Tour at the first of two concerts in Chicago was whether the band would uphold the creative spirit of the new album, matching or topping Zoo TV, or play it safe in an attempt to reconnect with conservative fans and please its new partner, giant national concert promoter Live Nation.

The answer, as is often the case with this band, was that it tried to do it all and please everyone. Though it avoided the most ambient and atmospheric of the new tracks crafted with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, the group did play a hefty chunk of “No Line on the Horizon,” including the strong show opener “Breathe,” the hypnotizing “Unknown Caller” and the soaring “Magnificent,” which really was.

But in place of the disorienting buzz of Zoo TV, U2 gave us the empty spectacle of the multi-million-dollar stage fans have come to call “the Claw,” a ludicrous, fog-belching, crab-like mega-structure that primarily succeeds in dwarfing the musicians onstage, recalling David Bowie’s equally silly Glass Spider Tour and making recent Stones stages seem modest in comparison. (U2 really ought to talk to the Flaming Lips, who’ve been building a more impressive UFO stage out of supplies found at Home Depot at a cost of a few thousand bucks.)

Zoo TV wasn’t the superior experience only because of technology, though. The early ’90s were the only period in U2’s three-decades-plus career when the band dared to laugh at itself, with Bono trading his messiah complex for irony and the Macphisto alter-ego, and the group suggesting that maybe, just maybe, its desire to save the world was a bit pompous and self-aggrandizing.

Alas, the crusaders were back Saturday, linking “Sunday Bloody Sunday” to Iranian pro-democracy demonstrators, turning “Walk On” into an act of solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese politician under house arrest, and trotting out Archbishop Desmond Tutu on video to make a plea to end poverty and cure AIDS.

Um, Bono, old chum, many activists cite corporate globalization as the prime culprit responsible for some of the ills just cited. Care to explain how that jibes with you and the band wholeheartedly endorsing Live Nation’s controversial mega-merger with Ticketmaster? On second thought, maybe there was some irony on Saturday.

In between the bounty of new tunes, the band trotted out the expected crowd-pleasers—“Beautiful Day,” “Pride (In the Name of Love),” “Where the Streets Have No Name”—though some of these were truncated or delivered medley-style with awkward bits of covers (“Blackbird,” “Stand By Me,” “Oliver’s Army”), with choppy and unsatisfying results.

As always, the deft rhythm section of drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton did their best to keep things moving, and the Edge was a deceptively simple one-man orchestra. Meanwhile, Bono posed and preened, emoted and yowled, flogging every millimeter of charisma he possesses. But as someone who’s seen the group on nearly every tour since it first came to the U.S., I never found what I was looking for—that perfect mix of genuine passion and stadium-rock showmanship.

This band just may not be capable of it anymore—which means it may have become the Rolling Stones after all.

U2TOURFANS NOTE: Before you start sending hate mail to us about this review please consider that we only report the news, we don’t make the news. Those of you that attend the show. Please post your comments below. We all know how reviews go. So post your comments after the story and let your voice be heard ! Dre


Wake Up Chicago U2 has arrived !

Good Morning Chicago ! Live from Soldier Field ! Tonight will be the first of two shows performed. Tickets for todays show have been sold out since March 30th. The GA line has been formed since Thursday. This is the event of the year.  We have a couple of things you should know, while standing in line.

PHOTO

Take a photo with a sign thats has our name on it  and you could win a really cool gift. The photo must be taken in the stadium or any where around the stage.“U2TOURFANS.com”   send it over to us via the drop box. or SMS to the hotline number below.

TOUR HOTLINE: (513) 360- TOUR(8687)

DROP BOX

Designed for you to send your videos, photos only. We will welcome all images and videos and audio files that you have taken yourself. We will give you credit for it.

Youtube/ Twitter/ Facebook

Fans not going to the show can follow us via twitter we will report the events live, set lists, comments, photos. Youtube video channel U2TOURFANS will have concert videos posted as soon as possible. Sign up for the alerts via YouTube Channel.  Facebook Streams will be live during the event and you can join in the comments. Sign up and be a Facebook fan.

LAST ITEM

Bring Cash ! Your going to spend some money and hey why not. Enjoy yourself !

TYPE OF STAGE

Informally dubbed “The Claw,” the stage is so big that only sports stadiums can contain it—well, some of them can. Cowboys Stadium near Dallas will raise its enormous scoreboard next month to accommodate the 164-foot-tall rig. The Claws—there are three of them that leapfrog from venue to venue—weigh about 180 tons each and take about a week to assemble. ( Look for the bright red trucks and the line of tour buses as they come into your town)

U2 PAYDAY

Recession ? Really U2 would never know that. 65, 000 fans have purchased tickets which already has set a single day attendance. It was pretty easy to add a second show at that point. All 24 EURO shows sold out and grossed  $188 million. The tour is expected to cross into 2010 and could surpass the Rolling Stones “A Bigger Bang Tour’ at $588 million. Making U2 the highest grossing concert in history.

 The Boys

 Buys guys with a musical score for Spider Man about completed, The Edge will be featured in a documentary  “It Might Get Loud,” along with fellow guitar icons Jimmy Page and Jack White.
What wll they play

Your guess is just as good as ours.  If we look over he set list from the EURO tours we have some what an idea. However all bets are off until the first song. Lots of fans sites have databases of set lists we have posted a links to a couple of them. We know the standards if we can call them standards will be.

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “Mysterious Ways,” “One” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Each night’s encore in Europe was the same: “Ultraviolet,” “With or Without You” and “Moment of Surrender.”

It going to Snow

 Remember Izzy from “Grey Anatomy” ? Yea well she made Snow Patrol as household name. They have been opening up for the boys on the EURO tour leg and have signed on for a couple of US dates. MOst fans sites have agreeed that Snow Patrol put on a great show, which take that for what its worth.