I do not know this site’s reaction to the Joshua Tree Tour news. I don’t know if there are shouts of “nostalgia band” or “sellouts” or if it’s been more positively received. Or maybe it’s both. I am sure I could guess some of the reactions from my Shuttlecock friends, but, I’d not bet on being correct. I hope most or all of you are excited. I can envision Laz bitching about something like them not acknowledging the 20th anniversary of Pop yet they’ll do this? Fucking bullshit blah blah I just bought 4 Rose Bowl tickets. Anyway…..
I will say that, for me, it’s been some of the most exciting news I’ve received that’s not to do with family or friends in a long time. This album is my favorite piece of art. Ever. And it has been since the album was released. It’s hard to put into thought, let alone words, what this album has meant to me over that stretch of time. This album came out when I was 16. You know what music means to a teenager, especially as their tastes are expanding and morphing. I was a U2 fan prior to the album’s release, but one listen to The Joshua Tree and I cannot pretend that I was anything but transformed into being obsessed. I did not and could not stop listening to it; on my Walkman, on my stupid radio at home with the double cassette player, at my friend’s houses, etc. I didn’t know, truly know, how potent music could be until then. And this is not revisionist history or hyperbole, this is real and my friends that knew me then and still do now could easily and probably comically attest to it. And then….the JT tour, my first ever concert. The first song they play is Streets. Just…so sublime.
(side note – the first movie I ever saw on my own was Rattle & Hum because I did not want to see it with a friend, then leave and have someone say even one bad word about it. But that was unnecessary because nobody ever has anything bad to say about U2, ever…wait…)
I’ve attended so many U2 shows I’ve legitimately lost count of just how many, so getting to hear various songs from that album each tour has been great, but with time it changes a bit. I got VERY sick of Bullet until this past tour when it actually sounded fresh to me again. I probably didn’t need to hear ISHFWILF for a very long time after hearing it so often. WOWY was often magical but eventually I felt like either Bono could or not would not sing it the way he used to and so even the shine came off of that a bit. Streets is Streets so the joy of hearing it has never waned for me. So while the album remained my favorite, I do not enjoy the individual songs at the same exact level. Which is natural.
Also, I’m not necessarily one for a ton of nostalgia. I tend to look at today and tomorrow more than next year or yesterday. I’m just wired that way. But when I’m with old friends and there are great stories to rehash, I’m usually in. With concerts, I typically don’t want to feel like an old man and so, again, the nostalgia is not necessarily coveted – but, for example, I cannot deny how I felt when I saw the Police in concert in 2007 and how when they played Synchronicity II the screen behind them was flashing imagery of the cover art of the Synchronicity album. That hit me like a ton of bricks, from a very nostalgic standpoint. That album meant something to me and the mental and emotional connection to it remained strong, albeit a tad dormant prior to. During the last U2 tour, I did a quick song by song review of one of the shows and posted it here. This is a portion of what I said about Streets:
“And speaking of nostalgia, the imagery on the screens towards the end is of the Joshua Tree and it just hit me like a hammer - The Joshua Tree is my favorite album and has been for a very long time now. It means a ton to me and I don’t know, I had a lot running through my head when I glanced at the screen as the song started to end. I’m getting old.” So even that little bit had a visceral impact on me that had nothing to do with intellect and was just pure emotion.
So, now. They’re going to play the album front to back? They’re going to play them in the order I’ve heard it, what, thousands of times? I’m besides myself with excitement. I am always jazzed up when the band releases a new album, and while I could never pretend their last few albums are anywhere near their best work, I still get enjoyment from them…..and love to hear how they sound in concert. But this means more to me than any tour supporting a new album could ever mean. It’s just the way it is.
So I am over the moon. Today I got my two tickets for Vancouver (see you there, Cori) and for the Rose Bowl (see you there, Heartlandgirl – and hopefully others) and now I know that after 30 years I’ll finally fucking hear One Tree Hill. This is great. I hope most of you are even half as happy as I am about this.
