HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
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By Gary Rakow
2004.11
What a Beautiful Day!
The rejuvenated Irish quartet U2 rocked the sardine-packed yet cordial crowd at the amazing waterfront location of Empire Fulton Ferry State Park on the East River for a taping of MTV’s guerrilla-style concert show “Jammed.” Between New York City's majestic Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, a sea of thousands of fans converged hoping for the promised 30-minute show as reported online yesterday. What we got was a whole lot more.
I arrived at the park from New Jersey around 2:30 pm and the e-ticket line was wrapped around several city blocks. I patiently waited to enter the park while chatting in line with a 40-something mom from Philadelphia there with her 14- and 16-year-old daughters who had a mom cool enough to let them miss a day of school for a chance to see Bono and the gang up close and personal. And personal he was. At recent concerts on the Elevation Tour it seemed there was minimal talk between Bono and the fans, but tonight was different. It was almost as if you were personally invited into his backyard, wherever that may be, for an intimate experience. Before I go further, there was an early band appearance several hundred feet above the grassy park as a flatbed trailer with U2 aboard could be seen crossing the Manhattan Bridge. Bono called down to the fans from the bridge and the band struck a few chords.
If you weren't immediately stricken by “Vertigo,” or at least unsure about the song—as I can admit to myself the first couple of times I heard it—the recent live performance on “Saturday Night Live,” and now tonight, demonstrates that “Vertigo” will likely be an even bigger show opener than “Elevation,” it has more bang for the buck, and draws intense crowd noise and cheer. The band then broke into the second single from “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” “All Because of You,” which had been the band’s reason for driving around New York City—to film its music video.
(Photo courtesy of Alexei)
From there, the tone changed a bit as Bono told a story about a handicapped child that learned how to type with his forehead and wrote stories, which lead in to “Miracle Drug.” The live version needs some work but who can blame the band for not having it down pat at this early stage of the promo tour. The Edge was in great form throughout the night, Larry Mullen, Jr. was pounding the drums as usual, and Adam Clayton seemed quite content throughout the evening.
Next, Bono talked about his late father, Bob Hewson, for a short while and how his father used to sing opera and conduct the orchestra with knitting needles in front of the radio or TV at home when Bono was a kid. I believe he said that there is a special gift he got from his father when he passed away. The performance of “Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own” was beautiful and, for such a sad song, it is likely destined to be one of the great performances on each stop of the upcoming tour.
(Photo courtesy of Alexei)
“City of Blinding Lights” followed, with Bono commenting about how amazing it is to be playing in concert beneath the New York City skyline. He also turned and looked behind him at the Brooklyn Bridge where others watched the concert happenings from a distance on the pedestrian walkway.
At some point during the show, Bono commented on Clayton's flashy silk-like black jacket, and how Mullen was the only band member brave enough to sit out in the cold without a coat. Bono asked Mullen if he had thermals on underneath his shirt, to which Mullen shook his head no, and then stood up to show he was telling the truth, teasing the women in the crowd by gesturing to unbutton his shirt but stopping before doing so.
Bono announced that the next song off the new album the band would play was “Original of the Species.” When the crowd cheered for the song, Bono jokingly asked, “How do you know this s**t?” an obvious reference (though seemingly without any ill will) to the leak of “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” on the internet weeks ago. At this point, The Edge shifted to keyboards and Bono commented that there is a reason he doesn't play guitar much as he warmed up on his bright green guitar and opened up “Species” in acoustic fashion, with Edge's keyboards, later joined in by the rest of the band.
(Photo courtesy of Alexei)
After previously unreleased gem “She's a Mystery to Me,” the crowd exploded as U2 launched into “Beautiful Day” and then the pogo-stick-like crowd reached a fever pitch as “I Will Follow” rang out from the stage. The band left the stage after “I Will Follow,” eliciting a loud chant of "one more song" for several minutes. Then as an encore, the band launched into “Out of Control,” and it was out of control, in a good way. A great ending to a great concert! Except it wasn't quite over as Bono thanked the crowd first, and then tore through an even better version of “Vertigo” than that which opened the show. The crowd ate up every second of the repeat performance.
And the beautiful day that turned into a beautiful night was over, the fearsome foursome stood together and bowed to the fans at center stage and disappeared into the darkness.
I left the way I came, the subway (F train) to 32nd street, and a short walk—now raining—to Penn Station, above which Madison Square Garden sits (the last place I saw U2 in June 2001). I stopped in Houlihan's to sit down and relax for a few minutes with a cold brew before catching the Northeast Corridor train back to New Jersey. As I walked into the bar, “Mysterious Ways” was cranking out of the jukebox, and I felt at peace with the world.
By Gary Rakow
2004.11
What a Beautiful Day!
The rejuvenated Irish quartet U2 rocked the sardine-packed yet cordial crowd at the amazing waterfront location of Empire Fulton Ferry State Park on the East River for a taping of MTV’s guerrilla-style concert show “Jammed.” Between New York City's majestic Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, a sea of thousands of fans converged hoping for the promised 30-minute show as reported online yesterday. What we got was a whole lot more.
I arrived at the park from New Jersey around 2:30 pm and the e-ticket line was wrapped around several city blocks. I patiently waited to enter the park while chatting in line with a 40-something mom from Philadelphia there with her 14- and 16-year-old daughters who had a mom cool enough to let them miss a day of school for a chance to see Bono and the gang up close and personal. And personal he was. At recent concerts on the Elevation Tour it seemed there was minimal talk between Bono and the fans, but tonight was different. It was almost as if you were personally invited into his backyard, wherever that may be, for an intimate experience. Before I go further, there was an early band appearance several hundred feet above the grassy park as a flatbed trailer with U2 aboard could be seen crossing the Manhattan Bridge. Bono called down to the fans from the bridge and the band struck a few chords.
If you weren't immediately stricken by “Vertigo,” or at least unsure about the song—as I can admit to myself the first couple of times I heard it—the recent live performance on “Saturday Night Live,” and now tonight, demonstrates that “Vertigo” will likely be an even bigger show opener than “Elevation,” it has more bang for the buck, and draws intense crowd noise and cheer. The band then broke into the second single from “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” “All Because of You,” which had been the band’s reason for driving around New York City—to film its music video.
(Photo courtesy of Alexei)
From there, the tone changed a bit as Bono told a story about a handicapped child that learned how to type with his forehead and wrote stories, which lead in to “Miracle Drug.” The live version needs some work but who can blame the band for not having it down pat at this early stage of the promo tour. The Edge was in great form throughout the night, Larry Mullen, Jr. was pounding the drums as usual, and Adam Clayton seemed quite content throughout the evening.
Next, Bono talked about his late father, Bob Hewson, for a short while and how his father used to sing opera and conduct the orchestra with knitting needles in front of the radio or TV at home when Bono was a kid. I believe he said that there is a special gift he got from his father when he passed away. The performance of “Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own” was beautiful and, for such a sad song, it is likely destined to be one of the great performances on each stop of the upcoming tour.
(Photo courtesy of Alexei)
“City of Blinding Lights” followed, with Bono commenting about how amazing it is to be playing in concert beneath the New York City skyline. He also turned and looked behind him at the Brooklyn Bridge where others watched the concert happenings from a distance on the pedestrian walkway.
At some point during the show, Bono commented on Clayton's flashy silk-like black jacket, and how Mullen was the only band member brave enough to sit out in the cold without a coat. Bono asked Mullen if he had thermals on underneath his shirt, to which Mullen shook his head no, and then stood up to show he was telling the truth, teasing the women in the crowd by gesturing to unbutton his shirt but stopping before doing so.
Bono announced that the next song off the new album the band would play was “Original of the Species.” When the crowd cheered for the song, Bono jokingly asked, “How do you know this s**t?” an obvious reference (though seemingly without any ill will) to the leak of “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” on the internet weeks ago. At this point, The Edge shifted to keyboards and Bono commented that there is a reason he doesn't play guitar much as he warmed up on his bright green guitar and opened up “Species” in acoustic fashion, with Edge's keyboards, later joined in by the rest of the band.
(Photo courtesy of Alexei)
After previously unreleased gem “She's a Mystery to Me,” the crowd exploded as U2 launched into “Beautiful Day” and then the pogo-stick-like crowd reached a fever pitch as “I Will Follow” rang out from the stage. The band left the stage after “I Will Follow,” eliciting a loud chant of "one more song" for several minutes. Then as an encore, the band launched into “Out of Control,” and it was out of control, in a good way. A great ending to a great concert! Except it wasn't quite over as Bono thanked the crowd first, and then tore through an even better version of “Vertigo” than that which opened the show. The crowd ate up every second of the repeat performance.
And the beautiful day that turned into a beautiful night was over, the fearsome foursome stood together and bowed to the fans at center stage and disappeared into the darkness.
I left the way I came, the subway (F train) to 32nd street, and a short walk—now raining—to Penn Station, above which Madison Square Garden sits (the last place I saw U2 in June 2001). I stopped in Houlihan's to sit down and relax for a few minutes with a cold brew before catching the Northeast Corridor train back to New Jersey. As I walked into the bar, “Mysterious Ways” was cranking out of the jukebox, and I felt at peace with the world.
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God-I Wish I was in New York City THAT night!!! Shoot! OH well-thank you for that on sceen report and photos-Beautiful! And-There Back-U2*
