[kj] (NKJ) U2 at the Rose Bowl

[jon chapman]

Great review,but U2?.


 
 
 



 


> From: dpeace at suspiria.demon.co.uk

> To: gathering at misera.net

> Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:55:33 +0000

> Subject: Re: [kj] (NKJ) U2 at the Rose Bowl

> 

> Did she piss herself?

> 

> Splendid review, as always. Thanks for posting.

> 

> Darren

> Hungerford, UK

> 

> On 26 Oct 2009, at 17:41, "The Mighty TB" <planetary at socal.rr.com> 

> wrote:

> 

> > The short hit is that this show reminded me why I hate seeing 

> > concerts in stadiums.

> >

> > Knowing what a clusterfuck parking and navigating into The Rose Bowl 

> > would be, I left at 3 in the afternoon yesterday for the show which 

> > was a smart thing as although it took me barely an hour to get 

> > there, it took another 1 hour to park in the huge golf course that 

> > doubles as a parking lot for Rose Bowl events once I got off the 

> > freeway a mere 2 miles from the stadium.

> >

> > After kicking back 'til 6pm, I went in the stadium, got wrist banded 

> > for my GA floor access and checked out the massive stage. I got 

> > lucky and got pit access but after hanging out there for seem of the 

> > otherwise wretched Black Eyed Peas' set, I decided to leave the pit 

> > hanging out at about the 50 yard line directly between the stage and 

> > the soundboard was the best place to soak in the show until U2's 

> > encore when I went back into the pit. Amusingly, the people that 

> > paid the most for their tickets in the "Red Zone" next to the pit on 

> > either side of the stage probably had the worst view. The stage is 

> > so high off the ground that you can only see the bass or guitar 

> > player and the top half of Bono and the drummer is mostly obscured 

> > depending on which side you're on and you're under the huge cone- 

> > shaped video screen so you have to look at it straight up.

> >

> > Speaking of the Black Eyed Peas opening set, admittedly a lot of 

> > people were into their shtick but the Rose Bowl really came alive 

> > when (ex)Guns n' Roses' Slash came out to play guitar and they did a 

> > decent cover of "Sweet Child O' Mine" with the chick singer really 

> > doing an excellent job singing the tune - easily the highlight of 

> > their set.

> >

> > U2 came on a little after 9pm opening with 3 songs off their last 

> > album. I have to say, the show never really seemed to quite get off 

> > the ground. A big part of it was the crowd who just didn't have a 

> > lot of energy much of the show. But the band shares a lot of the 

> > blame as well. The set is unevenly paced and the combination of 7 

> > songs off the newest album (which imo is easily one of their weakest 

> > albums ever) and 5 off "All You Can't Leave Behind," notably dull 

> > momentum killers "Stuck in a Moment" and "In A Little While," there 

> > was a lot more valleys than peaks in the set. Even otherwise 

> > excellent and long-unplayed deep cuts "Unforgettable Fire" and 

> > "Ultraviolet" which I figured to be highlights of the show kind of 

> > fell flat. The "remix" version of "Crazy Tonight" is terrible with 

> > drummer Larry Mullen Jr playing barely audible bongos at the front 

> > of the stage to a heavily pre-recorded drum track. Probably the low 

> > point of the show was when they played "Walk On," a bunch of dour- 

> > faced fans came on stage on the ramp circling the pit with paper 

> > masks of Aung San Suu Kyi on their faces to protest her continued 

> > house arrest in Burma. Frankly, it was cring-inducing and a perfect 

> > example of the ham-fisted approach U2 often takes to some 

> > "political" issues.

> >

> > Bravely, the band isn't playing some of their biggest live songs 

> > this tour - no Pride, Bullet The Blue Sky, New Years Day or I Will 

> > Follow among others. Unfortunately, it's a shame they aren't playing 

> > some other far more worthwhile songs than much of the stuff they are 

> > playing especially from the previous two albums.

> >

> > This is all not to say the show didn't have some high points - "Get 

> > On Your Boots" works far better live now than it did when they first 

> > started playing it. Mysterious Ways early in the set momentarily 

> > brought the crowd back into the show and the crowd seemed really 

> > into things through a great sing-along of "Stand By Me" tagged at 

> > the end of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." During 

> > "Until The End Of The World" and later "Vertigo," everything seemed 

> > to click. And the last song of the show, "Moment of Surrender," 

> > which is unquestionably the best song off the last album, worked 

> > extremely well as a closer.

> >

> > The biggest problem with this tour is that the stage production 

> > completely overshadows the band and their music. The stage is 

> > simply breathtaking and the sound is easily the best I've ever heard 

> > in a stadium but this "show" is by far the weakest U2 concert I've 

> > seen in decades. It's like the Pop tour jacked up to "11." Even 

> > more awesome production, but even weaker songs and setlist. Not to 

> > mention, imo U2's playing has slipped a notch since the last tour 

> > (although Bono's voice is *very* strong this time around). There 

> > were a lot of happy fans after the show but to a person, every 

> > comment I heard focused on the production, not the band. IMO, U2 is 

> > now at the same point the Rolling Stones were around the Voodoo 

> > Lounge album/tour.

> >

> > BTW, it took me a full 2 1/2 hours to get out of the parking lot 

> > after the show. I will never see another show at the Rose Bowl.

> >

> > I understand they've annouced their early Summer 2010 North American 

> > dates last night which include an Anaheim Stadium show. Even though 

> > that's a much better stadium and only 15 - 20 minutes away, U2 will 

> > have to drastically retool their set to get me back for another show.

> >

> > T.B.

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