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NEWS : STORIES
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09.24.2009 12:16 PM EDT
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U2 Mix Crowd-Pleasing Anthems With History Lessons For New Jersey Show
Bono honored Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and protest leaders at Giants Stadium.
by
Rachel Josue, with additional reporting by Sarah Zilinski
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Bono at Giants Stadium on Wednesday
(Photo:
Eugene Gologursky/WireImage for New York Post
)
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Even the biggest rock star on the planet could be drowned out by the sound of 60,000 people singing, "And I still haven't found what I'm looking for." So, Bono let the crowd do his job for him.
U2
played the first of their New York-area shows Wednesday night at Giants Stadium. Beginning with "Breathe," a tune from their latest album No Line on the Horizon, the show roller-coastered from dance party to history lesson and back in the way that every U2 fan in the arena anticipated.
Three songs in, Bono paused to thank show openers, Muse, shouting out that they were #1 on iTunes in 24 countries (though they were only #3 on the U.S. charts).
Moments later, he stopped again. "Happy Bithday, Bruce Springsteen. 60 years old!" announced the U2 frontman. "Sing it for the Boss: And I still haven't found what I'm looking for!"
When the band transitioned into Springsteen's "She's the One," the speculation that the Boss might make an onstage appearance shot through the crowd like lightning. Bono modified the lyrics to "He's the one," ending the song with a humble apology: "Excuse us, Bruce." Although the cameo didn't happen, the crowd roared with approval.
Bono interrupted "Beautiful Day" with a shout-out to another music legend. "I want to do something for Quincy Jones, who is here tonight." Somehow, he then was able to fit a couple of lines from Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" into "Beautiful Day."
Some of the audience may have been scratching their heads when Bono dedicated the title song from No Line on the Horizon to Sugimoto-san. Hiroshi Sugimoto, as it turns out, is the photographer whose photos appear on the cover of the new album.
In addition to newer tunes, the band brought back crowd-pleasing rock anthems like "Mysterious Ways," "New Year's Day," "Vertigo," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "City of Blinding Lights" and "One." A dance version of "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" with bongo drums should be the anthem for the 2010 World Cup.
Of course, it wouldn't be a U2 show if you didn't get a lesson on the world's suffering. Bono talked about nonviolent revolutions against the suffering in Iran and dedicated "Walk On" to embattled Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The highlight of the night, however, was much more subdued. The Irish rocker spied — in the pit in front of the stage — a tattooed fellow countryman, who requested a song to dedicate to his mother up in the stands. The impromptu acoustic version of "Stuck in a Moment" that followed had an emotional purity that shows just why this band is still filling stadiums after all these years.
This report is provided by MTV News
 
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