Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Good Idea At The Time...
...live blogging U2 in concert!
Alas, something between the still-somewhat new Treo and blogger just didn't want it to happen. Oh well, here's a near-chronological approximation of what went on Tuesday night in Joisey.
Taking up from the UPDATE in the earlier post:
"Miracle Drug" -- Bono references Lou Reed's "Busload of Faith" -- tries to show that there should be no contradiction between faith and medicine. (an allusion to stem-cell research, perhaps?)
"Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"
"New Year's Day"/"Sunday Bloody Sunday"/"Bullet The Blue Sky"
"Running To Stand Still" -- dedicated to men and women in US military. Then comes a recounting of the principles of the UN Declaration of Human Rights -- first just print, then young children on screen verbalize the principles -- serves as an intro to "Pride (In The Name of Love)."
Could anyone other than U2 follow one song dedicated to the troops w/ one for MLK?
"Where The Streets Have No Name"
"We're asking you to bring man back to earth." -- Bono says to Bush, Blair & Chirac -- as he plugs his anti-African hunger effort.
"One" -- B. asks everyone to TM his foundation [86483] and give their name.
Kinda cool that cellphones have essentialy replaced lighters as the sign of concert unity in our health conscious world.
Encore: "Zoo Station" from Achtung Baby!
"Love Is Blindness" (I think -- A band with such a product that it is impossible to remember all the songs.)
"Mysterious Ways"
"Original of The Species"
"All Because of You"
"Yahweh"
"40"
"Vertigo"
(Making a literal "encore," they proudly play their big hit single for the second time. They leave with a song that vows to "give me something I can feel." )
And boy do they ever.
Of course, they leave you demanding more. Hey, they didn't play, arguably their two biggest hits -- "With or Without You" or "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." But it would be hard to say that after more than two hours, anyone left disappointed
In fact, departing the Continental Arena, this scene captures the eye:
A mother and father in their late 30s-mid-40s; the daughter is barely a teenager.
Is U2 now the only band in an increasingly fractured culture where no one -- liberal, conservative, parent, teenager -- need be embarassed going to see them in concert?
The smart writing brings the adults -- the impossible-to-fake passion captures the young. Or maybe it's the other way around. They preach without being too preachy. They recognize that there are problems in the world, but prefer to see America as a solution to them, not a creator of them. A quarter of a century after they started, they are still making relevant music and feel comfortable speaking to audiences about certain issues rather than just speaking at them.
A great band.
