by James Scott Heine

In 1987 I saw U2 for the first time at Oakland Coliseum, California. They put on an electrifying turbocharged show and it defined U2's place among the greatest in rock'n'roll. I wanted to see the re-made, re-modeled U2 this year and I must say I was more than impressed.

U2 has managed to escape from being restrictively catagorized as a 'political' or 'Christian' band. Oh the religious imagery is there, but now U2 utilizes satire. And what satire! We hear their version of M's 'Pop Muzik', we see Larry, Adam and Edge step on the stage, then comes Bono- throwing shadow punches and dressed like Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The setlist was wide, stretching from "I Will Follow" to the POP album. I was delightfully surprised with "Where the Streets...", "Pride" and "Til the End of the World". Major kick-ass! The pop art animation was first-rate, especially on "Miami" and "Bullet the Blue Sky". The lemon/spaceship -turned-to-mirrored-ball was a sight to behold, something the jokers in Hollywood can NEVER do as well as U2. Bono led the crowd in one big singalong with "I Still Haven't Found.../Stand By Me" as a kind of gospel singalong. The crowd even kept singing after Bono stopped- he really got a thrill from that!

After a decade it's good to see that U2 still has what it takes, and they're more adventurous than ever. You can always count on U2 to put on a great live performance, and still make terrific music. How many bands can make that claim after 10 years? With such a spectrum of such great tunes from U2 you can't lose. See the show when it comes to your town. Postpone paying the electric bill. You just got to experience this. GO!

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