U2 Soldier Field Chicago, IL July 5, 2011

The band’s Chicago show last week marked the second half of their 360 Tour that started almost two years ago. Filling the stadium to capacity on the hot July evening U2 gave Chicago a night it would never forget.

Although the always fantastic Interpol graced the stage just after 7 p.m. no one seemed to be paying them much attention. You can’t really blame them, despite playing on the same stage Interpol lacks the energy and persona of U2 and were mostly zoned out by a majority of the audience.

The night truly began about an hour after Interpol left the stage as David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” blared through the speakers. While the song may have been a subtle homage to another great rocker it set the tone for the rest of the night. Spaces, and mankind’s purpose on the planet, were put into the spotlight by the band throughout the entire show.

Starting out with a bang the band launched into “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and catapulted the audience from song to song without mercy. Unlike their previous show a few years ago where they played mostly B-sides, this show seemed to center on their greatest hits. Almost every well-known song from their extensive catalog was played on Tuesday night making for an electrifying two sets that rocked Soldier Field to its core.

With over a sixty-thousand people in attendance making a concert special for everyone can be rough. But the band, with their large, rotating stage complete with bridges and ramps made sure everyone got to be a part of the show. It became clear that watching the band play is not so much like listening to a song as it is taking part in a conversation. Bono along with The Edge and Adam Clayton took the time to tour the circumference of the circular stage sometimes stopping to play for individual fans. During songs like “Pride (In The Name of Love” and “City of Blinding Lights” you could feel the intensity radiate from the stage.

Appropriately titled the 360 Tour, it was clear this concert gave the band a chance to look back on their extensive career. During “Where the Streets Have No Name,” the audience got to witness the evolution of the band as they played old home videos of themselves before they took the world by storm. Taken during what was clearly the edge of the 80s and beginning of the 90s the audience got a glimpse at what the band was like when no one was looking. The video was a rough cut which gave it a raw and natural look. It’s comforting to know that the band, named one of the most popular in the world, still has a connection to its roots. The moment an artist loses that connection their musical integrity and the very reasons they became a musician fade away.

That intensity became amplified about halfway through the show as a member of the International Space Station came on the screen to introduce the song “A Beautiful Day.” With lyrics like “See the world in green and blue/ See China right in front of you/See the canyons broken by cloud/See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out,” the song took on new meaning as the audience was introduced to a man that completely embodied them.

“What time is it in the world?” Bono asked at one point in the show. The band’s agenda is clear; they want us to become a part of a peaceful, world community. With “One” Bono makes the argument that it only takes one person to change the world. While it is unnecessary for the entire night to become political it is a refreshing change to see a musician use their time on stage for a purpose other than increasing their own fame.

Finally taking his black leather jacket off for the final half-hour of the show, Bono opened up to the crowd about the tour. He took the time to thank the people that made it possible, a noble feat considering the size of the production. There’s nothing worse than a rock start that bites the hand that feeds him. When Cake played Chicago last year they seemed to go out of their way to make the staff of the House of Blues and their road crews feel insignificant, it made me seriously dislike the band despite their talent. If U2 can take the time to appreciate what they have, then they serve as role models for the rest of the music community.

U2 truly gave Chicago everything they had. Even with ticket prices in the triple digits and higher the band played a nearly three-hour set without a single break. By the time the final chord struck both the audience and the band had gone through a metamorphosis. U2 concerts get in your blood and they get in your soul.

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