Since the early ’80s I’ve been a rabbid Bunnymen fan. Along with this allegiance came a hefty does of skepticism about U2. They were always the popular ones, the successful ones, and it didn’t fit well with my outsider mentality. I think I started to come around when I began to hear of Bono’s humanitarian work beginning in the late ’90s. When my favorite photographer, Anton Corbijn, published a 400 page tome, “U2 and I” a few years ago I completely came around. I knew I’d been missing out, and vowed to see U2 the next time they came to town. I thought that date was to be the summer of 2010, but injuries caused a year-long postponement of the original show. But after the long wait, the show night was finally here!
The crowd errupted as they saw the faces of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen, Jr. on the enormous 360 screens as they made their way onto the huge “claw” stage. They were off the ground running with “Even Better Than the Real Thing,” “I Will Follow,” “Magnificent,” “Get On Your Boots,” Mysterious Ways,” “Elevation” and “Until the End of the World.” When they briefly paused between songs to welcome the audience, U2 were keenly aware of how long it had taken for this show to become a reality in Oakland. Bono teased – “Some of you were two years younger when you bought those tickets!”
The band was in fine form, working as a well-oiled machine. Unfortunately the same can’t be said about the crowd. Granted, this audience was skewed a bit older than some of the typical concert audiences. Nonetheless I was terribly disappointed in the lack of communal spirit. I think Bono felt the same. On several occasions he was visibly frustrated at the lack of enthusiasm as he tried to orchestrate mass sing-a-longs. By the end of the show, he seemed resigned to the lack of response and participation. When “You’ll Never Walk Alone” closed the main set and it didn’t generate the desired participation, Bono chuckled and said, “You’ll Never Walk Alone… kind of.”
I know US audiences don’t sing as much as those in the rest of the world. I’m also guessing that the crowd of 70,000 upper middle class limo renting bay-area residents may be too individualistic and too pissed off about traffic to find themselves participating on that level.
But even if the audience wasn’t singing along, I think there were many moments that did get through to this crowd. The one that stuck with me most was a 360-screen visit from astronaut Mark Kelly from the international space station right before the song, “Beautiful Day”. His cheerful smile and warm words of welcome that were specific to all of us in Oakland really revved up the crowd and the cheering continued long after the song ended. Another of my favorite moments was a shout-out to Lou Reed, who was in attendance that evening. Bono had many kind things to say about Lou, and Larry even broke into an impromptu rendition of the chorus from Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day.”
As part of the “U2 360” experience, the band had a gigapixel camera that took an ultra high resolution image of the entire crowd. Once the photo is uploaded, fans can go in and tag themselves in the audience and share it with Facebook and Twitter, or even order a print of it. Check it out here and tag yourself: http://www.u2.com/gigapixelfancam/
