U2: Live from the Staples Center - LA
Adam Jones, a Digital Bits staffer, recently attended the April 5 show for what is now obviously the biggest concert event of 2005, The Vertigo Tour for U2. U2 started this first leg in San Diego, moving to Orange County for a 2 night stand at The Pond of Anaheim before their Staples Center show, the basis of this review. We'll let Adam take it from here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One comes to expect a lot from U2. Most of the time, they deliver. More often, they exceed expectations. There isn’t a band out there right now that can match the emotional wallop of the U2 concert experience. I use “experience” because that is exactly what it is. You don’t just watch a U2 show. You live it, comforted with the knowledge that you are in the hands of seasoned veterans who have been around for 25 years. These guys know their job, and they perform it astonishingly well. If you’ve been to a U2 show once or many times, you discover the band’s uncanny ability to reach out, take 17,000 fans, and give a performance with enough intimacy to make you feel they’re speaking directly to you. The universal nature of their songs can cut to the bone, take a soft hold of your heart, and stir the emotions right through until the end. So I was surprised when the 2-hour show concluded in a Staples Center filled to the rafters with rabid fans (me being one of them), something was missing.
That’s not to say the band didn’t live up to its much-hyped new show. Far from it. U2 rocked harder than it has in years, playing with gusto and the fervor of a band in their twenties, not their forties. The show blasted into “Love & Peace Or Else”, with Bono thundering away on a single drum like a demented marching boy. The rest of his band mates followed suit, attacking their instruments with enough energy to make the arena rattle and hum. That energy was sustained throughout the entire set, and a unique talent that U2 has always pulled off, is to make their new material just as relevant as their older songs. “Vertigo” proved to be the best arena rocker out there right now (and makes you forget about buying an iPod very quickly), just as “Sunday Bloody Sunday” still carries the political weight it always has since 1983.
U2 has never been a band to fall into a routine, and the set list was altered for the fifth time on the tour. One highlight of the show was a trio of songs from their first album, Boy. And they weren’t the hits off that album. No “Out of Control” or “I Will Follow”. Instead, you got “Cry/The Electric Co.”, “An Cat Dubh”, and a stirring rendition of “Into the Heart”. Near the end of that short set, Bono invited a young boy onto the ellipse-shaped catwalk and asked him his name. “My name is Jack,” the boy replied. The audience roared, and Bono, with his usual flair, said, “Well, Jack. This is the beanstalk.” It’s moments like these that make a U2 show a U2 show. The band flawlessly segued into “City of Blinding Lights”, while young Jack sat by Larry’s drum kit. Something tells me that kid is going to remember the night for years to come.
For all the hi-fi fury unleashed, some of the best moments were the quieter ones. Those moments snuck in and got a hold of you. Near the end of “Bullet the Blue Sky”, Bono added a snippet of “Johnny Come Marching Home.” In a rare display of Bono coming out from behind his customary shades, he delivered heartbreaking vocals on “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own”, a tribute to his late father, but it could have just as well been a reflection on the loss of a friend or a loved one. From the stunned silence in the arena, you could only imagine what other strings of the heart Bono had tugged during that performance. And then came “Running to Stand Still”, stripped down to a keyboard and a harmonica. “So she woke up…” Bono crooned. “Said I, gotta do somethin’ about where I’m goin’….” At that point, you wanted to go wherever the band would take you. It was clearly the emotional high of the entire show.
But U2 didn’t seem content with slowing things down, and got the heartbeat thumping and the blood running full throttle with another trio, this time songs from Achtung Baby. From the searing buzz of Edge’s guitar on “Zoo Station” to a bone-crunching version of “The Fly”, complete with erratic, subliminal messages flashing on the giant screen of lights that back-dropped the stage, U2 harked back to the techno-wizardry days of their Zoo TV shows. Only on a sloppy version of “Mysterious Ways”, did the band falter and lose some momentum. And a little something about that song, while we’re here. It’s, well, overplayed. I’ve seen U2 eight times now and the song has been included in every set list. Why not something from Zooropa or Pop instead? Two albums that haven’t been touched thus far. With such passion the band is capable of, especially since they consider themselves to be in their prime right now, imagine what they could do with “Numb”, “Dirty Day”, or “If God Will Send His Angels.” Perhaps on the second leg of the tour we’ll be treated to some more surprises.
It was this aspect that kept nagging me throughout the night; the lack of any real surprises marred an otherwise fantastic show. While the set list was altered, the song order was merely rearranged from their previous Anaheim gig. The encore included the expected finales, the best being “Where The Streets Have No Name”, a wonderful acoustic version of “Yahweh” and the band’s ultimate ballad, “One.” It seems the meaning of that song has changed on every tour, with Bono applying it to whatever political message he deems fit to tape on it. “Now is a good time to take out your cell phone,” Bono said. His request was granted, with literally thousands upon thousands of cell phones glowing like fireflies in the dark. The overhead video screen displayed how fans could volunteer for Bono’s African Relief movement via text message. “We don’t want your money,” Bono declared. “We want your help. We want your voice.” Then came the ballad, all the more relevant with the opening question of that song “Is it getting better…or do you feel the same?” Incredible how pliable Bono’s lyrics can be.
The show concluded with “40” and a nice little twist. Edge and Adam switched bass and guitar. Don’t really know why, but they both proved to be very adept at playing each other’s instruments. As the final song played on, each band member slowly walked offstage, until it was only Larry and his drums, the audience singing “How long to sing this song.” A wonderful close to a wonderful show.
So why do I have complaints? So far, I’ve done nothing but praise the brilliance of the show. Why was there something missing, other than the aforementioned lack of surprises? Maybe I’ve seen U2 too many times. Their set lists, for all the changes, have become somewhat redundant and predictable. Maybe I browsed U2.com too many times. Their set lists have been posted for each concert, so I had an idea of what was being played. Maybe my thoughts drifted to other things when the band spoke directly to me during those quieter songs. Made me think of someone, a friend of mine whom I’ve lost. I found meaning in songs I’ve heard a thousand times for the first time. There were things I realized about myself. Funny how a U2 show can do that to you. While I can’t emphasize enough how good the show was, this time around there was a hole that U2 couldn’t fill. This time, I didn’t exactly find what I was looking for.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.musictap.net/Concerts/U2VertigoStaplesLA0405.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SET LIST
Love & Peace Or Else
Vertigo
Elevation
Cry/The Electric Co.
An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart
City of Blinding Lights
Beautiful Day
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
New Year’s Day
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
1 st Encore
Pride (In The Name of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
2 nd Encore
All Because Of You
Yahweh
“40”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam Jones, a Digital Bits staffer, recently attended the April 5 show for what is now obviously the biggest concert event of 2005, The Vertigo Tour for U2. U2 started this first leg in San Diego, moving to Orange County for a 2 night stand at The Pond of Anaheim before their Staples Center show, the basis of this review. We'll let Adam take it from here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One comes to expect a lot from U2. Most of the time, they deliver. More often, they exceed expectations. There isn’t a band out there right now that can match the emotional wallop of the U2 concert experience. I use “experience” because that is exactly what it is. You don’t just watch a U2 show. You live it, comforted with the knowledge that you are in the hands of seasoned veterans who have been around for 25 years. These guys know their job, and they perform it astonishingly well. If you’ve been to a U2 show once or many times, you discover the band’s uncanny ability to reach out, take 17,000 fans, and give a performance with enough intimacy to make you feel they’re speaking directly to you. The universal nature of their songs can cut to the bone, take a soft hold of your heart, and stir the emotions right through until the end. So I was surprised when the 2-hour show concluded in a Staples Center filled to the rafters with rabid fans (me being one of them), something was missing.
That’s not to say the band didn’t live up to its much-hyped new show. Far from it. U2 rocked harder than it has in years, playing with gusto and the fervor of a band in their twenties, not their forties. The show blasted into “Love & Peace Or Else”, with Bono thundering away on a single drum like a demented marching boy. The rest of his band mates followed suit, attacking their instruments with enough energy to make the arena rattle and hum. That energy was sustained throughout the entire set, and a unique talent that U2 has always pulled off, is to make their new material just as relevant as their older songs. “Vertigo” proved to be the best arena rocker out there right now (and makes you forget about buying an iPod very quickly), just as “Sunday Bloody Sunday” still carries the political weight it always has since 1983.
U2 has never been a band to fall into a routine, and the set list was altered for the fifth time on the tour. One highlight of the show was a trio of songs from their first album, Boy. And they weren’t the hits off that album. No “Out of Control” or “I Will Follow”. Instead, you got “Cry/The Electric Co.”, “An Cat Dubh”, and a stirring rendition of “Into the Heart”. Near the end of that short set, Bono invited a young boy onto the ellipse-shaped catwalk and asked him his name. “My name is Jack,” the boy replied. The audience roared, and Bono, with his usual flair, said, “Well, Jack. This is the beanstalk.” It’s moments like these that make a U2 show a U2 show. The band flawlessly segued into “City of Blinding Lights”, while young Jack sat by Larry’s drum kit. Something tells me that kid is going to remember the night for years to come.
For all the hi-fi fury unleashed, some of the best moments were the quieter ones. Those moments snuck in and got a hold of you. Near the end of “Bullet the Blue Sky”, Bono added a snippet of “Johnny Come Marching Home.” In a rare display of Bono coming out from behind his customary shades, he delivered heartbreaking vocals on “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own”, a tribute to his late father, but it could have just as well been a reflection on the loss of a friend or a loved one. From the stunned silence in the arena, you could only imagine what other strings of the heart Bono had tugged during that performance. And then came “Running to Stand Still”, stripped down to a keyboard and a harmonica. “So she woke up…” Bono crooned. “Said I, gotta do somethin’ about where I’m goin’….” At that point, you wanted to go wherever the band would take you. It was clearly the emotional high of the entire show.
But U2 didn’t seem content with slowing things down, and got the heartbeat thumping and the blood running full throttle with another trio, this time songs from Achtung Baby. From the searing buzz of Edge’s guitar on “Zoo Station” to a bone-crunching version of “The Fly”, complete with erratic, subliminal messages flashing on the giant screen of lights that back-dropped the stage, U2 harked back to the techno-wizardry days of their Zoo TV shows. Only on a sloppy version of “Mysterious Ways”, did the band falter and lose some momentum. And a little something about that song, while we’re here. It’s, well, overplayed. I’ve seen U2 eight times now and the song has been included in every set list. Why not something from Zooropa or Pop instead? Two albums that haven’t been touched thus far. With such passion the band is capable of, especially since they consider themselves to be in their prime right now, imagine what they could do with “Numb”, “Dirty Day”, or “If God Will Send His Angels.” Perhaps on the second leg of the tour we’ll be treated to some more surprises.
It was this aspect that kept nagging me throughout the night; the lack of any real surprises marred an otherwise fantastic show. While the set list was altered, the song order was merely rearranged from their previous Anaheim gig. The encore included the expected finales, the best being “Where The Streets Have No Name”, a wonderful acoustic version of “Yahweh” and the band’s ultimate ballad, “One.” It seems the meaning of that song has changed on every tour, with Bono applying it to whatever political message he deems fit to tape on it. “Now is a good time to take out your cell phone,” Bono said. His request was granted, with literally thousands upon thousands of cell phones glowing like fireflies in the dark. The overhead video screen displayed how fans could volunteer for Bono’s African Relief movement via text message. “We don’t want your money,” Bono declared. “We want your help. We want your voice.” Then came the ballad, all the more relevant with the opening question of that song “Is it getting better…or do you feel the same?” Incredible how pliable Bono’s lyrics can be.
The show concluded with “40” and a nice little twist. Edge and Adam switched bass and guitar. Don’t really know why, but they both proved to be very adept at playing each other’s instruments. As the final song played on, each band member slowly walked offstage, until it was only Larry and his drums, the audience singing “How long to sing this song.” A wonderful close to a wonderful show.
So why do I have complaints? So far, I’ve done nothing but praise the brilliance of the show. Why was there something missing, other than the aforementioned lack of surprises? Maybe I’ve seen U2 too many times. Their set lists, for all the changes, have become somewhat redundant and predictable. Maybe I browsed U2.com too many times. Their set lists have been posted for each concert, so I had an idea of what was being played. Maybe my thoughts drifted to other things when the band spoke directly to me during those quieter songs. Made me think of someone, a friend of mine whom I’ve lost. I found meaning in songs I’ve heard a thousand times for the first time. There were things I realized about myself. Funny how a U2 show can do that to you. While I can’t emphasize enough how good the show was, this time around there was a hole that U2 couldn’t fill. This time, I didn’t exactly find what I was looking for.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.musictap.net/Concerts/U2VertigoStaplesLA0405.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SET LIST
Love & Peace Or Else
Vertigo
Elevation
Cry/The Electric Co.
An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart
City of Blinding Lights
Beautiful Day
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
New Year’s Day
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
1 st Encore
Pride (In The Name of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
2 nd Encore
All Because Of You
Yahweh
“40”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
