Do U2 ever drink a bit (or a lot) during their concerts?

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voxson

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I've seen it happen for many bands. A bit of alcohol to get them more in the mood for a good performance. Others do drugs for that but this is not the case for U2. So do you think that they ever drink in their concerts? (especially Bono)

Andy
 
I am almost positive Adam doesn't drink at all. Don't know about Larry/Edge, but Bono's voice is bad enough. The last thing he needs is to drink alcohol during a show! I've been at the tip of the heart a few times and when his voice is going he gets some kind of gatorade bottle with a yellow substance in it. They may have drank to loosen up during shows back in the day but I think they are much smarter now.
 
I'm sure they smoke a little somethin' too


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i believe that whilest in australia (Popmart, i think) adam was so blottoed (sp?) that they had a substitute on stage

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It costs a fortune to look this trashy.
 
Of course they drink before they go on stage! They're rock stars for Christ's sake. Now, maybe Adam doesn't, and I'm sure the rest of them do not get inebriated beyond control, but they probably take a nip of the old sauce peforming coming on. I would do the same thing if I was singing songs in front of thousands of people.

Actually, I think I saw Larry during the New York June 17th show sip beer from time to time whilst drumming. I was on the side of the stage seating and I definitely remember drinking some kind of bottle.

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"You gotta put the women and children first, but you've got an unquenchable thirst for New York..."
 
Originally posted by tackleberry:
I was on the side of the stage seating and I definitely remember drinking some kind of bottle.


how does one drink a bottle?


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-death bear
 
Bono is actually allergic to alcohol. He realized this in the '90's after visits to doctors. He only drinks vintage wines because as the wine ages whatever it is he is allergic to dies. They are said to trvel with cases of vintage wines for Bono.

I read he also drinks hard liquor on occasion, but rarely.

I used to think he was always drink onstage as he used to stumble all over the place. The truth is that he is clumsy. He said he only got on stage drunk in his life and that was in Paris after his father got him drunk al day.

That, of course was in the past...

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"...I'll see you again, when the stars fall from the sky, and the the moon has turned red over One Tree Hill..."

NYC RIP
 
Does it really matter if they drink before, during or after? Would this taint your opinion of them?

No matter, it takes a lot of booze to get drunk, so whether they are drinking brew at the gig is really quite irrelevant. As long as they sound good, I don't care, and they *do* sound good, so all of you who still like to complain about Bono's voice lay-off! I'd like to see you on stage sounding that good.
 
Hmmm...all I can think to say is WTF!! Ok..maybe in extreme moderation but a lot??? COME ON!!!
rolleyes.gif
Where do these threads ideas come from??

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"What's with all the glitter? I thought you didn't like our mirrorball lemon and shit. Well it's too late to change your mind now." -- Bono, Indianapolis, May 10, 2001

When you stop taking chances, you'll stay where you sit, you won't live any longer, but it'll feel like it --- Summer Rain

clarityat3am@hotmail.com
 
there's a chance they put a wee dram to good purpose.

[This message has been edited by cass (edited 10-13-2001).]
 
I'm pretty sure they don't drink -- at least Bono, for that matter. I'm quite certin that whatever is in that bottle is non-alcoholic. I'm pretty sure there was an interview with Bono in Continental magazine back in May/June which detailed his allergy to alcohol -- he mentioned how he fell asleep under a table at dinner once, and how he fell asleep at mixing desk on the floor of a Sonic Youth (LOUD) concert a few years ago. Since then, he has been disgnosed with an allergy to alcohol, and now he doesn't drink, except for the occasional and seldom glass of fine wine.

The liquid onstage is akin to orange juice,l from what I've heard -- I head it's orange and even thicker than OJ. It's probably a high-glucose drink to (1) give him energy for the show, and (2) to coat his throat so it won't become hoarse during the show -- like cough syrup (Vicks Formula 44 vs. Robatussin), the thicker it is, the better it soothes your throat.

As further evidence of this, remember that the band did not play in Las Vegas on the first leg of the tour. Why? He and many other artists are quoted as saying that the super-low humidity in Las Vegas wreaks havoc on a singer's vocal chords/throat (Remember the opening show of the PopMart tour?). Bono was quoted as saying that he would never paly in Las Vegas again, unless an the stage were filled with humidifiers (I'd be very interested to find out whether the stage at the Thomas & Mack center in LV has a bunch of humifiers on it). So, they'll be playing LV at the end of their tour -- as late as possible, so it will be as cold as possible, so that the relative humidity will be as high as possible. That's my take on it.

In sum, from all I've heard, know, and understand, Bono doesn't drink
 
Oops -- I forgot to mention the ill effects of alcohol on a singer's vocal chords. Alcohol dehyrates the body, drying out the vocal chords, and hurting the voice -- the exact opposite effect that Bono wants. Bono seems pretty concerned with his vocal chords, so I don't think he drinks before or during a show.
 
Originally posted by hcmiller:
i believe that whilest in australia (Popmart, i think) adam was so blottoed (sp?) that they had a substitute on stage


Zoo Tv in 93. The show the night before the one on the Sydney video (notice Adams sheepish smiles all the way through)

I remember U2 announced that he had a '24hour virus' on the day of the show, but too many people had seen him out on the town and were calling in radio stations.
Pretty funny.

I think Bono said somewhere he's only played really drunk once and that was in Paris, but I don't know when.
 
Originally posted by TylerDurden:

I think Bono said somewhere he's only played really drunk once and that was in Paris, but I don't know when.

When his da had gotten him drinking all day. See above.

Silly boy, read all the posts before you respond.
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*kissy? oh yes oh yes*

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I know your garden's full
But is there sweetness at all?



~*April*~
(AIM-POPLemonGirl)

*~The Official POP_Whore of Interference~*
 
Hey Zoomerang: He was drinking the contents in a bottle, if that clears it up more for you.

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"You gotta put the women and children first, but you've got an unquenchable thirst for New York..."
 
I'm pretty sure Bono's allergy isn't to all alcohol but to certain chemicals that appear in red wine that hasn't been aged enough. So, he can drink whatever he wants, but when he drinks wine it needs to be of a good vintage. But, yeah, the way he found out was he kept falling asleep in odd situations. Here's an article to back me:

U2's BONO constantly wears sunglasses because he suffers from an allergy to salicylates. The ONE singer has disclosed he has been suffering from the allergy to the substance, which is found in wine amongst other food stuffs, for some time - and the condition causes reddened eyes, as well as some other surprising effects. He says, "It means I lose my voice or I fall asleep in the strangest places, like once on the lighting board for SONIC YOUTH -one of the loudest concerts in the world! "And I get red eyes, which is one of the reasons I wear glasses."

I don't doubt that U2 are sober on stage, and Adam of course went cold turkey after the whole fiasco in Sydney (see U2 at the End of the World for more info on that). But Bono talks a lot about being drunk, so I imagine it's a state he indulges in with some degree of regularity. He mentions that he talks too much when he's drunk in the speech he gave at Harvard earlier this year ("I talk too much when I'm drunk and sometimes even when I'm not"), and I think he also mentions drinking too much (one of his reasons for not being a good role model) in the Charlie Rose interview he did this summer.

Hey, they *are* rock stars, and Irish, after all.

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you've got the right shoes to get you through the night

[This message has been edited by u2zed (edited 10-13-2001).]
 
Adam is the only one who doesn't drink!
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In the last issue of GQ Bono was totally plastered when he did the interview - they stayed out drinking all night. It's only wine that he doesn't touch.
juul.gif
 
Originally posted by Angel:
Does it really matter if they drink before, during or after? Would this taint your opinion of them?

No matter, it takes a lot of booze to get drunk, so whether they are drinking brew at the gig is really quite irrelevant. As long as they sound good, I don't care, and they *do* sound good, so all of you who still like to complain about Bono's voice lay-off! I'd like to see you on stage sounding that good.


christina babe! relax...
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hehe

BM
 
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