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Madison Square Garden, New York June 17, 2001 By C. Bottomley Bono may joke about that giant olive these days, but U2 weren't off-base when they supported their Pop disc with a tour that involved McDonald's arches and all sorts of other garish stage paraphernalia. Beyond being an attempt to bring Kmart to the people, it was also an acknowledgement that the rock group itself was a brand name on the verge of becoming the dinosaur the band members despised in their new wave youth. True to form, U2 played the commodity logo to the hilt. But with All That You Can't Leave Behind, we know that tawdriness, kitsch, and sarcasm have been set aside. At MSG, U2 were quite simply a band reborn - as much a call for celebration as the return of Classic Coke. Touring arenas was smart. By bringing their MTV-approved image to smaller venues, they've convinced their audience that they're sitting even closer to the real thing. The set designers created a corral surrounded by a heart-shaped catwalk in which 250 lucky fans could view the experience close up. Bono sprinted around the walkway. The Edge strolled out during his solos to get a piece of the adulation. Larry Mullen Jr. stayed fixated on his drums, Adam Clayton played as if considering the apres-gig rider. Their individual roles have stayed the same. It's just the pimento garnish that has disappeared. Considering Bono's back-to-basics rhetoric, U2 still couldn't help serving up three chords and the truth with a seasoning of theatricality. They wandered out under the house nights to open with "Elevation," All That You Can't Leave Behind's crassest - and savviest - tune, one which every audience member knew the words to regardless of whether they had seen Tomb Raider or not. Their joyous take on "Beautiful Day" suggested they were searching for the Christmas spirit in a monsoon. As if the Edge's guitar wasn't already making the band sound like Steve Cropper had joined Limp Bizkit, "Until the End of the World" saw him and Bono almost literally butting heads, until the singer toppled onto some audience members and their assorted "Happy Godfather's Day, Adam" cards. Subtract the rock 'n' roll, and you've got two 40-year-olds pretending they're the last gang in town. With it, you'd never guess they've been doing this for two decades. U2 perform a dream set. When Springsteen was great, people went to hear him sing "Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart" from "The Promised Land." For this graying head, it's Bono acknowledging, "I'm a man, I'm not a child" on "Kite," an eloquent declaration that you can't wave the white flag forever. That may be why he introduced an acoustic version of "Stay (Faraway So Close)" as the most beautiful song U2 have ever written. Before "In a Little While," Bono explained how his hero Joey Ramone had passed away listening to the tune. "He turned a good song into a great one," the singer noted, and the band easily did it justice. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Bullet the Blue Sky" no longer have to save the world, so the first has become a strange anthem (which one couple dry humped along, oblivious to its protest-song origins), and the latter is now introduced with a clip of Charlton Heston saying the only bad gun is in the hands of a bad person. Songs were chosen for maximum effect, with the chanting "Bad" segueing into an electrifying "Where the Streets Have No Name," followed by a set-closing "Pride" that left the audience limp and wondering how the hell Bono could keep doing laps around that damn heart-shaped walkway. All That You Can't Leave Behind finds brilliance in simplicity, and U2 turned minimal props into grand gestures. There were scrims onto which constellations were projected during "With or Without You," a flashing LED screen on "Streets," and a handheld searchlight with which Bono illuminated himself during the closing rant of "Blue Sky." No white flags. And no golden arches. But two heart-stopping moments occurred: Bono smashed up against the pulsing screen as the guitar screams of "The Fly" died away, and during the encore, his quotes of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the end of "Walk On." That's elevation, all right. But don't try to stick a label on it. For news, pictures, and songs, please visit the U2 Fan Club. |
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