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U2: Elevation Tour 2001, June 5 2001 BostonJun 06 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line U2 made the Fleetcenter feel like the old Gahden...nothing else needs to be said.
In the six years that the Fleetcenter has been open, the occasions have been few and far between when the atmosphere has come even close to matching what the old Boston Garden had. However, last night, Irish rockers U2 seemingly rebuilt the old barn brick by brick in a majestic performance that kick started this week of 4 long sold out shows in Beantown. Taking the stage with the house lights still on, the band wasted no time crashing into Elevation, from their latest release, All That You Can't Leave Behind. The Edge's guitar crunched, Bono's voice soared on the high pitched "woooooooooo"s, and the general admission floor (a relative bargain at $45 a pop) was literally shaking beneath our feet. From what I was told by my brother's friend, the balcony was as well. With this tour, U2 has simplified everything, although, you must understand, simplified for U2 is still pretty damn big. Four large video screens hang over the stage, with one screen devoted to each band member. And a giant heart shaped stage takes up half the floor space, with 300 lucky fanatics enclosed inside the heart. The heart also does double duty as a huge catwalk for the band to walk out on. The results from this staging concept were both memorable and extremely satisfying. The whole band came out to the tip of the heart for Desire, and Bono and the Edge sang face to face on In A Little While, a song the late great Joey Ramone listened to up until he died, calling it "his favorite song." Bono himself sang an a cappella snippet of the Beatles In My Life before that, showing once again that rock singers CAN sing. Bono improvised a lot of cover lyrics into the ends of songs, as he has done all tour. Mysterious Ways got the Sexual Healing treatment, Sunday Bloody Sunday got the very appropriate Get Up, Stand Up treatment, and Desire got Van Morrison's Gloria treatment. Bono spoke at length about what Boston has meant to the band (Boston was the first to give the band airplay in the US, and Carter Alan, the first DJ to play them, has written two books on the band). "25 shows in this city," he said, in an obviously fitting moment of being completely touched. He also joked about what he said at the Grammys about being the "best band in the world." "That comes from being Irish. Irish people are uncool. Irish people are just hot." The other two members of the band, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton provided solid rhythm section work, even if their time in the sun was dwarfed not only by Bono, but by the Edge's killer lead riffs. Until the End of the World was an early highlight, and even Beautiful Day becomes decent in a live setting. Bono himself spent half the time on the catwalk, and half on the regular stage. He seemed genuinely overwhelmed more than once, tearing up after Mysterious Ways at the incredible Boston greeting. There is a reason after all, why people have a renewed interest in U2. ATYCLB is back to basics for the band, with none of the techno crap that permeated throughout 1997's Pop album and POPMART Tour. That tour felt cold and sterile, and I can say that without having even attended. (Come on, a 50 foot lemon? I don't NEED to attend to make that statement based on that stage prop alone!) This tour is warm, intimate and soaring. By the time the band finished their regular set with longtime favorites Where the Streets Have No Name and Pride (In the Name of Love) (one of this reviewer's all time favorite songs, and an emotional first U2 show moment for him), the crowd was drunk with ecstasy (or maybe it was the alcohol). The encores included blistering versions of Bullet the Blue Sky (if you're attending any of the final US shows here in June, this is where U2's political message begins, if that thing turns you off) and The Fly, as well as an incredibly tender yet powerful With or Without You. Coming back out a second time, the band closed with the gentle and beautiful One and the ringing Walk On. Not only did U2 make their act seem intimate after a decade of stadiums, they made the Fleetcenter feel like the old Garden again, which may be the more impressive feat. I'm attending the Friday and Saturday shows as well, but those reviews will be much more personal than this one was. Setlist for 6/5/01 U2 Elevation Tour, Fleetcenter Boston MA (courtesy of http://www.u2tours.com) Main Set: Elevation, Beautiful Day, Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways/Sexual Healing, In My Life/Stuck In a Moment, Kite, Gone, New York, I Will Follow, Sunday Bloody Sunday/Get Up Stand Up, In a Little While, Desire/Gloria, Stay, Bad/40, Where the Streets Have No Name, Pride Encore(s): Bullet the Blue Sky, With or Without You, The Fly, One, Walk On/Hallelujah  |
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