Bono was lit up Saturday for the opening of U2’s North American tour at Soldier Field. In a high-tec

Bono was lit up Saturday for the opening of U2's North American tour at Soldier Field. In a high-tech show beneath california car rental lowest price a four-pronged, 90-foot-tall canopy that he referred to as "our spaceship," Bono dressed for the occasion in a jacket outlined in neon and dangled from a glowing, steering-wheel-shaped microphone as the band kicked into its encore. As he twirled madly during "Ultra california car rental lowest price Violet (Light My Way)" and then more lazily during "With or Without You," the two-hour, 10-minute concert took on a surreal air, with a disco ball reflecting shards of light against the balconies of Soldier Field, a tiny constellation in a galaxy of sound and glitter. Stadium concerts usually tend to feel puffed up and bombastic, but this was downright strange — and wonderfully so. On its previous tours, U2 had started to resemble its generation's answer to the Rolling Stones : a band that had started to become predictable, a stadium act rolling out decades-old hits as its songwriting stagnated. This time, the band reconnected to deeper themes in its music and reinforced a recent development in its sound: groove. There was also the inescapable Godzilla in the room: that much-hyped mega stage, which splits the difference between silly contrivance california car rental lowest price and weird, sometimes awe-inspiring art object. It literally dwarfed everything, and reached out to all corners of the stadium, allowing the four ant-sized band members to play to the crowd on all sides. The setting often made for compelling theater, though it wasn't on par with the band's 1992-93 Zoo TV tour, a multimedia barrage that mirrored the chaos and anxiety harnessed by its 1991 "Achtung Baby" album. Ever since, U2 has been searching for the right mix of spectacle and intimacy, pizzazz and poignance on the big stage, but Zoo TV remains the finest supersized tour mounted by any band in the last two decades. The centerpiece of this year's stadium model, dubbed the 360 Tour in honor of the circular stage, was the Irish quartet's latest hit-and-miss studio album, "No Line on the Horizon"; seven of its songs were performed, out of 23 on the set list. Though there was no salvaging thin material such as the brash but empty "Get on Your Boots" and the convoluted "Unknown Caller," the atmospheric yet expansive tone of the title track connected U2 to the spiritual quest of its 1984 album "The Unforgettable Fire." Hence the "spaceship" concept and the embrace of infinite possibility in the songs, ideas amplified by the video images of Desmond Tutu and Burmese political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, who both appeared on a 54-ton cylindrical screen. At times, the stage set-up seemed more like a garish, environmentally challenged cover-up, as if to distract from the band's recent, less riveting music. But it also dazzled, california car rental lowest price especially when a spire of lights shot skyward during "City of Blinding Lights." The band was on its game. Not usually applauded for its sense of swing, U2 has shown an underappreciated affinity for getting down since "Mysterious Ways" bellydanced its way into discos during the early '90s. Because bassist Adam Clayton owns the best moments on "No Line on the Horizon," it was only fitting that the rhythm section ruled Saturday. Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen amped up the dance beats, and even Bono's vocals california car rental lowest price took on a more rhythmic sing-speak cadence. Even a well-tested crowd-pleaser such as "Where california car rental lowest price the Streets Have No Name" sounded refreshed, with the Edge's metallic-toned california car rental lowest price guitar taking a ride on the bass-drums rhythm train. An even bigger surprise was the transformation of the otherwise annoyingly trite "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" into a full-on house rave-up, fitting given Chicago's rich club culture. The stadium did indeed resemble a big outdoor club during the encore, when the show's outsized ambitions produced a neon-lit moment that nearly california car rental lowest price justified the entire costly enterprise. Bono, in fine voice all night, sang with fervor during "Ultra Violet," crooned like a wounded David Lynch lounge lizard in "With or Without california car rental lowest price You" and then channeled his inner Otis Redding on the hymn-like closer, "Moment of Surrender."
Update: In response to readers who have asked about set times for Sunday s show — on Saturday, opening band Snow Patrol started at 7 p.m. and U2 took the stage at 8:40 p.m. and played till 10:50 p.m.
Update 2, from my colleague Kevin Pang: Sunday's set was practically the same show as Saturday's — same banter, same Chicago-specific shout outs by Bono, same opening string of songs, same encore. There were a few notable exceptions: the band performed "Your Blue Room" for the first time ever, a track from "Passengers," the experimental faux-soundtrack recorded with Brian Eno and released in 1995. An astronaut from the International Space Station recited a few verses california car rental lowest price in a pre-recorded bit. Also added to the set were Zoo TV-era tracks "Until the End of the World" and an acoustic version of "Stay (Faraway, So Close)." Set list posted below.
1 Breathe 2 No Line on the Horizon 3 Get On Your Boots 4 Magnificent 5 Beautiful Day/Blackbird (Beatles snippet) 6 Elevation 7 I Still Haven t Found What I m Looking For/Stand By Me (Ben E. King snippet) 8 Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of 9 Unknown Caller california car rental lowest price 10 The Unforgettable Fire 11 City Of Blinding california car rental lowest price Lights 12 Vertigo 13 I ll Go Crazy If I Don t Go Crazy Tonight 14 Sunday Bloody Sunday/Oliver s Army (Elvis Costello california car rental lowest price snippet) 15 Pride (In The Name Of Love) 16 MLK 17 Walk On/You ll Never Walk Alone (snippet) 18 Where The Streets california car rental lowest price Have No Name Encore 19 One 20 Bad/40 (snippet) Second encore california car rental lowest price 21 Ultra Violet (Light My Way) 22 With Or Without You 23 Moment of Surrender
U2 set list Sunday at Soldier Field 1. Breathe 2. No Line on the Horizon 3. Get on Your Boots 4. Magnificent 5. Beautiful Day 6. I Still Haven t Found What I'm Looking For 7. Elevation 8. Your Blue Room 9. Unknown Caller 10. Until the End of the World 11. Stay (Faraway, So Close) 12. The Unforgettable Fire 13. City of Blinding Lights california car rental lowest price 14. Vertigo 15. I ll Go Crazy If I Don t Go Crazy Tonight 16. Sunday Bloody Sunday 17. MLK 18. Walk On Encore 19. One/Amazing Grace 20. Where the Streets Have No Name Encore 2 21. Ultraviolet (Light My Way) 22. With or Without You 23. Moment of Surrender See more photos of U2 at Soldier Field here .
U2 concert saturday night was so awesome. the atmopher and music were just amazing. Bono has done it again with his Spaceship and all the lights. Great job would se it again Bono is a chicagoian now.
Mac - the only thing ridiculous about the exit process from Soldier Field is the limitless impatience and lack of consideration of thousands of intoxicated middle-aged U2 fans. Where did you see the police blocking the pathway to the Roosevelt CTA stop? I saw police california car rental lowest price attempting (unsuccessfully) to block hundreds of impatient fans from trampling landscaping, jumping fences california car rental lowest price and stumbling onto Lake Shore Drive rather than using the pedestrian underpass. It was embarrassing. This is one of several reasons why many Chicagoans like myself were opposed california car rental lowest price to spending $432 million of taxpayer funding for the Mistake by the Lake . You cannot california car rental lowest price quickly exit 60,000+ drunk persons from a stadium which is bounded by a lake and (essentially) a highway. I haven t seen such a mob of intoxicated, self-absorbed california car rental lowest price middle-aged Caucasians who just dropped hundreds of $ on a concert with nary a thought on how or which way to get home since, well, the Kenny Chesney concert on 6/13/09.
I agree with the comments on the sound -- it sucked -- at least to the side seats. I thought california car rental lowest price the Vertigo show at the United Center was a lot better. Improved sound and fewer songs from No Line on the Horizon would have helped. I was very underwhelmed, and think this was the worst concert I have been to in several years. I was hoping for so much better...
california car rental lowest price I read last weeek that two U2 shows in Europe took in over $11 million alone! Could they maybe have charged $125 for tickets and settled for a little less of a payday? I used to LOVE this band but when Bono talks about humanitarian issues all I can think about now is if it s just another component in a marketing plan that U2 Inc. has dreamed up. From reading california car rental lowest price the comments it sounds like U2 is perfectly happy playing to a bunch of drunk rich people...as long as there are lots of zeroes on their paycheck. Please just answer me Bono, is greed and extravagance bad or is it good? It s all so confusing...
For $97 a seat, my FAMILY and I got to see a great show. $97(and there were cheaper seats/floor) california car rental lowest price put us directly behind the stage in section 152. We were positioned directly in front of the stairs and got to see U2 ascend the stage. Additionally, they came back and played for us along the top of and on the stairs. It was an UNBELIEVABLE view, which created an atmosphere of rocking, enthusiastic middle-aged U2 fans and our minor children throughout california car rental lowest price the entire endzone. Teens and children, down to the age of 6, could be seen throughout the stadium. My own 12 year old has been waiting months for this show and had an absolute blast. Us old people have chosen to share our love and joy of U2 s music with our children; therefore, the ages of their fanbase will continue to be broad. As the Beatles are still beloved by younger generations due to parental influence, so too will be U2 well into the future. Seems you might be suffering california car rental lowest price from Sour Grapes in not being able to get tickets, given you added, falsely, that the aforementioned middle-aged fanbase is mainly Caucasian. As a world-reknown band, who plays pretty much everywhere, I find that statement ignorant california car rental lowest price and disappointing. If you bothered to hang out outside Soldier Field, you would have seen that the crowd was multi-ethnic, and to reiterate, multi-aged. THANK YOU U2 for the great set last night. Loved No Line and Magnificent , and how fun Unknown Caller was live. Thanks for playing Bad ; have waited to see that one live for years. I can die peacefully now.
I felt the show was totally uninspired. As someon