U2 in Chicago – 9/13/09

 

Let me start off this review by saying unequivocally that U2 rocks … literally, in concert, they know how to rock the house.  U2 kicked off the American leg of their latest tour—the 360º tour—this past Saturday, September 12, at Soldier Field in Chicago.  I wasn’t able to make it opening night but was able to go to the second show, on Sunday, September 13.  U2’s been my favorite band since the late 1980s, so, for me at least, this was a dream fulfilled by finally getting to see them in concert.  And it lived up to the billing.  In line with the title of the tour, the stage is 360 degrees.  So, even though the band spent more of their time facing the audience on the field at the front of the stage, at numerous points Bono, the Edge, Adam, and even Larry (playing a bongo drum) visited the back side of the stage, which is where my wife and I were sitting.  Twice Bono ran the length of the entire stage—once on his own and once after lifting a boy from the crowd to join him.  The design of the stage is meant to resemble a spaceship, with the performance linking the theme of taking off to space with the theme of the world coming and working together.  These themes were reflected in various elements of the show, including the band entering to David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” a message in the middle of show on the big screen from an astronaut in space, and a message toward the end of the show leading into “One” featuring Desmond Tutu talking about fighting for freedom.  Emphasis on issues of freedom and human rights were also featured at other points in the show, including during the song “Walk On” as volunteers on stage wore masks and the audience was asked to wear masks of Burman democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for the better part of the last two decades.

As is typical of most concerts, the show highlighted the material on the band’s latest recording, No Line on the Horizon.  So, for fans from the 1980s like me, there wasn’t a lot of the older stuff that I would have liked to have heard.  (Guess that’ll teach me not to have seen them on tour back then …)  They did play the three big hits from The Joshua Tree, as well as “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “The Unforgettable Fire.”  According to other reports, they apparently played “Bad” on Saturday night, but it wasn’t in Sunday’s show.  Still, I appreciate more recent U2 material as well, and pretty much all of their music—from the 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s—lends itself to the stadium feel, so they couldn’t really go wrong.  Additionally, the band paid homage to the late 1970s/early 1980s post-punk scene, with a few lines of the Police’s “King of Pain” at one point and a chorus of The Clash’s “Rock the Casbah” at another.

The visual elements of the show were overwhelming (in a good way) as well.  The big screen circled the stage, allowing everyone in the crowd to see what was going on.  At one point it expanded to display a bigger picture.  It broadcast the band as well as other symbolic and metaphorical additions to the show.  The spaceship changed colors repeatedly.  At times lights extended into the sky from the top of the stage.  Two bridges extended into the crowd on the field so that band members could run out and play by or even at times touch crowd members.  A disco ball rested atop the whole setup, shining down during “Ultra Violet (Light My Way)” to create a dance club feel throughout the stadium.

U2 played for about two and a half hours, including two encores.  Snow Patrol provided what might have been the perfect opening act for about an hour before U2 came out.  In all, it was an intense and exhilarating experience and well worth the trip if you get the chance to go.