Quote:
Originally posted by missknowitall
This thread is absolutely insensitive and callous. First of all, Adam & Larry are more "disposable?" Great, just replace them with who, two hair band rockers? Oh yeah, and Edge, if it is indeed your family with the illness, we are going on without you. Dallas, how is your health, what roadie could we get to take your place? Maybe McGuiness could step in, I'm sure his vocals would be great. There is only one guitar player, one bass player, one drummer, and one lead singer, and they are U2. You should be ashamed of yourselves, greedy and insenitive lot. Oh boo-hoo, shows got postponed so lets replace whomever to appease our greedy souls. Shame on you.
usamilo said:
Thank you Blue Room for the previous posts. The recent postponements had me thinking back to a concert I attended a few years back by another band. It was a different band with a different history, but for me brought up a subject that all fans must inevitably face.
A friend of mine (like Bono and The Edge) is a huge fan of The Who. The Who started as a four man band in the 60’s. Their drummer died in the late 70’s. The band continued on for awhile, but were virtually inactive for much of the 80’s. They started touring again in the late 90’s and returned to a stripped down lineup by the decades end.
I had tickets to see a show in 2002. The day before the tour began, the bassist and original band member, John Entwistle, died. Shockingly, the remaining two members recruited another bassist, rescheduled the first two dates of the tour and continued on.
The band took some criticism for launching into a tour just 4 days after the death of their bassist. Pete said that John lived to tour and John’s family urged them to go forward as a tribute to him. Pete also said that he felt canceling the tour would put a financial hardship on the many support people who had arranged their year to be on the road with them and were depending on the paycheck the tour would provide.
Upon hearing of John’s death, I never would have dreamed that I would be attending a Who concert nine days later. The show brought up a host of mixed emotions. It seemed wrong for someone else to be holding the bass. I wondered if it was respectful to be enjoying myself so close to the time of sorrow, but I was glad for the opportunity to be enjoying the camaraderie of fellow fans while mourning John’s passing. I didn’t think of the remaining two members as greedy that night. I actually thought of myself as fortunate that they chose to make themselves public during what must have been an indescribably painful time for them. Musically, I’m sure the concert was not in the top 500 in the band’s career. Emotionally, it had to be near the top.
The one thought I had more than any other at the time was that thank God nothing like this has happened to my beloved U2. I have been fortunate enough to follow a band for more than 20 years that has always been there for me. No one has died of an overdose. The lead singer and the guitarist haven’t gotten in fights that silence the band for years at a time. And none of the original members having gotten tired enough of touring to quit the band.
The original topic of discussion I started this thread with was not the real life touring crisis the band faces, but instead a slightly different set of fictional circumstances. I asked about the prospect of the band that took the stage for just a couple of shows was minus one of the four that have brought so much enjoyment to so many of us. I was only attempting to solicit the emotional responses such a fictional possibility might bring. I most definitely was not advocating the temporary replacement of a band member in the real life situation that the band finds itself in and has often been confused with the fictional set of circumstances that was the thread topic.
Maybe the question I was really asking was what happens when the unthinkable finally happens? A disagreement, a reevaluation of life’s priorities or a sudden and tragic death spells the end of U2 as we have known it for these many wonderful years. Would I want the band to end like The Beatles leaving us with only the memories of them together? Or would I want them to continue like REM or The Who with an altered lineup that stills brings enjoyment, but pales when I think of them alongside of the original?
Like all fans, I hope the current events work themselves out to the best possible conclusion. I truly believe we have yet to see the last of our boys from Dublin. I also know that someday the ride will end. That will be one hard day.
Peace
You know whoever said that people are getting too sensitive is damn right. At this point I would jus like to point to missknowitall. Reminder, this is a forum, not school. It seems that all you care about is stepping on some other fan's shoulders to elevate yourself as 'ooooooooooh, I am the best fan U2 has got, I care about their feelings'. Pathetic. In a forum, we can talk about what we like, and if you don't like it and have nothing constructive to add to the discussion, why don't you open that door and walk right out. I am sorry to others if I'm going on about this, but I hate oversensivity, its too often a tool for holierthanthou knowitalls. I am pretty sure even Edge would not mind if he saw the topic. And grudgingly I admit that missknowitall was right (though needlessly vicious) in one of her points. I do believe that it should have been pointed out that we are assuming that edge's family has the illness. otherwise this is an interesting thread.
On the thread itself, I dont think Edge should be replaced, because most fans won't like it. Yes, Adam has been replaced, and all bandmembers are equal, but you have got to consider stage personas. Bono is the prime stage persona, while edge is second, but he does play the primary sound, so to speak. But if it had been like Adam's in Australia in 93 (the band finding out when the fans had already gotten there) I think the band would have no choice. And I really think Dallas could have played the piano for RTRS and NYD.
Finally the above post is one more indicator of how a band can be strong and not be oversensitive ninnies. Sorry, I know this thread started long ago, but I had nothing to do so was just scanning, and that post riled me up.
