Zooropa man
Refugee
I thought I post this article, I found it interesting. Hope U do 2:
By Chris Martin -- U2Station.com
Tonight at U2's second Los Angeles show, and thus far in the Vertigo Tour, U2 has acknowledged their age as never before. Tonight, I saw my first U2 concert at the Staples Center- a concert by a band I've listened to since my infancy, back in the October days. Tonight, a self-proclaimed diehard, one that could sing you the lyrics to Pete the Chop or A Celebration, finally got to see the band he's loved for years and years.
As the seats filled and a typical lazy Los Angeles crowd slowly found their seats, the lights dropped, and I saw Edge walk up the stairs onto the Bullseye from my seat just to the side of the stage. The band struck into the already-familiar melody of City of Blinding Lights, as the LED strings of lights descended and showed a brilliant stream of artistic displays.
As the band ended Vertigo, Bono launched into a short snippet of Stories For Boys... and it was then that in retrospect I saw where U2 is today.
Tonight, this was a band that knows they are at the top of their game. They know they've got us in the palm of their hand and they love it- but for all Bono's showmanship, they still show humility and appreciation for the fans that they've got. And this is a band that is all too aware that they are getting old.
Gone is the Adam of the October days, the bass-strumming heartthrob with a massive blonde perm. Today, it's a smirking Adam with sharply-cut silvery hair who humbly acknowledges his fans and giggles at the silliness they engage in.
Gone is the Edge of the Joshua Tree era, the scruffy cowpoke with his long hair pulled back in a ponytail. Today, it's a quiet Edge who shows mastery of his guitar and dresses in tight-fitting clothes and a skullcap to cover up a bald had.
Gone is the Bono of the War era, the youthful clown with energy to spare- the showman who would do anything (even climbing to the top of a set of arena risers once) to fire up his fans. Today, it's a Bono who is still the ultimate showman, but a Bono who can't hit the same high notes he used to and a Bono whose voice cracks and fades.
Gone is the Larry of the Boy era, the drum-slamming teenager who played his instrument as if he were in a marching band. Well... no. I take that back. Larry's as youthful as ever, and man, is he good.
They may have aged... but they only continue to grow in wisdom. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?
The band was aware of its long past tonight. During The Electric Co., a banner unfurled and a projector showed the Boy himself. During The Ocean, a song not played in 23 years, Edge and Bono traded jokes as the band felt its way through an ancient tune I would never have expected to hear. During The Fly, the LED lights flashed those good old ZooTV slogans... everything from "EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG" to "WATCH MORE TV."
Yet, as I stood in my seat next to the stage and reveled in the opportunity to hear these classic songs and to see flashes of all those tours I was too young to go to, the majority of the audience sat baffled, and one clown was brash enough to yell "HURRY UP" as the band treated us all to "The Ocean."
The languid Los Angeles fans were fired up... but fired up for the radio favorites. Two middle aged couples both asked me "what that song was all about" after The Fly. Many fans sat down, mystified at hearing Boy songs, songs from an album they probably didn't even know existed.
That's the breaks when you're the biggest band in the world. We all want to hear you... but do all of us want to hear you for the right reasons? What would it be like on this tour if an arena were filled with diehard fans who went crazy when treated to an unexpected classic like The Ocean? It's hard to imagine, isn't it. You'll still have those diehard fans, but you'll have all those people just at the show to be seen. Of course, you'll have those new fans, too, and more power to them. They may not have known those old songs tonight, but I hope they'll go out and buy those albums tomorrow so they can get to enjoy them as much as I do. Everyone should get to know this band and have the chance to know their beautiful music as well as I've gotten to. But being the biggest means you also draw plenty of people that just don't belong.
In my seat, I sat pinned by a Los Angeles Laker basketball player and two idiots who cared more about getting stoned than actually watching the band. After choking on pot smoke for most of the show, security finally kicked them out, and realized they weren't even sitting in their correct seats anyway. During 40, while raising my arms and singing along as the concert drew to a close, I felt the rail beside me bang into me and a twenty-something airhead pulled on my shoulder. She asked if she could "stand in front" of me so that Bono could see her shirt, which read "in memory of Bob Hewson." How classy- try to get Bono's attention by wearing a shirt about his dead father... and then annoy fans who are trying to enjoy the special end of the show as you do this.
And let's not forget the obnoxious and crass wiggling and gyrating in sexual positions we were treated to when a second fan found her way onto the ramp, forcing even the Great Showman to run away from her to avoid further embarrassment. Bono walked the catwalk and even ran it with his first guest, playfully trying to avoid the gyrating tart unleashed on him by his staff. As the second girl caught up, Bono continued to hold onto the first, seemingly attempting to brush off the lewd second... and when he let the first go, she stood giggling and laughing, amazed at what had just happened. And the second, in contrast, humiliated herself in front of 20,000 onlookers by crawling toward Bono and acting so lewd that the Great Showman could only cringe as he walked away. Thankfully the look on the first fan's face was good enough to make up for it- a beautiful girl who was about as delighted, bashful, embarrassed, and pleased as a person could be to have the privilege of getting up on stage. Why can't we have more of those fans at shows?
And in a sense, that's the band's conundrum. As popular as they are... and as the biggest band in the world... they have plenty of new fans and old fans who are willing to have a ball in discovering U2. And they've got to fight off the equally growing menace of those who treat their music and their fans with the kind of obnoxious disrespect that many showed tonight.
Let's be clear- tonight's fans may have been frustrating in a couple ways, but I sure loved tonight's show. U2 was excellent- even when flubbing lines or messing up intros and outros. They're human, after all, and I only realized this further as I sat and watched Edge play the keyboard during Running to Stand Still. No person in the arena was closer to Edge, and I reveled in the moment- but I also thought, "man, that guy is short." And so is Bono, barely equal in stature to the leggy and beautiful Asian girl he brought up on stage during Mysterious Ways. These guys are not rock gods. They're just guys like you and me who have special gifts, and I was glad to share in these gifts tonight.
One can only guess that when U2 sets out on their next tour... or, more appropriately, IF U2 sets out on another tour, they will only continue to acknowledge their age as they did tonight. This evening, we saw endless hints at the various U2's we've been treated to over almost 30 years. Next tour, we may see even more. Video clips, anyone? Video clips so we can giggle at those mullets and Adam's massive curly afro perm in the October era? Video clips so we can marvel at Macphisto's pranks? Video clips so we can see Edge in a comical white cowboy suit?
We can only wait and see. But for now, thanks U2. Tonight was special... and thanks for the faith that pervades your music. Thank you for closing the set with those three Psalms... All Because of You, Yahweh, and 40, songs that David himself would write (and in one case, a song he actually did). Thank you for providing tunes that helped me talk to God and thank Him tonight. It was pretty special... and I hope I'll get to see you again.
By Chris Martin -- U2Station.com
Tonight at U2's second Los Angeles show, and thus far in the Vertigo Tour, U2 has acknowledged their age as never before. Tonight, I saw my first U2 concert at the Staples Center- a concert by a band I've listened to since my infancy, back in the October days. Tonight, a self-proclaimed diehard, one that could sing you the lyrics to Pete the Chop or A Celebration, finally got to see the band he's loved for years and years.
As the seats filled and a typical lazy Los Angeles crowd slowly found their seats, the lights dropped, and I saw Edge walk up the stairs onto the Bullseye from my seat just to the side of the stage. The band struck into the already-familiar melody of City of Blinding Lights, as the LED strings of lights descended and showed a brilliant stream of artistic displays.
As the band ended Vertigo, Bono launched into a short snippet of Stories For Boys... and it was then that in retrospect I saw where U2 is today.
Tonight, this was a band that knows they are at the top of their game. They know they've got us in the palm of their hand and they love it- but for all Bono's showmanship, they still show humility and appreciation for the fans that they've got. And this is a band that is all too aware that they are getting old.
Gone is the Adam of the October days, the bass-strumming heartthrob with a massive blonde perm. Today, it's a smirking Adam with sharply-cut silvery hair who humbly acknowledges his fans and giggles at the silliness they engage in.
Gone is the Edge of the Joshua Tree era, the scruffy cowpoke with his long hair pulled back in a ponytail. Today, it's a quiet Edge who shows mastery of his guitar and dresses in tight-fitting clothes and a skullcap to cover up a bald had.
Gone is the Bono of the War era, the youthful clown with energy to spare- the showman who would do anything (even climbing to the top of a set of arena risers once) to fire up his fans. Today, it's a Bono who is still the ultimate showman, but a Bono who can't hit the same high notes he used to and a Bono whose voice cracks and fades.
Gone is the Larry of the Boy era, the drum-slamming teenager who played his instrument as if he were in a marching band. Well... no. I take that back. Larry's as youthful as ever, and man, is he good.
They may have aged... but they only continue to grow in wisdom. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work?
The band was aware of its long past tonight. During The Electric Co., a banner unfurled and a projector showed the Boy himself. During The Ocean, a song not played in 23 years, Edge and Bono traded jokes as the band felt its way through an ancient tune I would never have expected to hear. During The Fly, the LED lights flashed those good old ZooTV slogans... everything from "EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG" to "WATCH MORE TV."
Yet, as I stood in my seat next to the stage and reveled in the opportunity to hear these classic songs and to see flashes of all those tours I was too young to go to, the majority of the audience sat baffled, and one clown was brash enough to yell "HURRY UP" as the band treated us all to "The Ocean."
The languid Los Angeles fans were fired up... but fired up for the radio favorites. Two middle aged couples both asked me "what that song was all about" after The Fly. Many fans sat down, mystified at hearing Boy songs, songs from an album they probably didn't even know existed.
That's the breaks when you're the biggest band in the world. We all want to hear you... but do all of us want to hear you for the right reasons? What would it be like on this tour if an arena were filled with diehard fans who went crazy when treated to an unexpected classic like The Ocean? It's hard to imagine, isn't it. You'll still have those diehard fans, but you'll have all those people just at the show to be seen. Of course, you'll have those new fans, too, and more power to them. They may not have known those old songs tonight, but I hope they'll go out and buy those albums tomorrow so they can get to enjoy them as much as I do. Everyone should get to know this band and have the chance to know their beautiful music as well as I've gotten to. But being the biggest means you also draw plenty of people that just don't belong.
In my seat, I sat pinned by a Los Angeles Laker basketball player and two idiots who cared more about getting stoned than actually watching the band. After choking on pot smoke for most of the show, security finally kicked them out, and realized they weren't even sitting in their correct seats anyway. During 40, while raising my arms and singing along as the concert drew to a close, I felt the rail beside me bang into me and a twenty-something airhead pulled on my shoulder. She asked if she could "stand in front" of me so that Bono could see her shirt, which read "in memory of Bob Hewson." How classy- try to get Bono's attention by wearing a shirt about his dead father... and then annoy fans who are trying to enjoy the special end of the show as you do this.
And let's not forget the obnoxious and crass wiggling and gyrating in sexual positions we were treated to when a second fan found her way onto the ramp, forcing even the Great Showman to run away from her to avoid further embarrassment. Bono walked the catwalk and even ran it with his first guest, playfully trying to avoid the gyrating tart unleashed on him by his staff. As the second girl caught up, Bono continued to hold onto the first, seemingly attempting to brush off the lewd second... and when he let the first go, she stood giggling and laughing, amazed at what had just happened. And the second, in contrast, humiliated herself in front of 20,000 onlookers by crawling toward Bono and acting so lewd that the Great Showman could only cringe as he walked away. Thankfully the look on the first fan's face was good enough to make up for it- a beautiful girl who was about as delighted, bashful, embarrassed, and pleased as a person could be to have the privilege of getting up on stage. Why can't we have more of those fans at shows?
And in a sense, that's the band's conundrum. As popular as they are... and as the biggest band in the world... they have plenty of new fans and old fans who are willing to have a ball in discovering U2. And they've got to fight off the equally growing menace of those who treat their music and their fans with the kind of obnoxious disrespect that many showed tonight.
Let's be clear- tonight's fans may have been frustrating in a couple ways, but I sure loved tonight's show. U2 was excellent- even when flubbing lines or messing up intros and outros. They're human, after all, and I only realized this further as I sat and watched Edge play the keyboard during Running to Stand Still. No person in the arena was closer to Edge, and I reveled in the moment- but I also thought, "man, that guy is short." And so is Bono, barely equal in stature to the leggy and beautiful Asian girl he brought up on stage during Mysterious Ways. These guys are not rock gods. They're just guys like you and me who have special gifts, and I was glad to share in these gifts tonight.
One can only guess that when U2 sets out on their next tour... or, more appropriately, IF U2 sets out on another tour, they will only continue to acknowledge their age as they did tonight. This evening, we saw endless hints at the various U2's we've been treated to over almost 30 years. Next tour, we may see even more. Video clips, anyone? Video clips so we can giggle at those mullets and Adam's massive curly afro perm in the October era? Video clips so we can marvel at Macphisto's pranks? Video clips so we can see Edge in a comical white cowboy suit?
We can only wait and see. But for now, thanks U2. Tonight was special... and thanks for the faith that pervades your music. Thank you for closing the set with those three Psalms... All Because of You, Yahweh, and 40, songs that David himself would write (and in one case, a song he actually did). Thank you for providing tunes that helped me talk to God and thank Him tonight. It was pretty special... and I hope I'll get to see you again.
Thanks for posting that.
thank you for posting that article 
that review!
