Blasted away by unforgettable fire

U2 rocked Wembley Stadium and AREF OMAR still feels the chills thinking about the band, the singing, the visual bombast and the awesome lights display

WATCHING a U2 concert live is an experience like none other. The Irish rock quartet has always gone way past the whole nine yards to deliver the most bombastic of shows to dazzle fans and make up an army of new ones.
In the 90s, it was the delusional grandeur of media overload through satire and ironic self mockery that permeated the band’s Zoo TV and Pop Mart tours.
Who could forget the steel forests of over 30 odd screens onstage flashing a myriad of pop culture referential slogans and images at hyperspeed, the stunning lights or frontman Bono’s various stage personas?
Although the post-9/11 decade saw the band scaling-down to more intimate sets in indoor arenas, a U2 concert was still considered a phenomenal event.
So for the 33-year-old band’s latest 360-Degree Tour, in support of album number 12, No Line On The Horizon, expectations went through the roof for me.
Having only experienced the band through CD, TV and the Net, the chance to see Bono and gang postulating rockstar excesses live at London’s Wembley Stadium was a dream come true.
And a couple of months down the road, the dream remains as alive and fresh in my mind as the invigorating cool winds that blew that splendid evening.
Singing along in unison with an 88,000-strong crowd during most of the band’s 23-song set-list was part of the experience.
Songs like Where The Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Pride (In The Name Of Love), With Or Without You and Beautiful Day were just amazingly moving live.
From families, teens and working stiffs to the odd granny in a U2 Unforgettable Fire T-shirt, there was a diverse mix of fans that resonated with the loud music.
And this time round, U2’s visual bombast came in the unique shape of a funky claw-like structure that gripped the circular stage below.
With its protruding antenna top, dazzling array of lights and prodigious smoke machines, it would have been no surprise if the futuristic structure flew off like a starship during the two hour-plus concert.
But the design served a more practical purpose, one that gave fans around the stadium full view of the band, a generous 360-degree perspective.
The inner stage was encircled by an outer ring space that was accessible through two rotating ramps.
Bono, bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist The Edge all made sure they got close to the crowd on the ground by moving around this ring.
Halfway through the show, drummer Larry Mullen Jr’s raised drum stage did a 180-degree turn that catered to fans at the back.
Then there was the cylindrical wraparound screen that hovered above the band and magnified their ant-sized antics to full view onscreen.
It also produced many dynamic screen effects, lowering and expanding into a myriad of smaller screens to spice up the band’s presence.
Of course being rockstar activists, no U2 concert would be complete without some social and political posturing too. Walk On was dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi and One was followed by Desmond Tutu giving a speech on the One Campaign.
The band also played Sunday Bloody Sunday, accompanied by the colour green and images of protestors in Iran, giving the song a renewed relevance to today’s troubles.
Clearly Bono was in top shape, keeping his crisp voice loose within the tight grooves of the rhythm section and The Edge readily strumming away his trademark staccato textured soundscapes.
The audio bliss went hand in hand with copious amounts of light displays. On Ultraviolet (Light My Way), Bono emitted laser lights from his special jacket while dangling from a lit steering wheel-shaped microphone that was rigged from above.
Aside from classic U2 songs performed that took the crowd down memory lane, it was surprising to hear how well the band’s latest material translated to the live arena.
Somehow the muted quality of the songs on CD gave way to energetic, rhythmic and inspired live renditions.
Even the trite sounding I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight, remixed to a techno rave slant, managed to pump up the crowd nicely.
The band played seven songs from the new album, opening the concert with the rousing Breathe and closing with the gentle beauty of Moment Of Surrender.
It left a satisfying feeling of closure although, at the same time, there was a tinge of sadness that the end had finally come.
“I think something’s going to happen tonight,” was what Bono had said at the early part of the evening show.
For me, it’s still happening. As for the band, the U2 experience is still happening in the US and will continue on in Europe till the four Irish blokes wrap up the tour late next year.
The writer’s trip to London was courtesy of Universal Music and AirAsia