HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By Chrissi Blaesing
2005.09
Having seen all four U2 shows in Chicago last May that culminated in the much-lauded May 12 show, I felt confident that no show could top that. I was wrong. The band that I saw perform Tuesday was fresh, funny, risky, spontaneous, making a large arena feel more like an intimate club—in other words this is the U2 that makes one want to see as many shows as possible. The crowd at the United Center seemed to be comprised more of diehard fans this outing than last spring, the people in my section aware of the set lists to date and what everyone wanted to hear. Once again, seeing a U2 show with other members of the U2 "tribe" makes the whole event all the more special.
The now-familiar opening of the Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" starting playing at full volume and most of the general admission crowd was swaying and singing along with the music. The lights dimmed and unmistakable opening of "City of Blinding Lights" started. While opening with "Vertigo" in the past immediately upped the intensity of the audience, "City of Blinding Lights" steady build-up evoked more of a sense of anticipation and wonderment. "Vertigo" was up next and the entire audience was in a frenzy chanting back to Bono's "Hello, hello." "Elevation" continued to prove itself a crowd favorite with Larry Mullen Jr. singing the chorus along with Bono and The Edge. Old catalog favorite "The Electric Co" saw a playful Edge taking a walkabout around the ellipse much to the delight of the audience and Bono, who met up with him on Adam Clayton's side to chat with the guitarist on what night it actually was. Bono then added a snippet of The Doors’ classic "Break On Through" to the end of "The Electric Co." Prior to the start of "The Ocean" Bono took a stroll down memory lane by talking about one of the band's first gigs in Chicago dancing on tables that had about 17 people in attendance—13 or 14 of which where members of U2's own crew.
As "The Ocean" ended Bono told the audience that U2 wanted to try out a new song that hasn't been played on the Vertigo Tour yet. This news earned thunderous applause from the entire audience that had Bono chuckling and saying something along the lines of, "So you've seen the show before?" "Walk On" then made its Vertigo Tour debut in an understated acoustic version that went well until the end when Bono forgot the lyrics. Bono looked over to the multi-talented Edge to finish the song saying, "You know the lyrics. I wish I knew the lyrics." Bono headed over to Clayton's side where a couple of pages of lyrics were shoved in his hand and then hastily ripped back out—Bono and Clayton both seemed to be amused by the unfolding events, laughing with each other. Eventually the right lyrics were handed to the singer and he ambled back to the microphone to finish the song, lyrics in hand, all the while Edge provided backup vocals. Moments that show U2's humanity, humility and humor are what separate a good U2 show from an exceptional one. Any fan can put an album on to hear the perfectly mastered studio version of a song but most fans treasure moments like these that show the band taking a chance on a new song or arrangement—it shows the true strength of U2 as a live band.
Describing it as a song that will never go anywhere, Bono segues into "Beautiful Day" with the lights blazing in the arena. A snippet of The Beatles’ classic "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" was tagged onto the end of "Beautiful Day" and the core "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" section of the show commenced. "Miracle Drug" was dedicated again to the scientists, doctors and nurses. Bono stated that when he hears the opening cords of "Miracle Drug" it gives him faith in the future. An Edge love-fest ensued with Edge nailing his vocal solo more clearly than I have heard on the tour to date.
The opening dedication to "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" was different Tuesday night; Bono recalling that someone, possibly The Pretenders' frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, said that all women stay around age 13 and all men stay around age eight. Bono then went on to state that it's not a therapy session but the song is about Bob Hewson. For those of us that follow the usual set list for most of the Vertigo Tour, it's almost expected that "Love and Peace or Else" follows "Sometimes" so most were a bit shocked to see a single spotlight on Edge opening up the usually reserved for the second encore song "Yahweh." Regardless of the position in the set this song is received well as it the accompanying visuals. It should be noted that the placement of "Yahweh" prior to "Love and Peace or Else" really drives home the "coexist" message vital to the core political message of the show that has Bono is a reflective mode after "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Bullet the Blue Sky." The singer talked about the struggles of terrorism and the pervasiveness of fear in Northern Ireland, stating that the only thing that terrorists have in common is that they value ideas over people. Bono went on to say that, as a band, U2 values people over ideas and with Edge on piano begins to sing "Miss Sarajevo." The rendition is hauntingly beautiful and as Bono effortlessly tackled Luciano Pavarotti's part of the song the audience was torn between erupting into applauding or standing in mute shock at this bit of opera in a rock show. The pervasive message of equality has a modern twist now in the light of the after effects of Hurricane Katrina with "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" sending the audience into a frenzy again. Clayton made his way down to the tip of the ellipse to meet with Bono for a quick hug and a scan of the general admission fans on the outer rail. Both men seemed to be staring at something in particular—it seemed some fans had made letters spelling out "Mofo." This earned amused looks from both the bassist and the singer.
"One" ended with the familiar coda of "Can you hear us coming Lord …" that was missing from the first leg version of the song. I found this inclusion rounded the song out, much the same way that the "shine like stars in the summer night …" coda makes "With or Without You" seem more complete. Again, little extras like this are where songs take on a new life in the live setting and make the songs personal fan favorites. A snippet of "Old Man River" closed out the main set as it has for the first shows of the third leg, again a nod to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The first encore of the night has no introduction—the new version of "Discotheque" that debuted in Toronto is brought to Chicago with each band member illuminated in PopMart colors. The lighting for "Discotheque" is truly something to be seen and hopefully this song will continue to make an appearance during the tour. "The Fly" was next with more surprises for the audience as Bono tagged a snippet of "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car" onto the end of "The Fly." The general admission crowd roared its approval for this snippet of a "Zooropa" song. A standard version of "With or Without You" ends the first encore with Bono flirting with ladies in the front row of the ellipse.
The band came back onstage for the second encore with little fanfare and launches into “All Because of You” with Bono brandishing a tambourine in one hand. The next song is introduced by the singer as a song from “Zooropa.“ Bono mentions that while talking with some fans outside the arena earlier that day the album was brought up as a fan favorite that was requested. Bono enlisted the help of a fan in the front row of the ellipse to translate the a phrase that was approximately “there can be more than one first time” in Spanish, which she did graciously. Bono and The Edge then launch into “The First Time” to the stunned shock of the audience who quickly recovered in time to help Bono chant “Love” over and over again at the end of the song, “For the first time I feel love.” The audience loved it—die hard and causal fans alike were really into the song. The night ended with my personal favorite closing combination of “Bad” and “40.”
In all September 20th was a U2 show that was able to serve both the casual and diehard fan with a mixture of greatest hits and obscure fan favorites. By playing some lesser-known songs and taking some risks, it is possible that the band was able to sway some of the more casual fans into the die-hard fans that know what album songs like "Dirty Day" or maybe even "One Tree Hill" come from. One can only hope.
2005.09
Having seen all four U2 shows in Chicago last May that culminated in the much-lauded May 12 show, I felt confident that no show could top that. I was wrong. The band that I saw perform Tuesday was fresh, funny, risky, spontaneous, making a large arena feel more like an intimate club—in other words this is the U2 that makes one want to see as many shows as possible. The crowd at the United Center seemed to be comprised more of diehard fans this outing than last spring, the people in my section aware of the set lists to date and what everyone wanted to hear. Once again, seeing a U2 show with other members of the U2 "tribe" makes the whole event all the more special.
The now-familiar opening of the Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" starting playing at full volume and most of the general admission crowd was swaying and singing along with the music. The lights dimmed and unmistakable opening of "City of Blinding Lights" started. While opening with "Vertigo" in the past immediately upped the intensity of the audience, "City of Blinding Lights" steady build-up evoked more of a sense of anticipation and wonderment. "Vertigo" was up next and the entire audience was in a frenzy chanting back to Bono's "Hello, hello." "Elevation" continued to prove itself a crowd favorite with Larry Mullen Jr. singing the chorus along with Bono and The Edge. Old catalog favorite "The Electric Co" saw a playful Edge taking a walkabout around the ellipse much to the delight of the audience and Bono, who met up with him on Adam Clayton's side to chat with the guitarist on what night it actually was. Bono then added a snippet of The Doors’ classic "Break On Through" to the end of "The Electric Co." Prior to the start of "The Ocean" Bono took a stroll down memory lane by talking about one of the band's first gigs in Chicago dancing on tables that had about 17 people in attendance—13 or 14 of which where members of U2's own crew.
As "The Ocean" ended Bono told the audience that U2 wanted to try out a new song that hasn't been played on the Vertigo Tour yet. This news earned thunderous applause from the entire audience that had Bono chuckling and saying something along the lines of, "So you've seen the show before?" "Walk On" then made its Vertigo Tour debut in an understated acoustic version that went well until the end when Bono forgot the lyrics. Bono looked over to the multi-talented Edge to finish the song saying, "You know the lyrics. I wish I knew the lyrics." Bono headed over to Clayton's side where a couple of pages of lyrics were shoved in his hand and then hastily ripped back out—Bono and Clayton both seemed to be amused by the unfolding events, laughing with each other. Eventually the right lyrics were handed to the singer and he ambled back to the microphone to finish the song, lyrics in hand, all the while Edge provided backup vocals. Moments that show U2's humanity, humility and humor are what separate a good U2 show from an exceptional one. Any fan can put an album on to hear the perfectly mastered studio version of a song but most fans treasure moments like these that show the band taking a chance on a new song or arrangement—it shows the true strength of U2 as a live band.
Describing it as a song that will never go anywhere, Bono segues into "Beautiful Day" with the lights blazing in the arena. A snippet of The Beatles’ classic "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" was tagged onto the end of "Beautiful Day" and the core "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" section of the show commenced. "Miracle Drug" was dedicated again to the scientists, doctors and nurses. Bono stated that when he hears the opening cords of "Miracle Drug" it gives him faith in the future. An Edge love-fest ensued with Edge nailing his vocal solo more clearly than I have heard on the tour to date.
The opening dedication to "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" was different Tuesday night; Bono recalling that someone, possibly The Pretenders' frontwoman Chrissie Hynde, said that all women stay around age 13 and all men stay around age eight. Bono then went on to state that it's not a therapy session but the song is about Bob Hewson. For those of us that follow the usual set list for most of the Vertigo Tour, it's almost expected that "Love and Peace or Else" follows "Sometimes" so most were a bit shocked to see a single spotlight on Edge opening up the usually reserved for the second encore song "Yahweh." Regardless of the position in the set this song is received well as it the accompanying visuals. It should be noted that the placement of "Yahweh" prior to "Love and Peace or Else" really drives home the "coexist" message vital to the core political message of the show that has Bono is a reflective mode after "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Bullet the Blue Sky." The singer talked about the struggles of terrorism and the pervasiveness of fear in Northern Ireland, stating that the only thing that terrorists have in common is that they value ideas over people. Bono went on to say that, as a band, U2 values people over ideas and with Edge on piano begins to sing "Miss Sarajevo." The rendition is hauntingly beautiful and as Bono effortlessly tackled Luciano Pavarotti's part of the song the audience was torn between erupting into applauding or standing in mute shock at this bit of opera in a rock show. The pervasive message of equality has a modern twist now in the light of the after effects of Hurricane Katrina with "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" sending the audience into a frenzy again. Clayton made his way down to the tip of the ellipse to meet with Bono for a quick hug and a scan of the general admission fans on the outer rail. Both men seemed to be staring at something in particular—it seemed some fans had made letters spelling out "Mofo." This earned amused looks from both the bassist and the singer.
"One" ended with the familiar coda of "Can you hear us coming Lord …" that was missing from the first leg version of the song. I found this inclusion rounded the song out, much the same way that the "shine like stars in the summer night …" coda makes "With or Without You" seem more complete. Again, little extras like this are where songs take on a new life in the live setting and make the songs personal fan favorites. A snippet of "Old Man River" closed out the main set as it has for the first shows of the third leg, again a nod to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The first encore of the night has no introduction—the new version of "Discotheque" that debuted in Toronto is brought to Chicago with each band member illuminated in PopMart colors. The lighting for "Discotheque" is truly something to be seen and hopefully this song will continue to make an appearance during the tour. "The Fly" was next with more surprises for the audience as Bono tagged a snippet of "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car" onto the end of "The Fly." The general admission crowd roared its approval for this snippet of a "Zooropa" song. A standard version of "With or Without You" ends the first encore with Bono flirting with ladies in the front row of the ellipse.
The band came back onstage for the second encore with little fanfare and launches into “All Because of You” with Bono brandishing a tambourine in one hand. The next song is introduced by the singer as a song from “Zooropa.“ Bono mentions that while talking with some fans outside the arena earlier that day the album was brought up as a fan favorite that was requested. Bono enlisted the help of a fan in the front row of the ellipse to translate the a phrase that was approximately “there can be more than one first time” in Spanish, which she did graciously. Bono and The Edge then launch into “The First Time” to the stunned shock of the audience who quickly recovered in time to help Bono chant “Love” over and over again at the end of the song, “For the first time I feel love.” The audience loved it—die hard and causal fans alike were really into the song. The night ended with my personal favorite closing combination of “Bad” and “40.”
In all September 20th was a U2 show that was able to serve both the casual and diehard fan with a mixture of greatest hits and obscure fan favorites. By playing some lesser-known songs and taking some risks, it is possible that the band was able to sway some of the more casual fans into the die-hard fans that know what album songs like "Dirty Day" or maybe even "One Tree Hill" come from. One can only hope.
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