No more second guitar? Nonsense!

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Bono's son (the REAL son) Eli could jump in, as far as we know he's a better guitar player than Bono could ever be.

86996-jack-nicholson-WTF-what-gif-da-PC1I.gif
 
I honestly can't believe that some blog or other has not picked up the Leo story yet. I thought we had more influence than this, people!
 
Bono also said Vertigo was the mother of all rock songs. Pretty sure he'll be able to play guitar just fine eventually. I'd be more inclined to think his comments were made in a moment where he was thinking how sore and how injured he was and how impossible it would be for him to play guitar at that moment and thought what if and made the comment with that in mind. I'm sure he'll be fine and in the grand scheme of things Bono's ability to play guitar is far more important to his own personal happiness than it will ever be to the live show or the song writing contributions within U2. Bono doesn't add much guitar wise despite what some may want to think. His guitar contributions are probably slightly more than Axl Rose's were with Guns N' Roses. So basically irrelevant.
 
I recommend Chris Cornell for the second guitar and back gin vocals. You know, great vocal skill and decent guitar playing. This way, he doesn't have to make another awful solo records anymore.
 
Someone mentioned it before, but the possibility Bono might not be able to play guitar again goes far beyond how future live performances will be affected...his inability to compose (potentially) on the guitar is the real unfortunate part here....regardless of how good or bad of a guitar player you think he is based off watching live performances, not being able to simply sing a lyric and play a progression over it is major.
 
U2 should just get their own Scott McCaughey!


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference


I agree. What's the harm in having an auxiliary musician who plays rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals on stage? These guys usually just have their own bunker next to the drum set, and are dimly lit compared to the main band members.

Kings of Leon had a guy like this when I saw them last year. Did it take away from the concert, not having ONLY the 4 Followills onstage? Not at all. It seemed more real and "live" to have an actual human playing those parts, rather than a sampler or a guy below the stage.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
I agree. What's the harm in having an auxiliary musician who plays rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals on stage? These guys usually just have their own bunker next to the drum set, and are dimly lit compared to the main band members.

Kings of Leon had a guy like this when I saw them last year. Did it take away from the concert, not having ONLY the 4 Followills onstage? Not at all. It seemed more real and "live" to have an actual human playing those parts, rather than a sampler or a guy below the stage.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

And Muse has Morgan Nicholls. He's set up basically like that as well, because Matt Bellamy does not have two pairs of hands. :)
 
But I love when band rearrange the songs so that they can eliminate the need for sequencer or rhythm guitar players as much as possible. That made Beautiful Day killer song in live and seeing the Edge going back and forth on guitar and piano during New Year's Day entertaining.
 
The Edge playing guitar/keyboards/backing vocals on New Years Day is as much a U2 tradition as anything, that one never fails to impress people! No auxiliary musician would come between that.

Believe me, there are plenty of things going on in the live version of "Beautiful Day" that the 4 members of U2 are not doing. That song has plenty of pre-recorded backing tracks the band plays along with, as well as a choir of Edges singing the backing vocals. The same can be said for almost any U2 song live, certainly of ones released from the 1990s onward.

There is something appealing about it being only the 4 members of U2 onstage, even if we all know it's not just the 4 of them making the sounds. But if they did have a 5th guy onstage, I don't think anybody would lose any sleep over it. :crack:
 
Kings of Leon had a guy like this when I saw them last year. Did it take away from the concert, not having ONLY the 4 Followills onstage? Not at all. It seemed more real and "live" to have an actual human playing those parts, rather than a sampler or a guy below the stage.


Pink Floyd was about the same age (EDIT: actually they were about 10-15 years younger) when they made PULSE as U2 is now, and they had a secondary keyboard player (who also did vocals - even the lead Waters part on Comfortably Numb), a secondary drummer, and a secondary guitarist as well who got to play a solo during Money. Not to mention the bass player being a tall version of Peter Dinklage and not at all Roger Waters.

All these people were lit up and out front just as much as Gilmour, Wright, and Mason, and nobody treats PULSE like it's anything less because of their presence. If you didn't know who any of the musicians were you would probably just assume they were part of the actual band. In fact the concert would probably be a lot duller without the extra instrumentation, and a pre-recorded tape can't improvise or put emotion into its playing.
 
I feel like PULSE tour worked because there was an interplay between Gilmour and other guitar player (forgot the name). But U2 don't have that many of an longer solos. And U2;s backing tracks are mostly from sequencer, so as long as the Edge or someone in the band is taking care of it, it's totally alright.
 
I feel like PULSE tour worked because there was an interplay between Gilmour and other guitar player (forgot the name). But U2 don't have that many of an longer solos. And U2;s backing tracks are mostly from sequencer, so as long as the Edge or someone in the band is taking care of it, it's totally alright.


Fair enough. My point was to say that having extra musicians on stage isn't really much of a distraction. It's not like if there's a second guitarist playing the rhythm parts that he or she is going to be jumping around and running out onto the b-stage/catwalk and stealing the spotlight or anything.
 
Pearl Jam just up and decided to add a keyboardist to their live shows at one point, I believe on the Riot Act tour. Boom Gaspar's been on every tour with them since. He's not an official member of the band, but there he is on stage with the rest of them.

Why U2 couldn't so the same thing with Terry Lawless, I do not know.
 
Plenty of bands do it, REM Added Peter Holsapple in the late 80's on tour as an extra guitarist and other extra musicians (Scott McCaughey chief among them)as time went on.
The Who had Rabbit Bundrick on stage with them for decades, The Stones have had numerous extra musicians on stage with them throughout their careers. Nobody would think less of U2 for putting Terry in the corner of the stage during the live shows.
 
Pearl Jam just up and decided to add a keyboardist to their live shows at one point, I believe on the Riot Act tour. Boom Gaspar's been on every tour with them since. He's not an official member of the band, but there he is on stage with the rest of them.

Why U2 couldn't so the same thing with Terry Lawless, I do not know.

Boom's just so much cooler looking than Terry
 
I heard Terry is fine with being behind the scenes. That way he's not publically recognized as the 5th member of U2. This way he's able to play in the biggest rock band in the world, and get paid a crapload of money, and still walk down the street without being recognized. Not a bad deal for him!

I'd prefer if he was onstage. Being a guitarist in a band myself, I enjoy watching how the musicians interact with one another.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
Band: "Terry - we're going to need you to play guitar, below the stage, so Bono can pretend he's playing guitar."

Terry: "Below? ..but, wha.."
Band: "We'll give you $20,000 a gig, and cover all your expenses. You'll tell everyone you're fine with it. That you prefer being out of the spotlight. That these aren't the droid you're looking for."

Terry: "Yes. I am fine with it. In fact, I prefer being out of the spotlight"

Band: "Move along."

Terry: "Move along!"
 
Back
Top Bottom