Noise
U2 showcases classic past, passable present
Sat, Oct 24, 2009 (10:20 a.m.)
U2 performs at Sam Boyd Silver Bowl Stadium in Las Vegas on Oct. 23, 2009.
Photo: Erik Kabik/www.erikkabikphoto.com
Do we really need stadium concerts anymore? Probably not, but if we have to endure the outdated tradition of bloated extravaganzas housed in huge outdoor arenas generally reserved for football or baseball games, then U2 is certainly the band for the job.
The grandiose Irish rockers played for over 40,000 people at Sam Boyd Stadium Saturday night, and they did their best to make the experience worthy of such expansiveness. Unfortunately, the band’s recent material (beginning with 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind), which made up the bulk of the setlist, just doesn’t have the power and universal appeal needed for a larger-than-life stadium experience. The U2 show was a perfectly solid rock concert, with a huge claw-shaped set that commanded the attention of tens of thousands, but musically, it only reached that mass transcendence a handful of times.
The Details
- U2

- Oct. 23, Sam Boyd Stadium
Classics “Where the Streets Have No Name” and “Until the End of the World” filled the stadium the best, and “One” and “With or Without You” got audience members waving cell phones and swaying arm in arm. It was exciting to hear the swagger of “Mysterious Ways” and the call-to-arms of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” among the sea of people, but those highlights were surrounded by lots of dull renditions of songs from underwhelming new album No Line on the Horizon, and other latter-day material. “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of” got a nice simple acoustic makeover, with singer Bono and guitarist The Edge trading lead vocals, but it was the wrong fit for the venue. Likewise, it was refreshing to hear lesser-known vintage album tracks “The Unforgettable Fire” and “Ultra Violet (Light My Way),” but they did little to rouse the audience.
And, of course, Bono could never resist a chance for cheesy social commentary, so there was a video of Desmond Tutu leading into “One,” and “Walk On” featured an onstage phalanx of Amnesty International volunteers with masks depicting Burmese dissident Ang San Suu Kyi. “My name is Wayne Newton,” Bono joked during the band introductions. “I’m sure happy you’re still coming to see us.” We are, but it’s losing a bit of its charm.
4 Comments So Far
This was a review? Other than dropping a few song names...you call THIS a review? This was horrible. Did you stay out too late after the show? Did you rush this to deadline? Did you even attend the show should be my first question. Then again...your right for a weekly. Come on Greenspun...no more high school writers.
That should be...you write for a weekly...wow talk about high school...when did I forget to proof read my own work...lol
YES we definitely need stadium concerts. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in town who will either not see a concert or travel out of town to see a band RATHER than give my money to see a concert at a MGM Mirage arena.
It appears this reviewer isn't invested in his job thus providing a barely passable review.
I am a lifelong, serious U2 supporter and as much as I hate to admit it, this review is dead accurate. I could explain further in nauseating detail, but it isn't necessary. I will always be a fan, but I have to admit that the boys are past their peak and practically sleep walking through the show. Trust me, I've seen them more than 20 times since 1986. I believe they are the best live band of all-time, but not at this moment. Yes, this reviewers work is rather brief and somewhat rudely dismissive of a great band worthy pages of text, but in it's brevity it is still accurate.
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