U2 Review

Well the 2009 concert series has finally drawn to a close with the four fine Irishmen known as U2. The self-proclaimed best band on the planet proved to the massive 80,000+ audience at Soldier Field that they are indeed the best showmen from Dublin. In order to be the best band, you need to play longer than two hours when the average ticket price for that jam packed crowd was triple figures. They certainly put together a musical extravaganza with a spaceship-like stage that allowed for circular movement to play at each end of the crowd. The light show and video board were both top notch. I can say that I haven't seen a musical show like that before.

The problem is that I didn't go to see a musical show, I went to see a concert. Snow Patrol delivered on that as the opener by playing all of their well known hits. They played to the crowd and displayed some solid musicianship. One of the better openers that I have seen over the years. U2 started on the wrong foot by having us wait approximately 45 minutes before ascending to the stage, even though the only changes were the actual instruments. Instead of delivering corned beef and cabbage, we were served boiled potatoes as our starter. Four straight songs off the poppy-at-best new album, and then finally the crowd responded to Beautiful Day. Overall, eight new tracks were played along with three each from their previous two albums. If you were looking for the glory days of the 80s or even some 90s fare, you were in the wrong place. They could have played just as much new stuff, but delivered a great show by playing another half hour of golden oldies. Pride, Streets have no name, and Still haven't found what I'm looking for were the most inspired of the night. One, With or Without You, and Bad were also worthwhile ventures. In between the two hour festival, we were appropriated two separate video montages of political stature to eat up another fifteen minutes of band time. I certainly enjoyed the 2006 Vertigo Tour in the United Center, but given the price and lack of delivery, you won't find me at another U2 show unless we get a greatest hits tour.

Side note: seriously reconsider going to any concert at Soldier Field. It tooks us over an hour to travel five to six blocks to our vehicle after the show.

Digital Ditty

Despite my less than stellar appraisal of the U2 concert, their music still delivers when wandering around the yard or tackling the weekend chores. I'm not a master of the deepcuts from this band, so I'll suggest their introductory single of I Will Follow as a personal favorite and lean on the resident U2 expert in my circle of friends to deliver Bad as her one-off choice. They are both worthy of consistent rotation on your electronic device of choosing. As for the opener, I will stay generic with Crack the Shutters from Snow Patrol although if you crave something a bit deeper, you can certainly give Shut Your Eyes a shot.