by theadge

When U2 announced they would be touring to mark the 30th anniversary of their classic and best-selling album The Joshua Tree, it was a bit of a surprise. The band has never been one to look back, and they had been hard at work on their next album, Songs of Experience. But in the wake of Trump’s election, U2 found the album’s meditations on the dual nature of America once again had relevance. These instincts paid off, as their concert at AT&T Stadium (their first in the Dallas area since 2009) felt not like a nostalgia trip but a renewal of the band’s mission statement.

There are nods to the past for sure. The stage design reflects that of the original 1987 tour, though this is accompanied by a video screen and a tree-shaped B-stage that extended out to the fans on the floor. For those who are familiar with U2’s previous grandiose stadium tours such as ZooTV, Popmart, and 360, this is a much more minimalistic design, but it works for what they were trying to accomplish here. The band started their set on the “tree-stage” with the screen behind them turned off, as Larry Mullen Jr. kicked things into gear with the pulse-pounding beat of Sunday Bloody Sunday. They continued to rev up the audience with three more of their biggest pre-Joshua Tree hits – New Year’s Day, Bad, and Pride (In the Name of Love). It was here in which Bono made his first plea for unity in our divided country.

Then the main event arrived. The screen turned bright red and the familiar organ intro to Where the Streets Have No Name played as the band walked to the main stage. The silhouettes of the four band members in front of this background was the memorable image of the night. Despite a noticeable flub in getting the rest of the band in from the opening guitar riff, they quickly recovered. They followed with I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For and With or Without You as videos of beautiful landscapes played behind them. The first camera shots of the band were featured in a crushing Bullet the Blue Sky (originally written as a condemnation of Reagan era foreign policy which, sadly, still applies), complete with Bono shining a spotlight as he did many years ago. The beautiful Running to Stand Still highlighted both Bono’s singing and harmonica skills, and The Edge surprisingly kept himself at the piano for Red Hill Mining Town, which the band has never played live before this tour. Bono noted that they hadn’t figured out how to play it until now as sometimes the moment needs to be right.

The “side 2” section continued with In God’s Country in its full rockin’ glory (it has usually been done acoustically in its handful of appearances over the years). Trip Through Your Wires featured an amusing video of The Edge’s wife Morleigh Steinberg dressed a cow girl. Bono tried to recall where they had played their first gig in Dallas (apparently a place called Bijou), quipping that Adam Clayton "doesn't remember the 80s." For One Tree Hill, Bono talked of the inspiration for the song – the death of roadie Greg Carroll – and he dedicated it to all of those who have lost someone. I choked up thinking of the recent passing of my aunt as he sang one of my favorite lines: “I’ll see you again, when the stars fall from the sky.”

The penultimate Exit featured the most direct political statement of the night: a hilarious clip of an old Western featuring a duplicitous character named Trump who promises some townspeople he'll build them a wall. Bono donned a black hat as The Edge, Adam and Larry brought the intensity. Mothers of the Disappeared, the final track of The Joshua Tree, is a stirring tribute to the women whose children were forcibly “disappeared” at the hands of the Argentinian and Chilean dictatorships. A video was shown of a group of these women holding candles for their lost loved ones. After the song closed, Bono remarked on how much it meant to them that these songs still mean so much to people. The band exited the stage, but the show was not over.

The first encore began with an emotional video of a young Syrian refugee as Miss Sarajevo is repurposed for another war-torn region and a white banner was passed through the crowd. While Bono has usually sung Pavarotti’s vocals, they were instead played of the speaker this time, in likely tribute to the singer who passed away ten years ago this year. Ultraviolet (Light My Way) was similarly reimagined as a celebration of women, with Texans like the late Gov. Ann Richards and Laura Bush featured. As usual, Bono took the opportunity to talk about the progress made against AIDS in Africa before One, thanking both Presidents Bush and Obama, and the American taxpayer, for providing funds to combat the disease that has ravaged the continent.

Bono then announced “one more,” which, lucky for us, meant one more encore, not song. The tree lit up with an array of colors for Beautiful Day (now a nearly-20-year-old classic, if you can believe it!) and the crowd was brought to further heights with Elevation. While the band had been closing most nights so far with a new song, The Little Things That Give You Away, they chose to ignore the printed set list and finish the high-energy trifecta with a surprise performance of I Will Follow, leaving the crowd more than satisfied. Bono shouted "Dallas, we will follow!" as the band took their final bows.

I have seen U2 three times previously and the fourth did not disappoint, exceeding even my high expectations. The Irish foursome play with as much vigor and sense of purpose on The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 as they did thirty years ago. This celebration of the past left me just that much more excited for the future. And to experience it with my wife, who had never before seen U2 live, made it all the more special.

When I go there, I go there with you. It’s all I can do.

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