Review: U2 transcends concert going experience
Joshua Boydston/The Daily
Monday, October 19, 2009
I knew the show was going to be a big deal, but not until the early afternoon as I stood outside of my apartment watching the crowd beginning to grow and cars starting to pile up with the sound check clearly audible about a mile away from the stadium did I get a better idea of how big this would be.
You immediately realize something is important when there are nearly as many people in Memorial Stadium as there are during a football game, and the only band in the world today that could fill it did just that Sunday night.
The opening act, the Black Eyed Peas, had the first crack at the near capacity crowd. It mostly under whelmed with a lackluster, forced set full of their radio-friendly tunes that seemed out of place at a U2 show. The opening slot for U2 just screams for a more up-and-coming, straightforward rock band, one like Muse, Kaiser Chiefs or Glasvegas who had all had chances to open earlier in the tour.
Can’t fault BEP for bringing a set meant to energize and pump up the crowd though, and it did just that to some extent.
But of course it doesn’t really matter who opens for U2, as long as U2 is playing, and when they strode onto the massive, Doc Ock-like stage, every eye, ear and thought was focused on the biggest band in the world.
The show was almost laughably monstrous, but the size quickly became U2’s biggest strength with a choir of 60,000 behind Bono and Co. making the event transcend the ordinary concert experience.
The band tore through a set chocked full of their hits, though leaning slightly heavy on newer material. It’s somewhat astonishing to listen to their full show and being reminded of all the great singles they’ve released over the years.
There was never a dull moment for the diehard and casual fans alike, though upbeat tunes like “ Beautiful Day” and “ Vertigo” had the crowd at it’s loudest.
The stage would become a whole new being with every new song, with revolving bridges giving new access points for Bono and Edge to linger out into the crowd to bursts of cheers.
The stage within a circular walkway allowed for plenty of crowd interaction, and of course Bono got his fill of doing just so. Ever the showman, all eyes were on Bono, despite the mass of lights, smoke and video screens swirling all around him.
Though the Scottie Pippen to Bono’s MJ, Edge proved to be a necessary component to the band who stole the spotlight from Bono on more than one occasion with his exceptional hand and skill with the guitar.
The most surreal moment came with “ City of Blinding Lights,” with a flood of screens towering down, the center beacon flashing every imaginable hue and powerful streams of light beaming into the sky.
An encore gave way to a political statement piece with “ One,” which then dipped into the essential “ Where The Streets Have No Name.”
The second encore finally burst into “ With Or Without You,” and left the crowd without a complaint to be had.
U2 left no doubt that they were the biggest band in the world Sunday night, and no witness in Memorial Stadium is likely to forget it either.
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Review: U2 delivers an epic display
Dusty Somers/The Daily
Monday, October 19, 2009
Nearly everything about Sunday’s U2 show at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was epic, from the unnecessarily massive circular stage equipped with thousands of lights and not one, but two disco balls to the wall of sound assault launched by The Edge’s shredding guitar riffs. And why wouldn’t it be epic? After all, Bono’s got a reputation to uphold.
Still, for all of the band’s impressive showmanship and its penchant for excess that manages to not tip over into the distasteful, it was the quiet and poignant moments from Sunday’s show that stood out — an acoustic rendering of “ Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” or Bono lifting a young fan out of the crowd, taking a couple laps around the stage and handing him his pair of trademark sunglasses before sending him on his way.
Bono is a rock star in every sense of the term, but he appears to remain quite personable despite his mega-fame. U2’s 360° Tour was conceived as a way for the band to get closer to the fans, Bono said Sunday, and with a stage extension right in the middle of the crowd, it seemed to work.
Judging from its recent studio output, U2 has lost some of its bite, with a number of muddled singles bordering on the banal, but the band remains relevant if only because of its sheer longevity and impressive back catalog, which the band unsurprisingly leaned heavily on Sunday night.
Songs from arguably U2’s best two albums, “The Joshua Tree” and “Achtung Baby” were show highlights — “ I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “ Where the Streets Have No Name” and “ With or Without You” from the former and “ Mysterious Ways,” “ One” and “ Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” from the latter.
Bono is nothing if not a committed showman, which is half the fun of seeing U2 live. Being outfitted in a laser suit and swinging from an illuminated microphone is the kind of stuff he probably lives for, and with that superbly talented band behind him, it’s the kind of stuff that makes enduring the often impersonal nature of a stadium show worth it.
Joshua Boydston/The Daily
Monday, October 19, 2009
I knew the show was going to be a big deal, but not until the early afternoon as I stood outside of my apartment watching the crowd beginning to grow and cars starting to pile up with the sound check clearly audible about a mile away from the stadium did I get a better idea of how big this would be.
You immediately realize something is important when there are nearly as many people in Memorial Stadium as there are during a football game, and the only band in the world today that could fill it did just that Sunday night.
The opening act, the Black Eyed Peas, had the first crack at the near capacity crowd. It mostly under whelmed with a lackluster, forced set full of their radio-friendly tunes that seemed out of place at a U2 show. The opening slot for U2 just screams for a more up-and-coming, straightforward rock band, one like Muse, Kaiser Chiefs or Glasvegas who had all had chances to open earlier in the tour.
Can’t fault BEP for bringing a set meant to energize and pump up the crowd though, and it did just that to some extent.
But of course it doesn’t really matter who opens for U2, as long as U2 is playing, and when they strode onto the massive, Doc Ock-like stage, every eye, ear and thought was focused on the biggest band in the world.
The show was almost laughably monstrous, but the size quickly became U2’s biggest strength with a choir of 60,000 behind Bono and Co. making the event transcend the ordinary concert experience.
The band tore through a set chocked full of their hits, though leaning slightly heavy on newer material. It’s somewhat astonishing to listen to their full show and being reminded of all the great singles they’ve released over the years.
There was never a dull moment for the diehard and casual fans alike, though upbeat tunes like “ Beautiful Day” and “ Vertigo” had the crowd at it’s loudest.
The stage would become a whole new being with every new song, with revolving bridges giving new access points for Bono and Edge to linger out into the crowd to bursts of cheers.
The stage within a circular walkway allowed for plenty of crowd interaction, and of course Bono got his fill of doing just so. Ever the showman, all eyes were on Bono, despite the mass of lights, smoke and video screens swirling all around him.
Though the Scottie Pippen to Bono’s MJ, Edge proved to be a necessary component to the band who stole the spotlight from Bono on more than one occasion with his exceptional hand and skill with the guitar.
The most surreal moment came with “ City of Blinding Lights,” with a flood of screens towering down, the center beacon flashing every imaginable hue and powerful streams of light beaming into the sky.
An encore gave way to a political statement piece with “ One,” which then dipped into the essential “ Where The Streets Have No Name.”
The second encore finally burst into “ With Or Without You,” and left the crowd without a complaint to be had.
U2 left no doubt that they were the biggest band in the world Sunday night, and no witness in Memorial Stadium is likely to forget it either.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: U2 delivers an epic display
Dusty Somers/The Daily
Monday, October 19, 2009
Nearly everything about Sunday’s U2 show at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was epic, from the unnecessarily massive circular stage equipped with thousands of lights and not one, but two disco balls to the wall of sound assault launched by The Edge’s shredding guitar riffs. And why wouldn’t it be epic? After all, Bono’s got a reputation to uphold.
Still, for all of the band’s impressive showmanship and its penchant for excess that manages to not tip over into the distasteful, it was the quiet and poignant moments from Sunday’s show that stood out — an acoustic rendering of “ Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” or Bono lifting a young fan out of the crowd, taking a couple laps around the stage and handing him his pair of trademark sunglasses before sending him on his way.
Bono is a rock star in every sense of the term, but he appears to remain quite personable despite his mega-fame. U2’s 360° Tour was conceived as a way for the band to get closer to the fans, Bono said Sunday, and with a stage extension right in the middle of the crowd, it seemed to work.
Judging from its recent studio output, U2 has lost some of its bite, with a number of muddled singles bordering on the banal, but the band remains relevant if only because of its sheer longevity and impressive back catalog, which the band unsurprisingly leaned heavily on Sunday night.
Songs from arguably U2’s best two albums, “The Joshua Tree” and “Achtung Baby” were show highlights — “ I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “ Where the Streets Have No Name” and “ With or Without You” from the former and “ Mysterious Ways,” “ One” and “ Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” from the latter.
Bono is nothing if not a committed showman, which is half the fun of seeing U2 live. Being outfitted in a laser suit and swinging from an illuminated microphone is the kind of stuff he probably lives for, and with that superbly talented band behind him, it’s the kind of stuff that makes enduring the often impersonal nature of a stadium show worth it.
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