Naya
Refugee
A review of the Hamilton Show, taken from the on campus newspaper of the McMaster University. Sweetest Thing posted the link in EYKIW. There are two reviews and two different views of the show on that site
http://www.msu.mcmaster.ca/sil/aande/u2.htm
But the second review pissed me off so much.The guy doesn't know what he's talking about. He seems more interested in shock value or gaining attention than anything else. I'm wondering why the guy even went to the show. He seems to have such a hate towards the band and making fun of the fans. He makes fun of U2's clothing ! What kind of review is that? Piece of shite. WHAT A FUCKING WHINER. It pisses me off when someone like that can go and see U2 while some real fans would be more happy to be in his place.Well see for yourself:
[This message has been edited by Naya (edited 10-31-2001).]
http://www.msu.mcmaster.ca/sil/aande/u2.htm
But the second review pissed me off so much.The guy doesn't know what he's talking about. He seems more interested in shock value or gaining attention than anything else. I'm wondering why the guy even went to the show. He seems to have such a hate towards the band and making fun of the fans. He makes fun of U2's clothing ! What kind of review is that? Piece of shite. WHAT A FUCKING WHINER. It pisses me off when someone like that can go and see U2 while some real fans would be more happy to be in his place.Well see for yourself:
If only they had played "Discotheque".
The biggest "band" in the world came to Hamilton at Copps Coliseum this
past Saturday. I use the word band loosely because really, they're more than
a band--a corporation maybe. They advertise; they have investors; they have
an image to uphold, and they have a CEO--Bono, or as he prefers to be called,
"Yahweh."
Opening up for U2 was the once successful Garbage. Usually I find them to
emulate like their name, but at this show they seemed to have more heart,
more spontaneity than their headliners. Shirley Manson gyrated on stage,
played all of their hits, and mentioned how there's a Hamilton back home in
Scotland. She wasn't bullshitting us with facts her manager had just briefed
her on. She knew nothing about Hamilton and didn't hide it. Although, I'm
not the biggest fan of their music, something about them on Saturday was
just done right. I'm reviewing the concert so it's probably my job to
actually find out what that thing was, but I'm lazy.
Garbage finished their set, said goodbye, and left. The audience cheered,
more about the fact they were leaving than for their performance. The wait
for U2 began. A couple of roadies came out and tested the equipment. One of
them even began to play a few solos on the drums. If only he had stayed.
"All You Need Is Love" began to play. I almost puked. People around me
were singing along, hugging their loved ones. I sat down in protest.
Lennon's voice filled the stadium, praising loving. I didn't want to hear
it. A few more songs played, a couple false cheering alarms erupted when
people thought they saw the entrance of their heroes. One particularly
bright fan started up a chant of "U-2! U-2!." Bored, I looked around the
audience, noticing I was probably one of the youngest people in attendance.
My worries multiplied.
And then I saw Bono. I saw him across from me, below me, to the left of
me. All around me I could see Bono look-a-likes, with slicked back hair,
wraparound sunglasses and leather coats. Why is it that at every concert
there are so many morons emulating the look of the lead singer? I saw this
stuff at Weezer too, and I wasn't impressed. There was only room for one
dorky looking thick rimmed glasses wearing guy there, just like there was
only room for one Bono at U2. I take that back, there's never room for Bono.
Finally, the guys made their entrance. It looked like they were straight
out of MuchMusic. These guys were characters, they weren't singers and
drummers and guitarists. They had a persona to keep up. Maybe that's the
attraction for some people.
They looked like men having their midlife crises, trying desperately to
be cool. The Edge (who the hell is so pretentious as to put an article in
front of their name, like they're so damn unique) was wearing a toque. The
one guy, Adam, I think, was wearing a purple shirt. Now a purple shirt is
bad enough, but this bastard matched it up with army fatigue pants.
They began with their recent hit, from the Tomb Raider soundtrack,
"Elevation". Apparently, hooting constitutes vocal range nowadays because
that's all Bono's been doing lately. Opening with one of their new songs
raised my worries once again. I hoped it wasn't a sign of things to come. I
had no interest in hearing any of their new songs.
The lights came down after their first song, and the giant heart that
surrounded the stage and part of the floor lit up. Bono began to walk around
the heart, singing a wide variety of their songs, new and old.
They all sounded the same though. Begin with a small bassline, move in
with a little bit of percussion and then have the whole thing erupt with
Bono's prepubescent screams and wailing over the noise. Everything sounded
exactly like it does on the records. A testament to their manufactured
music--one giant machine churning out hits to the panting masses.
The guy beside me was loving it. He had his hands in front of his mouth,
trying to contain his ecstacy, but then, he just couldn't do it anymore, and
he exploded into screams of delight, waving his arms in the air, screaming
out "Sunday Bloody Sunday." I pictured him having his own garage band
aspiring to one day be the next U2. Playing all hours of the night,
butchering the songs U2 has made billions off of.
The gigantic spectacle continued for about 14 songs. The crowd never left
their feet. People were in awe when Bono selected a member of the audience
to come up on stage. After a minute of trying to teach this guy how to play
the guitar, Bono gave up and handed him the mike, telling him to just sing
the songs instead. After the song was done, the guy wanted to continue on
with them. Bono allowed this for about a minute and then quickly had him
hustled off the stage quietly.
The concert continued on and on.
The band played their non-hit song, "New York", but the audience for some
reason enjoyed this, in a non-enjoyable way. They acted respectful.
Apparently anything that even mentions New York City merits applause. The
names of the many killed at the WTC disasters scrolled over the big screen.
Was this really the place for this? Bono, picked an American flag out of the
audience, and, clutching it tightly in his hands, looked up to the sky with
tears in his eyes, as if to say "Look! I'm not just a musician! I have
emotions too!"
When the lights went up, I left Copps and walked with the mob of ecstatic
people to the parking lot. A drunken homeless guy was singing loudly at us
all, "Fuck you all. Fuckers!" Best singing I heard all night.
* Matt Doyle
[This message has been edited by Naya (edited 10-31-2001).]