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"When I met [Bill] Clinton, I looked like our road crew and he burst out laughing." -- Bono, 2004 |
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"When I met [Bill] Clinton, I looked like our road crew and he burst out laughing." -- Bono, 2004 |
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Column: off the record..., vol. 9-373
@U2,
August 30, 2009
So, it's North America’s turn now. In two months to the minute from the writing of this column, I will be in Vancouver, B.C., seeing 360 degrees of U2. I'm really looking forward to "No Line on the Horizon," "Breathe," "City of Blinding Lights," "Electrical Storm," and "Ultraviolet." I wasn't really old enough to be much of a concert-goer when Achtung Baby came out, so I missed all the Zoo TV chewy, creamy, spicy goodness. Thanks to the Vertigo and 360 tours, I'm getting the chance to experience some of the deeper cuts. The videos of "Ultraviolet" that I've seen, with Bono swinging and flopping around in his suit of lights, have me pounding on the desk and yelling the lyrics every time I watch them. Speaking of which, a major shout-out to Youtube user U2006com for the incredibly high-quality video he/she has been posting. Literally the best fan concert footage I've ever seen. And the number of shows this person has been to...lucky son of a gun. I'm only going to be able to get to one show this year, the above-mentioned Vancouver show. This has me feeling a bit bummed as I always like to drag my friends along to U2 shows. I've only got one friend who'd I'd consider even a moderate U2 fan, and she's always a good sport when it comes to putting up with my enthusiasm for them. However, I always try to get my friends who aren't much into them to go to shows. Even if they don't become die-hard fans, the reaction to a live U2 show is always so sweet. So, I've only got one chance this year. I'm perpetually working on my brother, who actively hates them. We’ll see how he's feeling come October. Conversely, I'm extremely excited about my chances to see U2 next year. Why? I'm in Europe all year, baby! I hear that the European and South American crowds are the most amazing to be a part of. Hopefully, I'll get to see U2 in Spain, France, and...the holy grail of Euro crowds: Italy. Oh, I know there's the historical significance of seeing them in Dublin, but have you seen those Italians? That'd be a trippy show to be at. Hmm...now that I think about it, I should hit up Dublin too! I'm so pumped for 2010. The U2 unreleased track I most want to hear, out of all the songs that have ever been mentioned: "Bulldozer." "The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars" sounds like it could be pretty cool, too. Lastly, over the past few albums I've heard a lot of complaints about Bono's voice: it's not as strong as it used to be, it's changed too much from his Joshua Tree/Achtung Baby days, his falsetto isn't there anymore, and so on. I confess, when I listen to a performance like this, I just don't understand what the complaints are about. I've never considered Bono to be very sexy (I’m a Larry fan), but that voice... © @U2/Ryan, 2009.
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