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Elly Roberts reviews
Everything about U2 is big. The stadiums, the presentation, the music, thesound, and yes, even their photo passes!,
In the run-in to the Live 8 globalshowcase, this was U2s second gig of 2005s Vertigo European ten date tour.
A complete sell-out, sixty thousand excited fans packed out the impressiveMan City ground to witness arguably the biggest band on the planet, do theirthing. Twenty five years, and 17 albums later I finally get to see them.It was worth the protracted wait.
Coming on late to a huge roar, messianic frontman Paul Hewson, (Bono to meand you), he lead his storm troopers through a spectacular two hour fifteenminute show. Sombrely dressed, and more modest by comparison with ZooTV andElevation tours, I detected some kind of mourning, either personal orglobal. Gone was Bonos make-up and array of hats, replaced by simple blackoutfit, as were his band mates. Later political references symbolised theirdeep empathy for the state of the world, so perhaps I was right after all.
However, the tone was up-beat from the minute go, as they ripped into theirpowerhouse opener (and closer) Vertigo, considered to contain one of thebest riffs of all time. This sent the crowd delirious, laying the foundationfor a superb night of arena engulfing music. Right now, they are probablythe ultimate arena band, with 26 years of experience behind them. They maynot take too easy to the tag of pop group – the most successful in the lasttwo decades – but thats exactly what they are. Their music is global inappeal and warmth global warming if you like.
This time, they exuded akind of self-assured confidence in their ability to unite the entire planet.Incredibly, they have the rare knack of touching everyone in their path politicians, men, women and children. Successive bands have come and gone intheir lifetime, and theres no sign of them fading away. They always seem todeliver the goods at the right time. Like all great bands theyve taken hugeartistic risks which have paid-off. No such risks tonight though.
Blastingout classic back-catalogue hits like I Will Follow, New Years Day, they seta frenetic and unrelenting pace, without even talking to the crowd. When itcame at song seven, City Of Blinding Lights, it was simple, “HelloManchester. I remember the first time the band passed through this city.This is the city of the future. This is the band of the future”, as we allscreamed with approval. Bono knows exactly what to say and when to say it.
Bouncing back into action they didnt put a foot wrong: crowd pleasers allthe way, mostly hi-energy. Behind them, the never-ending back-screens lit upthe twilight as countless images rolled by. Split screens and multi angledcamera shots beamed around the stadium. You could see and here themeverywhere, as they constantly paraded the sweeping thrusts way out in thecrowd. Trying hard to play down the technology, it was impossible to ignorethe back-up, and it got more impressive as the night rolled on.
A tenderSometimes (You Cant Make It On Your Own) dedicated to Bonos late father,briefly stalled the juggernaut. His achingly beautiful delivery stunnedeveryone. Back to RocknRoll, the tempo raised again as the upper tierbobbed Sunday Bloody Sunday, Pride In The Name Of Love soon gave way toWhere The Streets Have No Name, dropping a further register to the songthat has been voted the greatest off all time in just about every poll One. That did it for me.
Unified, we all went for it as if it was a message to the world and itprobably was.
Two encores brought more thrills as we saw techno over-dive kick-in for TheFly, a dazzling Mysterious Ways, and a thumping reprise of Vertigo.
Im still dizzy!
Rating *****
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.