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Atomic Energy: A Fan's Guide to U2 in Boston
By Herald staff
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
U2 week in Boston starts [Tuesday]. The Irish gods of rock bring their Vertigo tour with songs from their recent ``How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' to town with shows tonight, Thursday and Saturday at the FleetCenter. More shows are on tap. U2 returns to the by-then renamed TD Banknorth Garden on Oct. 3 and 4 and additional dates in December are rumored.
``Boston fans are the best drug in the world,'' Bono told the Herald in 1992. ``We get high on the air around here.''
Whether you're going to one of U2's concerts this week or not, keep your eyes open. You, too, just might catch sight of Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. while they're taking in the local air.
Band About Town
If going to the shows and hoisting a Guinness at your local Irish pub aren't enough for die-hard U2 fans, here are a five places the boys in the band have been seen in years past.
1. U2 always stays at the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Boston. This is probably the best place to stake out a spot to meet the Edge.
2. The band also has been known to hang at the Four Season's Bristol Lounge in the wee hours of the morning.
3. For past shows, the U2-ers have carbo-loaded at Radius on High Street downtown. In 2001 they even spent three hours there at lunch.
4. Workout fan Larry Mullen Jr. likes to hit the gym at the Boston Athletic Club to work up a sweat.
5. Mullen also is a soccer buff and has been known to repair to the Baggott Inn in Southie to check out Republic of Ireland matches on the telly. This week the hometown team is playing on the same days the band is: today, Thursday and Saturday. The games, against England, Scotland and Wales respectively, are on in the morning and afternoon here so maybe the drummer will want to catch some of the action before his own show.
- SARAH RODMAN
F.O.B (Friend of Bono)
WZLX-FM (100.7) program director Carter Alan is a longtime friend of the band and, as author of the book ``U2: The Road to Pop,'' a student of U2's not so mysterious ways.
``They usually like to stay in the cities they're performing in,'' Alan said. ``You never know where they might show up. They could turn up at a Patriots practice or in Fenway Park.''
``They're generally the kind of guys who like to do things rather than send people out to do things for them,'' he said. ``Strolling down Newbury Street is not out of the question. Maybe they'll head out to one of the Harley stores to check out the new motorcycles because Larry and Bono are really into bikes.``The most likely person to pop into a record store is the Edge because he is a real musicologist. He and Adam are really into contemporary sounds and what the record stores may have for local music. You might even see the Edge in a guitar store or music store. He loves guitars and likes finding new instruments.
``You can count on them to be pretty normal,'' Alan concluded. ``It's the people who run into them who aren't normal. They're pretty mellow, but we freak out. So, please, don't scare them away if you bump into them.''
- DEAN JOHNSON
Boston (heart) U2
Last week we had the chance to ask U2 bassman Adam Clayton if Boston was as special to U2 as U2 is to Boston.
``Yeah, I think so,'' Clayton said. ``In the days when we used to come and play the Paradise we made friends like Carter Alan and the folks at WBCN who really supported us. Consequently, our rise in the Boston area was very rapid and quite quickly we were in the Orpheum and recording shows and putting them on the radio.
"I think the Worcester Centrum was the first arena we ever played in America and that was very significant. We were really very nervous about going into arenas. They seemed huge cavernous places that weren't very good for music, but Worcester Centrum showed us that music could be warm and intimate in arenas. I have to say I feel very warm about arenas now. Getting 20,000 people in a room together having fun is very powerful.''
- LARRY KATZ
2 more 2 see
Still haven't found the tickets that you're looking for? If you can't see the real U2, check out these wannabes instead.
- Boston's Joshua Tree is making hay while the sun shines, playing every night this week with pre-U2 shows tonight and Thursday at the Harp near the FleetCenter, tomorrow at the Rack, Friday at Grand Canal and Saturday at Ned Devine's. They'll also appear on the Fox 25 morning show at 7:45 a.m. Thursday.
- While the Joshua Tree is a well-reviewed cover band, 2U is a bona fide tribute act. Performing Sunday at Paddy O's at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, the New York group goes whole hog with the shamrocks and shenanigans, re-creating U2's accents, wardrobe and stage moves.
By Herald staff
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
U2 week in Boston starts [Tuesday]. The Irish gods of rock bring their Vertigo tour with songs from their recent ``How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' to town with shows tonight, Thursday and Saturday at the FleetCenter. More shows are on tap. U2 returns to the by-then renamed TD Banknorth Garden on Oct. 3 and 4 and additional dates in December are rumored.
``Boston fans are the best drug in the world,'' Bono told the Herald in 1992. ``We get high on the air around here.''
Whether you're going to one of U2's concerts this week or not, keep your eyes open. You, too, just might catch sight of Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. while they're taking in the local air.
Band About Town
If going to the shows and hoisting a Guinness at your local Irish pub aren't enough for die-hard U2 fans, here are a five places the boys in the band have been seen in years past.
1. U2 always stays at the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Boston. This is probably the best place to stake out a spot to meet the Edge.
2. The band also has been known to hang at the Four Season's Bristol Lounge in the wee hours of the morning.
3. For past shows, the U2-ers have carbo-loaded at Radius on High Street downtown. In 2001 they even spent three hours there at lunch.
4. Workout fan Larry Mullen Jr. likes to hit the gym at the Boston Athletic Club to work up a sweat.
5. Mullen also is a soccer buff and has been known to repair to the Baggott Inn in Southie to check out Republic of Ireland matches on the telly. This week the hometown team is playing on the same days the band is: today, Thursday and Saturday. The games, against England, Scotland and Wales respectively, are on in the morning and afternoon here so maybe the drummer will want to catch some of the action before his own show.
- SARAH RODMAN
F.O.B (Friend of Bono)
WZLX-FM (100.7) program director Carter Alan is a longtime friend of the band and, as author of the book ``U2: The Road to Pop,'' a student of U2's not so mysterious ways.
``They usually like to stay in the cities they're performing in,'' Alan said. ``You never know where they might show up. They could turn up at a Patriots practice or in Fenway Park.''
``They're generally the kind of guys who like to do things rather than send people out to do things for them,'' he said. ``Strolling down Newbury Street is not out of the question. Maybe they'll head out to one of the Harley stores to check out the new motorcycles because Larry and Bono are really into bikes.``The most likely person to pop into a record store is the Edge because he is a real musicologist. He and Adam are really into contemporary sounds and what the record stores may have for local music. You might even see the Edge in a guitar store or music store. He loves guitars and likes finding new instruments.
``You can count on them to be pretty normal,'' Alan concluded. ``It's the people who run into them who aren't normal. They're pretty mellow, but we freak out. So, please, don't scare them away if you bump into them.''
- DEAN JOHNSON
Boston (heart) U2
Last week we had the chance to ask U2 bassman Adam Clayton if Boston was as special to U2 as U2 is to Boston.
``Yeah, I think so,'' Clayton said. ``In the days when we used to come and play the Paradise we made friends like Carter Alan and the folks at WBCN who really supported us. Consequently, our rise in the Boston area was very rapid and quite quickly we were in the Orpheum and recording shows and putting them on the radio.
"I think the Worcester Centrum was the first arena we ever played in America and that was very significant. We were really very nervous about going into arenas. They seemed huge cavernous places that weren't very good for music, but Worcester Centrum showed us that music could be warm and intimate in arenas. I have to say I feel very warm about arenas now. Getting 20,000 people in a room together having fun is very powerful.''
- LARRY KATZ
2 more 2 see
Still haven't found the tickets that you're looking for? If you can't see the real U2, check out these wannabes instead.
- Boston's Joshua Tree is making hay while the sun shines, playing every night this week with pre-U2 shows tonight and Thursday at the Harp near the FleetCenter, tomorrow at the Rack, Friday at Grand Canal and Saturday at Ned Devine's. They'll also appear on the Fox 25 morning show at 7:45 a.m. Thursday.
- While the Joshua Tree is a well-reviewed cover band, 2U is a bona fide tribute act. Performing Sunday at Paddy O's at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, the New York group goes whole hog with the shamrocks and shenanigans, re-creating U2's accents, wardrobe and stage moves.
Oh my...
