My U2 360 Tour Review: Bigger Can Be Better

I did not think it was possible. In fact, I thought it was downright unimaginable. How it happened, I'm not sure, but I somehow managed to thoroughly enjoy last night's U2 concert!

You see, I'm not what you would call a U2 fan. I'm not really a hater either, I'm pretty much indifferent to them. I've liked most of their radio hits (which, as I was reminded last night, are plentiful) but I've never owned one of their albums. And frankly, I've always thought Bono was fully 12 Curics (South Park reference… if you're not a fan, shame on you!). So to me, the idea of paying what we paid for tickets to their kick-off show of their North American tour just did not seem like a great idea. But the fiancé is a huge fan, and well… the things we do for love!

Actually, I had heard from more than my fanboy manfriend that U2 puts on one hell of a show, so I was pretty psyched for the show. Sure, I wouldn't have a clue what some of their songs were, but I'd be able to jam along with everyone else to their hits, so it couldn't be all bad. Besides, nearly 60,000 people jumping and screaming and grinding has scientifically been proven to equal good times, so I was truly looking forward to the show (don't tell my boyfriend though, he might think I wasn't suffering through the show just for him).

First things first. The stage was obese. That's just about the only way to put it. It was a gynormous mass of metal and lights and completely random fog machines. Some have take to calling it "the claw," but this stage seems to be like gazing at clouds: everyone sees something completely different when looking at it. U2 themselves thought it looked like a spaceship, which is either a testament to the power of drugs or a showing of the "if you only believe it hard enough, it'll be true" dreamers mentality. You're guess is as good as mine there. Personally, I thought it looked like a 4-legged spider. It had just about everything a rocker could want with moving screens, a theater-in-the-round feel (which allowed them to sell even more tickets) and enough lighting to make Weta studios jealous. Oh, and it cost $40 million. Per stage. There's at least 2 of them, possibly three, travelling around the world right now.

The stage was pretty much a success though, even given it's gargantuan size. Everyone in the stadium had a good seat. The band spent their time running around the whole deal, making use of the outer rim as well as giving the drummer a rotating platform that would shift directions every few songs. The screens rose and fell, lights flashed and blinded the audience, and even giant disco balls made an appearance. Oh, and Bono decided to ruin the brief moment of looking cute again by busting on stage with a jacket covered in laser pointer lights… during their second encore. He's not pompous at all, I pinky swear it.

I'm giving the stage shit, but it was really cool. Over the top, for sure, but what's $120 million worth of stages when you're U2?

As for the really important part (to me anyway), the music was spot on. I didn't know about half of the songs they played, and learned today that most of those were tracks from their newish album, but they were still pretty interesting to hear live. In between those tracks those, the boys pumped the audience back up with some of their big hits. One, In the Name Of Love and Elevation are just a few that pop to mind right now, but I know they played plenty more because I didn't walk away missing any particular song.

And honestly, the fact that half of their nearly 2.5 hours of show time was familiar to me as someone who has never owned a U2 cd in his life speaks wonders of the band. They are talented. They are creative. They truly are entertainers. Some of my more "rock"-ier friends will (and do) piss on U2 for being too pop, and maybe they are a bit pop, but I've never seen a pop star put on the kind of show these guys did last night. It was solid, it was energetic, and it kept my attention the whole time.

One of the reasons many people think U2 to be a bit on the douchier side of things is because of the sometimes polar opposite actions versus words dichotomy of the band. On one hand, they spend lots of time speaking of social justice, and righting societal ills and politics and fighting world hunger, and on the other hand they send $120 million on stages alone. Yeah, I see these people's point. But I'm not sure I buy into that line of thought. Yeah, U2 takes pleasure in their earnings. We all do. But they also use the position they've carved for themselves in this world to try and make things better wherever they can, and they do it fearlessly. In front of 60,000 people, they talked about our need to fight AIDS in Africa and raised awareness of the Burmese political plight. That takes some balls. And it takes a lot of talent to pull that off and still bring in full stadiums night after night. And I respect that.

If you asked me yesterday if I'd ever admit to liking a U2 show, I'd probably have made some snide, hipster-esque comment and went about my business. But after last night, I have to say that these guys know how to put on a show. An obese show, for sure, but if U2 can't pull off a huge budget tour, who the hell can? If you want pro recommendations, the Chicago Sun-Times hated it and the Chicago Tribune liked it. My recommendation: Go see it if you can. Don't miss this show!