{"id":575,"date":"2001-11-29T01:49:00","date_gmt":"2001-11-29T01:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/?p=575"},"modified":"2024-03-26T01:50:26","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T01:50:26","slug":"stuck-in-a-moment-you-cant-get-out-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/?p=575","title":{"rendered":"Stuck in a moment you can\u2019t get out of"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

U2<\/strong><\/strong>\u2019s drop-in date, on only two weeks notice, was as much of a surprise to this writer as it was to the capacity crowd at last Tuesday\u2019s show. Unlike most events at Arco Arena, the colossal package, touting Interscope star acts U2 and No Doubt<\/strong><\/strong>, boasted triple-digit ticket prices. Could the band fill a venue at $130 a pop? Or, even more importantly, live up to people\u2019s expectations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Doubt, openers for the West Coast leg of the tour, were given the insidious task of opening for U2\u2014which, no doubt, were the night\u2019s headliners. From the beginning chorus of \u201cSpiderwebs,\u201d Gwen Stefani<\/strong> and her Orange County brethren played an energized set, highlighted by their TRL smash and current single \u201cHey Baby.\u201d Sporting her navel and long blonde extensions, Stefani commanded the stage with reckless aplomb and her bandmates, who date back to the Tragic Kingdom<\/em> era, worked the early crowd into a frenzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those in the pit section, located in between U2\u2019s heart-shaped walkway\u2014part of that band\u2019s minimalist stage show\u2014showed great enthusiasm for No Doubt and were treated to the hits, including the smash ballad \u201cDon\u2019t Speak.\u201d Although the band was confined to a small (60 x 40) section of stage, and couldn\u2019t use U2\u2019s platforms, all six players\u2014including two horn players, percussion and keyboards\u2014worked their magic. There were some avid fans throughout the venue. But, of course, nothing could prepare the crowd for the spectacle that is U2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the appropriate blasting of \u201cAll You Need Is Love\u201d through the house speakers, U2 launched into \u201cElevation\u201d and, similarly, took the crowd to dizzying heights. The first section of the show, pairing songs from All You Can Leave Behind<\/em> and Achtung Baby<\/em>, worked astonishingly well. Bono<\/strong>, The Edge<\/strong>, Adam Clayton <\/strong>and Larry Mullen Jr.<\/strong> played like seasoned road veterans, even changing bridges in songs like \u201cMysterious Ways\u201d and the time-sensitive \u201cSunday Bloody Sunday\u201d from the War<\/em> album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During such numbers as the epic \u201cWhere the Streets Have No Name,\u201d any other songs in our collective memories were rendered diminutive. You could forget everything watching Bono sway and run the ramps alongside The Edge. Even \u201cAngel of Harlem\u201d from Rattle & Hum<\/em> was given renewed vigor in the live setting. My favorite track, \u201cBullet the Blue Sky,\u201d set behind a backdrop of red gels and the rhythm section\u2019s plodding repetition, never sounded so good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even compared to the band\u2019s\u00a0Joshua Tree<\/em>\u00a0tour stop in Oakland several years back, the evening\u2019s performance far exceeded people\u2019s expectations; it exuded all of the important qualities in a rock \u2019n\u2019 roll show. Even the band\u2019s memorial to the victims of September 11 were played to the numbers\u2014names of the deceased or missing were displayed on the backdrop canvas\u2014with the utmost respect for the families. U2 may have not changed the world but, for a fleeting moment, we were able to realize how life-affirming a good rock show can be. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(SN&R)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U2\u2019s drop-in date, on only two weeks notice, was as much of a surprise to this writer as it was to the capacity crowd at last Tuesday\u2019s show. Unlike most events at Arco Arena, the colossal package, touting Interscope star acts U2 and No Doubt, boasted triple-digit ticket prices. Could the band fill a venue at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":576,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575\/revisions\/576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}