U2 'VERTIGO // TOUR' opens in San Diego

[TimmyB]

I apologize for not informing sanctuary members about the U2 onsales as I said I would, this was due to the fact that my computer was down. I hope all that wanted tickets, got them (Booche, I hope that you got tickets for the Ottawa show).

Anyways here's a link about their tour opener in San Diego from u2.com. I can't wait for September 12th and 16th!

http://www.u2.com/news/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1483

[Swifty]

Here is a link to the torrent. http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5461

[MarcO]

Looks fascinating - what an excellent band. I can't wait to see them in September!!!

I once saw U2 in Celtic Park in Glasgow and it remains one of the finest shows I've ever seen. I was riveted.

I think they deserve every bit of success they receive.

[Swifty]

This show sounds gfreat! If you're into u2 go get this one!

[MarcO]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/ae/music/jump/3111437

March 31, 2005, 2:33PM

Bono's pomposity aside, U2 is as great as he boasts

By BEN WENER

The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA, Calif. — This always surprises the true believers, but there are people who can't stand U2. And it doesn't take much more than an iPod ad to get them grumbling about the widely beloved Irish quartet.

The complaints almost always start with charismatic world-leader-pretend Bono; the Edge's guitar work and the steady thump of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. rarely bug people. Just wait for the sanctified singer to open his mouth and make playfully pompous remarks like this, from yet another Grammy acceptance speech, in 2001:

"It's a very unusual emotion I'm feeling right now. I think it's called humility. I'm completely not used to it."

At the time, U2 was enjoying one triumph after another, confirming that the returning to old ways of its All That You Can't Leave Behind album was wise. "The whole year has been quite humbling," Bono continued. "Going back to scratch, reapplying for the job. What job? The best-band-in-the-world job."

Such a modest boy.

But decades of detractors haven't swayed U2's dogged determination to be rock's supreme torchbearer, nor have they affected the band's bank ledger. That's just not possible when tickets for its Vertigo Tour — likely the tour of the year — are fetching ungodly amounts on eBay.

U2 can keep reapplying for the position of world's-best if it wishes; last year's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb plays like a Power Point presentation on the group's enduring strength and passion. But only the pope's job is more secure. No pretenders to the throne — those that might actually want it, like Coldplay, and those that couldn't care less, like Radiohead — come close to measuring up.

Consider U2's recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Typically that honor is bestowed on acts past their prime. Note U2's classmates: the Pretenders, Buddy Guy, the O'Jays, Percy Sledge. There have been forebears still making vital (or at least good) music past their 25th anniversaries: Dylan, McCartney, the Stones, Springsteen, Bowie, Elton, Prince, Sting.

None, however, can claim U2's massiveness, for none is a triple threat. Not one can (1) issue rabidly anticipated chart-topping blockbusters boasting music that defies demographics; (2) stir up effusive praise for work deemed as relevant now as its most influential albums were then; and (3) launch international juggernauts that sell out so fast millions are left furious over fan-club presales.

Yes, when the Boss or the Stones or Elton or Prince tour, that packs arenas. But what of their most recent material? The Stones have made only half-memorable albums since Tattoo You more than two decades ago. Elton and Prince have shaped up considerably, but Peachtree Road ain't Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and no one's comparing Musicology to Purple Rain.

Dylan, Springsteen, Paul Simon and Sting keep turning out thoughtful, incisive commentary, much of it acclaimed — yet what keeps their minions forking over hundreds to see them live isn't new work. No one, apart from maybe critics, goes to see Bruce hoping he'll play lots from The Rising.

Exactly the opposite has proved true of U2, whose platform for making purposeful statements has only widened. Its fans seem as eager to hear new material in concert as they do classic anthems from the titans in the band's catalog, 1987's stately The Joshua Tree and 1991's extreme makeover Achtung Baby.

There's a consumer-freshness that U2 has miraculously maintained over the years that has no parallel. Consider what song leads off the latest Now! That's What I Call Music compendium of inescapable youth-geared hits. Not something by Gwen or Snoop or Ashlee. It's Vertigo.

No band — its original lineup intact — that has been together as long could manage such a trick. No one else over 40 is even on Top 40 radio now.

How has U2 done it? With consistency of vision, a singular (and straightforward) marriage of music and message with global appeal, and an innate ability to stay current.

Look at that last point first, even though it seems the most frivolous. Start by recalling the up-to-the-minute openers U2 has chosen over the years: Public Enemy, Rage Against the Machine, PJ Harvey, No Doubt and, for this outing, Kings of Leon. Like Bowie, U2 stays modern simply by keeping up with the Joneses.

Yet it's said that straining to seem hip is why U2 lost its way in the '90s. I don't think it did, actually; its most maligned discs, Zooropa (1993) and Pop (1997), are not nearly the atrocities some claim.

Zooropa, I think, is more sonically invigorating than Achtung and showed the band capable of Eno-abetted abstraction, where sound says more than statements. Take away those regretful nods to techno and the best of Pop could sit well alongside anything on their adjudged masterpieces. Likewise, moodier parts of The Unforgettable Fire (1984) and War (1983, an album as atmospheric as it was angry) wouldn't seem out-of-place on Zooropa.

Such interchangeability is clear proof of sustained vision — and for egotism run rampant, Rattle and Hum (1988) is more deplorable than Pop. But then, nothing on Pop could make millions sing along the way, say, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For might. That's why it's deemed a misfire: It doesn't live up to U2's monumental reputation.

Despite the years of off-putting corporate gestures, somehow these intrinsically working-class street punks have never strayed so far into glitz that their Christian-rooted foundation has been cracked. Turning to God, questioning master plans while simultaneously pleading for salvation (for themselves, for us) always seems to restore them to their original path. And those most inspired fans, connected since Under a Blood Red Sky as if united in a holy war, embrace them like prodigal sons.

They seek out themes prevalent in almost any U2 song, no matter the guise. Peace for all, and lay down your guns. Give more than the crumbs from your table. Realize that sometimes you can't make it on your own, and walk on.

One love, naturally.

Which brings me back to St. Bono, the living embodiment, for better and worse, of John Lennon's social concern and indefatigable optimism. He campaigns constantly for worthy causes — AIDS prevention in Africa, Third World debt relief. He tries tirelessly to enable dialogue between battling factions, whether in Ireland, the States or throughout Europe.

No wonder he's nominated, again, for the Nobel Peace Prize, the only rocker other than Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof to get that recognition. No wonder rumor circulated that he was a candidate for the World Bank presidency. (He wasn't being considered, and he's not interested in the gig.)

No wonder people grow resentful of his omnipresence. Best intentions aside, we love to destroy crusaders.

Bono's influence, though, is immense and still growing; he can command an audience with any major leader at this point. Heaven forbid an unexpected death in his musical family brings a premature end to U2; there's no telling what sort of force he could become on the world stage.

Come to think of it, he already is that. Who else in rock 'n' roll since Lennon has been able to say the same? And still regularly hit No. 1?