U2 Concert Review: 05/14/1997 at Memphis by Jeff Matthews

by Jeff Matthews

Three words to describe Rage Against The Machine, "angry young men." Howie B was great between sets and then the biggest band in the world walked through their adoring crowd.

Great entrance, it was fun to watch the reaction of those around me that did not have any idea that they would enter that way, as soon as the lights went down, everyone was staring into the stage, until you hear that one voice scream, "They are right there!!!"

Bono seemed frustrated with something technically, but he held the crowd on his every move anyway. He moved with Rock Star swagger across the stage almost prowling at times, about 4 songs in you could tell he and the other guys were having fun.

"Pride" was a definite highlight. Bono made sure that the whole crowd was aware of the signifigance that this city had in this song.

All of the new stuff was great, if you are planning to go to a future show, do yourself a favor and get the album and fall in love with these songs. There are some weak tracks, like any album, but there are a few U2 classics in the making on it. Unfortunately for me, the song from the new album that I was most excited about hearing was "Do You Feel Loved?" Well, that one got cut, but 9 of the 12 new songs were done live.

Classy closing number, they did a few lines of Elvis' "Cant Help Falling In Love With You" like on the Zoo TV tour. No mention of Elvis, or the fact this was his hometown. The respect was there, and it was obvious to everyone.

Great show by a great band. They will always be the greatest.

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