On U2’s Vertigo tour, which came to the United Center on Saturday night–the first of four sold-out shows continuing this week–the cheap seats prove to be the best seats, providing access to the general admission floor section where well-positioned fans can stand mere inches from Bono–or whoever else ventures out to meet them.
As for the more expensive seats, well, let’s just say they would go a long way toward reducing Third World debt, making Bono’s off-season work that much easier.
Back in 2001 during its highly profitable Elevation tour, the band was forgiven its grab for cash. During the tour–which straddled the events of Sept. 11–U2 managed to wedge itself comfortably into the national healing process. What was missing from Saturday night’s show was that sense of context–that feeling that this tour is something other than just another rock ‘n’ roll band plying its wares for a couple of hours. As hard as Bono and crew tried to leave that impression Saturday, they didn’t succeed.
The simple stage setup–a lit catwalk recycled from the last tour and a descending curtain of lights that served as an ersatz video screen–put the burden on the band alone to make the evening special, and Bono and crew weren’t up to the task.
Bono’s voice in particular was the weakest it’s been in recent memory, with songs such as “Vertigo” and “Elevation” delivered partly in an out-of-breath, speak-sing style while dollops of audio effects were enlisted to help him hit higher and tougher notes.
Four years ago, Bono used the catwalk as a makeshift track, sprinting around the United Center, but Saturday night he merely strolled, striking various ridiculous poses.
Relatively subdued new songs such as “Miracle Drug” vied awkwardly with increasingly meaningless anthems “New Year’s Day” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” while the old-school atmospheric U2 of “An Cat Dubh” felt awkward amidst such reliably nuance-free crowd pleasers such as “Beautiful Day.”
Even the main set closer “One” came off as perfunctory, a shock given the song’s beauty, and when the band returned for a trio of songs from their masterpiece “Achtung Baby,” the likes of “Zoo Station,” “The Fly” and “Mysterious Ways” sounded sloppy and chaotic.
The band closed out the night with “40,” but the song’s sing-along chorus never caught on the way it used to (although the recently dusted off “Running to Stand Still” remains as gorgeous and moving as ever).
Most distressing of all Saturday was the reality of time. Now that the members of U2–Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr.–are all nearing 50, they have started to look old. While that alone can’t hurt them, on Saturday they sounded a little tired too.
U2 obviously still possesses the spark of inspiration, but their flame may finally and inevitably be starting to flicker and fade.
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Edited by Curt Wagner (cwwagner@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
