U2 still providing rockingly spiritual balm for the masses

October 16, 2001 4:08 PM

U2 still providing rockingly spiritual balm for the masses
"...the need for great art, meaningful art has deepened considerably..." --concert review

U2 rocked through all our favorites last night at a sold-out show at Chicago's United Center. Fans were jammin' as well as they could in the steeply vertical arena seating. Then came the encore, which began with a defiant "New York," and continued with "One" as the names of 9/11 victims scrolled slowly on a huge projection screen. The crowd stilled, and I looked around at tearful faces & couples holding each other & sobbing. Probably the first real, shared catharsis for many of us.

Sincere thanks, U2, for helping us let it all out.

I wish *everyone* could have been there. Have you had a good cry yet?
posted by Tubes (31 comments total)

Last night. "Third Watch."

Damn. U2 is sold out here in Austin. Gotta get tickets, gotta get tickets...
posted by ColdChef at 4:43 PM on October 16, 2001

u2 is great art??......oh please! mary.
posted by billybob at 4:43 PM on October 16, 2001

(i know this stuff is better-suited to a fan message board, but...)

THANK YOU, TUBES!!! I went to the Hamilton show the other night (the 4th of 5 Elevation shows I will be attending), and it was a very moving experience (seriously!). Their latest album, released last year, has been a source of perspective and hope for me and others recently (songs like "Walk On" and "Kite" are very mature and intelligent perspectives on surviving a tremendous personal loss). At the Hamilton show, the song "One" took on much more profound meaning for me as I thought of the events of Sept. 11 and after; they scrolled the names of all passengers from the 4 hijacked flights on the screens during the songs. I found myself thinking of Hans Kung's book "A Global Ethic," and of my role as an individual in a world where poverty and desperation lead to...

Sorry, almost got carried away there. Back to your regular MeFi experience...
posted by arco at 4:57 PM on October 16, 2001

Oops! Forgot to make my post "MeFi-ready." How 'bout this:

Bono likes pancakes!

There. I feel like a better MeFier now.
posted by arco at 5:00 PM on October 16, 2001

U2 still providing rockingly spiritual balm for the masses

All three chords of it?

(sorry, couldn't resist - please go back to your already planned U2 love in. You may now proceed to mock my choices in music.)
posted by hadashi at 5:26 PM on October 16, 2001

To each his own, I guess (not a commentary on the music, but on what constitutes catharsis for different people, some instances of which frequently baffle me).
posted by rushmc at 5:38 PM on October 16, 2001

i wish bono would finally find what he's looking for...
posted by quonsar at 5:44 PM on October 16, 2001

I have a love/hate relationship with U2. They can really come across like self-important nitwits at times, but there's always one amazing song on every album that redeems them in my eyes. As for the catharsis bit, I guess that whatever floats yer boat in these trying times is ok by me, but it wouldn't have been my scene.
posted by MrBaliHai at 7:08 PM on October 16, 2001

On the way home from work tonight I was listening to a Pink Floyd song , "No More Turning Away". It started getting to me and I could not stop crying and thinking about the WTC tragedy until the song was over.
posted by DarkCougar at 8:37 PM on October 16, 2001

All three chords of it?

Dude, U2 aside, three chords is all you need.
posted by jpoulos at 8:42 PM on October 16, 2001

Maybe Bono's looking for a fourth chord...
posted by Bearman at 8:43 PM on October 16, 2001

I think it was actually 'a red guitar, three chords, and the truth'. One assumes that he's still looking for the truth, though, climbing highest mountains, walkng through the fields, all that.

I kid because I love...
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:47 PM on October 16, 2001

Hell, the Ramones only had ONE chord, and look what they pulled off!
posted by aaron at 9:04 PM on October 16, 2001

yeah U2 can get a bit overwrought, but it's really nice to have unforgettable fire and october around. and a few songs on the new album (first one I bought since rattle and hum) are really good. the one about the omagh bombing where he recites the names is pretty fucking powerful.
posted by chrismc at 10:09 PM on October 16, 2001

They can really come across like self-important nitwits at times

At times? There is something particularly galling about multi-millionaires charging upwards of $75 for a ticket to a concert and bitching at elected officials (how the hell does Bono rate sit-downs with Senators?) about third world debt relief. You're so worried about the financial condition of the Congo, tell your fans to take that $75 and send it over there, and play your concerts for free for everyone who does. . . (I won't hold my breath for that.)
posted by Dreama at 10:43 PM on October 16, 2001

Well, that's not really fair, Dreama. Pearl Jam irrelevancies aside, the boys in the band have limited influence on the price of concert tickets. I haven't been to a stadium show in years, but I would assume that whatever it costs for a ticket (and yes I agree $75 is nuts) is pretty much in line with what it costs for Brittney Spears or whatever other flavour of the week is hauling it's well-toned ass around the world.

Even in the midst of their 'we're so world-weary and *wink* self-referential' phases lately, Bono and the boys have still had prominent links on their website to various charities, spoken out (whether you feel it's an appropriate role for a popstar or not is another issue) about a number of issues, including human rights and yes, third-world debt.

I find their belief in something and their determination to talk about it (even if they've downplayed the whole Christian angle that was front-and-center in the mid-80's) refreshing. Bono's in a position where he has a voice, one that a lot of young (and not so young) folks listen to, and he chooses to use it for good, as he sees it, consistently and coherently. I have respect for that.

Self-important nitwits, sure. But self-important nitwits trying to do the right thing, at least. Surely we're not so cynical that that's worth nothing....
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:27 PM on October 16, 2001

Artists recieve a comparatively small percentage of that $75 concert ticket price. There's a lot of hands in the concert circuit pot. Lots of middlemen, and the industry is topheavy. Same goes for CD sales. Mass produced, it costs less than half a buck on average for each one to be made, yet they charge more than the cost of a vinyl record - as much as twenty times the cost it makes to churn the damn things out. Yet another reason to boycott RIAA, and any other national or international media conglomerate who fleeces both artists and audiences coming and going.

I admire U2. They're not fantastic, but I have enjoyed their work, and though they are egomaniacs, they've also sought to bring attention to issues which deserve attention. They're a bit shallow maybe, but their hearts are in the right place. Still, I'd hate to support the infrastructure which claims to support them. Going to one of their concerts would just give me indigestion.
posted by ZachsMind at 11:46 PM on October 16, 2001

It's actually a lot worse than $75. Upper deck nosebleeds are $85, and lower tier seats are $130 or so (this is before Ticketmaster charges). U2's main concession to the fans was to make the floor seats general admission and only $50. Of course, most of these tickets are sold for outrageous amounts by scalpers, so they're really happy.

Concert tickets prices are generally on the rise, mostly because the demand is high, not because there's some increasing cost in putting on the show.
posted by hanqduong at 11:47 PM on October 16, 2001

gee consider yourselves lucky.
living where i am, the closest i'd ever get to seeing U2 is... well... MTV. sad but true.
posted by arrowhead at 2:59 AM on October 17, 2001

'Shallow' would be the last word I'd ever use in a U2 context, Zachsmind. But I think this resident U2 apologist is going to shut up this time.
posted by prolific at 3:44 AM on October 17, 2001

Hmm ... they do seem a bit shallow these days, but they didn't start off that way.

That's my 2 cents.
posted by walrus at 3:54 AM on October 17, 2001

a month ago we wouldve been besides ourselves laughing at how trite this sounds. I liked the world better when it was bitter.
posted by atom128 at 4:21 AM on October 17, 2001

How 'bout we get someone to kill a few thousand more people for you, atom128?
Would that make you feel all pleasantly-and-shoe-gazingly-morose-in-grainy-black-and-white-kind-of-way again? We aim to please 'round here.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:00 AM on October 17, 2001

first one I bought since rattle and hum

Wow, you're missing out, big time. Buy Achtung Baby at least. How can you not? Eep!
posted by daveadams at 7:18 AM on October 17, 2001

How 'bout we get someone to kill a few thousand more people for you, atom128?
Would that make you feel all pleasantly-and-shoe-gazingly-morose-in-grainy-black-and-white-kind-of-way again? We aim to please 'round here.

<Counselor Troi>I sense...sarcasm...</Counselor Troi>
posted by rodii at 8:51 AM on October 17, 2001

Who would have guessed this topic would devolve into snarkiness?
posted by Kafkaesque at 8:55 AM on October 17, 2001

wonderchicken - no, no, that would probably make it worse. My problem is that noone seems to be skeptical anymore, that people feel like they've reached an epiphany thats its okay to let their emotions over come common sense. For the same reason that all the home made flash slide shows set to enya make me roll my eyes, u2 being equated with high art for merely plucking the heart strings of an arena filled with pop music aficionados seems like a joke.

i dunno, maybe im a heartless bastard, and i feel like while the whole 9/11 thing was a really terrible tragedy, the worst part of it is that everyone seems to have forgotten why it happened, and why a lot of people really hate amercia. Except maybe Aaron McGruder
posted by atom128 at 9:54 AM on October 17, 2001

There is something particularly galling about multi-millionaires charging upwards of $75 for a ticket to a concert and bitching at elected officials (how the hell does Bono rate sit-downs with Senators?) about third world debt relief.

You mean those senators who charge $750 for a plate of cold chicken at fundraisers? Please.
posted by jpoulos at 12:01 PM on October 17, 2001

Atom128, I don't think most people have forgotten why 9/11 happened, or why "a lot of people really hate america." I just think that most people have decided for themselves that the people that hate America are wrong, and the remainder have concluded that legitimate or not, under no circumstances did the terrorists' beliefs justify murdering 6,000 innocent people.
posted by pardonyou? at 12:15 PM on October 17, 2001

well, at least there aren't sponsors at their concernts. no miller lite ads, no mtv, etc. if they aren't successful, they themselves eat it.
posted by tomato at 2:05 AM on October 18, 2001

most people have decided for themselves that the people that hate America are wrong

My god, which people are you talking about, pardonyou? ? What was done was evil and innocent people being murdered is wrong. As far as people hating, or at least strongly disliking America just a few of the reasons can be seen here and here. If every allegation about American foreign policy doing wrong to innocent people in other countries is false than please give proof. The soft wood lumber dispute with Canada is one example of your country going against a courts decision to get it's own way, and that's with your largest trading partner and an ally! Face facts: you have a great country, but you didn't get where you are by just being a beacon of light shining on the rest of the world. You had to get your hands dirty. You have enemies, and you have people who just don't like you much. It's okay, but don't try to tell the rest of us that everything your country has done on the world stage has been just & good.

I'm sorry for the rant, but it's been building up for a while.

posted by Bearman at 10:53 PM on October 18, 2001