Next Three Days of References from the good book

"I Will Follow"

"If you walk away walk away I will follow" -- Ruth 1:16: "But Ruth said, "Entreat me not to leave you or to return from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God."

"A Celebration"

"I believe in the walls of Jericho/I believe they're coming down" -- Joshua 6:20: "When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city."

"Gloria"

"In te domine...exultate...miserere" -- The first words in Latin of three Psalms--30 (31): "In Thee O Lord do I put my trust...", 32 (33): "Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous..." and 50 (51): "Have mercy on me, O God." "O Lord, loosen my lips"--Psalm 50 (51): "O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise."

"Only in you I'm complete" -- Colossians 2:10 "For in {Christ} dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And in him you are complete." (submitted by Rev. Beth)

"Fire"

"The sun is burning black ... the moon is running red ... the stars are falling down" -- from Revelation 6, 12-13: "Then I watched while he broke open the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; the sun turned as black as dark sackcloth and the whole moon became like blood. The stars in the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs shaken loose from the tree in a strong wind."

"Tomorrow"

"Who tore the curtain? Who was it for?" -- Matthew 27:51: [The Crucifixion] "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split."

The door imagery and "open up to the Lamb of God" is from Rev 3:20 when Jesus says: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will eat with him, and he with me." (submitted by Rev. Beth)

"October"

"And kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall" -- this one may be a bit of a stretch, but Psalm 46:6: "Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts."

Wake up to Boston Pre-Sales

2 has added two new shows in Europe this summer, and announced the first pre-sale dates for North America. Here's the scoop:

New shows are confirmed for Paris (July 12) and London (August 15).

U2.com pre-sales for Chicago, Toronto, Boston, and New York will all run from 10 am on Tuesday (March 24) to 12 pm on Thursday (March 26). The public on-sale for Chicago will begin March 30th.

NOTE: For Boston and Chicago, the pre-sale isn't just for U2.com subscribers it seems. Season ticket holders for the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears have also been given access to the pre-sale starting on March 24. It does appear that "Horizon" subscribers to U2.com will have a two hour jump start on the pre-sale before the Patriots' and Bears' season ticket holders.

What a difference a week makes, notes from Willy

Wednesday, 4th March 2009
New York. David Letterman Show. Started the day by meeting with the lighting supply company for the tour, who have gradually been coming to terms with the magnitude of the project. They now also understand the fact that the staging set up is so radically different from the norm that none of us can make assumptions about how everything will come together - traditional methods simply will not apply.
One thing which has made me laugh is that the stage design has already earned its nickname. Above the performing area is a huge four-legged structure that effectively straddles the football field, from which all the paraphernalia of the show is suspended (this in lieu of a roof, being outdoors and all.) I've been working on this, off and on, for about two and a half years now, having shown the band the first drawings whilst we were still on the Vertigo tour.

During the evolution of the structure it has, at various times, come to resemble several different things; a dockyard crane, a cactus, a giant crab, the Theme Building at Los Angeles airport. It went very Louise Bourgeois for a while, then a little space age. In its final incarnation though, its sleek curves and four talon-like legs have been dubbed "The Claw", remembering the fairground machine from Toy Story. This really amused me, spawning a fantasy of it descending and grabbing members of the audience, all of whom, presumably, would have three eyes.
Anyway, I digress. After the lighting meeting I went to see a projector demonstration - not something for the U2 tour but an interesting new gizmo which I wanted to go and have a look at for future reference. This was followed by a video meeting, and then another video meeting. The tour is still three months away, but a great many decisions now need to be made every single day, it seems.
Tune-de-jour at Letterman was 'I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight', getting its first airing. Tim and his lighting team had really pushed the boat out, creating an interesting and (for a TV chat show) highly radical look for the song. This was a good demonstration of something that David Letterman said on air, during the show; 'Having U2 here is like a shot of electricity to the whole place - they just make everybody better.' Generous words indeed. When you're right in the thick of it, it's easy to forget just how hard this band strives to make everything the best it can be and that kind of energy tends to spread.
There's a huge amount to do just now, both for future promo appearances and for the real tour. I was hoping to sneak home at the weekend, but a U2 radio appearance in Boston next Wednesday just turned into a film shoot, so I'm going to have to stay on and get involved. Here we are. Trapped in Paradise.

3 Nights Live with U2

Tonight and Wednesday, the band are taking part in 'U2 3 Nights Live' and we're carrying it live for our U2.com Subscribers. 'U2 3 Nights Live', produced by FMQB Productions, places the band in three cities for three exclusive radio broadcasts on three consecutive nights.

The band will be in Chicago for part two of the broadcast series where they will host a radio takeover hour broadcasting a one hour live show as guest deejays. And the final night of the radio extravaganza finds the band at a historic theater in Boston for a live performance and audience Q&A in a very intimate setting on Wednesday, March 11th. All three shows have a broadcast start time of 9:00 p.m., EST. Log-in to U2.com each night to listen to alive stream of each event.

Horizon Hang Over

Really good, but not what I was expecting. U2 fans have been demanding a rocker of a song with a lot of depth and experimentalization for several years now. Get On Your Boots lives up exactly to Edge's summation and U2's desire to satisfy its fans.

But when we got what we wanted, for some U2 fans, it wasn't really what they wanted. U2 has said that they never were really a singles-type of band, but have remained relevent and viable to an enormous loyal worldwide fan base because of their depth and big picture mindset. This is not your typical first single release - a catchy poppish song with a big hook. It runs much deeper. Not what I expected for a first single - but I'm glad I did NOT get that typical pop first single we get from most artists. This looks like the makings of a very rich album, and I'm looking forward to hearing the rest.

Bono's charitable and diplomatic activities can be a two-edged sword. Ironically, They do seem to make him appear to removed from the real world that listens to U2's music, but they also provide a hunger for him to express in his lyrics. What should not go without being stressed highly - The world is also extremely hungry for new quality music - and I truly hoping that that hunger and drive is reflected strongly on this album.

What are your thoughts ?

A break in the horizon


Several readers have let us know that Amazon.com is selling downloads of No Line On The Horizon for only $3.99. We think this is a one-day deal. Here's the link. Look over to the right and follow the link.

It offers up a few new hits for the wedding playlist, but No Line on the Horizon is mostly restless, tentative and confused. It's not terrible, but it feels like the work of musicians torn between the comfort of the present and the lure of one last run into the adventurous past.
Now lets break down each song, one by one

"Stand Up Comedy"
Another hard rock tune, powered by an unexpectedly slinky groove and a riff that lands between the Beatles' "Come Together" and Led Zep's "Heartbreaker." Edge recently hung out with Jimmy Page and Jack White for the upcoming documentary It Might Get Loud, and their penchant for blues-based rock rubbed off: "I was just fascinated with seeing how Jimmy played those riffs so simply, and with Jack as well," he says.

"Crazy Tonight"
"It's kind of like this album's 'Beautiful Day' — it has that kind of joy to it," Bono says. With the refrain "I know I'll go crazy/If I don't go crazy tonight," it's the band's most unabashed pop tune since "Sweetest Thing."

"Unknown Caller"
This midtempo track could have fit on All That You Can't Leave Behind. "The idea is that the narrator is in an altered state, and his phone starts talking to him," says the Edge.

"Tripoli"
This strikingly experimental song lurches between disparate styles, including near-operatic choral music, Zooropa-style electronics, and churning arena rock.

"Cedars of Lebanon"
"On this album, you can feel what is going on in the world at the window, scratching at the windowpane," says Bono, who sings this atmospheric ballad from the point of view of a war correspondent.

"Magnificent"
"Only love can leave such a mark," Bono roars on what sounds like an instant U2 anthem. Will.i.am has already done what Bono calls "the most extraordinary" remix of the tune.

"Moment of Surrender"
This seven-minute-long track is one of the album's most ambitious, merging a Joshua Tree-style gospel feel with a hypnotically loping bass line and a syncopated beat.

"Every Breaking Wave"
A swelling soul-pop song, with bright synth sounds influenced by OMD and, Bono says, "early electronica." "You don't hear indie bands doing blue-eyed soul [like this]," he adds.

"No Line on the Horizon"
The title track's relentless groove began as a group improvisation. "It's very raw and very to the point," says the Edge. "It's like rock & roll 2009."

After reading I thought I might want to re-listen and gain some understanding that I may have missed, most often I need to listen a few more times to get it right.