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All Gretchen Wanted Was U2

All Gretchen wanted was to get on stage with U2. Gretchen already has a stage of her own with the Boston garage band the Knock Ups, but being onstage with U2 would be something else entirely.

I first met Gretchen in May of 2005 as we stood outside the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Boston. U2 was in town on their Vertigo tour, and we both waited to meet the band. As is always the case when diehard U2 fans meet, we started exchanging U2 stories; it soon became clear that Gretchen loved U2 as much as I did. This was the start of a brilliant friendship with the woman I now refer to as my U2 soul sister.

Our U2 history is long. She was raised by a mom who was a U2 fan and was completely immersed in their music from the time she was twelve years old. I was born and raised in Boston and grew up listening to WBCN radio—the station that first broke U2 in the US. I vividly remember the moment I heard “I Will Follow” and was literally stopped in my tracks as I heard a sound that “made some sense out of the world.” When U2 came to the Paradise Theater in Boston on their Boy tour in 1981, I stood captivated in the audience watching a powerful, spiritual, punk rock performance that changed my life.

From the beginning of our friendship, Gretchen wanted to get onstage with U2. Born for the stage, she started singing and performing in local theater groups at a young age. Years later, she fronted the Boston punk rock band, Black Barbie. Gretchen had both the confidence and the talent to play with U2; it was just a matter of figuring out how to get her up there.

The Vertigo tour returned to Boston in October and December of 2005, but in October we weren’t scanned into the ellipse, so were too far away for Gretchen to be considered. In December, although we had rail spots for both shows, Bono chose an Elvis impersonator and Santa Claus to go up with him. In 2011, in Montreal on the 360 Tour, we were front row/rail, and Gretchen came close to being chosen, but it wasn’t meant to be.

As the dates for Boston’s iNNOCENCE and eXPERIENCE tour approached, Gretchen and I talked endlessly about our U2 plans for 2015—our GA meet and greet strategies, the pros and cons of main stage versus E stage, and the biggest challenge: getting her onstage to play with the band.

After many months of waiting, U2 week in Boston finally arrived. On the night before Boston 1, we headed down to U2’s hotel and saw Murphy, Bono’s bodyguard, standing outside on the sidewalk. It was quiet, and he was alone, so we introduced ourselves.

He was kind and gracious, and as we chatted, he mentioned that he recognized me from previous tours. He readily agreed to have his photo taken with us, and then, handed us his business card and asked us to email him a copy of the photos.

We said goodnight to Murphy and headed to the Garden for the GA check-in. We were overjoyed to have the contact info for Bono’s bodyguard: the man who is responsible for keeping Bono safe and who also plucks fans out of U2’s audience and gets them onstage. It felt serendipitous.

We emailed Brian the photos along with a note thanking him for his time and his kindness. We also spoke of our long history with U2. We further went on to mention Gretchen’s band The Knock Ups and her mad guitar skills.

We put in our request: would he please ask Bono to consider bringing Gretchen up to play one night in Boston?

That night at Boston 1, the most magical of the four Boston gigs, we were on the south side rail at the crease where the E stage meets the catwalk. Murphy was doing his bodyguard thing—walking up and down the catwalk, keeping his eye on Bono and on the fans in the arena. He saw me and came over, clasped my hand, addressed me by name and told me to enjoy the show. Ultimately, U2 didn’t play ‘Desire’ that night, but we went home full of optimism knowing that there were three hometown shows left.

For Boston 2, after much discussion we decided to do the south side catwalk rail. On the E stage that night, U2 played “Desire,” but they didn’t bring anyone up. However, as they segued into “Angel of Harlem,” Bono looked around and wondered “is there a girl guitar player in the audience who wants to come up and play?” There was no answer. He looked around and asked again. Still, no reply.

Gretchen was devastated that she had blown an opportunity by not being at the E stage.  When Bono couldn’t find the girl he was looking for, he instead chose a thirteen year old boy to play with them and, in a magnanimous gesture, gave the boy the guitar.

During the days off, we hoped for another U2 meet and greet. Back at the Ritz bar, luck was on our side as we ran into Adam outside on the sidewalk. He was charming as we spoke of our history with U2 and impressed that I was one of the fans at their Paradise show way back when; he thanked me for sticking with the band for so long. He graciously accepted Gretchen’s gift of a Knock Ups CD and t-shirt and laughed when we suggested that he wear the t-shirt onstage one night, since he’d been wearing punk rock band t-shirts all throughout the tour.

For Boston 3, Gretchen and I headed to the designated meet and greet spot outside the Garden. Before long, the black Cadillac Escalades started pulling up. Out of one car stepped Murphy and Bono, who started working the line.  Bono reached us. Gretchen gave him a CD and t-shirt while telling Bono that she was the lead singer and guitarist in a local band called the Knock Ups. She went on to say that it was a dream of hers to play onstage with U2. Would he bring her up tonight? He asked her what her name was, and when she told him, he said, “Well, Gretchen you never know how these things are gonna go” before he moved onto the next fan.

Later that night, we found the perfect position on the E stage rail. The show began, and soon, Murphy approached Gretchen to let her know that she’s going up; he gave her instructions on how to climb over the rail and fall back into his arms when it was time. We couldn’t believe it! For three tours, we had waited for his moment, diligently trying to make it happen! We were ecstatic and had difficulty focusing on the show as we waited for Gretchen’s moment. Gretchen was excited, ready, and not a bit nervous.

U2 finished playing “Crystal Ballroom” and we heard Bono say, “Gretchen, Gretchen, where’s Gretchen?” He scanned the rail, saw her, and within seconds, she was onstage with guitar in hand. I stood there, dumbfounded, as my U2 soul sister is coached by Bono on the chords to “All I Want is You.”

Watch the video to see what happens next. I can’t do it justice except to say that she, with her nerves of steel, killed it, becoming a celebrity in her own right.

Finally, in a week full of many surreal moments, at the fourth Boston show, imagine our surprise and delight to see Adam wearing his Knock Ups t-shirt when U2 came back onstage for their encore!!! I think Gretchen was more excited about this than she was about playing guitar with the boys. After all, instead of her giving a gift to the band, they were giving something fantastic back to her.

How sad we were to see our U2 week come to an end, but what a magical mystery ride we lived. Boston had seen four of the best gigs of the iNNOCENCE & eXPERIENCE tour—high energy, emotionally-charged shows that left us joyous and wanting more; and, if that weren’t enough, a lifelong dream had come true for my U2 soul sister. U2 sings of dreaming out loud, and now, the dreams of another diehard have certainly come true. Viva U2. –Donna Lane

Boston born-and-raised, Donna Lane is a mad U2 fan since her first show at the Paradise in early 1981. Follow @donna_marie40 on Twitter.

“Gay Pride In The Name Of Love”: U2 & Their Fans Celebrate Marriage Equality

David Wichman grew up in the 1980s listening to U2. He also grew up gay during the early days of the AIDS pandemic and experienced the double humiliations of bigoted demonizations and heartbreaking tragedies.

In the last 30 years, the fights against AIDS and for gay rights have come a long, long way, and some of the key allies for progress have been artists, actors, and musicians, including Bono and his bandmates in U2.

On Sunday, June 28, the day of gay pride parades in Chicago and around the world, millions celebrated the recent United States’ Supreme Court decision effectively legalizing gay marriage at the national level. But David Wichman took his personal Pride rally to the General Admission (GA) line at the United Center.

With his hand-decorated rainbow flag in tow, he wanted to get a place close to the stage. His flag simply said: “IN THE NAME OF LOVE – THANK YOU!” Wichman wanted Bono and the band to know their work as allies has not gone unnoticed.

Of course, dozens of fans bring their banners and signs to the GA floor on each night of the tour, but not every fan has their banner or sign lifted hjgh by the lead singer onstage. As Bono had done in May in Arizona after the news of Ireland’s successful marriage referendum, he turned this spirited Sunday night show into a celebration of marriage (his wife Ali in attendance) and a joyful tribute to the civil rights advocates who worked to make marriage equality a reality for the entire USA.

U2 had made their support for Ireland’s marriage reform known on the band’s official website U2.com, and these sentiments had been picked up by mainstream media. Now that support had come to the American audience on the North American leg of the Innocence + Experience tour in a city where one million people had particiapted in the Pride celebrations earlier that day.

Bono took Wichman’s rainbow flag and paraded it onstage during “Pride (in the name of love),” a track that has been soaring and shining this tour as a new civil rights anthem, not only for gay rights, but for the people of Ferguson, Baltimore, and Charleston. To see Bono dance the catwalk and approach the mainstage unfurling the universal symbol of gay rights was  not just a bold statement for the new equality paradigm but also an affirmation for all the bands’ fans who are proundly part of the LGBTQI community.

David Wichman shared his jubilant and eloquent response to the evening on his personal Facebook page, writing: “What does it matter that I tossed my pride flag onto the stage last night? Fans all over the world throw things on the stage and Bono happily acknowledges many of these gestures with love. What does it matter for Bono to take the time to acknowledge Gay Pride and the SCOTUS marriage decision?”

Wichman continues, “It matters because to have one of the most famous and loving generous humans on the planet support you and your community, this saves lives. People from every corner of the planet were watching Bono dancing with, spinning, and then gently carrying this flag across the stage, holding it up and then hanging it on the stage.”

He shares from his history of struggling with shame, “Some of them are just like me. They grow up in a world that tells them that they don’t count. A world that says that their life is a shameful disease. A world that feels like the only alternative to the pain of being who they are is suicide or blotting out reality with alcohol & drugs. So when your heroes and idols tell you that you matter, there is real hope.”

The pain and then hope Wichman mentions are real: “I buried a generation of friends and watched helplessly as many of my brothers & sisters around the world continue to be publicly brutalized, hanged, killed, shamed, and imprisoned. This counts! This matters!

I am so proud of this moment right now. My U2 family is more than just a fan base we are a worldwide network of Awesome.”

Bono’s celebration of David Wichman and the many fans like him is not just a humanitarian gesture for universal rights. It’s an acknowledgement of the unique beauty and struggle of the LGBTQI community for its integrity and its sanctity.

Bono’s activist crusades to fight AIDS in Africa have involved overt gestures of honest conversation and sometimes conversion with evangelical Christians. Bono is a respected Christ-follower among the fans who share his theology, and his faith inspires his advocacy; perhaps his bold unapologetic support for gay rights intimates a shift in Chrisitianity more generally, where full inclusion for LGBTQI members is now policy in many major mainline denominations.

Certain songs in the band’s setlist have generally accompanied Bono’s remarks for full equaliy, songs like “Pride,” “Beautiful Day,” and “One,” with these songs attaching themselves to the ascending rainbow consciousness and the ubiqitous motto #LoveWins.

During “Pride” with Wichman’s flag in his hands, Bono announces, “Gay pride in the name of love.” During “Beautiful Day,” Bono tweaks a line: “A rainbow of colors right in front of you.” Before “One,” Bono boasts that Ireland beat America to full equality by putting “the gay into Gaelic” and continued to speak eloquence on how difficult commitment is, but “Love rules! Love wins!” After dedicating the finale to the Pride marchers, the fans carried the closing song as a group singalong, 20,000 voices strong.

And if there were any lingering doubts, after the band leaves the stage each night, “Same Love,” Macklemore’s anthem in support of marriage equality, is the first tune to blare from the loudspeakers as the house lights go up. -Andrew William Smith @teacheronradio

Photos in this story by Justin Kent @justin_kent and David Wichman

YouTube link to film of “Pride” by Tim Newell: https://youtu.be/LbwPJIjoTtI

U2 announce Innocence and Experience 2015 tour dates

Despite Bono’s recent spill and untold recovery time, U2 have chosen to roll the dice and announced dates for the Innocence and Experience tour, set to begin May 14th in Vancouver. The first two legs of the tour will, unsurprisingly, cover 19 cities in North America and western Europe. It is unknown whether the tour will be extended beyond these two legs, or if the titular Songs of Experience will be released in conjunction with the tour.

It’s also unknown whether or not the plans to perform electric sets one night and acoustic sets the other throughout these lengthy residencies will be implemented. In fact, a lot of things are unknown. But you can purchase your tickets as early as December 4th via presale, or December 8th in the general sale.

The tour itinerary is as follows:

NORTH AMERICA 2015
May 14th Vancouver, BC, Rogers Arena
May 15th Vancouver, BC, Rogers Arena
May 18th San Jose, CA, SAP Center at San Jose
May 19th San Jose, CA, SAP Center at San Jose
May 22nd, Phoenix, AZ, US Airways Center
May 23rd, Phoenix, AZ, US Airways Center
May 26th, Los Angeles, CA, Forum
May 27th, Los Angeles, CA, Forum
May 30th, Los Angeles, CA, Forum
May 31st, Los Angeles, CA, Forum

June 12th, Montreal, QC, Bell Centre
June 13th, Montreal, QC, Bell Centre
June 24th, Chicago, IL, United Center
June 25th, Chicago, IL, United Center

July 6th, Toronto, ON, Air Canada Centre
July 7th, Toronto, ON, Air Canada Centre
July 10th, Boston, MA, TD Garden
July 11th, Boston, MA, TD Garden
July 18th, New York, NY, Madison Square Garden
July 19th, New York, NY, Madison Square Garden
July 22nd, New York, NY, Madison Square Garden
July 23rd, New York, NY Madison Square Garden

EUROPE / UK 2015
Sep 4th, Turin, Italy , Pala Alpitour
Sep 5th, Turin, Italy, Pala Alpitour
Sep 8th, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Ziggo Dome
Sep 9th, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Ziggo Dome
Sep 16th, Stockholm, Sweden, Globe
Sep 17th, Stockholm, Sweden, Globe
Sep 24th, Berlin, Germany, O2 World
Sep 25th, Berlin, Germany, O2 World

Oct 5th, Barcelona, Spain, Palau Sant Jordi
Oct 6th, Barcelona, Spain, Palau Sant Jordi
Oct 13th, Antwerp, Belgium, Sportpaleis
Oct 14th, Antwerp, Belgium, Sportpaleis
Oct 17th, Koln, Germany, Lanxess Arena
Oct 18th Koln, Germany, Lanxess Arena

Oct 25th, London, UK O2
Oct 26th, London, UK O2
Oct 29th, London, UK O2
Oct 30th, London, UK O2

Nov 6th, Glasgow, UK, The SSE Hydro
Nov 7th, Glasgow, UK, The SSE Hydro
Nov 10th, Paris, France, Bercy
Nov 11th, Paris, France, Bercy

Plot Twist: U2 Releases New Album “Songs of Innocence” on iTunes, For Free, to Millions

Well, hey. Look at this!

Over the past several weeks, rumors have circulated across the internet about a possible connection between U2 and the Apple even in Cupertino, CA. Nothing was confirmed; in fact, publicists from both Apple and U2 themselves denied any connection whatsoever. Then, yesterday, The New York Times spilled the beans, making a bold claim that they would indeed “play a role” at the event.

They did. This afternoon, everyone with an iTunes account received a free copy of the new album Songs of Innocence.  In a pre-release interview, Bono referred to the album as “the biggest album release of all time,” which is exactly what they were looking for. This is indeed a very big move.

Unfortunately, it still needs to be downloaded and there have been a number of complaints on Twitter regarding server issues. But that’s just fine with me; if I’ve waited five years, I can wait a few more minutes.

 

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