The huge crowd that came out this past Saturday to witness one of the biggest names in music in the last 20 years, U2, was treated to a show that was out of this world. Everything from the alien crab-like canopy over the stage, to The Edge’s expansive, magnetic guitars, to the flying saucer mothership confines of Soldier Field itself lent to a night brimming with otherworldly energy.
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U2 and Snow Patrol
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 Entertainment
 Art
Soldier Field
Chicago, IL
September 12, 2009
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Fellow Irish lads Snow Patrol opened the show with an hour-long performance that set the stage for Bono and company. “Shut Your Eyes”, off Eyes Open pumped up the crowd with a sing-along led by guitarist/vocalist Gary Lightbody to a steady verse of, “Shut your eyes and sing to me.” The band opened for U2 on their Vertigo tour in 2005, so when they dedicated their hit, “Chasing Cars” in their countrymen’s honor, they knew it would elicit wails of joy.
U2 did what they do best: bring a sense of camaraderie to all those in attendance via a slew of 18 plus songs tailored for arena-size posturing and vocal expeditions on the opening concert of their North American tour.
“Breathe” was a fitting opener. Hearing “Ground control to Major Tom” and seeing pillars or smoke come up over the stage geared everyone up for the main part of the song, as the crowd’s screams provided the fuel for the launch. “No Line On the Horizon” was the second song from the recently-out album of the same name; both gave a throbbing start to the show. “Magnificent” sealed the three-song intro; a clean-cut Bono playing minstrel to the crowd, “I was born to sing for you.”
There was a buffer early on; “Beautiful Day” and “Elevation” separated the high-octane party-starting songs from the real meat. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” showcased Bono’s flair for dramatics, and a ray of light shot upward from the spire above the stage on “City of Blinding Lights.” With this mix of heart-pumping and meaningful songs, it was evident that Bono put his heart into singing at all times, independent of the emotions tagged to the song: aggressive, reflective, or even the occasional throw-away. While this sincerity may come off as cheesy to some, it does show that the group making music on the stage believes in their sound and message-and that confidence can really light up the atmosphere, even prompting non-fans (like me) to stand up, and merrily sing and clap along.
Of course, U2’s political ideals are a major factor in the band’s popularity, and there were multiple video bits featuring religious leaders and well-wisher’s speeches about the possibility of world peace and the end of suffering across the globe. One especially touching vignette highlighted Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest.
The technology-packed set up reached the apex of its bewildering power when Bono came out in a red neon dot-speckled suit, clutching a red neon pull-down mic in the form of a steering wheel. The wheel turned blue and bono swung over the stage while the giant screen above narrowed an expanded on itself. Heartstrings pulled him in many directions, the wheel leading the way, on the glam-rock experimentalism of “With or Without You”.
But the purest moment of the night came during the final song in the third and last encore. “Moment of Surrender”, off No Line, proved drop-dead gorgeous. The stadium seemed to sway as Bono transformed into a soulful singer channeling the blues’ best traditions here. After a crescendo that gave his voice a grimy, jagged edge, the song ended with a soft landing, ensuring a bittersweet finale and passage back into the real world.
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Written by Guest on 2009-09-19 19:57:02
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