by hosive

U2 continued their love affair with Chicago tonight. And more specifically, their love affair with their loyal fans. Tonight, they offered up a 4th or 5th night set list for their devotees. On a first night!

No going through the motions tonight. The atmosphere was slower paced, more free and improvisational. was the lighting also brighter? A lot of lingering through the notes as if they had no place to rush to afterwards and no place they would rather be. A lot of talking and engaging the audience. U2 seemed very comfortable being themselves and not having to compete with younger(and more immature)bands.

The night included a bunch of rarities and songs that must have stunned bandwagon jumpers. Halfway through the show, I felt a tinge of sympathy for the casual fan. Sure, there’s elevation and beautiful day but they are scattered amongst a big chunk of new material and there would be no hits in the heart of the set list until Sunday bloody Sunday which is sandwiched between love and peace and bullet the blue sky; neither of which are on anybody’s background music to chill to play list. There would be NO mysterious ways, still haven’t found , stuck in a moment sing-alongs tonight. Instead we get early on, an acoustic version of walk on! Bono forgets the closing lyrics and motions the edge to close it out but the edge does not comply; forcing bono to ask for the lyrics. Someone brings out a stack for bono to go through before finding some version of walk on that he believes is wrong! But bono plays along.

Yaweh is played early on in the main set list to signal to frequent concert goers that something special is coming for the encore. Later, during the second encore, we get the first time from zooropa with bono this time changing the lyrics to keep the keys to the kingdom rather than throwing them away. He could not sing that earnestly back in 94 but a decade later, he can.

in the main set list, we also get ms. Sarajevo which they’ve been playing in Europe but we finally get it here for the first time in the states. Beautiful and powerful especially the opera. Before signing bono meditates on the fact that the terrorists he has met have no physical distinctions about them; but they all have the same mental differentiation: they value ideas over people. He encouraged to value people over big ideas.

With pop’s discotheque, achtung’s the fly and Joshua tree’s with or without you. we get the all the first singles off the major studio albums. Beautiful day and vertigo are in this category as well.

They end with bad….the song that propelled them into the limelight at live aid. The quintessential u2 song from seemingly another era…and it is not always played. Just for special occasions on this tour. But they seem to play it quite a bit in this city out of the love they have in their hearts for Chicago. Another great, great night and unique set list full of surprises and new interpretations.

Suck on that, greg kot. Take that, Chris martin.

A few shoutouts including one to the rev. bill hybels of willowcreek community church in the Chicago suburbs who heard the new material in Ireland and prayed with the band during their recording. Shout outs also to dick gephardt, Winona and Ashley Judd and a priest/professor? At Notre dame.

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