U2 are the band that it seems everyone, of every age, has a fervently held opinion about, either positive or negative. It’s possible, maybe even fashionable, to be deeply cynical about them now, especially when they show up with 27 semis and build a UFO in a football stadium, preach at you between songs (am I buggin’ you?) and charge a hundred bucks per ticket for the privilege of hearing them do so. That kind of thing can turn people off.

And on top of all that, when you delay the concert for a year while your primadonna lead singer recuperates from a bad back (damaged while shouldering the cares of the world no doubt) you better think twice before hauling your sorry ass into town and asking people to dust off their year-old tickets and show up to your over-late, over-blown traveling circus of a show.

And yet.  U2 are just that band for me.  That band because I first fell in love with them listening to a borrowed copy of Wide Awake In America on my battered car stereo while driving to and from ski resorts as a budding ski bum in the 80s and watching a rented copy of Under A Blood Red Sky curled up in a dark basement. 

Fell in love with them again in 1987 as a college sophomore teaching English in China when a bootlegged copy of The Joshua Tree felt like my only lifeline to civilization.  

Went to Rattle and Hum when I got home and loved every cliched minute. 

Fell in love with them again in law school when Achtung Baby was the only thing I ever listened to in the my red Corolla commuting from Tacoma to Olympia and back in the dark.

I was there for the Zoo TV tour on the sixth row.  The Pop Mart tour in the nosebleed section.  The Elevation tour just after 9/11 when it felt like Bono was our national funeral director and head cheerleader.  I watched U23D in the theater three times.  I mean, I love these guys, man.  But can a love like that continue into middle age, or does it lose something over the years?  Could this show live up to all the delayed expectations, or would it just be a disappointing retread?

I took my 14 year old daughter to the show, because she was excited about it and she has never seen U2.  That concept is hard for me to wrap my head around.  I used to sing her to sleep with this little lullaby when she was a baby:

As soon as we got into the stadium, the fun started. Even the ticket checkers were having a good time:

As it turned out, I was glad she was there with me.

The Fray opened and, coming fresh off their hometown appearance in Denver, they were charged up. Frontman Isaac Slade was engaging, marvelling at the size of his image on the jumbotron and the length of time it took to take a lap on the the enormous circular stage. He mentioned that his songs are primarily failed interventions and said they were working on a whole set of new ones.

It took almost an hour to reset after The Fray, during which time we were entertained by messages crawling accross the jumbotron. They were educational, telling us the time in various locations, as well as a number of obscure but interesting facts. For instance, did you know that no US President has ever been an only child? Or that the world will run out of oil in 15,500 or so days? Now you do.

U2 took the stage to the opening sounds of “Major Tom” and launched directly into “Even Better Than the Real Thing”, which was appropriate, since the two hour setlist leaned heavily toward Achtung Baby material:

Even Better Than The Real Thing
I Will Follow
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Mysterious Ways
Elevation
Until The End Of The World
All I Want Is You
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Beautiful Day
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Miss Sarajevo
Zooropa
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I’ll Go Crazy / Discotheque
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Scarlet
Walk On

Encore 1
One
Where The Streets Have No Name

Encore 2
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
With Or Without You
Moment Of Surrender

The “Walk On” portion of the show was kicked off by a message from recently freed political prisoner and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.  She gave credit to U2 and Amnesty International for her release.  Another portion of the show saw Bono reminding the audience that in some places, “dancing will earn you a life sentence, (and in some places it should).”  Images on the screen evoked the Arab Spring, while the iconic drumline and guitar of (this song is NOT a rebel song, this song is…) “Sunday Bloody Sunday” charged into the night.

But all that is just the expected trappings that go along with a U2 concert.  The thing that sets U2 apart from every other rock band is the theatrics.  All that gimckrackery that they haul around with them in their trucks to every city.  It has the potential for being an annoying distraction, but instead, in this case all that technology was seamlessly wedded to the artistry of the show.  The setlist was almost irrelevant because the show seemed like a unified artistic whole that flowed flawlessly, even when Bono took time out to sing happy birthday to Bob Dylan or read a poem about Utah with three groupies from the audience.

The band members themselves have never looked better, nor has Bono ever been in better Vox.  The enormous stage was a challenge, but Bono circumnavigated it several times, as did the others, which may account for why they are all in such great shape.  Larry, in particular, looked like he could walk through a brick wall unscathed as he waltzed out from behind his drumkit playing his very own conga while jamming to “I’ll Go Crazy.”  Edge was actually pogo-ing while playing guitar at times, which you don’t really expect to see this side of Blink 182.  This band has energy, folks, and they’re not afraid to use it. 

In short, this may be the best U2 show ever.  My first one will always hold a special place in my heart, and it’s hard to beat the feeling that pervaded the arena in 2001 when the roll call of the dead climbed the wall and Bono opened his star-spangled heart, but if it’s possible for a rock show in a football stadium to feel (dare I say it) intimate, this show achieved that.  It’s not often you can say things like this about a rock band, and God knows, it may make some cynics want to put their eyes out to read it, but this show actually made me want to be a better person.  How many rock concerts can you say that about?

Albums:

I haven’t really been keeping up with new releases this year, so I look forward to hearing from everyone what they’ve been into. My faves:

Midlake - The Courage of Others
Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
Dillon Warnek – Idaho (available free here)
Dax Riggs – Say Goodnight to the World
Alcest - Ecailles De Lune

Movies:

I’m not too big on movies. The only one I remember seeing was Toy Story 3 and Inception. Toy Story 3 wins.

TV Shows:

I’d have to go with Community. My favorite episodes this season were the astronaut/space movie spoof, the Halloween zombie movie spoof, and the blanket fort episode.

Concerts:

I only went to a handful of concerts this year (10). The best has to be the Frames last week in Seattle. I just saw them again this week in LA. One of the best live bands going. There isn’t much video online from the Seattle show, but there’s tons from the LA show:

I’d write a review of both shows but it’s hard…some shows are so powerful it’s hard for me to even think about them much for a week or two afterward.

Another highlight of the year in shows for me was seeing Ted Leo cover the Waterboy’s “Fisherman’s Blues”–my favorite song of all time:

You can even see me in the video, I’m between the shiny metal bars with my hand on my chin at the beginning of the video. A magical experience for me.

So what are your bests of 2010?

This year, there were even more bands on the bill I really wanted to see. Specifically: Local Natives, Ariel Pink, Ted Leo, the Mountain Goats, and SLEEP!

If the line up seems weird, I think it’s supposed to. The festival’s website says:

“In its 7th year, the festival has sought to be a mix tape of bands that would never play with one another but go so well together.”

And that’s what it’s like. The festival has three stages plus a comedy tent, where comedians were performing (headliner was Janeane Garofalo).

Local Natives are a local band I just discovered, literally about a week ago, when I caught their video on my cable carrier’s videos-on-demand channel. I checked out their album, Gorilla Manor, and fell instantly in love. I was stoked when I realized they were on the line up for this festival.

(None of the cell phone video I took came out at the show, so I’ll try to find other people’s footage on youtube if I can.)

My son and I got there about 3 and it took almost an hour to get into the park. The line was that long. The sun was blazing hot. We got some bottled water and found a spot in the shade of a tree, where the breeze was nice and the temperature was perfect. After sitting there for an hour cooling off, we ventured over to the food vendors and had yummy chicken and ham crepes. The food lines were looooong and Local Natives had started by the time we got our food. But we could hear them from the food area so it wasn’t a panic situation. The sun was also setting by then and it wasn’t as hot. We headed over to the stage they were playing at and watched from the back of the crowd. They sounded great and were seriously awesome.

They did a Talking Heads cover, “Warning Signs.” Watch it here. I fully expect Local Natives to become really popular, if they’re not already.

After that we went over to the Oak stage for the rest of the night. Ariel Pink was already in progress when we got there.

I’ve seen Ariel Pink a couple times, and it used to be it was always a crapshoot if his band was going to be able to play their instruments. But it looks like he’s gotten serious about getting a band together that can play. I find him really entertaining, both his personality and his performances. Here’s an interesting interview with him.

Ted Leo was up next. This was about my 5th or 6th time seeing him. Ted’s always good, but it wasn’t my favorite set by him. He did mostly newer stuff, which I enjoy but not as much as earlier stuff. He did do “Me and Mia” and one or two other songs from Shake the Sheets, plus “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?” And he closed the show with “Biomusicology,” which was a thrill. He kept having trouble with his mic stand sliding down, and since he plays guitar he couldn’t just grab it and fix it–he kept asking stage hands for help but no one was coming out to help him. It happened during his last song again and he seemed a little ticked off about it.

Doesn’t look like there are any videos on youtube yet from his set, but here’s a cell phone pic I snapped:

After Ted was the Mountain Goats, a band I’ve always wanted to see live and have never managed to. So I was stoked. John Darnelle was happy and smiling and moving around, it was really fun to see him. They did the song I was most hoping they would–”No Children,” and of course everyone was singing along on the lines, “I hope you die, I hope we both die!” He didn’t do the song I was second most hoping they would (“Lovecraft in Brooklyn”) but they did do “The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton”–and dedicated it to Matt Pike.

In fact, at one point John Darnelle said something like, “I don’t know if you guys realize who is playing on this stage next! Only one of the greatest bands in the history of our country and I am not ashamed to play in their shadow–Sleep! And when they come on I’ll probably stand right there (points to the front of the crowd) going, Yeah!” and he threw the horns.

I had no idea John Darnelle was a fan of Sleep. But to be honest, I didn’t think anyone but a handful of doom metal fans were fans of Sleep. Apparently I’m out of it, because all the indie fans there seemed to be really excited for them. I figured about 10 minutes into Sleep’s set at least half the crowd would leave for the other stage, but they didn’t. I ended up against the stage barrier during Sleep’s set, right by the entrance to backstage, and John Darnelle walked right past me, leaving the backstage area for where the crowd was. Didn’t see where he went but I assume he went towards the back of the crowd where the sound wasn’t so painful. (It was seriously loud.)

It was rather surreal to hear the singer for the Mountain Goats praising Matt Pike. Sleep is an old doom metal band from the 90s that broke up. The bassist and drummer formed a drone metal band called Om, and Matt Pike, guitarist for Sleep, formed a stoner metal band called High on Fire. I’ve seen High on Fire live more than probably any other band–something like 8 or 9 times. Mainly because they tour so often–and because they’re one of my fave live bands. I just never expected my world of indie music to intersect my world of doom metal–and that’s why I love this festival. Where else can you see a band like the Mountain Goats just before seeing a band like Sleep?

I debated whether to go to this show, because I already saw the Kings in L.A., and they have not put out any new material since that tour. In the end, my love of the Kings got the best of me and I went to the Usana Amphitheater to see what the boys would play. Bottom line: I’m very glad I did.

This was a very different show from the one I saw at Nokia Theater. That show came at the beginning of their first American tour after the new album “Only By The Night” was released. The band seemed just a bit tentative, wondering how the new material would be received in their home country, where they had previously had much less success than in Europe. By comparison, this show was utterly confident, if a bit road-weary. The setlist was very different from the previous one as well, as the band was not so intent on showcasing the latest album, so there were more selections from previous albums.

There was new material too, as the band seems to be using this tour to try out some new things they have written for the next album. I love it when bands do this, and this concert featured four songs never heard before. Though they were not as polished as the other songs, they were fresh and raw and seemed like the start of something different but nice. Sounds like the new album may be a bit of a change of pace, if these new songs are any indication. Very cool.

As much as I hate the idea of giving those ratbastard snake oil salesmen at Usana any more publicity, the Usana Amphitheater is just an awesome place to see a concert. Outdoor venues often have problems with sound or seating or sightlines (or other tres importante words beginning with S), but this place has it all, even decent bathrooms and a gorgeous view. All together, it was a great night and I recommend seeing this band whenever and wherever you can catch them.

I did a search on Flickr and found photos someone else had taken. I’m in several of them!

This is me while the opening band was getting ready to play. (Far right.)

When Converge came on, I knew it was going to get hairball, so I moved over behind the side wall of the stage. To give you an idea of where I was at, you can see my cell phone taking video in this shot. Just my hand–I was behind that wall! But I could still see a lot of what was going on. I was scared someone would stage dive onto me if I stayed right in front of the stage.

But the best thing? More than one person filmed the entire show, and they’ve posted it on youtube.

See what I mean about hairball? And the show just gets more insane as it goes on. (You can see the guy who took the pictures I linked to in the video, wearing a blue shirt.)

2. How else am I going to get my fill of head-scratching human behavior?

Yes, you really did just see that. It happened. At a wedding.

3. Making the funny funnier. I love that people will compile funny stuff into one big funny awesome thing.

Why do you love the Internet?

It’s the rare rock band nowadays that rocks a baby grand as its primary weapon of choice, but Jack’s Mannequin is that band.

The band is the creation of frontman Andrew McMahon, starting in 2004 on a break from McMahon’s previous band, Something Corporate. In short order, McMahon released an album with Jack’s Mannequin and was diagnosed with leukemia. His successful battle with the disease is chronicled in a DVD and accompanying EP entitled “Dear Jack.”

The band’s follow-up album, The Glass Passenger, was released in September 2008 and became one of my favorites that year.

The current tour, entitled “Sing For Your Supper” will be in many US cities over the next few weeks. We saw the band in SLC tonight at In the Venue, and though my tolerance for that place is seriously running low, it was a energetic show that really showcased McMahon’s talent and that of his band. If you have a chance to see it, definitely check it out, it’s well worth your time and cash.

Brendan Benson is a different sort of cat. He has a pretty folkie image, plays an acoustic guitar a lot, lives in Nashville. But every now and then, he picks up his electric guitar and reminds you that he grew up in Detroit and hangs out with Jack White.

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=3952170923462013148&hl=en&fs=true

Benson’s latest album, My Old Familiar Friend (released August 2009) bridges that gap somewhat, letting us see both sides of his personality, but always edging a little more toward the pop/folk side of the spectrum.  Seeing Benson live reminds you why The Raconteurs works so well as a side project for both Benson and White: instead of pulling in different directions, they blend together and create something better than either one have separately.

Now that Benson is touring behing his latest album, I understand that White is working on a new White Stripes album.  After that's finished, maybe we can get some more of The Raconteurs.  In the meantime, I do enjoy Benson on his own.  He is a very good songwriter and enjoyable to see live.

Just One Day
http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=63049982,t=1,mt=video

Hello Park City, Salt Lake City, and surrounding Mormon Townships.  Tonight, in your honor, we are all wearing undergarments.  Undergarments of black leather…. It’s a little hot.

-Kevin Griffin, BTE frontman, October 1, 2009

BTE rocked the Star Bar in Park City tonight and absolutely killed.  It was Kevin’s birthday, so there was cake on the pool table and Howie Day joined the set as a birthday present.  Howie sang “Live Again” from BTE (above), then a song from his own new album then his hit song “Collide” (below).

If you haven’t seen this band live you are absolutely missing out on one of the best things in life.  If you have a chance to see them (especially if that opportunity happens to be in New Orleans), do not pass go, do not collect $200, just go.  Now.

Half of you will probably say I’m a Johnny-come-lately when it comes to U2 fandom, half will call me an old-timer. I’m a member of the “Third Round” of U2 fans, the ones who came of age and discovered U2 during the Achtung Baby years (as opposed to the First Round Boy through Unforgettable Fire fans, or the Second Round Joshua Tree fans).

The days of great U2 albums might be long gone, but I still shell out money to see the band play whenever they come to town. I saw them just a few hours ago at Giants Stadium (in the hideous freeway junction known as East Rutherford, NJ), and I have to say, while it’s been years since the band has made any relevant, interesting music, they’re still playing relevant music every night.

A perfect example: Sunday Bloody Sunday, a song written more than a quarter century ago. Tonight’s performance was dedicated to “the heroes who are peacefully protesting in Iran,” and the band played a version of the song that was largely unchanged from tours past, while photos of Iranian atrocities were shown on the huge screen above the stage. The whole stadium was bathed in green, and as Bono sang “How long, how long must we sing this song?” I couldn’t help thinking that’s it’ll probably be at least 25 more years. Will a 75-year-old Bono still wonder how long he has to sing that song? And to whom will the song be dedicated then?

As is befitting a rock concert happening right outside NYC during a meeting of the UN General Assembly, Bono piled on with the causes during the show. The One campaign and Project Red to fight AIDS, poverty, and malaria in Africa; the Iran election; racial and religious intolerance; a somewhat bizarre plug for Mayor Bloomberg (which lasted about 5 minutes); and the band played “Walk On” to honor Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Burmese presidential election in 1990 and has been imprisoned ever since. There was a big group of volunteers who took the stage wearing Aung San Suu Kyi masks in her honor.

Rock-and-roll telethons aside, the show was fantastic. They played enough new stuff to justify a tour to support their album, but also mined pretty deep into their old catalog and found some gems. From my favorite album, The Unforgettable Fire, they’ll typically play Pride (in the Name of Love). Tonight, however, they played MLK and the album’s title track, which is my Favorite U2 Song Ever, and one I’ve never heard them play live. They also dug deep into Achtung Baby for Ultraviolet (another favorite), and played a gorgeous stripped-down version of Stay (Faraway, So Close) from Zooropa. It was an interesting setlist–the band is clearly trying to avoid becoming a touring jukebox, while still pleasing all the old fans, young fans, and middle-aged fans. The high point came when U2 ripped into its first encore with “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Everyone comes together over The Joshua Tree.

U2 shows are also fun because you can look back at past tours and see how far display technology has advanced. In the early nineties, Zoo TV littered the stage with TVs. Some were quite big, with a clear picture, but I’m assuming they were rear-projection televisions,  and they were used with LaserDisk players. (!) For PopMart in 1997, a giant screen was invented and built that was 160 feet wide with 150,000 pixels. I saw that show at the Oakland Coliseum, and the screen stretched from one end of the outfield to the other–it was amazing.

For the Vertigo tour a few years ago, instead of a single huge screen, the LEDs were mounted onto strands of wire to form 7 curtain panels, which acted as seven different displays hanging from the ceiling. Very cool, but I think there were technically only 12,000 pixels altogether.

For this tour, the screen wraps 360 degrees, and they do some absolutely amazing things with it. I’m not sure what the resolution is, but the picture was much sharper than I expected it to be. Wikipedia has a great article on the tour’s set design and requirements. The big claw structure in the middle of the stadium reportedly requires 120 trucks to transport, and there are three of them. When the tour’s over, the band will donate them to be converted into permanent outdoor music venues.

Oh, one last note from the show tonight: “Get on Your Boots” is this tour’s “Vertigo” or “Elevation”: a song that’s lame on the album but awesome live. Also, I didn’t take the above picture.

There are times, just a few as a rule, where a great band gets slated to play in a venue where it really has no business playing.  You know, Nirvana gets contractually obligated to play the Puyallup fair, or U2 ends up playing at Kilby Court because no one in Utah has heard The Unforgettable Fire yet.  To a lesser degree, such was the case on Thursday night when Band of Skulls (we discussed their album here) played the small room (it’s really small) at the Murray Theater in Murray, Utah with just shy of twenty people in attendance (the room probably could not have held many more, anyway.  It was just so small).

I have no idea how this came about.  I’m sure there’s a juicy story somewhere which tells us why the band was not even headlining in this tiny little venue (when you close the door, the light automatically goes off.  It’s very very small).  I’m sure there’s a publicist or a booking agent somewhere who probably still has no idea what a weird twilight zone evening he or she created.  When asked about the bizarre situation, lead guitarist and vocalist Russell Marsden only smiled and rolled his eyes.  But it’s best not to inquire too deeply into such things.  Partly because you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, and that’s what these evenings are: a perfect little gift that a fan can unwrap and enjoy.  We enjoyed standing at the edge of a very small stage (if the band sat down on it, they would have had room on the stage for only one butt cheek each.  It was, you know, small) and listening to this band play more than I can possibly express.

The words, “virtuoso performance” spring to mind, but even that seems to fall short.  The band makes wonderful, innovative music, but to see them live is like seeing a rocket launch after only hearing rumors about it before.  It was just a brilliant, incendiary performance that made their legitimately awesome recorded hits seem pedestrian by comparison.  My head is still ringing with the chords from their set-ending performance of “Impossible” which just about blew the walls out of the room (The walls were pretty close, cause the place was so dang small).  At the end, Russell actually laid down his Fender Jaguar and let it keep ringing out while he sculpted the amazing reverberations of sound with his pedal.  He’s not the first to do this, of course, but it’s one of the coolest things to see live and he pulled it off as well as anyone I’ve ever seen.  The only thing that would have made the evening better is if they had played “Cold Fame,” but that’s a minor quibble, as the set was darn near perfect as is.

The next time we see them, this band will probably be on a big stage with thousands of people in attendance, and they will deserve it, but it’s nice to be there when, whether it was through someon’e silly mistake or what, we get to actually hang out with them and see them perform as if they were standing in our living room (it was actually smaller than our living room.  Our couch wouldn’t have fit in there.  It was pretty freakin’ small).