It was a gorgeous late June evening when my wife,
daughter, Uncle, and cousins took in a U2 concert at MetLife Stadium. U2 was
playing the first of two nights at the Stadium and tapped The Lumineers to be
the opening act. It was The Lumineers final two nights as openers for U2, who
also used Mumford & Sons and One Republic on this US leg of the tour. Truth
be told, The Lumineers were the reason my wife, daughter, and I were there in
the first place. That’s not to say that I didn’t come to see U2 or that I chose
them over U2. However, it was my daughter’s desire to see The Lumineers that
made me think of attending the concert in the first place. When I heard that U2
was performing The Joshua Tree in its
entirety, I was interested in seeing one of the shows, but it was far from a must see show for me. When I saw that
The Lumineers were opening though, and I knew how badly my child wanted to see
the band, then it became a must see. I knew that she was going to love U2 when
the night came to an end, and I was probably going to love The Lumineers even
more after their set, so the decision was made. Let’s go to the stadium and see
a great show!
The Lumineers took the stage at 7:20 PM and began the
night with a tight powerful set of hit songs punctuated by a terrific live
performance. I had never seen the band in concert before and the opportunity to
witness them prior to U2 was a welcomed one. The band was flat out incredible!
Lead singer/guitarist Wesley Schultz proclaimed his love for New Jersey (he is
a Jersey native, which I did not realize), told the crowd how he still refers
to this stadium as Giants stadium, and announced how honored the band was to be
opening for U2 especially here in New Jersey. And while he was most likely as
excited as a teen boy on prom night, his professionalism kept him from being
overly giddy.
 |
| Thank goodness for large video screens! |
Watching their performance, it was easy to tell that The
Lumineers are a polished road act that can hold their own with the best live
bands out there. Their setlist structure was unexpected and surprising all in a
good way. I anticipated that their signature song “Ho Hey” was going to be the
big closer of their set, but the band played it early on, the third song of the
night. I was amazed and impressed. The Lumineers believe in the strength of all
their songs and they don’t need their most known song to be the big closer. An
excellent decision on their part.
 |
| If you look closely you can tell that's The Lumineers on stage! |
The band performed all their hits including the aforementioned
“Ho Hey,” “Cleopatra,” “Angela,” and “Ophelia.” They ended their portion of the
evening with an amazing live rendition of “Stubborn Love” which was drawn out
with a nice little jam to wrap up the song. That performance left me wide eyed
and grinning. I now know that I must see this band’s headlining performance.
They were magnificent on stage!
More than an hour after The Lumineers ended their set U2
finally took the stage. Their opening number, “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” was
terrific and whipped the crowd into a frenzy right away. Their stage was
massive and included a 200 foot LED screen and a smaller stage that sat in the
middle of the general admission floor. The first four songs were performed on
that small stage and the screen was not lit at all. U2 were performing as if it
were their club days both in song selections and style of performance. Four
men, one small stage, general admission crowd, and songs pre-1985. It was a
clever way to start the night.
After “Pride (in The Name of Love)” it was time for the
reason of the tour. The Joshua Tree
was about to be played in its entirety and I was about to witness U2 songs that
I had never seen the band do live before. This was the treat of the evening for
me and my excitement was high. The opening notes of “Where the Streets Have No
Name” sang out from The Edge’s guitar and the giant LED screen lit up with an
image of a two-lane road in the desert heading straight out into nowhere. I was
instantly transported back to my pre-teen years where I played this cassette
endlessly for more than 12 months straight. It was a wonderful moment of
nostalgia and memories.
 |
| Hey look! It's Bono and a full moon! |
As a live rock band, time is catching up with U2. That’s
not to say the show wasn’t fantastic, because it was. But as someone who has
seen U2 several times in the past, there are small nuances I noticed and I realize
they come with all bands as they age. First is the energy level of front man
Bono. At past U2 concerts he was running around the stage like a madman for 2
hours straight, never ceasing to move, a bundle of nervous energy channeled
into the performance he was giving. On this night, however, he was less
energetic, walking instead of running, and not interacting with the crowd as
often as he had at previous performances. I understand that he is in his late
50s and the energy level isn’t the same as it was 10 and 15 years ago, but it
was still a bit of a surprise to me.
During “With or Without You,” one of my favorite The Joshua Tree songs, guitar feedback
cut in ruining the sound and the song. As Edge played his signature guitar solo
intro to the hit, massive feedback wailed throughout the speakers that was so
loud and so forceful fans were covering their ears. I was disappointed as this
was supposed to be one of the best moments of the night for me. The feedback
made the song memorable, but not in the right way.
Bono’s voice is also not as strong as it used to be and I
was left wondering if U2 was a bit too ambitious with their touring schedule.
Our show was the second of 3 in a row and when you factor in travel, the band
didn’t have many off days. I don’t think that was such a great idea at their
age. They may have benefited from taking a day or two between shows to rest and
recharge.
U2 decided to close the night with a brand-new song, “The
Little Things That Give You Away.” I’m not against new songs being played, but
to finish the night---to close out the evening for 60,000 fans with a new track
that no one knows---is a risky decision at best. Had I gone alone, I may have
started making my way to the parking lot (which would have been a wise decision
on my part). The song was okay. Not great, but not terrible either. The traffic
getting out of there that night on the other hand---well that was horrendous.
New Jersey traffic sucks.
Lest you think this is a review filled with nothing but
negativity, there were highlights throughout the evening as well. One of the
finest came in the form of “Ultraviolet (Light My Way).” I’ve always felt that
this gem is one of the most underrated songs in the entire U2 catalog. It was
the first time I saw the band perform the song live and I enjoyed every moment
of it.
Other highlights for me included “Bad,” which is always
an amazing live moment at a U2 concert, the entire side two of The Joshua Tree especially “Mothers of
the Disappeared” which is one of my favorite U2 songs. I was ecstatic to hear
that song live and it was one of the finest memories in my U2 concert history.
As I mentioned, overall this was a great concert, but it was only a good U2 concert.
And that’s their own fault as they have set the bar so high with their past
performances. I came in with huge expectations. If I had never seen U2 in
concert before I would have been amazed. But since I have seen them several
times, I was only impressed. As far as U2 concerts go, this was my least
favorite one. As far as concerts in general go, it was a stellar performance by
a hall of fame band and a terrific way to spend a summer night.
SETLIST
Sunday Bloody Sunday
New Year’s Day
Bad
Pride (In the Name of Love)
Where the Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
With or Without You
Bullet the Blue Sky
Running to Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
In God’s Country
Trip Through Your Wires
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers of the Disappeared
ENCORE
Miss Sarajevo
Beautiful Day
Elevation
Vertigo
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
One
The Little Things That Give You Away
No comments:
Post a Comment