Review: U2 at Philips Arena, Atlanta, November 18, 2005*

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HelloAngel

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By Andy Smith
2005.11




As the Vertigo Tour winds down its third leg with only a handful of gigs left in the United States and Canada, what might the fans with tickets to the remaining shows expect?

Of some things we can be sure: The band will take the stage at almost exactly 9 pm and play at least 20 songs, captivating the crowd for over two hours. The set list will be a standard mix of "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb's" best, sprinkled with sparkling tunes from the back catalog. It won't replicate the ones you've read about exactly but it will include a well-rehearsed core for at least 16 or 17 of the 21 or 22 songs.

What else does Vertigo Leg 3 offer? Perhaps someone famous will be in the crowd. Maybe it will be a badass peer like Bruce Springsteen in Philly and he'll join the band on stage. On the other hand, it might be like tonight in Atlanta, with REM and a member of Pink Floyd in the house but not on stage.

Bono will likely sprint laps on the ramp like his life depended on it, wrap his arms around Edge and Adam Clayton, recite rehearsed rhetoric with radical implications, dance with a beautiful woman from the crowd during "With or Without You" and bring at least two young children on stage to shout "No More" during "Sunday Bloody Sunday" or wield a spotlight during "40."

When Bono "takes it to church" with the classic neo-gospel of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," the chorus of the arena will be like the angels of the Irishman's most infinite lyrical flourishes. And when he makes God a woman and gets funky about her "Mysterious Ways," Bono might remind the dancing masses that they have a lot of soul for a horde of "white people."

And the softest parts can be the hardest hitting. When it gets time to dedicate "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" to his deceased dad, I hope Bono blesses you with the speech we got in Atlanta. Because it wasn't so much sappy sentimentality, but rather a searing quote from Bob Hewson who—going "head-to-head" and "heart-to-heart"—told Bono to "take off those fucking sunglasses." So, the younger Hewson, for one of the few times in the whole set, bore his naked eyes as he wailed the familiar familial line, "You're the reason I sing."

Thankfully, and for the most part, the crowd will be generally enthusiastic, but sadly, someone will likely sit and chat through one of your favorite songs—like the welcome addition to the main set of new single "Original of the Species" or the heartfelt and holy rendition of "Miss Sarajevo."

While at times the crowd will invoke feelings of a place of worship disguised as a human rights rally, at other times, the folks might feel more like a bunch of lost football fans, drunk and stranded at a tent revival. Perhaps you'll be unfortunate enough to have a wasted redneck sit behind you and shout, "I didn't pay $200 to listen to speeches about poverty and peace." And perhaps you can shout back, "I didn't pay $200 to sit in front of an obnoxious heckler who missed the taxi to the Bon Jovi gig." And perhaps, hopefully, by the time the fans get their cell phones out—without prompting—to prepare the way for the lepers in Bono's head, you'll remember that we're all "One," just not the same.

And of course, Bono loves to make the links and loathes the divisions he sees between us—the real and imagined trenches between right and left, fundamentalist and free thinker, soldier and protester, preacher and punk. When Bono introduced "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by saying, "America, this is your song now," I don't think he simply meant to invoke the woeful tragedies of war and hurricanes.

Rather, I think he spoke to the war within, the divisions in our country since the culture war intensified, in our school and church communities, about dogmas and social demons, over drugs and religion, in our blurred and fatigued attitudes towards the war in Iraq, in our treatment of others with whom we disagree, including those we saw in the seats at this very show. With a "tough-guy" preteen onstage with him, Bono in his "coexist" bandanna offered his prayer for the next generation, "That in order to defeat a monster, we don't become a monster."

As emotionally and musically brutal as the war/antiwar trilogy of "Love and Peace or Else," "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Bullet the Blue Sky" has become, even those moments of conflicted and compelling meaning cannot rival the spiritual epiphany still reached at the show's conclusion. While there's been some discussion and debate among the faithful as to whether the coda should focus on acoustic rarities or reliable rockers, in Atlanta, we got some of each, and the pacing was perfect. From the Zoo-terrific "Until the End of the World" and "The Fly" to the riveting "With or Without You," the first part of the seven-song encore was a searing and superbly engineered flight back to the flashing screens of an early 1990s techno-fest. By the time the emotionally stunning and musically sparse acoustic duo of "Stuck in a Moment" and "Yahweh" arrived, most fans were ready for the heart space. By that time, we expected "40" to close the show, but not until the band ratcheted it up one more time with a jubilant and jangly, religious and raw version of "All Because of You," broadcast live in a dedication to longtime U2 friend and producer Daniel Lanois.

Before the tired yet transfixed 22,000 could return to their hotel rooms and cars, U2 had one more song to pull from its hymnal. While this fan prayed for a "Bad" ending, "40" remains the perfect closing tune. Each band member's dramatic exit was enthusiastically received, right up until Larry Mullen's drum solo and departure. There's always more to say about a U2 show. An entire review could be penned about Edge's exquisite sonic engineering. Or about how enthusiastic, energized, and outgoing the guitarist and bassist have become. When Edge would pogo around like a teenage punker, it was easy to forget that these four guys were well into middle age. But as the Beatles snippets that laced a beatific "Beautiful Day" reminded us, this group has depth and gravity from beyond the good and into greatness. And this is a greatness greater than the guys themselves, for it comes from what Bono calls "the other place." Thanks again to the four of them and their entire organization for taking us there with you one more time.
 
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