Shirley Manson with U2 at Metro; photo by Paul Natkin
Continuing an extensive and relentless publicity campaign that has often seemed both more expensive and more elaborately planned than the American invasion of Iraq, U2 came to Chicago's Metro on Tuesday night.
The Irish rockers did not perform, and they declined to talk to the press, lest they be forced to confront any mildly thorny question.
A few months prior to launching their U.S. tour at Soldier Field on Sept. 12 and the night before their 12th studio album, "No Line on the Horizon," was set to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart, Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. came here for one reason and one reason only.
To hype, hype, hype--the better to sell, sell, sell.
Seated on plush leather couches on Metro's stage, the band conducted a friendly hour-long chat with former Garbage front woman Shirley Manson broadcast over syndicated radio.
"As I do come from a long line of traveling sales people on my mother's side... here were are, traveling from town to town, laying out our wares," Bono told a crowd of several hundred fans, most of whom won admission from one of the three Chicago radio stations eager to help U2 sell U2's new music.
It was the sort of non-eventful event worthy of the Rolling Stones at their most bloated and corporate, and that was no surprise: The members of U2 have made no secret of their desire to dethrone the Stones as the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band, and they've been just as cynical about selling their souls to corporate Satans--jumping into bed with giant national concert promoters Live Nation, dumping their lucrative deal with Apple for an even more lucrative tour sponsorship by BlackBerry and plodding through tired retreads of older sounds on their last two albums, "All That You Can't Leave Behind" (2000) and "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" (2004).
In light of all of that, and against all odds, with "No Line on the Horizon," U2 somehow found the courage to once again challenge the expectations of what U2 "should" sound like, and the band crafted its most daring, inventive and just plain best album since "Achtung Baby" (1991).
And that only makes the hollow rock-star theatrics of Tuesday's shindig all the more disappointing.
The band walked onstage promptly at 8 p.m. and, with Manson's coaxing, began to play some of their favorite songs for the radio listeners at home. Drummer Mullen started out by playing the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated"--"because sometimes, you need to be sedated"--followed by the Edge paying homage to "the first of the Irish rock stars," Van Morrison, and playing his most commercial track, "Brown Eyed Girl" (a tune Morrison has been disavowing ever since he recorded it).
Clayton played something by the Airborne Toxic Event. "I like to discover new music," he said, noting he heard this band during a photo shoot for SPIN. "I think I'm going to be listening to it all year long."
For his turn in the DJ slot, Bono nodded to the Chicago audience by playing "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" by the Smashing Pumpkins.
"What I want from rock 'n' roll is the life force," the singer said. "When it's too sloppy, melancholy or miserable, it's really not rock 'n' roll. What I like about this song is the word 'rage,' and I think rage is at the heart of any great rock 'n' roll band."
As these tracks played on the radio, the band took a few questions from the audience. In response to what I assume was a query about the title of the new album (it was lost for lack of volume), Bono waxed rhapsodic about our local geography.
"Just looking over Lake Michigan, there was a moment when the sea and the sky became the same color and disappeared into infinity. It seems like a really positive thought right now, whether it's a relationship or a band."
Someone else asked about playing the Presidential inauguration.
"It wasn't just the America dream, it was also an Irish dream," Bono said. "It was a very, very powerful moment in our band's life and in its history. To see some of this being in Chicago... Well, of course, in Ireland we've always thought it was 'O'bama,' with an 'apostrophe O.'"
(Yes, Bono really talks... like that. Few complete sentences. Sketchy thoughts. But poetic. Or maybe... nothing to really say.)
How or why has Bono stayed married for so long? (He wed the former Alison Stewart in 1982.)
"Even after all these years, I still don't feel like I really know her." ("Awwwww," the crowd cooed in spontaneous harmony.)
Why did the band decide to start its American tour in Chicago?
The Edge: "Why not?"
For the second go-round as DJs, Mullen played a track from Arcade Fire's "Funeral" album, the Edge played "The Whole of the Moon" by the Waterboys, Clayton played the Klaxons and Bono chose "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen.
As these tunes were broadcast, a few gutsy Chicago fans dared to toss some difficult questions at the band. One man asked about the Congressional hearings on performance rights from terrestrial radio, and though the Edge asserted that "We love radio; that's why we're here," Bono made clear his support for artists getting paid more royalties.
"I think there is a moment in time where somebody like U2, it doesn't affect us," Bono said. "But a lot of people, musicians, are on the edge of getting kicked out of their apartments because music is being marginalized. I don't want to go back to the time when minstrels and troubadours arrived at the grand castle and played for the scraps off the tables. Our ideas was, we'd be the lords and ladies.
"It's not about being greedy. If you think of music as a sort of sacred, sacramental thing, you don't like to see it disrespected and turned into tap water. And we feel at the moment that is happening. I like the idea of musicians being in control of their own destiny."
Finally, another angry Chicagoan asked about the debacle during the last tour whereby as many of the special $30 tickets seemed to wind up in the hands of scalpers as fans.
"Tickets scalpers... The last time we had that problem, it was something beyond our control totally," said the Edge. "But we certainly learned a lot from that experience, and we're convinced that the people who are dealing with that now will never let it happen again."
"One of the reasons we're playing outdoors this time," Bono added, "is that a by-product of that is the tickets are not so rare. It's kind of a weird thing to play shows and you sense that a lot of people are there not because of the music, but because it's an event, and they can afford to pay the high prices to the scalpers."
Left unanswered: How the band's arrangement with Live Nation, vying to enter an unprecedented merger with Ticketmaster, could possibly improve the situation.
I was disappointed. The syndicated radio broadcast was full of sound problems. And we started to hear the questions when the songs began playing until they faded out the mics at odd times. I would rather hear them talk than the songs.
After it was over, Tom Marker on WXRT noted he wished XRT had produced the show locally. He is spot on. They would have put together a smarter production than the nation would have enjoyed.
I have been follwing U2 now for over 20 years so i guess you can call me a classic U2 fan. I have met all the band members and seen them up close on a few of there tours so now its time to give the younger fans a chance to see them up close etc.... I just hope i can at least get a ticket for the solider field show in September as i want to bring my newphew with me. I was thinking about trying to meet them again today down by the Metro but i have done it all. Give the young fans a chance i say and i wish the boys the best with there new CD and tour. Sincerely a true U2 fan, Robert
"One of the reasons we're playing outdoors this time," Bono added, "is that a by-product of that is the tickets are not so rare. It's kind of a weird thing to play shows and you sense that a lot of people are there not because of the music, but because it's an event, and they can afford to pay the high prices to the scalpers."
-This sounds like Bono is okay with scalpers charging more for tickets, because there will be more of them and people will be willing to pay more for them. I hope I'm not reading that wrong, but it sounds like he is justifying higher prices on the secondary market.
I cant believe DeRogatis missed reported the event as being "more elaborately planned than the American invasion of Iraq." I had to turn off the LA broadcast aired Monday night because of the poor production quality and Shirley Manson's extremely poor job as moderator. She was worse in Chicago. She talked more than the band members of U2. I was really excited for these events and they were totally lame.
Agreed, a totally lame production. Canned commercials? This is unlike WXRT, I can see why Tom Marker was embarrassed about the production.
The only positive from it was Adam Clayton's selection of the Airborne Toxic Event song.
Shirley Manson was moderator? WTF? Whoever hired her should be FIRED! MORONS!
To Eric,
What Bono meant is that true fans should be able to get tickets, as they are plentiful, and those who are not great fans, who don't pay attention or care about sale dates, but decide they want to go later, can go ahead and pay more. That's why the presale is broken into 3 catagories, rewarding the most faithful old fans with the first shot at tickets.
Ahhhh, the typical condescending DeRogatis. The man who knows sooo much more about music than the rest of us. The man who thinks P.M Dawn was the greatest recording act of the 1990's. Right.
Um, where is P.M. Dawn now? Still making exciting music after 37 years? Oh, wait, they released a "Greatest Hits" album in 2000. Guess they're still going strong.
For someone who thinks they know so much about music, and even (somehow) makes a living from it, it's seems kinda odd that he thinks U2 shouldn't be promoting their new release (which is absolutely fantastic, BTW...although I'm sure P.M. Dawn has something better up their sleeve, they're just making us wait.). It's just awful the world's biggest rock band would grace our fine city in an intimate setting and share the music they love and answer some questions. What a bunch of tools.
Prefect example of why I can't watch or listen to Sound Opinions. Maybe if I could just get a version with Greg Kot only.
FYI - Van Morrison was on Regis and Kelly last week and played Brown Eyed Girl.
GG,
Jim gave a the new U2 album a good review. I don't understand why a lot of U2 fans are bitter towards critics who give an honest opinion of the group or their music. I like the band and they're one of my favorites, but it's sad to see what they've become. Who cares if they're the biggest rock band in the world? I want them to make great music and not pander to the masses by making stale bland music like they did in 2000 and 2004. Even with this new album, they had to release "pop-friendly" hits to ensure they stay relevant. Their deals with Live Nation and RIM does not change my opinion of NLOTH (which I'm digging a lot), but it does change the way I look at the band. They're a music corporation looking to squeeze out every penny. These publicity stunts are just lame.
FYI- There was an interview last Sunday on CBS' "Sunday Morning" with Van Morrison in which he says himself that he is actually starting to warm up to Brown Eyed Girl. It is an interesting interview.
DeRo: While i'm with you on the Live Nation stuff- I disagree with you on the tour sponsorship issues- why single out U2 for dealing with corporate "Satans" ? Did you call one of your favorites, the Flaming Lips, cynical and greedy for making a commercial for Dell? All in all, it looks like U2's tickets are fairly reasonably priced for a band of U2s popularity and stature.
LAME ass promo event!!! Tell the truth, this event was totally BORING! We came to see a "gig" not an interview by bitchy Shirley Manson. Why the hell is Boston ok to play at but not Chicago? You could see Drummer Mullen definitely wasn't really having the sloppy event. And to his point I was sedated after all was said and done. So if ya didnt get into the "gig".... you didn't miss a damn thing. Could have played at least one song acoustic damn at least SOMETHING besides cds on the air. I could have done that at home.
Cheers,
Troy
I agree with you Jim with the issue with Live Nation..if any band can be a prime example that we don;t need big corporations it's U2. They don't need it. That said, I am atleast happy they did an event like this in Chicago (it's always New York). Bout time Chicago get's some attention. To the people criticizing Jim I am going to post this in caps, HE LIKES THE NEW ALBUM AND HE GAVE IT A BUY IT ON SOUND OPINIONS WHILE KOT GAVE IT A BURN IT. HE GAVE IT 3 AND A HALF STARS IN THE SUN TIMES. I THINK IT'S 4 BUT THAT'S ME. HE HAS BEEN CORRECT IN HIS CRITIQUE OF THE LAST ALBUM, AND I AM A U2 FAN, A HUGE U2 FAN. I LOVED POP (my opinion has changed over the years as I realised I have played it less)BUT I CAN LOOK AT THIS BAND OBJECTIVELY. I am tired of having to fork over 100 dollars of my money to sit in the nose bleeds to see my heros. If you guys who claim to be U2 fans can afford prices to get the very very very good seats, well you are richer than me. I have followed them since War when I was in 4th grade and I deserve those seats for a price I can afford.
Best album since...."Some Girls". (They are poised to replace the Stones after all....wow.)
They should have played some songs like they did in Boston. What made matters worse, prior to their coming on stage the DJ was playing some very old country music ( sounded like Hank Williams) " Hey good lookin what you got cookin" type stuff and it was just the wrong vibe completely.
Jim DeRogatis is a total sell out! He takes pay for writing this garbage while someone more deserving is willing to do it for free. In fact, they're called bloggers which DeRogatis is going to be when the Sun-Times goes belly up.
T-Bone, you should add Head after the Bone. Did you read the article? Jim is not the sell out here, he is one of the few that are fighting the stupid ordinance tyhat Chicago is trying to place on live music in the city, and he is against this Live Nation merger that U2 is supporting. I don;t agree with Jim that much but there are issues he is right on. Why did U2 play songs in Boston and not in Chicago?
How much ARE tickets? I've been on every site I can find, but I can't see prices anywhere. I want to know whether its even worth it to try and get tickets the moment they go on sale to the public. If they're too much I won't bother clambering to the website trying to find out at the last moment and taking up yet another place in the queue.
Jim... man, you are one hell of a terrible writer.