Review: U2 in Tacoma, 04-12-01
U2 Gets Down and Delights Crowd with Bundle of Hits
The Seattle Times, April 13, 2001
Patrick MacDonald
Getting down with the people.
Literally.
U2's new, stripped-down tour brings the band down to the audience's level, with a simple, uncluttered stage and two long extensions that sweep out from the side and join together in front, in a heart shape. Inside the heart were about 300 concertgoers, randomly selected from the capacity crowd.
The ramps gave lead singer Bono the chance to interact with fans, slapping hands, bending down to sing right in people's faces and bringing a girl up from the crowd to dance with him.
In keeping with the friendly, easygoing atmosphere, the band was dressed down in jeans and T-shirts, except for Bono, who was in a black leather jacket and black jeans. He even took off his sunglasses.
Musically, U2 gave the people what they wanted. The show was filled with hits, emphasizing the emotional, anthemic classics the band has long been known for. The audience, on its feet for show, lustily sang along and cheered the band members like they were heroes.
The group appeared on stage even before the lights went down, when many people were still returning from intermission. Band members eased right into "Elevation," one of the many songs from the new All That You Can't Leave Behind.
The audience chimed in, singing the "Whooos" along with Bono. The big hit from the album, "Beautiful Day," which has given the band its biggest boost in a decade, came next, energizing the crowd even more.
"Until the End of the World" kept up the rocking pace, with the audience screaming at the line, "Are you having a good time?"
"Seattle is united with Dublin," Bono said, referring to the band's hometown. "Something very deep and profound.
"And that is the rain!"
He also lauded the area's "extraordinary music," without getting specific.
"Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," another song from the new album, was more rocking than on the album, and featured vocals from guitarist the Edge.
Moving scrims made for even more intimacy on the stage during the whip crack of a song, "Even Better Than the Real Thing." It became a one-two punch with "I Will Follow." The pace kept up with a passionate "Sunday Bloody Sunday."
The mood then mellowed with "The Sweetest Thing."
The band members, gathered at the end of the stage extensions, created a quiet, warm moment with "The Ground Beneath Her Feet," a ballad with lyrics by Salman Rushdie.
The band kept the crowd excited with such rousers as "Desire," "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "She Moves in Mysterious Ways" [sic].
Encores included "Bullet the Blue Sky" (spiced with a little bit of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and David Bowie's "Young American"), with Bono shining a bright spotlight on people in the crowd, "With Or Without You," "In the Name of Love" [sic], "One" and the band's latest single, "Walk On."
? Seattle Times. All rights reserved.
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CONCERT REVIEW: The sweetest thing -- U2 plays Tacoma
04/20/2001
Nate Schweber, Montana Kaimin (University of Montana)
MISSOULA, Mont. -- The night before I saw U2, my band Moxie played a
gig at the Ritz. One of the tunes we do is U2's "Desire." We were coming
out of that middle section where the guitarist vamps on an E chord and
the singer chants, "For love or money-mon-mon-mon-money." Right when I
sing "And the fever, when I'm inside her," (which, granted, may be my
salty interpretation of a different lyric) the band is supposed to hit a
big D chord and then go into the chorus, "Des-i-i-i-i-re." We missed
it.??? I was frustrated because a lot of friends and fellow musicians
turned out to hear us and we flubbed up.
Twenty-three hours later I'm standing 20 feet away from Bono himself in
the Tacoma Dome. Bono is chanting, "Love or mon-mon-money," and The Edge
is riffing an E chord on an acoustic guitar. Bono is waving his right
arm at The Edge to cue the big D chord. The Edge misses Bono's cue and
Bono adds an extra four measures of mony-monies. U2 fucks up "Desire" in
front of 25,000 fans.
Nobody cheered louder than me.
"That song," Bono spoke as the arena roared in applause, "Is dedicated
to anyone out there who's starting a rock 'n' roll band."
On April 12 I saw U2 in Tacoma, Wash. on the Northwest leg of their
"Elevation Tour." It was a religious experience. For those of you who
plan on seeing U2, read with caution because I'm going to give away all
their gimmicks. For all of you who love U2, read on and revel in the
phenomenon of the four Irish lads.
I met my childhood pal Sean outside the Tacoma Dome (I got him a ticket
as a birthday present). We were on the floor a long jump away from a
giant, heart-shaped catwalk that ascended from the stage into the crowd.
We were standing in front of two women who I caught giving each other
the "Oh shit, we're standing behind two stupid, tall guys," look. Sean
and I chivalrously traded spots with the chicks and we all rapped about
how much we loved U2. (The real irony is we were all stuck behind dudes
who looked like Portland Trailblazers).
Dynamo PJ Harvey took the stage in a shimmering black outfit. She
wrapped her powerhouse voice around songs like "This Is Love," and "Big
Exit" for 45 minutes. My love for Polly Jean only grew.
With the houselights still up from the set change, U2 strode to the
stage and rocked into "Elevation," the uber-sensual tune from their new
album All That You Can't Leave Behind.
The Edge wore a navy-blue toque, a maroon jersey bearing the number 33,
and blue jeans with sequins down the seams. Bassist Adam Clayton wore a
sweater and smoked. Sexy drummer Larry Mullen Jr. wore black pants with
a denim shirt unbuttoned down his chest.Bono wore black boots, black
pants, a black T-shirt and a sleek black leather jacket. His black hair
was long and slicked back and he sported shades. Damn he looks good in
black.
I saw U2 on their PopMart tour in Salt Lake City in 1997. Bono had a
shaved head he wore silly yellow glasses and wore an orange shirt with a
superhero's build printed on it. The show was a highlight of my life,
but Bono just didn't look too cool. Now, thankfully, Bono's given a
mature slant to his coolest look: the black-vinyl-and-big-bug-sunglasses
"Fly" persona which he gallivanted around the world during U2's "Zoo TV"
tour in the early '90s.
In the middle of "Elevation" the house lights dropped and the stage lit
up. U2 played an ecstatic version of its big hit "Beautiful Day" during
which Bono led the crowd in yelping, "The GOAL is SOUL!!!" Four overhead
video screens showed each bandmember in crisp black and white.
The band played Bono's ode-to-Judas "Until The End of the World." Bono
and The Edge strutted down their catwalks and acted out a bullfighting
scene. Then Clayton hit the bassline for "New Year's Day," a nugget from
the band's 1983 album War.
Bono spoke to the crowd and said that Seattle, Wash. and Dublin,
Ireland share something "very, very profound. Rain." Then he dedicated
U2's soulful new tune "Stuck In A Moment" to recently deceased INXS
singer Michael Hutchence.
The screens switched off and the lights turned red, green, purple and
blue for an intense run through of "Gone," one of the highlights from
U2's 1997 album Pop. Then the screens flashed on for "Even Better Than
The Real Thing." Bono donned a cowboy hat, flashed his silhouette on
giant screens and scatted like Frank Sinatra on a sensory-overload
version of "New York."
Bono is a master at working an audience. His every nuance commanded
each eye in the arena. In contrast to Bono, who spent most of the show
on the catwalk, the rest of U2 seemed almost like a backup band.
Unlike the PopMart tour, Bono played guitar on "I Will Follow," U2's
first hit from their debut album Boy. Bono sang snippets of Bob Marley's
"Get Up Stand Up," in the middle of "Sunday Bloody Sunday," and he
played keyboards on "The Sweetest Thing."
After some flattering introductions, Bono and Edge led the crowd
through laid-back, acoustic singalongs of "In A Little While," "Desire,"
and "The Ground Beneath Her Feet," -- a song where U2 put music to words
written by Salmon Rushdie. Bono brought The Edge's young daughter up on
stage and danced with her.
Then the band launched into a gorgeous, passionate version of "Bad," a
personal favorite that I was thrilled to hear live. U2 hit the
stratosphere with "Where the Streets Have No Name." Bono recited prayers
during the intro then conducted his band like a symphony when it hit
full stride. Everyone in the crowd jumped up and down. Bono laid on a
screen showing a dancing woman's silhouette for the intro to "Mysterious
Ways." He then ad-libbed parts of Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" in the
middle.
U2 closed its main set with "The Fly," a corker from Achtung Baby that
rocked my world live. The video screens flashed the word "BeLIEve" and
Bono sprinted circles on the stage ramps.
U2 played a video of Charlton Heston talking about guns before kicking
off their first encore with "Bullet The Blue Sky." I thought it was
awesome that U2 gave the tune a new, anti-NRA twist. During The Edge's
acid-rock guitar solo, Bono, now dressed in blue denim, shone a
spotlight into the crowd a-la-"Rattle and Hum." During "With Or Without
You," Bono brought a woman from the audience to slow dance as light
projectors shone constellations on the ceiling of the T. Dome. U2 ended
its first encore with a vibrant version of "Pride (In The Name of
Love)."
U2 closed with "One," a loose run through of "Unchained Melody," and
"Walk On," a hit off its new album.
Great concerts, like sex, love, revelations and epiphanies, are
impossible to do justice to in words. Seeing U2 is like being bathed in
divinity for two hours. It was, in a word, phenomenal.
Published: Friday, April 27, 2001
