I just was thinking about one of the reflections made below, is Kite (Live 2006) the 00s equivalent of Bad (Live) from the 80s and Please (Live) from the 90s – “a breathtaking set piece, show-stopper, classic live epic”?
From Elmo at u2log today:
I really hope some good quality bootlegs of these Australian shows make it out soon, because what U2 have done with Kite on this tour is like what they did with Bad: take a stand-out album track and turn it into a breathtaking set piece, show-stopper, classic live epic.
Edge takes the roof off with his extended solo/outro during which Bono flies the kite in the crowd. And when you think things literally can’t get any higher, Bono sings one last chorus, letting go of the kite. And it is honestly the most incredible, moving moment I have ever seen U2 perform, ever. And what makes it all the more beautiful, is that it is just them as a band, this heart melting song and Bono flying a kite – a freaking kite!
Who cares in that moment, about all the technology, all the sensory overload? U2 don’t need that. It’s like Bono has taken all he talks about not wanting to ever grow out of feeling wonderment for world, and solidified it into the most perfect piece of theatre he’s ever created. But it is such a heavy song – ‘I want you to know that you don’t need me anymore / I want you to know that you do need anyone, or anything at all.’
This track for me, sums up everything about U2 that makes them the greatest band in the history of music: the simple fact that life is complex. We have to grow up and be responsible, people will die and leave us on our own, everything you know will change one day, in an instant. ‘Who’s to know when the time has come around? / Don’t want to see you cry/ I know that this is not goodbye.’ But smell the flowers while you can, because so much is so lovely about the world. I don’t mean to go so over the top here, but I want to convey as best I can, the beauty and the magic of this moment. I cried. DAMN!
If it’s true that Bono is the driving force behind U2 who pushes them to keep going, then I don’t think we have anything to worry about them stopping any time soon. I know we were all traumatised by the ‘we have to go away’ speech, preparing for every tour to be the last – I can’t see that happening for a good long while.
In terms of mastering their craft, I think U2 have hit a new creative peak, and Bono doesn’t seem happy to rely on passion alone in his performance anymore – he could easily take up a second (or is that third, fourth?) career as an opera tenor – he holds incredibly difficult notes for long, loooooooong periods. Night after night, making it all look easy. We’ve waited a long time to see this, and it has been so, so worth it.
U2’s commitment – to their fans and to eachother – is inspiring stuff. You can stay true to your essence while pushing yourself ever further. The latest U2 singles – Saints, and Window in the Skies, one a nod to their roots, the other looking to the future – could not be more different, yet noone other than U2 could have created them.
OK. I’m feeling totally awestruck at the moment, so I’ll stop.
These days run away like horses over the hills.
Finally would make sense
