[kj] (NKJ) U2 at the Rose Bowl

[The Mighty TB]

The short hit is that this show reminded me why I hate seeing concerts in 
stadiums.

Knowing what a clusterfuck parking and navigating into The Rose Bowl would 
be, I left at 3 in the afternoon yesterday for the show which was a smart 
thing as although it took me barely an hour to get there, it took another 1 
hour to park in the huge golf course that doubles as a parking lot for Rose 
Bowl events once I got off the freeway a mere 2 miles from the stadium.

After kicking back 'til 6pm, I went in the stadium, got wrist banded for my 
GA floor access and checked out the massive stage.  I got lucky and got pit 
access but after hanging out there for seem of the otherwise wretched Black 
Eyed Peas' set, I decided to leave the pit hanging out at about the 50 yard 
line directly between the stage and the soundboard was the best place to 
soak in the show until U2's encore when I went back into the pit. 
Amusingly, the people that paid the most for their tickets in the "Red Zone" 
next to the pit on either side of the stage probably had the worst view. 
The stage is so high off the ground that you can only see the bass or guitar 
player and the top half of Bono and the drummer is mostly obscured depending 
on which side you're on and you're under the huge cone-shaped video screen 
so you have to look at it straight up.

Speaking of the Black Eyed Peas opening set, admittedly a lot of people were 
into their shtick but the Rose Bowl really came alive when (ex)Guns n' 
Roses' Slash came out to play guitar and they did a decent cover of "Sweet 
Child O' Mine" with the chick singer really doing an excellent job singing 
the tune - easily the highlight of their set.

U2 came on a little after 9pm opening with 3 songs off their last album.  I 
have to say, the show never really seemed to quite get off the ground.  A 
big part of it was the crowd who just didn't have a lot of energy much of 
the show.  But the band shares a lot of the blame as well.  The set is 
unevenly paced and the combination of 7 songs off the newest album (which 
imo is easily one of their weakest albums ever) and 5 off "All You Can't 
Leave Behind," notably dull momentum killers "Stuck in a Moment" and "In A 
Little While," there was a lot more valleys than peaks in the set.  Even 
otherwise excellent and long-unplayed deep cuts "Unforgettable Fire" and 
"Ultraviolet" which I figured to be highlights of the show kind of fell 
flat.  The "remix" version of "Crazy Tonight" is terrible with drummer Larry 
Mullen Jr playing barely audible bongos at the front of the stage to a 
heavily pre-recorded drum track.  Probably the low point of the show was 
when they played "Walk On," a bunch of dour-faced fans came on stage on the 
ramp circling the pit with paper masks of Aung San Suu Kyi on their faces to 
protest her continued house arrest in Burma.  Frankly, it was cring-inducing 
and a perfect example of the ham-fisted approach U2 often takes to some 
"political" issues.

Bravely, the band isn't playing some of their biggest live songs this tour - 
no Pride, Bullet The Blue Sky, New Years Day or I Will Follow among others. 
Unfortunately, it's a shame they aren't playing some other far more 
worthwhile songs than much of the stuff they are playing especially from the 
previous two albums.

This is all not to say the show didn't have some high points - "Get On Your 
Boots" works far better live now than it did when they first started playing 
it. Mysterious Ways early in the set momentarily brought the crowd back into 
the show and the crowd seemed really into things through a great sing-along 
of "Stand By Me" tagged at the end of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm 
Looking For."  During "Until The End Of The World" and later "Vertigo," 
everything seemed to click.  And the last song of the show, "Moment of 
Surrender," which is unquestionably the best song off the last album, worked 
extremely well as a closer.

The biggest problem with this tour is that the stage production completely 
overshadows the band and their music.  The stage is simply breathtaking and 
the sound is easily the best I've ever heard in a stadium but this "show" is 
by far the weakest U2 concert I've seen in decades.  It's like the Pop tour 
jacked up to "11."  Even more awesome production, but even weaker songs and 
setlist.  Not to mention, imo U2's playing has slipped a notch since the 
last tour (although Bono's voice is *very* strong this time around).  There 
were a lot of happy fans after the show but to a person, every comment I 
heard focused on the production, not the band.  IMO, U2 is now at the same 
point the Rolling Stones were around the Voodoo Lounge album/tour.

BTW, it took me a full 2 1/2 hours to get out of the parking lot after the 
show.  I will never see another show at the Rose Bowl.

I understand they've annouced their early Summer 2010 North American dates 
last night which include an Anaheim Stadium show.  Even though that's a much 
better stadium and only 15 - 20 minutes away, U2 will have to drastically 
retool their set to get me back for another show.

T.B.