Cinematic Arias

When I first discovered these guys, they were a smart, post punk political band.  Everyone loved them.  They could do no wrong.  Then they started believing their own hype and they became insufferable pricks.  Everyone hated them.  So they went back to the drawing board, dumped the politics and started writing adult oriented pop.  More over, they reinvented themselves as jerks we loved and released one of the biggest and best albums they’ve ever made.  Of course I speak of these guys and this amazing album.

When I first got into U2, they were my sister’s band.  I rode along but once they became the douche bags we couldn’t stand (hello Rattle & Hum), I dropped out.  But then Achtung Baby dropped and it was epic.  To this day, this album sounds incredibly fresh and I’d say it’s still unmatched in its singularity.  I saw these guys on this tour when it hit Dodger Stadium and I’ve hardly missed a tour since.  Yeah, they’re on the slide again but I’ll give them another chance.

Next time, I dunno, I’m still adjusting to my new job and its schedule but more posts soon.

First the good: in my decades plus of U2 concerts, this has to be one of their tightest, most technically spot-on shows. They sounded great and were never out of sync.

The bad: the playlist leanded heavy on ALL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND, HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB and NO LINE ON THE HORIZON and while I find the first “not bad”, the second of those “okay” and the third “eh”, the songs sound much better live than on the albums. Still, where was “Bad”, “Two Hearts Beat as One” or “Pride”? Yeah, that’s right, they didn’t play “Pride”. This was the first time I’ve seen them when they didn’t play anything from THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE (I also think they skipped POP but can’t be certain). Okay, there was one verse of MLK but it was only a preamble to a newer song.

That said, would I see them again when they roll into town next summer? You better believe it.

The ugly: I’ve missed lots of great openers for U2 (Public Enemy, No Doubt, etc.) but this was the first time I caught the opener. Um, let me just say this: I hate the Black Eyed Peas.

One more thought: the stage was supposed to be the largest stage ever built, okay, sure, but am I the only one that thought it looked like one of the creatures from STARSHIP TROOPERS?

PS, that show was broadcast on YouTube (not sure if they will rebroadcast).

And help save yourself a few dollars. Amazon is selling the MP3 version of U2′s new album for $3.99. Again, I believe this is just a 1-day sale (March 3, 2009) so don’t delay.

And if that isn’t an album cover for the ages… what’s that cover all about?

PS, am I the only person that thinks about landfills with buying CDs or is that just because I own hundreds of them, most of which I have yet to import into my iTunes?