On Stage: U2 @ Ziggo Dome

I've been a U2 fan for many years and attended every tour since the Lovetown Tour back in 1990. But they lost me musically long time ago and after the 360 tour I thought I had seen enough. So three years back when U2 released Songs of Innocence and kind of pushed it down our throats I decided to skip the accompanying Innocence + Experience tour, but was sorry I did after reading the reviews. I kind of found back my love for the band after last year's The Joshua Tree tour. When they released Songs of Experience that same year, I really wanted to see the accompanying Experience + Innocence tour.

U2 at Ziggo Dome Amsterdam, October 8 2018

That alone is quite an effort since it's not so easy getting tickets to a concert of one of the biggest rocks bands in the world playing a relatively small venue for such a big band. Fortunately I managed to land a few tickets and so we find ourselves at the Ziggo Dome on a Monday night, staring at something that looks like a narrow long cage. Of course this is U2 so when the concert takes off, the cage turns out to be a bridge with huge screens to either side. The band appears on the bridge to kick it off with a new song 'The Blackout'.

The bridge can go up and down, tilt so it becomes a slope and it connects the main stage with a smaller round stage at the other end. The huge screens flash on sometimes to show accompanying images or colours or to send some of the political messages the band always has been known for. It is a spectacular setup, but it does take away the focus from the band. I see many people watching the screens to their side while the band is playing on the main stage in front of them. But of course U2 has never been a band to keep things small.

I do like the story they are trying to tell about these four Irish boys that started a band, became bigger than anything else and even flew too close to the sun at one point. While Bono tells this story he's not shying away from self-criticism, even bringing back MacPhisto. So we have a big show, a story, but what about the music? It is clear their finest musical years have been long gone and the new songs mostly are mediocre attempts to stay in pace with the current music scene. 'Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way' sounds modern and has a beautiful theme, but simply doesn't even come close to the likes of 'Acrobat' or 'New Year's Day'. It sounds more like a filler song on an album by a band trying to be Coldplay.

Their most outstanding album Achtung Baby is heavily represented tonight, which makes sense since it holds their most daring and exciting music. During 'Pride (In The Name Of Love)' the members of the band couldn't be further apart with Bono all the way on the small round stage, Adam Clayton and The Edge on small risers to either side of the floor and Larry Mullen Jr. remaining on stage all by himself. I happen to be only a few meters away from The Edge which is very nice of course but at the same time it feels a bit awkward to see the member so wide apart, fully detached from each other.

It is clear this band still is at its best when playing their finest songs. Not necessarily their biggest hits but simply their best music. Unfortunately in all fairness there are only a few songs coming out of the past two decades that are part of that. However new song '13 (There Is A Light)', with Bono holding on to a big light bulb, proves the band hasn't completely lost their ability to write a good honest song. Maybe one day they can come up with an album again that is full of these little gems. In the end most fans here tonight don't care about all of this and got what they came for: a spectacular show by a band that still is one of the biggest ones around playing some of their favourite songs. And I am mostly one of them.



All Pictures

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Setlist
01. The Blackout
02. Lights of Home
03. I Will Follow
04. All Because of You
05. Beautiful Day
06. Zoo Station
07. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
08. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
09. Elevation
10. Vertigo
11. Even Better Than the Real Thing
12. Acrobat
13. You're the Best Thing About Me
14. Summer of Love
15. Pride (In the Name of Love)
16. Get Out of Your Own Way
17. New Year's Day
18. City of Blinding Lights
Encore
19. One
20. Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way
21. 13 (There Is a Light)


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On Stage: U2 @ Johan Cruyff Arena

Like many people I really started getting into U2 when they released their epic album The Joshua Tree. I was a teenager and got to see them for the first time a few years later after Rattle and Hum came out. I didn't miss any tour since then, until two years ago when I decided to skip the Innocence and Experience tour. Their musical glory days are long gone and their concerts with more show and visual entertainment than music didn't really work for me. Afterwards I regretted that when I read the reviews and heard the stories. Time to make it up!

U2 at Johan Cruyff Arena, July 29 2017

Thirty years after the album, U2 have built a tour around The Joshua Tree. Not only to celebrate the album but also because the album's themes are relevant nowadays again. Back then the world was in a dark place like today, facing many challenges, and the album was about both the dark side and the spark of hope, a tree in a dead landscape. U2 wants to plant the tree again and show there is a way out of these dark times once again. When the tour was announced I was on vacation and wasn't able to get tickets because of that. I thought it wasn't a big deal, since I also don't like this big stadium with its poor sound and lack of atmosphere.

After seeing videos from the start of the tour and reading the reviews I changed my mind. Time again to call Ticketswap to the rescue and after weeks of trying I made it through. So on a rainy Saturday night in July I find myself in the big stadium, getting warmed up by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. I like his music and it's entertaining to hear them live again together with a few Oasis songs. But he's not exactly putting a lot of effort in it to win people over. Of course he has seen it all and may not need this support slot to take it to the next level.

After a while we see drummer Larry Mullen Jr. walking to the small stage in front of the big stage with the huge screen that fills the entire back of the stadium. He's still in the dark and sits down behind the drum kit that has been put up there. Mullen starts playing the famous drum groove of 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' while the rest of the band join him one by one. U2 is warming us up with a few of their most famous songs. 'New Year's Day', a wonderful version of 'Bad' including David Bowie reference. Only a few spot lights are on the band members, a rare view of this band and one we haven't seen for a long time. 'Pride (In The Name Of Love)' follows, the song about Martin Luther King, a man they always have admired. During the song the giant screen switches on and we see the words of King's famous "I have a dream" speech rolling by.

The screen colours solid red and we hear the humming sound of 'Where The Streets Have No Name's intro. The band walks onto the big stage, pauses there for a moment next to the big tree before kicking into the legendary album. An empty road shows and we're on the move. We know we're going to hear the entire album tonight, track by track in the record's track list order. Every song has a stunning visual on the big screen, most of them done by Anton Corbijn, the Dutch photographer and film director, who also made the famous picture of the record's artwork. Bono salutes him a few times during the concert as he salutes a few other people and references David Bowie a few times more. The visuals are lush, incredibly clear without taking the attention away from the music. Instead they are actually supporting it, emphasizing the themes of the songs and the album.

After the opening track and hit songs of the album 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' and 'With Or Without You', the band goes into the more grim part of the record, the vicious 'Bullet The Blue Sky', working their way up to the dark end. The songs are still timeless and the reason U2 wanted to bring them alive in 2017 is quite clear and otherwise the visuals and Bono will explain it. Because this is U2 and you know the singer will address some of the world's biggest problems and give their vision. However you notice this band is no longer a young band. Besides the fact they move a lot slower around stage, the songs also sound less fierce and lack a bit of the old fire. However together with the visuals, the strength of the songs themselves and the enthusiastic fans, the music doesn't miss its impact and the message does come across.

After the album we get treated to a long encore with some of their biggest hits of the last two decades, when their music became less urgent and successful. Nevertheless U2 proves they are still a one of a kind band that still manages to maintain a unique level of live shows that is able to move and inspire a lot of people. They proved me wrong of thinking I had seen all they had to offer and had no reason to visit their shows any more. They can count me in again the next time they visit our country and hopefully the world is seeing brighter days once again.



All Pictures

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Setlist:
01. Sunday Bloody Sunday
02. New Year's Day
03. Bad
04. Pride (In the Name of Love)
The Joshua Tree
05. Where the Streets Have No Name
06. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
07. With or Without You
08. Bullet the Blue Sky
09. Running to Stand Still
10. Red Hill Mining Town
11. In God's Country
12. Trip Through Your Wires
13. One Tree Hill
14. Exit
15. Mothers of the Disappeared
Encore
16. Miss Sarajevo(Passengers cover)
17. Beautiful Day
18. Elevation
19. Vertigo
20. Mysterious Ways
21. Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
22. One


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U2 Shrinks the Stage

I've seen every tour of U2 since their 1989 "When Love Comes To Town" tour and have all their albums so maybe I can be considered a fan. Although I have to admit their last meaningful album was "Achtung Baby" it's always a big thing when they play live. And of course the "360° Tour" was no exception.

U2 in Amsterdam ArenA, July 20 2009 (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)

It seems aliens have taken the Amsterdam Arena when we enter the stadium. What seems to be a space ship is the stage for the evening. Four long legs stretch out to the side of the stage and a big round screen is hanging above it. When Snow Patrol is warming us up it gives us a sneak preview of what we can expect from the screen. Visuals and footage of the stage are shown al the way around on it. Gary Lightbody and co do a pretty good job and play all their hits. They leave quite a good impression I think and are definitely one of the best support acts I've seen. Of course the sound is pretty horrible which is no surprise in this awful sounding stadium.



When Bowie's "Space Oditty" sounds loud across the stadium and the lights go out it means it's show time! I expected a loud and rocking opening song but instead U2 decides to play "Breath" as a first song. Followed by "No Line On the Horizon" they're off to a slow start. When they play "Get On Your Boots", the worst song of their new album but live slightly better, the crowd starts to live up. But then the U2 train is starting to run high speed and the fire is lit when hit after hit follow each other. Two bridges connect the outer stage with the inner stage and especially The Edge and Adam Clayton use it a lot. Bass player Clayton looks very relaxed and seems to enjoy himself a lot. Singer Bono also makes it across now and then but seems less active then in the past. It's definitely clear that time has taken a grip of the band.



Besides only showing footage of the stage and supporting visuals the screen has a nice surprise up its sleeves. At one point it unfolds into many smaller particles which gives it a very surreal appearance. Now and then Larry Mullen Jr.'s drum stage turns around and the band face the back of the stage but most of the time these people only see the back of them. There's some room for social criticism as expected but it's not annoying like we've seen before. Archbishop Tutu makes a guest appearance on the screen as do the crew of the international space station MIR. One of the surprises in the set list are "The Unforgettable Fire" and one of the encores "Ultraviolet" that they haven't played live in a long time. Also there's a short version of "MLK" that doesn't sound as good as the original and shows that Bono's voice has trouble with reaching the high registers. They decide to end the show as it started with slow songs "With or Without You" and "Moment of Surrender". In that last song Bono also sings part of "40" but he only sings a few lines of it.

Despite the big screen and impressive stage this time they all support the band instead of taking the spot light like in previous tours. And it shows that U2 is still capable of a very good live performance sounding like a tight playing band. Even though they are sometimes wide apart on the big stage they still keep contact with each other meeting one another in the middle several times. Bono mentioned early in the show they would try to shrink the stage. Especially in the strong hits of the past they manage to do exactly that and turn the big stadium performance into a small intimate gig.
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scribbles week 27: New songs

I was away to the Belgian festival Rock Werchter so was out of the running for a few days. You can expect a review soon. In the meanwhile here are some new songs by Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters and Arctic Monkeys and some news about a new band and U2.


New super band is recording album
Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) are currently working on an album in the studio. That can only lead to some amazing mind blowing shit.

U2 kick off 360 tour
U2 kicked off their tour in Barcelona earlier. Playing songs of their latest album "No Line on the Horizon" on their incredible stage they also honoured Michael Jackson.

And here are some new songs by Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters and Arctic Monkeys for you to enjoy. What do you think of them? Let me know and leave a comment.

Alice in Chains - A Looking in View
A Looking In View - Music Video


Foo Fighters play new song "Wheels"
They did so when they were playing at the White House for the 4th of July concert.
Foo Fighters/Wheels


Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning


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Nothing bad on the horizon for U2

U2 - No Line on the Horizon (Ronald Says 4 out of 5)
U2's new album has been out now for a few weeks and I had the chance to give it a proper listen. After all this years are the Irish super band still able to impress and surprise?

Since "Achtung Baby" they haven't really produced an album that was outstanding. The production of "No Line On The Horizon" wasn't really a walk in the park. They started out with star producer Rick Rubin but unhappy with the results they started over with their usual producer duo Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Listening to their first single "Get On Your Boots" may give you the impression that this time again nothing spectacular was produced. But a proper listen of the album learns that the other songs are actually a lot better.

The opening track that carries the same title as the album has a sort of dramatic sound to it. But it illustrates that this time they have found a good balance between their old sound and new influences. Songs like "Magnificent", "Stand Up Comedy" and "FEZ - Being Born" promise to be great stadium songs and will definitely sound massive in their upcoming 360 tour. Other songs sound intimate and fragile like "White As Snow". But most of all it all sounds very U2. The Edge puts his signature riffs and solos on the steady basis of rhythm section Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton. And of course Bono's unmistakable voice. In an interview in Rolling Stone Larry Mullen Jr. said "of course it can't go on forever" meaning that he'd rather stop when they're still on top of it all and U2 is actually still meaningful. With this album they will definitely stay on top for a few more years.
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