I know this blog is normally reserved for purveyors of progressive rock from around the globe but I couldn’t refrain from expressing my admiration for this band. Their 2017 U.S. tour stopped in Houston, Texas where I had the pleasure of catching them live. U2 as a band has been on my radar well before they reached arena rock status. So my long acquaintance with this band has certainly colored my live experience. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of their 1987 release “The Joshua Tree” was the impetus for me shelling out what amounted to 10 times what I paid to see them during the original tour for this LP. Enough background! Get on to their performance.
Although the concept if you will for this tour was to perform “The Joshua Tree” in its’ entirely from start to finish, the band opened up with 2 gems from earlier in the career. First was “Sunday Bloody Sunday” from their 1983 release “War.” U2 performed in front of a video screen that ran the length of the stage yet for this number and the next, “New Years’ Day” there was no projection to distract us from the band’s powerful performance. But ah, that would soon change as they launched into “The Joshua Tree” and images of that iconic tree would appear via video projection.
Needless to say the band sounded great. With the innovative guitar wizardry of The Edge carrying the weight of this incredible band. Eschewing the typical lead guitar solos often found in rock, The Edge utilizes a far simpler yet still powerful method. His reliance on delay and reverb effects have created his and U2’s signature sound.
After playing the 11 tracks that make up “The Joshua Tree” the band dug into their vast repertoire of musical nuggets. First up was “Bad” from 1984’s “The Unforgettable Fire.” What stood out for this number was a huge silk screened image of a young Muslim woman wearing a head scarf that was passed along the eager hands of the audience as it made it was thought the capacity crowd. U2 was and is a band that never abandons its’ social consciousness and this evening was no different.
Fast forward to their 2000 release, “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” and the next 2 songs were “Beautiful Day” and “Elevation.” As the evening inched closer to it’s conclusion U2 reached back into their musical catalog to 1991 and “Achtung Baby.” First up was the pulsating “Ultra Violet (Light My Way).” From there the band downshifted the tempo to the rock ballad “One.” The evening came to close after and hour and 45 minutes with the track “Little Things That Give You Away” off their soon-to-be-released studio album.
So no, U2 is not and never was a progressive rock band. What they are, to harken back to a moniker that was thrown about years ago, are 1 of the biggest bands in the world. And that my friends, is something to experience live. Check out YouTube for live video for most of the songs performed this wonderful evening. Or better yet, check them out live during this U.S. tour.
pluggedin2progressiverock 