Miami
Opening Night Elevation Tour:
watch video here:http: //www.2cool.net/u2bday.htm
I think this picture is right before Bono's fall...Our position is being blocked by Bono's legs!
U2 eclipse the competition
from the Daily Telegraph <http://www.telegraph.co.uk>, March 26, 2001
by Neil McCormick
Neil McCormick reviews a resurrected U2 at the National Car Rental Center, Miami
MIAMI is currently the setting for an electronic dance-music conference, a four-day event during which thousands of exponents, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts of the dance-music scene descend on the city to debate and celebrate the high-tech, high-fashion genres that they believe represent the future of popular music. On the opening night, however, the ravers were put in their place by a hoary old four-piece guitar band.
U2 have already sold more than 10 million copies of their current album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, and have been making bullish remarks about reclaiming their position as the world's greatest rock band. Launching their latest world tour in front of 20,000 enormously enthusiastic American fans, the Irish superstars proved that this was no empty claim.
When U2 launched their last tour in Las Vegas, they ran into criticism for being over-ambitious and under-rehearsed. Yet, if on that occasion U2 fell flat on their faces, this time singer Bono actually fell flat on his back - but he still came up trumps.
Dancing backwards around a narrow, heart-shaped walkway at the start of the two-hour set, the vocalist missed his footing and collapsed into the photographers' pit. He quickly scrambled back on stage, where he lay dazed for a moment while guitarist the Edge distracted attention with a blinding solo. But, within a minute, Bono was back on his feet, and, as if to recover his confidence, he continued to reverse around the walkway. His lack of embarrassment in a potentially humiliating situation seemed only to add to the audience's admiration as they cheered his every step.
I have seen U2 make the transition from playing bar-room dives to the biggest venues in the world, continually upping the scale of their operation along the way. With the flawed but none the less spectacular Pop tour (with its giant levitating lemon, among other attractions), they seemed to have taken the rock extravaganza just about as far over the top as it could go. In their latest incarnation, U2 have avoided self-parody by relying more on themselves. They take the stage with the arena lights still on, four diminutive figures almost overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the setting, kicking straight into the pile-driving Elevation as if to establish that they are just simple rockers at heart.
Of course, given the budget and audience expectation, this is "back to basics" in only a relative sense. Halfway through the opening song, the auditorium plunges into darkness and the stage suddenly flashes, giving notice of the spectacle to come. But restraint is the order of the day, with imaginative and technologically impressive changes in lighting effects and stage setting that maintain visual stimulation throughout, while never distracting from the band.
Musically, it is certainly a stripped-down show. Forsaking much of their latter-day reliance upon sequencers, the rhythm section of drummer Larry Mullen and bassist Adam Clayton create a rumbling wall of sound to which Edge's guitar adds melodic adornment. He plays as much with his feet as with his hands, constantly stepping on effects pedals to change the texture of his instrument. Playing punchy rhythm and fluid lead at the same time, Edge utilises the electric guitar's sonic possibilities better than any rock guitarist since Pete Townshend of the Who.
There is little doubt, however, that the star of the show is Bono, and after his spectacular early collapse he really rose to the occasion. His singing, hampered in recent years by throat-constricting allergies, reached heights (and notes) that he has not scaled before. His twisting falsetto throughout the romantic In a Little While was a soulful show-stopper, while on the apocalyptic Bad he roared like John Lennon in primal-scream therapy. For someone more celebrated as a great showman than as a great singer, this was a two-hour tour de force - I've never heard him sing better.
At the end of the set, after a barnstorming version of The Fly, Bono suddenly launched himself into the crowd, much to the evident surprise of his band mates and bodyguards. The star's minders trailed helplessly in his wake as he ran through his overjoyed audience, eventually emerging unscathed on the other side of the venue as the band brought the show to a powerful conclusion.
It took Bono quite a while to find his way back to the stage for the encores, but when U2 and their audience joined together on the chorus of their classic song of unity, One, it has probably never had more meaning. "How was the first night for you?" inquired Bono. Everyone present knew they had participated in something special and they were still cheering, yelling and singing snatches of U2 songs as they filed out of the venue half an hour after the finish.
© 2001 Telegraph. All rights reserved.
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Review by: Watts |
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Hey Everybody! It was one year ago today that my wife & I went to see U2 in Miami for the second concert of the Elevation Tour. The first show had been incredible, except for the fact that we narrowly missed getting inside the heart that night. We would not be denied on night two. We arrived at the line for general admission at about 4PM, we were in luck, writing our names on the list we were number 180 or so. I felt pretty good about this as maybe 300 people were getting in there. A girl in line in front of us was alone, reading a book. I noticed it was in Italian, and sure enough, she had made the trip from Italy solo to catch U2. Behind us were a couple from Miami, and the girl had on some cool mirrored Fly shades. The wait was really not so bad, and there was a feeling like “we’re all in this together”. At about 6PM the line started moving. A couple we had not seen all afternoon slinked up beside us with their freshly poured beers and tried to “merge” into line, so I had to speak up loud enough for our neighbors to hear “Did y’all sign the list?” They played dumb and I explained that we had all been there for hours and they moved on back… Finally we made it to the security check and in through the doors where we were wrist-banded. From there, we ran/walked to the floor, around to the left and lo and behold, we made it into the heart! I felt like we had made it to the Promised Land and the now-familiar faces in there with us were all-aglow with the light that comes from knowing a truly special experience is soon to follow. In the midst of this emotional euphoria, there they were. That couple that “slinked” into line. Those bastards had made it to the Promised Land. Hmpf! We moved into our position for the night, near the heart’s entrance, at Edge’s feet. Dallas was warming up the guitars and it was not long before the Corrs came out to open the show. They were even better looking up close, and we all appreciated the many bows they took with loosely cropped tops. The house lights were on and the sounds of “Elevation” filled the air, anticipation was tense and then, there they were, striding onto stage and taking up their instruments, and them “Bam!” woo hoo, woo hoo, woo hoo, the show was on! We were SO CLOSE! For example, we could see the individual hairs on Edge’s arms (not what I had been looking forward to, but it is odd what stands out a year later). About 10-20 people streamed into the heart as the show opened... people who had been backstage before the show. The atmosphere inside the heart was much better than the previous night when we were on the outside near the rail. People in the heart treated one another with respect and like I said before, it felt like we were all in this together and it was uplifting. Even the event staff seemed to treat us like VIPs, and our $45 tickets were the best in the house. A couple of guys involved in the show (Clear Channel guys?) were beside us, and they …were cool. It was just amazing watching the Edge up close, working the pedals and switches as much as the strings on the guitar. There were many euphoric moments in the show, but I must join the chorus and admit that “Streets” was the showstopper. Arms raised, fists pumping, jumping up in down in unison, our heart was beating with adrenalin. The guy in front of/beside me caught eyes with me and it was just one of those things…we shared a bond with each other and the other fans and the band and it was good. It was one of those musical moments plus something more that is intangible and special, like you expect at a U2 concert, right? Bono spent a lot of time away from us, circling the heart, and we watched the band. I thought to myself, “Here I am, in between Bono and the Edge”. Sweet! The heart was a fantastic idea, and I feel fortunate to have been in there on this tour, a tour that will be looked back on one day as maybe the greatest tour by any band, ever. Looking back a year later makes the experience even more special. What a year for U2. Twenty some odd years into their career, and they are more popular and relevant than ever. This band has grown with me over the years, and I’ve never tired of them. They just keep getting better. How long can it last? I’m not sure, but I do know this: don’t count ‘em out, because just when you think they’ve lost it, they will come back and take the mantle of rock by the horns and reclaim their title: The Greatest Rock Band on the Planet.
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