Horrible U2 review

[Popmartijn]

Hello,

Just saw this in the NY Post ( http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/34316.htm ) :

Hey, Bono, just sing
by Dan Aquilante

October 26, 2001 -- AT their return engagement at Madison Square Garden, U2 was a finely tuned rock machine, with a squeaky wheel named Bono at center stage.
Bono, the voice of U2, sang songs about peace, love and understanding in a city that was the target of hate a month ago.

Over the course of the two-hour concert, between highlights such as "Bullet the Blue Sky," "Beautiful Day," "Pride" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday," he expounded on a mishmash of topics.

Early on he praised IRA terrorists for finally laying down their guns.

He kissed an American flag that a kid in the audience waved with reverence, yet his jacket was lined with a cut-up Old Glory.

He told us to have empathy with Muslims. "They go to church, too," he informed the adoring crowd.

And he concluded the concert by scrolling the names of the victims of the four fatal Sept. 11 flights, as well as the names of the police and firefighters who died in the World Trade Center rescue efforts, on a large display screen.

Deeds count, not words.

This past weekend he and guitarist The Edge didn't bother to show up for their scheduled appearance at the Concert for New York City - that honored those fallen heroes and aided their families.

Bono was so liberal, so politically correct, he made you want to puke green.

As an outsider, his audacity to think his celebrity gives him the right to tell us how and when to let go of our anger made the rage hotter. You wanted to hit him upside the head.

Bono should consider he's not a priest, just a singer. To steal a line that Bono sang when he was a boy: "If he starts to think, he'll start to cry."

The music was great. The band played well. I wish I had stayed home.

GGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

Marty


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People criticize me but I know it's not the end
I try to kick the truth, not just to make friends

Spearhead - People In Tha Middle

[This message has been edited by Popmartijn (edited 10-26-2001).]

[zooropamanda]

Was this guy a reporter or just some schmo off the street?

That has to be the most pathetic review Ive read in a long time.

[brettig]

u got the web address there marty?

[Shygirl]

I can't believe that review! Who let that guy into the concert in the first place?!?!? I'm sure there were hundreds of other fans that would have killed to be there!

I really hate critics!!

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

[Popmartijn]

Originally posted by brettig:
u got the web address there marty?

Yep, here it is: http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/34316.htm

I've also included it in my original post (needed to edit it anyway).

C ya!

Marty

P.S. Now everybody sing with me (melody: The Lumberjack Song)

I'm a critic and I suck my cock
I am anti-liberal and I don't like rock
(He's a critic and he sucks his cock
He is anti-liberal and he doesn't like rock)



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People criticize me but I know it's not the end
I try to kick the truth, not just to make friends

Spearhead - People In Tha Middle

[The Wanderer]

oh I woulld expect no less from a NY Post reporter, they are the premier sleeze taboid of NY (and very Right Wing, though the hypocrites criticize the New York Times for being Left Wing)

i love his descriptiveness, he used "puke green" not just "puke" but "puke green" to illustrate his disdain for Bono's free speech

I mean, anyone who uses the term "so liberal" in telling you why he disliked someone is a worthless journalist, unfortunately there are millions like him who will read his review and roll their eyes at U2 & Bono and lump them in with "all the other celebrities" who often unlike Bono, do nothing good with their celebrity status and have no clue what they preaching about

but I will tell you, that the syndicated NY radio show that's on in the afternoons in NY (Opie & Anthony) raved about how great U2 was and called them the "greatest live band ever," which surprised me because they usually say how great bands like Metallica, STP and Tool are, and they are very pro-airstrikes and ridicule many celebrities who preach against military action, but they had no complaints about the concert

[sharky]

and I'm sure if that schmuck's daughter had an anthrax scare at her school and wanted her father home, he would drop what he was doing to go to her as well.

I'm happy to say that rock and politics do mix and sometimes you really can change the hearts of 20,000 people in an arena with a few words.

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"Things will not be the same in this city for us." -Bono, Dublin, February 1980

[Popmartijn]

Hello,

Gee, I'm posting/replying a lot to my own thread. I think I have to go to MA (Megalomaniacs Anonymous)

Anyway, to drive away the stench of the article in the original post, here is another view. This review by the Richmont Times-Dispatch ( http://www.timesdispatch.com )is from the Baltimore concert.

Bono leads the way
Concertgoers need healing and Dubliner obliges

Richmond Times-Dispatch, October 25, 2001
by Melissa Ruggieri

BALTIMORE
It's a pity that Bono and The Edge backed out of the Concert for New York City on Saturday because of, according to their spokesperson, "family matters."

The duo was expected to perform "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" (with Destiny's Child). And, as overwhelmingly inspiring as that concert was anyway, a little U2 could have raised the bar another step.

The night before, the biggest band in the world right now landed at the Baltimore Arena (a venue that makes the Richmond Coliseum look like the MCI Center), nine days into the third leg of its hugely successful Elevation tour.

To call the concert magical would be an understatement. To call Bono an important musical figure would be a disservice to a performer who, while undeniably cocky, touches and enlightens so convincingly, you might think he missed a religious calling.

It was evident from the pre-show moments that this night would be tweaked from U2's first area run-though in June at the MCI Center. Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" blasted from the speakers, followed by The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" and, as the band lumbered onto the heart-shaped stage, "A Little Help From My Friends."

This crowd, like most Americans, needed to be healed, and Bono willingly complied. As the plinking keyboard notes of "New Year's Day" faded, he stood at the tip of the stage and leaned forward to accept an American flag being waved by a fan. For a full two minutes, he bowed his head and hugged it to his chest like an injured child, then gently, respectfully, handed it back.

Suffice to say that tears were shed and arms raised in goose bumps at the sight of this impudent Dubliner illustrating how much this country's pain has affected him.

But he wasn't done. A snippet of Three Degrees' "When Will I See You Again," with only The Edge strumming a guitar, segued into "Stuck" before Bono spoke of his beloved father, who died in August. "I think about him every day," Bono said before the pensive "Kite," which he dedicated to his dad and his father-in-law, in the crowd that night.

Later in the show, the obvious crowd-pleaser "New York" was given a lyrical massage, with Bono creeping from a croon to a roar on the line, "Come September things can change. Summer's love turns to winter's pain . . . In New York you just can't forget how strong this city's WILL!"

There were plenty of religious overtones throughout the night, as Bono spoke repeatedly of God's love and how "the Koran is a beautiful book and the people who follow Islam are beautiful people. They have nothing to do with these religious lunatics."

As a further tribute, a scroll of names of those killed in the four plane crashes on Sept. 11 shimmered on a gleaming blue screen behind the stage as Bono croaked out "One" with an appropriate balance of passion and sadness.

Whether we need a revolution or a virtuous counselor right now, this is the guy to lead the charge.

C ya!

Marty

------------------
People criticize me but I know it's not the end
I try to kick the truth, not just to make friends

Spearhead - People In Tha Middle

[popkidu2]

isn't the NY Post the same paper that slagged U2 wwwwaaaaaayyyyyy back during the promo tour b/c the reporter wasn't given a press pass and so had to listen to the show on the radio. I could've sworn that it was the Post.

He's a moron. Who cares, right?

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I can't change the world, but I can change the world in me.

[Popmartijn]

Originally posted by popkidu2:
isn't the NY Post the same paper that slagged U2 wwwwaaaaaayyyyyy back during the promo tour b/c the reporter wasn't given a press pass and so had to listen to the show on the radio. I could've sworn that it was the Post.

He's a moron. Who cares, right?

I quickly did a search on Google and I found this article (note the writer )

U2 RADIO DAZE
By DAN AQUILANTE

A PUBLICIST named Terri called The Post yesterday, apologizing to an answering machine and saying that all New York newspapers would be barred from last night's U2 concert at Irving Plaza. Terri, brave girl, squarely put the blame on the Irish quartet and its management.

What was the problem? Had guitarist The Edge gone dull? Had Bono become a bonehead? Had the band's unforgettable fire been extinguished since its disastrous Popmart tour?

Apparently so, or at least that's what the band was afraid would be written.

Rather than miss the concert, The Post listened on the radio like the rest of New York. What was clear through the mighty 3-inch speaker of a Deluxe clock radio with digital lighted numbers was that a big band was slumming.

After three songs from the band's new album, Bono bragged with rock-god hubris that U2 playing Irving Plaza was like "landing a 747 on a front lawn." I guess we New Yorkers should feel good that the group picked our lawn to land on.

Just prior to the encore selection of "11 O'Clock Tick Tock," Bono pulled a Leona Helmsley, declaring to the crowd: "You all look so much smaller in real life." Nice turn of phrase for the little people, Bonehead.

Of the old material that U2 dusted off, "One" was the highlight, although it did sound tinny as a penny whistle, but that may have been due to the not-so-superior sound of my mighty Deluxe. The best of the new material was "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," which was dedicated to the late Michael Hutchence, lead singer of INXS. "Elevation" was also performed with attention to the details the band honed in the studio.

Besides not being able to see U2 and having to listen on an audio speaker smaller than a clenched fist, the real problem during the 70-minute concert was that the group seemed as unspontaneous as every teen vocal pop band on the circuit.

Hey, Bono, stop trying to make music history by being a big fish in a puddle - and start concentrating on the arena music that is the essence of your band.

Oh, and regarding your 'moron' comment, this is what the poster on the newsgroup had to say about it:
The above article was written by Dan Aquilante at the NY Post...
What an idiot!

C ya!

Marty (who will check in at MA tomorrow)


------------------
People criticize me but I know it's not the end
I try to kick the truth, not just to make friends

Spearhead - People In Tha Middle

[MysteryGirl]

That dipwad of a so-called reporter didn't do his homework. Real reporters do some research, and if he had done so, then he would know that Bono and Edge's canceling had to do with the Anthrax scare at Bono's child's school. Obviously family comes first for Bono. I wonder if that reporter even has a family...or any friends?? LOL!

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"You're dangerous...'cause you're honest"

[SkeeK]

Worldpop now has an article about this review. unfortunately they don't do much to condemn the ugly piece of filth.

[ouizy]

Hey - I also posted about this under !!!IMPORTANT...

This guy Aquilante is such an asshole. I have written about 3 letters to the Post complaining about him. Not only because of his ignorant U2 views, but other bands as well.

He does not do his homework, he is a complainer and a big baby...

I am pissed, but too tired to write about this shithead anymore...

blah

ouizy

[tiny dancer]

This guy really pissed my off. The people of New York are still in need of healing.

[BabyGrace]

hmmm this article made no sense

he listed the things he didn't like but never really touched on why exactly he didn't like them

reading the first half of the article and the moments he picked out, the incredible, touching concert comes to mind, not whatever he's trying to paint

good points also Wanderer

this is just poorly written. im sorry he cant even support his own opinion

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but for the grace of love I'd will the meaning of heaven from above...

[JasonD]

Well, my first reaction is 'PUKE GREEN' on the reporter, but that would be childish and intolerant, so I just take a long, deep breath and realize his review is irrelevant and unimportant to me.
Of course I'm being 'tongue-in-cheek' about this because seriously, it is a poorly written article that does not deserve a reviewer's status in the paper.

[Flares]

I read that article on U2News.com...at first I was really mad, then I realized what a moron this guy was...puke green? o.O; Thank you very much for including the "green" part Dan, we find that it greatly enriches the picture we get in our minds. It is very essential to the detail of this glorious article. -_-;

He has no idea what's he's talking about. I'm just glad Bono's family is alright...hmm, I don't think Dan knows what "family first" means. Nor does he know what Bono was talking about. His interpretation was obviously incorrect...I agree, how the hell did this guy get a posistion as a reviewer for a New York paper??? I could pick guys up off the street randomly with more intelligence...argh, jerk.

[SweetOnU2]

[This message has been edited by SweetOnU2 (edited 10-26-2001).]

[Popmartijn]

Must... reach... 300... posts...

(OK, so the next time I post the counter won't be at 300 anymore, but this post was my 300th. And why not donate is to a thread I started!)

Marty


------------------
People criticize me but I know it's not the end
I try to kick the truth, not just to make friends

Spearhead - People In Tha Middle