Size does matter, U2 overpowered

Review: Poor

Globe Staff / September 21, 2009

Editor Note: Be sure to see the video below.

The nearly sold-out crowd was indeed, but the show, which repeats tonight, didn’t quite take off like it should have. Instead it revved its motor, flashed its headlights, and stayed firmly grounded as U2 stumbled over an unlikely hurdle: a sprawling stage setup that often dulled the sensation of a tight-knit performance.

If there’s any outsize band with the charisma, chops, and catalog to pull off a tour of this magnitude, it’s U2. And it certainly tried, relying on Bono’s magnetism and his bandmates’ inspired playing, not to mention an audience that was clearly stoked.

The insurmountable problem, however, was the expanse of the stage, which connected to an outer circular one where Bono and guitarist the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton roamed like satellites. At times each member, in his own spotlight, was working a different part of the stadium, to the point that they sometimes lost the intimacy of playing as a unit.

Granted, these guys are so good and seasoned that they don’t need to be rubbing shoulders to convey their camaraderie. But when they really connected - when Bono seemed awed by the Edge’s acoustic accompaniment and backup singing on “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of,’’ or when Bono leaned into Clayton during the high point of “Elevation’’ - the chemistry was intense and contagious.

Entering to the swelling strains of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,’’ a fitting opus for a show that was supposed to shoot into orbit, the band tore into “Breathe’’ with the Edge wailing lyrically as Bono slowly surveyed his devoted flock.

The arena anthems, which at a U2 concert tend to be shouted rather than sung, came fast and furious, from newer (“Get on Your Boots,’’ “Beautiful Day’’) to older (“Mysterious Ways,’’ “Sunday Bloody Sunday’’). It’s hard to deny the charm and vitality of those classics, which inadvertently made some of the more recent songs, especially the ones from the band’s latest album, “No Line on the Horizon,’’ pale even more than they should have.

“Magnificent’’ and “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight,’’ with its playful dance-floor coda, felt like stadium rock for stadium rock’s sake. “Unknown Caller’’ dampened the spirited vibe mid-set with elliptical lyrics (“escape yourself and gravity’’) masquerading as self-help advice.

But even that misstep couldn’t deaden Bono’s charisma. He’s become the prototypical frontman who knows how to work stadiums; in fact, you suspect he’s at his best in front of 50,000 people. During “City of Blinding Lights,’’ Bono plucked a young girl from the crowd and essentially serenaded her as they walked the length of the outer stage, even putting his famous tinted glasses on her at one point.

It was a small gesture, a fleeting moment of intimacy, that reminded you of how magical Bono and his bandmates are when they connect to the audience - and with one another.

Would you agree ? Let us know your comments below.

U2's two-day visit to Foxboro

FOXBORO - U2’s two-day visit to Foxboro started uneventfully Sunday night.

State police had made no arrests at Gillette Stadium as of 9 p.m., shortly before the 360 Tour concert started, said Lt. David Wilson, state police spokesman.

Foxboro police said they had no arrest information at press time.

Wilson said concert traffic backed up Route 1 north around 9, but it was unclear how far the snarl went. He believed traffic would start flowing once the concert started.

Route 1 reportedly was backed up after the parking lots opened at 3 p.m. Stadium officials had warned that fans arriving before 3 p.m. would be turned away.

The stadium gates were scheduled to open at 5 p.m.

The same restrictions apply to tonight’s concert, which Foxboro police expect to be more challenging because it coincides with the evening rush hour.

The event is expected to draw about 65,000 fans each night, including 7,000 fans on the field. 

Landing Perfect

Last night the spaceship - as Bono called the in-the-round stage setup - landed at Gillette Stadium and four Irish aliens emerged as the biggest rock stars in the world. That’s what happens when you project yourself on a 360-degree, 14,000-square-foot video screen.

Those who despise Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. for growing up (and up and up) to be a parody of the furious, little new wave punks they began as would have hated U2’s latest, greatest show on earth. But for 60,000 fans last night (and for thousands more tonight), it was a mothership - a 150-foot tall, pastel green and orange-spotted, claw-shaped mothership buzzing with a million points of light - come to take them to planet U2.

Bono’s king, but Edge is the prime minster, the genius who fearlessly leads his ace rhythm section. His complex-and-simple, full-frontal, buzzing, reverbed, shimmering guitar drove “Get on Your Boots” and “Elevation,” “Vertigo” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Even Bono’s bigness was overcome by Edge’s intimate acoustic guitar and delicate high harmonies on “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of.”

Taken in total it was a typical U2 show, which means it was unlike anything else. Bono championed peace and political awareness - “Sunday Bloody Sunday” was recast an anthem for a free IRAN, “MLK” and “Walk On” were dedicated to Burmese political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi. Edge was, as Bono said, a test-tube baby born of Jimmy Page and Stephen Hawking. Mullin and Clayton provided the brilliant heartbeat for hits from “One” to “With or Without You.”

Not the flash of Zoo TV or the earnestness of the Joshua Tree Tour, but a middle ground that topped neither. But not bad for a band that played the Somerville Theatre six-months ago.

U2 lands with a bang at Gillette Stadium

Review: U2 lands with a bang at Gillette Stadium

BY KEN ROSS

FOXBORO - U2 didn’t so much play Gillette Stadium on Sunday night as it landed there, in a spaceship no less.

The Irish rockers brought their 360 Tour to Foxboro for the first of two concerts (the second being tonight), and while they’re touring in support of an album that hasn’t exactly torn up the charts, this tour has blockbuster written all over it with its dazzling displays of lights, fog, imagery and sheer size.

The band got a late start, not taking the stage until almost 9 p.m. after being ushered in by the sound system blaring David Bowie’s classic “Space Oddity.” Immediately, they ripped into four numbers from their latest CD, “No Line on the Horizon.” Bono started out with “Breathe,” then went into the CD’s title track, the toe-tapping “Get on Your Boots,” and finally “Magnificent.”

“We’ve got new songs, we’ve got old songs, we’ve got songs we can hardly play, and we’ve got a spaceship,” Bono declared to the crowd before launching into “Mysterious Ways” and “Beautiful Day.”

The “spaceship” Bono referred to resembled a giant canopy with green legs stretching over the round stage and catwalk, much like a giant bug, and a soaring steeple topping it all off. Hovering above the stage was a giant cylindrical projection screen that ascended and descended throughout the show and displayed the band in a gargantuan form just right for a stadium show.

The band followed “Beautiful Day” broke into a ripping version of “Elevation” with Bono sweating profusely in the chilly night and the crowd frenzied for the first time, fists pumping wildly.

“I think you’ll feel right at home in our traveling rock and roll laboratory,” Bono said in introducing his band mates, The Edge, Larry Mullen, and Adam Clayton, referring to them as Experiments 1, 2 and 3.

From there, they broke into “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and let the 60,000 or so assembled sing the first few stanzas.

And it seemed as though no one was at a loss for the lyrics.

Then Bono transitioned into a heartfelt few choruses of “Stand By Me,” again with the masses providing the sing-along. Then it was back to the “No Line on the Horizon” CD with the inspirational rocker “Rise Up.”

The band dipped back into the vault with a stirring “New Year’s Day” with Clayton crossing one of the stage’s two bridges to the catwalk to play before the fans and the Edge playing to the thousands who were watching the show from the rear.

The Edge grabbed an acoustic guitar for a poignant version of “Stuck in a Moment,” and also provided an effective falsetto at the end of the song.

At one point the giant circular projection screen extended almost to the floor and resembled a multicolored honeycomb with Bono and the band standing about ten stories tall over the audience.

For “City of Blinding Lights,” Bono plucked a young girl who looked about 12 out of the audience, though she didn’t seem to know quite what to do up there.

The concert struck a nice blend of rockers and rock ballads, with tunes like “Vertigo” picking up the crowd when needed.

One of the more inventive moments of the evening was an incredibly throbbing, rhythmic rendition of “I Know I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight.” “Sing for your sanity, Boston,” Bono implored as black and white images of the band members’ faces flashed rapidly on the screen.

Bono ended the song on his knees begging for “freedom on the streets of Iran,” then the band broke into “Sunday Bloody Sunday” as the images of Iranian reform protestors flashed on the screen.

Dozens of audience members walked out onto the ring in support of a woman named Aung Aun Syung Sun Kyi imprisoned in Burma for her opposition to the government.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu delivered a message that “God will put a wind at our back if we work with each other as one,” after which Bono broke into a heartfeld rendition of “One.” For the uplifting number “Where the Streets Have No Name,” Bono went into after singing a few bars of “Amazing Grace.”

The encore was ushered in by a poem by Maya Angelou while the video screen showed the solar system with floating apples, car keys other objects.

Snow Patrol, also from Ireland, warmed up the crowd in fine fashion after the inner circle of fans enthusiastically participated in a sing-along, something that hasn’t always been the case for the band in their role as U2’s opening act. Fans reacted enthusiastically to “Light Up” and, especially, “Chasing Cars,” and “All that I Have.”

U2 wants to hear from you !

Are you attending one of the 360 shows ? Are you going to see the Irish rock band U2 perform at either of this week’s concerts. U2 set to perform this week in support of their latest album, “No Line On the Horizon.” What do you think of the new album? The band’s catalog of records? Their past live shows? If you are going to see U2 and care to share your thoughts on any aspect of this band - the music, the legacy, the band members, the new album - please post your comments here. Please include your first and last name, town or village, state and country where you live. All submissions will be considered for publication.

U2 Tour Fans File Photo

Good Evening Foxboro

FOXBORO-What weighs more than 54 tons, glitters like crazy, and swings? If you’re thinking Aretha Franklin in Vegas singing “Since You’ve Been Gone,” you’re not far off the mark.

It’s U2’s current tour, and it lands at Gillette Stadium for two shows Sunday and Monday. “Land” being the operative word: Bono refers to the stage for this tour as “the spaceship,” and for once the outspoken frontman is demonstrating some modesty. Put another way, if only Tom Brady could cover the field at Gillette like this 90-foot tall, steel structure that will reach to every corner of the field, the Pats would have won by three touchdowns Monday night.

Think Zoo TV, the band’s 1992-93 tour, on steroids.

The tonnage is to help mark the band’s first stadium tour in a decade, and its never-ending quest to take the spectacle and somehow find the intimate amid it all.

Proving you wrong

And, if you think you know U2, the band is hoping to prove you wrong. After two late-career masterpieces, “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” and “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” the band decided to toss up a few curveballs. Its latest CD, “No Line on the Horizon,” is not loaded with obvious hits that jump out off the speakers and grab you by ears and drag you to the dance floor, like “Vertigo” or “Beautiful Day,” nor drop-dead gorgeous ballads like “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own.” Its charms are a bit deeper. Too deep, some critics and fans seemed to think, as the album was not - relatively speaking - as well received as its immediate predecessors.

U2 TOUR FANS FILE PHOTO 2009But give U2 some props for still believing in the idea of The Album, with songs laid out like a roadmap that don’t give up their power in tiny bites or when downloaded one track at a time. Working with producers like Brian Eno, who the members of U2 knew would push them outside the Top 40, and traveling to Morocco to find new sounds to pour into their music, they weren’t afraid to turn their backs on the platinum blueprint. Sure, in interviews this soul searching sounded pretentious and self-indulgent. But if not them, who? Are you hoping Maroon 5 or Lady GaGa decide on their next records to push outside their and our comfort zones? I thought not.

U2, like Neil Young, is unafraid. Bruce, Joni, these artists had or have the cache to avoid the easy path, it’s true. But they also have more to lose by heading out for uncharted territory.

Of course, the primal elements of any U2 record remain on “No Line on the Horizon”: great melodies, the Edge’s amazing fretwork, and Bono’s vocals, always intense enough to move even the dead. In short, when “Get On Your Boots” blasts from the stage this weekend, shake your booty. There’s a reason a review in The New Yorker a few weeks ago made the claim that U2 was that rare band whose new material was as popular and relevant as its seminal hits of yesteryear.

More twists

Reviews from the North American leg of tour, which kicked off in Chicago a week ago, indicate the band has taken the groove-heavy aspects of some of “No Line” and incorporated it into the live show. Even chestnuts like “Where the Streets Have No Name,” have a new rhythmic feel with a percolating Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton. Subsequently, Bono’s vocals are more syncopated than they’ve ever been. Some of the songs, especially those off the new CD (recent setlists indicate about seven of these tracks will be played each night), retain their atmospheric nature in concert, as U2 finds the ghosts in its music.

It’s all part of the journey.

Some sameness

Some things will remain. Fans can expect Bono and company to use the huge stage to deliver high-tech histrionics one moment, and lighter-lifting intimacy the next. U2’s penchant for highlighting different causes will also be on display, always a fine complement to the band’s uplifting numbers. Then there’s the band’s awesome sense of theater: Bono’s never been within a mile of a stage he didn’t own.

360 Stage Triva

U2 has a concert that starts in just 17 minutes and all of the band members must all cross a bridge to get to the stage. The four men begin on the same side of the bridge and you must help them to get across to the other side.

Due the weakness of the bridge, a maximum of two people can cross at one time. To make matters worse, it is night-time and there is only one flashlight. Alex MargosThe flashlight is always required when crossing the bridge and it must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each band member walks at a different speed and a pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man:

• Bono takes 1 minute to cross
• Edge takes 2 minutes to cross
• Adam takes 5 minutes to cross
• Larry takes 10 minutes to cross

For example, if Bono and Larry walk across first, it takes them 10 minutes to cross. If Adam then returns with the flashlight, a total of 15 minutes will have passed. How do they all get across in 17 minutes?

Gillette No Joke !

Just to be sure that everyone is clear the following was published - Released earlier today. Please Be advised.

• Patrons are to arrive beginning at 3:00 PM when the lots open.
• Early arrivers will be turned away and directed to return at 3:00 PM
• There will be no lining up for entry to the stadium prior to 3:00 PM on show day.
• This line will be formed beginning at the Patriot Place Gate at 3:00 PM
• The line will be formed on a first come first served basis starting at 3:00 PM
• Patrons will enter the Stadium in an orderly manner and as directed beginning at 5:00 PM. Failure to follow the directions of stadium and U2 staff could result in loss of ticket privileges so please be patient.