The entire audience sang along, as they had been doing all evening. And there we remained, as U2 played their greatest song, “Pride (In The Name Of Love).” They may have performed this a thousand times, but Bono and the boys performed it as if it was written just for this moment. But “Bullet” was a power charge of energy and space, which brought the crowd to its feet. The guitar work throughout the evening could often be lost, as The Edge liberally employs reverb and digital delay in his palette of sounds, which sound large and stratospheric on recordings but can easily evaporate into the echoey reaches of a large indoor arena. “Bullet The Blue Sky” was the perfect combination of motion-filled video, hammering rhythms, The Edge’s biting slide guitar, and Bono’s almost Jim Morrison-like recitations. This inertia was soon lost, however, as the band put together a two-song mini-set of acoustic ballads, which although beautiful and well-sung (Bono’s voice still has its youthful charm), did take some of the air out of the room.įortunately, the band saved the best for last. Similarly, as a second video played, the band magically reappeared, slamming into the phase-shifting, midtempo dance rhythms of “Even Better Than The Real Thing.” The crowd, previously mesmerized by the combination of atmospheric guitar and vocals, finally began to show its enthusiasm, loudly boogieing its way through “Mysterious Ways” (with one lucky young lady from Mississippi being brought onstage to dance with Bono). Hidden beneath the lights and screens and effects, a video of Johnny Cash performing “The Wanderer” (produced and backed by U2) began to play, as the four band members disappeared for a ten minute break. This well-orchestrated performance included the set break. “Until The End Of The World” furthered the band’s apocalyptic warnings, making a deep impression with animated video accompaniment that turned this first set closer into an almost psychedelic blast of sensory overload. The line, “How long must we sing this song?”, which once represented frustration over bloody violence in Ireland, was now an obligation U2 will continue to sing this song as a beacon of light to other nations and peoples struggling with conflict. Yet, the band suggested, if peace could come to Ireland, solutions could be found to end other civil wars. Bono used “Sunday Bloody Sunday” to remind everyone that there was a time that the war between Ireland and Northern Ireland was thought to be a war with no end in sight. system, the combined effect of all this movement, the ramp and various stages and several video screens featuring the band, was that there was not a bad seat in the house-everyone at some point had band members playing right to them, especially the general admission crowd packed into the floor area, and it was easy throughout the evening to stay connected with the musicians no matter where you sat.ĭeftly mixing material from their last two albums with their classics, U2 made it clear that their show was about more than just the joys of loud rock music. At one point the entire quartet performed a short set on the smaller stage, and even then at least one player would continue walking the ramp between the stages. and Adam Clayton was holding court on the main stage, Bono and The Edge would be roaming the ramp. While the band started on the main stage, after the first four or five songs they began spreading out if the rhythm section of Larry Mullen, Jr. A scrim was often lowered over the ramp, becoming a screen for various videos and projected images. But the band was certainly worth the wait, opening their show with a rocking homage to one of their musical influences, “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone).” This was one of five songs performed from their latest album, “Songs Of Innocence.” Nobody seemed to mind, as the new material is as thoughtful and full of energy as their older songs, quickly proven as the band immediately cranked out “Gloria” (complete with references to Van Morrison’s 60’s garage band hit, “Gloria.”) The upbeat tempo continued through “Vertigo” and “I Will Follow”, as the band began to reveal more of their stage show: a huge stage at one end of the floor, connected to a smaller stage at the opposite end, connected by a long ramp. The crowd must have been aware that the band starts late, because the arena did not start to fill up until nearly an hour after the scheduled start time. U2 finished the last of their five night run at Chicago’s United Center on Thursday, July 2. To Submit a review for consideration hit us at Ĭheck out the Live Music News and Facebook page for updates and announcements.
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