by Michael West

London 3 Review

We arrived at Earls Court at about 4pm - half-hoping that we'd have a shot at sneaking into the Heart. Previous reports had suggested that this was a definite possibility but with London being such a magnet for European fans it turned out that our hopes were dashed. I think Jon and I were two of about ten British people queuing up for this show! We decided that we'd try and snag a position as close to the tip of the Heart on Edge's side as humanly possible. As it turned out we got right on the barrier about halfway down - from a purely observational spot this was a GREAT position!

Nelly was the support act for tonight's show and, in my opinion, she was better than both Kelis and PJ Harvey. Didn't get to see JJ72, which was a shame as I think they would have won top honours from me. Unlike Kelis, Nelly's brand of music was much more appropriate for a U2 demographic and I think the crowd responded more enthusiastically because of this. Her voice was certainly more powerful than I had previously given her credit for. I especially liked a song called "Ambivalence" (I assume that was the title) but the low-point was a tune called "Party" which was quite possibly the worst song I have ever heard! Felt like somebody was ripping a cheese-grater across my ears for those ten minutes. The crowd behind us on the floor gathered very quickly and it wasn't long before we were effectively pinned-in for the duration. The waiting for the show to start was purgatory as I really was feeling the call of nature! lol. I passed the time by thinking about how nice it would be to have a catheter for these kind of events. Yes, I am that sad.

Now, I'll apologise in advance for the more spartan detail on EC 3&4. At the time I didn't jot down some notes right after the show, plus with them being my seventh and eight shows in a short period of time, I'm pretty much running out of things to say about the songs! Elevation and Beautiful Day were the first two songs and they were performed in pretty much identical fashion to all the other shows - very nicely. I prefer Elevation as a live beast as opposed to the album cut but I'm not sure whether it’s the best choice for opener. Certainly, the boys coming onstage when the Influx mix is playing and going straight into it is fantastic. Personally, though, I'm more a fan of a longer intro to the opening song - a la Streets, Zoo Station and Mofo.

Until The End Of The World was fantastic as towards the end of the song Edge waltzed down the ramp and stood RIGHT in front of us! He was playing there for quite a while as Bono cavorted with the masses formed at the tip of the Heart. I remember thinking "He's stayed down there too long… he's got to get up for the fight scene!". With his father having passed away before this concert I hoped that some idiot hadn't pissed him off at the tip so early in the show. My original impression was that he had got into a bit of a scuffle with a fan but the general consensus appeared to be that he had either dropped his shades or they'd been pinched. He eventually got back up and a mini-fight with Edge ensued - I was a bit disappointed that Larry didn't prolong the end to this song to accommodate but his attitude appears to be very business-like on this tour I've found. In fact, "business-like" probably sums up the whole show for me really. Understandably, with the events surrounding the concert it was always going to be difficult.

New Years Day was next and by this stage I was REALLY finding it difficult to become motivated by this number. Don't get me wrong, GREAT song - just not my cup of tea these days. I can't really remember much of it due to the brainless inbreeds pushing behind me. Cheers for that, lads, next time try not to consume so much alcohol before the show starts, eh? I've not been in a fight since I was about eight years old but there were times during this show when I was paying serious consideration to chinning them. I can look after myself but I was getting increasingly concerned for the small, slight women who were getting thrown about directly behind me - one of whom had to be lifted out of there. I repeatedly told the stewards but I guess there's not much they can do in that type of situation…

Kite was, as always, preceded with a speech from Bono. He thanked his father for giving him his voice, spoke of how he had been very ill and how he had now "left the planet". He said he thought he had wrote it for his kids but in fact his old man had written it for him. His voice was excellent on this song - powerful but with a hint of gravel in the back of his throat after such a long tour. Like an angel after a rough night. A fantastic performance, dripping with emotion. The acoustic ending featured another reference to Bob when he sang "The last of the opera stars". Gone followed, with the lyric mishap of "…holding onto every little thing so *brightly*… tightly!". It was around this time when I knew that Bono was simply trying too hard! His face was taught with the anguish of over-exertion and this meant that the overall performance of the boys wasn't quite as polished as previous shows. All things in consideration, though, I still think they did a fantastic job.

New York was next, a song spoiled once again by a retarded infant disguised as an adult behind me. The amount of Day Releases these days has really gone up, hasn't it!? For people who know the "script" of the show fairly well, I was positioned right in the middle of the first curtain that drops down during this song. Henceforth, I had a very sweaty and gyrating Bono directly in front of me for a fair portion of this song! He was so close I could have touched his leg if I'd stretched far enough. I was 99% certain that they would play 11 O Clock Tick Tock in the I Will Follow/Out Of Control slot tonight with it being the third show of their stay in London. And play it they did! This was virtually the only change to the "normal" set. I was disappointed that they didn't mix it up over the last two shows in the capital to the extent that they did in Chicago and Boston but these things happen. 11 O Clock is a personal favourite of mine and it was great to hear it! However, the vast majority of the crowd wasn't familiar with it (same Joshua Tree Only crowd it would appear - what a surprise!). Overall, I would have to say I found the performance to be mildly disappointing. It suffered by virtue of simply not being played as regularly as the other two songs that normally take up this slot. These days it is FAR too down-tempo! This tour's versions pale in comparison to the early years - simply not as uplifting as it deserves to be. Also, Edge completely stuffed his guitar solo (the sole occasion for me this tour - unlike Little Steven of the E Street Band!). However, it was great to see Bono stamping his feet as he sang the "Call out!" part at the top of his mighty lungs.

Sunday Bloody Sunday was starting to drag for me at this stage, although the rest of the crowd appeared to lap up every second of it. For me, it just hasn't got the PASSION of years gone by and Larry's martial, military drum-beat just isn't loud or prominent enough in the mix for my tastes. Maybe it was my position tonight, but the driving force of the entire song seemed to be lost in the flood to me. Wake Up Dead Man was sung very quickly by Bono. He wasn't happy at all as Edge's guitar wasn't working and had to be replaced mid-song. It only began to work right at the end of the song, with Bono gesticulating up-close for him to play! I think he apologised to him for this later in the evening as they made a trip down to the tip of the Heart together. In A Little While and Stuck were both standard performances with nothing exceptional happening in either case if my memory serves.

Stay, however, was absolutely superb! For the majority of the song Bono had his back to the main audience and appeared to be looking straight at me as he sang. And he sang with such passion and zest and energy! His face contorting with the sheer effort of his delivery. Bad followed this and is always a highlight. However, tonight's version wasn't the best I have heard - the first show in London still retains that honour in my estimation. Everyone knows what comes after Bad… and I really can't say anything more about Streets! If you've been fortunate enough to see it live, you know how it feels. If you haven't, read some of my other reviews for the UK shows and you'll have a fair idea! By this stage I was making it commonplace to ensure that I looked back to see the rest of the arena on their feet going absolutely crazy. Wonderful, joyous moment of release and celebration. I thought Mysterious Ways was fantastic tonight! Very close to stealing my pick for song of the night (which, for a huge change, went to The Fly for the 67th time). I think this tour's version stuffs the PopMart performances out of sight. However, ZooTV still reigns supreme overall. Bono simply can't consistently hit those insane falsettos these days… if he even attempts them! Edge owns this song. The Fly was simply extraordinary! I genuinely think that the version on this tour is one of U2's finest live moments. In my opinion it creams the ZooTV rendition out of sight. A classic up-tempo rocking song!

The intro for Bullet featured Aung San Suu Kyi. I'm assuming this was the World Premiere as I'd certainly not seen it before. It was definitely much better than the very mediocre E.U. intro. Bono screwed-up the lyrics MASSIVELY throughout virtually the entire song! Consequently, tonight's version was basically a joke. When he fluffed the first line I looked at Jon and we both just burst out laughing. As far as Bono's lyrical mishaps go, I think he's done just great on this tour and don't mind the odd one here and there at all! He, on the other hand, looked very pissed-off and pained throughout this song. With Or Without You didn't have the Stars ending - henceforth, I found it to be quite boring. One, on the contrary, was superb! Before it began, Bono spoke about the dire Human Rights situation in Africa. Edge's solo was extended even further tonight as Bono took a step back from the mic to strum away on his own guitar. Walk On was fine but didn't exactly floor me…

Overall, this was another very good show. One of the weaker ones of the UK tour in my opinion… but it's important to remember that they set the bar pretty damn high for themselves!

Mike

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