J.R. Briggs

U2 360: NYC 09.24.09 Review

September 26, 2009

Thanks to a few friends, I was able to see U2 in concert on Thursday night in New York City. The members of U2 – Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. – are at the beginning of the U.S. portion of their 360 degrees Tour. For those that know me well, I have been a huge U2 fan for quite some time (and I am willing to pick a fight – in a Jesus kinda way – with anyone who claims that U2 is the most overrated band on the planet) so needless to say I was excited. I had been to a U2 show in Denver’s Pepsi Center about four years ago – a serious spiritual experience – but I was eager to see U2 outdoors.

Many have asked me what I thought of the show. It’s been hard to explain it without all the worn-out cliches (although amazing, surreal, unbelievable and awesome would be words that would immediately come to mind, though certainly far from all-encompassing in description).

But here are a few reflections from the evening.

[-] While the show was billed as New York City, it was technically across the river in East Rutherford, NJ at Giants Stadium. The NY sports teams are building a new stadium next door and will be tearing down Giants Stadium and will be the last U2 show in that stadium. There were 60,000 in attendance (Bono announced at the end of the concert that it set a record for the largest attendance in the history of the building, surpassing even the Pope’s visit several years ago and, of course, any Giants game…)

[-] The first thing that everyone notices on arriving to the venue is the indescribable, futuristic, massive, in-the-round stage that the band has built. The stage is part claw, part crab, part space ship, part massive sci-fi alien. It looks like something straight out of the film District 9. The top of the spire is higher than the top row of the stadium. I am amazed at its size and am curious to know how the thing is assembled, torn down and re-assembled in different venues across the country on this tour. Here’s a picture I took before the show started.

[-] The video screen is the largest high definition screen I’ve ever seen. It’s 360 degrees with moveable panels that expanded and contracted before, during and after songs. Unreal. It’s way awesomer than Jerry Jones’ new video screen at the new $1.2 billion stadium he built for his Dallas Cowboys. I found myself watching it often throughout the night. It enhances the entire experience ten-fold.

[-] What made the show even better was sitting next to my friend Loren (another huge U2 fan) in some fantastic seats. We were 3rd row of the 3rd tier behind the stage (the end zone area, directly center). Normally being behind the stage would yield terrible views, but remember this isthe 360 Tour – everything is in the round – with band members moving around with even the stage moving and rotating during songs. It was a fantastic view, especially with how the ticket was priced as “cheap seats.” (I took this picture from our seats before the show started. Notice the size of the stage in comparison to the drum kit in the picture).

U2’s brilliant stage design and state-of-the-art construction reveals a lot of the reason why they are popular: They are accessible. They are among you. They are near you. They are with you. They are one of you. Simply put, the 360 stage blurs the line between stage and audience (something I think the Church in North America has yet to have the courage or vision to grasp).

[-] The opening act was Muse (a band that has gained some popularity, but whom I had not been exposed to before Thursday). There seemed to be a lot of Muse fans in the building who were rather enthused. They put on a good show for being an opening act. Couldn’t understand much of what they were singing due to the noise, but they sounded good. The picture is taken from my camera phone so its not the best quality in the world, but you get the idea…

[-] Then U2 rocked out for 2 hours and 20 minutes.Pure bliss. Despite being in a huge stadium, it did not seem that the band was far from anyone.

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A few musical highlights…

[-] I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For: one of my favorites. It’s both comforting and chilling to see so many 20- and 30-somethings belting out the lyrics of this song with all their might. For years I’ve felt this is the heart’s cry of our generation. Bono skillfully and seamlessly transitioned into the classic song Stand By Me. I found it fitting: It seemed to me that the song, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – seemingly half anthem of honesty and half heart-felt prayer to God – transitioning into a prayer-like rendition of Stand By Me, as if Bono was acknowledging, “God, while I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, what I want more than anything else is your presence in my life.”

[-] Other favorites were Where the Streets Have No Name and With Our Without You.

[-] Magnificent: I love this song from their new album. And they did it…magnificently. Other highlights from their new album were Get On Your Boots and No Line on the Horizon.

[-] Crazy: their rendition of it was, well, crazy. Personally, I didn’t think it fit, but it was creative nonetheless.

[-] Sunday Bloody Sunday was dedicated to the people on the streets fighting the “silent revolution” in Iran. This song never gets old for me. The beat line in this one is utterly distinguishable in the first 2 seconds.

[-] Walk On was dedicated to the Burmese activist Aung Sang Suu Kyi, who who won the 1990 Prime Minister election, but has been under house arrest ever since – for committing no crime.

[-] Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave an inspiring introduction and witty monologue up on the video screens to introduce the song One, which led into a goosebump-inducing transition during the song to a soft rendition of Amazing Grace. To hear 60,000 people on their feet singing in unison was moving. I had tears in my eyes. I’m still processing exactly why I so was moved by it.

[-] Post-encore: (By the way, when are we going to get rid of the phony thing known as the encore? Everyone knows they aren’t really saying goodnight and leaving. We know that they are coming back out – so why continue to yell and cheer and shout “One more time! One more time!” It seems silly to me. I wonder how that started -and why it continues – in concert culture). Enough of my rant…

Post-encore songs included Ultraviolent (Bono sang with this funky bright blue and red microphone that hung from the rafters and looked like a steering wheel. It was almost as unique as the stage itself. He even swung from it between verses). They ended with With or Without You and Moment of Surrender.

Despite contracting pink eye and having flu-like symptoms – and arriving home at 2:15 am – my assessment of the evening: somewhere between awesome and fairly awesome.

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