HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By Chrissi Blaesing
2005.05
Wow, amazing, spectacular—I could go on and on about how wonderful this show was. Major set list shakeup? Nope. With the notable exception of an acoustic version of old gem "Party Girl," the set list did not deviate from what has been seen on numerous Vertigo shows. So what was different? I can't really say but it seemed that U2 got its collective mojo back, its IT factor, so to say. This was the band I fell in love with, the reason I drove up to Chicago and spent way too much money for tickets. It was an amazing performance that showcased why U2 says, "Live is where we live."
The United Center was decked out with cameras in all directions with even the casual U2 fans knowing about the filming of the DVD. A quick scan of the Ellipse showed a diverse group of fans of all ages and the general admission crowd seemed to fill in much more quickly than on the Saturday night show. A beach ball was spotted but quickly confiscated by security before the show even started (memo to those bringing the beach balls—don't inflate the beach ball until the show starts so that you, too, can have a special, "Oh look Edge, it's a beach ball" moment). The crowd seemed to lean toward more of the die-hard U2 fan rather than the casual with several homemade and vintage U2 shirts in the audience. Several signs and Irish flags festooned the overhangs with many people just hanging out in the stairwells talking with one another.
U2's stage manager Rocco came out to prep the audience for the fact that the show would indeed be filmed for an upcoming live DVD. It was a very funny speech in which he stroked the collective ego of the audience and Chicago itself. At the end Rocco promised that all U2 shows are at least very good, most are great and tonight would be phenomenal. By the time the Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" started, the general admission crowd was singing along and swaying to the music. When "Everyone" blasted throughout the arena, several fans were chanting along.
"City of Blinding Lights" opened the show with Bono appearing from out on the tip of the Ellipse. This song is magical as an opener—the lighting effects were, if at all possible, more spectacular Monday than the previous night. Show designer Willie Williams and his team deserve all of the accolades that they're sure to receive for this visual spectacular. "Vertigo" was perfect tonight with Bono stating that he was going to teach the crowd some Gaelic but then proceeded with the familiar "Uno, dos, tres, catorces!" "Elevation" is just a fun song for concerts with Larry Mullen Jr. putting as much effort into the song's chorus as he did into his drumming efforts.
The "Boy" set included "Cry/The Electric Co." and "An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart," with Bono lying down in front of a little girl inside the Ellipse. Bono sang most of "Into the Heart" to her and then pulled her up on stage and walked around half of the Ellipse before gently escorting her to a member of security. The crowd tonight didn't take this opportunity to make a beer run, instead singing along or simply swaying to the music.
"Beautiful Day" saw Bono taking a stab at the harsh reviews of the Saturday performance when he substituted the line "You love this town/Even if you got a bad review." "New Year's Day" saw Adam Clayton once again looping around the Ellipse but ending up back-to-back with The Edge as he played the keyboard. It should be noted that Edge was much more interactive with the crowd tonight, venturing out onto the Ellipse numerous times.
After "New Year's Day" Bono further eluded to the review in the Chicago Tribune on May 9th, "U2's march of the tired warhorses hamstrings fine ensemble effort," most notably reporter Greg Knot's summation of some of the more constant songs in the rotation:
"But at least half the show was consumed with a run through U2 warhorses that were already starting to sound exhausted on previous tours: 'Pride (In the Name of Love),' 'Where the Streets Have no Name,' 'One.' Save for the belly dancer missing in action from 'Mysterious Ways,' this was tired nostalgia, apparently to sate customers who shelled out hundreds of dollars for tickets."
Bono stated that while U2 hoped that some of the same fans the band's played to over 20 years ago were still coming to the shows, the group had to move on as well to reach a newer generation of fans but, by doing so, U2 needed to take the best parts of the past with them, such as songs like "Pride," "New Year's Day," "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Where the Streets Have No Name." I'm guessing that Knot isn't going to be invited to any after show parties this week.
The band then launched into a beautiful rendition of "Miracle Drug" with Bono singing the first few verses to The Edge who in turn delivered a breathtaking guitar and vocal solo. Mullen's backing vocals were also very notable.
"Where the Streets Have No Name" was also far more stirring than Saturday's effort, with Bono running along the Ellipse and meeting Clayton at the tip. Both musicians stayed at the tip of the Ellipse during the bridge of the song with Bono leaning in on Clayton while he sang the line, "We want to go there with you." "One" saw more cell phones light up the arena than did Saturday's show. Bono stated that The Edge, Clayton and Mullen have all signed on with the One Campaign.
The "Achtung Baby” encore was amazing, the visuals at the beginning of the set reminiscent of the opening of "Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car" on the famous Sydney DVD. "Zoo Station" was complete with Bono wearing an officer's cap and goose-stepping around the Ellipse. The Edge was on fire for the set, especially during "The Fly." I wish that I could come up with a better statement than "WOW" but that's all I have. No dancing girl was pulled up for "Mysterious Ways," just more Clayton and Edge loving from Bono.
"Yahweh" was beautiful and soul-stirring, even if my favorite part is watching Mullen half-walking/half-sprinting down the Ellipse to his keyboard then repeating the walk/sprint back with intermittent waves to the audience. Afterward Bono said, "Wait a minute" and proceeded to pull a female fan from the audience who had a sign saying she could play guitar. The fan (named Laura) was given The Edge's guitar and asked by Bono what she wanted to play. A chorus of requests were issued by the stunned general admission crowd but Laura had already decided on "Party Girl," even having the lyrics on a sheet of paper. What followed was a sweet rendition of the song that included Bono giving some guitar lessons and more people singing along in the seats than I would have expected.
For someone who became a fan after "Achtung Baby's" release, hearing "40" performed live continues to be a wonderful treat.
The band as a whole was much more interactive with the audience Monday, much more human, and it made all of the difference in the world. U2 had IT last night and I can only hope that that will show up on the DVD.
2005.05
Wow, amazing, spectacular—I could go on and on about how wonderful this show was. Major set list shakeup? Nope. With the notable exception of an acoustic version of old gem "Party Girl," the set list did not deviate from what has been seen on numerous Vertigo shows. So what was different? I can't really say but it seemed that U2 got its collective mojo back, its IT factor, so to say. This was the band I fell in love with, the reason I drove up to Chicago and spent way too much money for tickets. It was an amazing performance that showcased why U2 says, "Live is where we live."
The United Center was decked out with cameras in all directions with even the casual U2 fans knowing about the filming of the DVD. A quick scan of the Ellipse showed a diverse group of fans of all ages and the general admission crowd seemed to fill in much more quickly than on the Saturday night show. A beach ball was spotted but quickly confiscated by security before the show even started (memo to those bringing the beach balls—don't inflate the beach ball until the show starts so that you, too, can have a special, "Oh look Edge, it's a beach ball" moment). The crowd seemed to lean toward more of the die-hard U2 fan rather than the casual with several homemade and vintage U2 shirts in the audience. Several signs and Irish flags festooned the overhangs with many people just hanging out in the stairwells talking with one another.
U2's stage manager Rocco came out to prep the audience for the fact that the show would indeed be filmed for an upcoming live DVD. It was a very funny speech in which he stroked the collective ego of the audience and Chicago itself. At the end Rocco promised that all U2 shows are at least very good, most are great and tonight would be phenomenal. By the time the Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" started, the general admission crowd was singing along and swaying to the music. When "Everyone" blasted throughout the arena, several fans were chanting along.
"City of Blinding Lights" opened the show with Bono appearing from out on the tip of the Ellipse. This song is magical as an opener—the lighting effects were, if at all possible, more spectacular Monday than the previous night. Show designer Willie Williams and his team deserve all of the accolades that they're sure to receive for this visual spectacular. "Vertigo" was perfect tonight with Bono stating that he was going to teach the crowd some Gaelic but then proceeded with the familiar "Uno, dos, tres, catorces!" "Elevation" is just a fun song for concerts with Larry Mullen Jr. putting as much effort into the song's chorus as he did into his drumming efforts.
The "Boy" set included "Cry/The Electric Co." and "An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart," with Bono lying down in front of a little girl inside the Ellipse. Bono sang most of "Into the Heart" to her and then pulled her up on stage and walked around half of the Ellipse before gently escorting her to a member of security. The crowd tonight didn't take this opportunity to make a beer run, instead singing along or simply swaying to the music.
"Beautiful Day" saw Bono taking a stab at the harsh reviews of the Saturday performance when he substituted the line "You love this town/Even if you got a bad review." "New Year's Day" saw Adam Clayton once again looping around the Ellipse but ending up back-to-back with The Edge as he played the keyboard. It should be noted that Edge was much more interactive with the crowd tonight, venturing out onto the Ellipse numerous times.
After "New Year's Day" Bono further eluded to the review in the Chicago Tribune on May 9th, "U2's march of the tired warhorses hamstrings fine ensemble effort," most notably reporter Greg Knot's summation of some of the more constant songs in the rotation:
"But at least half the show was consumed with a run through U2 warhorses that were already starting to sound exhausted on previous tours: 'Pride (In the Name of Love),' 'Where the Streets Have no Name,' 'One.' Save for the belly dancer missing in action from 'Mysterious Ways,' this was tired nostalgia, apparently to sate customers who shelled out hundreds of dollars for tickets."
Bono stated that while U2 hoped that some of the same fans the band's played to over 20 years ago were still coming to the shows, the group had to move on as well to reach a newer generation of fans but, by doing so, U2 needed to take the best parts of the past with them, such as songs like "Pride," "New Year's Day," "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Where the Streets Have No Name." I'm guessing that Knot isn't going to be invited to any after show parties this week.
The band then launched into a beautiful rendition of "Miracle Drug" with Bono singing the first few verses to The Edge who in turn delivered a breathtaking guitar and vocal solo. Mullen's backing vocals were also very notable.
"Where the Streets Have No Name" was also far more stirring than Saturday's effort, with Bono running along the Ellipse and meeting Clayton at the tip. Both musicians stayed at the tip of the Ellipse during the bridge of the song with Bono leaning in on Clayton while he sang the line, "We want to go there with you." "One" saw more cell phones light up the arena than did Saturday's show. Bono stated that The Edge, Clayton and Mullen have all signed on with the One Campaign.
The "Achtung Baby” encore was amazing, the visuals at the beginning of the set reminiscent of the opening of "Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car" on the famous Sydney DVD. "Zoo Station" was complete with Bono wearing an officer's cap and goose-stepping around the Ellipse. The Edge was on fire for the set, especially during "The Fly." I wish that I could come up with a better statement than "WOW" but that's all I have. No dancing girl was pulled up for "Mysterious Ways," just more Clayton and Edge loving from Bono.
"Yahweh" was beautiful and soul-stirring, even if my favorite part is watching Mullen half-walking/half-sprinting down the Ellipse to his keyboard then repeating the walk/sprint back with intermittent waves to the audience. Afterward Bono said, "Wait a minute" and proceeded to pull a female fan from the audience who had a sign saying she could play guitar. The fan (named Laura) was given The Edge's guitar and asked by Bono what she wanted to play. A chorus of requests were issued by the stunned general admission crowd but Laura had already decided on "Party Girl," even having the lyrics on a sheet of paper. What followed was a sweet rendition of the song that included Bono giving some guitar lessons and more people singing along in the seats than I would have expected.
For someone who became a fan after "Achtung Baby's" release, hearing "40" performed live continues to be a wonderful treat.
The band as a whole was much more interactive with the audience Monday, much more human, and it made all of the difference in the world. U2 had IT last night and I can only hope that that will show up on the DVD.
