No opinion on Marsh, but I'd love to get to chat with Bono. I strongly suspect he'd be a fascinating conversationalist...
I haven’t heard this show yet, but Bittan always seemed to be the musical glue that held the band together in both the Darkness and River eras. Start with both title tracks, but also on Promised Land, Prove It, Point Blank, Racing, etc. This was reinforced to me on the Ties That Bind tour.
Bruce went to see U2 at the Lyceum (I think - see edit below though) during his visit to the UK in 1981. I don't recall if Pete was with him, although he did guest at Bruce's Birmingham show on 7th June. Really enjoying the new release. Was beginning to give up hope on there being anything in the vaults from the Euro leg of the River tour. A bit odd they picked a show that needed a 90-second 'patch' at the end from an audience recording but the gig itself is off the scale. I was at the opening Wembley show a week earlier (29/5). The first night he ever played Trapped. My first ever trip to London, it was the day before I turned 18 and only the third concert I ever attended. 37 years and hundreds of gigs later it remains the greatest concert I've ever seen. Literally life-changing. Edit - just googled U2's tour directory - they played Hammersmith Palais on 9th June. the day after Bruce's tour ended. That's the gig Bruce attended.
My one encounter with Bono (yes, there's pictures!) was quite the opposite. I watched him interact with a number of fans, more than just a quick "hello", and he really listened. The man certainly loves the sound of his own voice, but he did not come off like that at all when I met him. All of his charity/humanitarian work, particularly his political lobbying efforts also prove to me that he's an excellent listener. Past world leaders (of multiple parties/divides) have all acknowledged, often with some surprise, that he's incredibly knowledgeable about the issues he's campaigning for, and you don't get that way without being the kind of person who listens to everything everyone else has to say. That one day really did stick with me, though. He could've just as easily gone through, gotten the attention, signed a few things, and went on his way, but he really took the time to talk to everyone gathered there...some fans wait their whole lives just to get to say something to their heroes, and he made a point to make sure everyone got to do that, and that he heard them. I may be critical of their recent output, but I'll always appreciate Bono as a human just for that day. (Obviously it helped that the group gathered waiting for him was very manageable...I know this kind of interaction isn't possible when there's larger numbers. We just got lucky, I guess)
Wouldn't care! I wouldn't want to chat with Bono - or Bruce, or whoever - to hear myself speak! That sounds clever on the surface, but what the heck does it actually mean?
I have an ex-girlfriend who worked at the World Bank and she met Bono through that. She also noted that he was very kind and generous to fans. I honestly don't understand the negativity Bono generates. Yes, he has an ego - what rock star doesn't? He's given back to the planet more than virtually any other rock star - how many others were credibly considered for a Nobel Peace Prize? - and even after decades of fame, he seems thankful to fans and he appears to treat them well. I suspect there are many, many more stories about Bono doing something nice for fans than acting like a jerk toward them...
Bono seems like a nice, genial (if a bit windy) kind of guy. The cowboy hat, crazy glasses, etc etc tends to invite caricature. The South Park Bono episode is one of the funnier things I've seen.
I get that Bono is open to be caricatured/spoofed - most superstars fall into the same category - but I don't understand the outright hate so many hold for him. Go into most U2 threads here and there will inevitably be attacks on Bono. Elton John could be easily caricatured but he doesn't get the same treatment!
The biggest rock star in the world (at least at that time, this was 2005) taking the time to talk to and take photos with a small gaggle of mere peasants was really heartwarming. Yes, famous people do this all the time, but I watched him be genuinely engaged with us, listening to what people had to say, asking questions, and essentially just being more interactive and into it than he ever needed to be. The 40-50 of us there that day will be talking about it till the day we die, and that is a really special gift. (We met him on the first day of a 4-show run...word got out that he met fans outside the arena, so of course the gates were swamped the next day when the band arrived, and while he still greeted fans, it was a much more chaotic and rudimentary scene. You can see a bit of the second day on the Vertigo Tour bonus DVD)
I certainly don't hate Bono or U2. I loved them from 79 till about 92. Now I can't tell the difference between them and Coldplay.
I think Bono is way underrated as a lyricist, as well. I keep meaning to start a thread to discuss it.
Bono up through around 2000 and Noel Gallagher are two of my favorite lyricists...sometimes it's complete nonsense, but it just sounds so great.
Just noticed an edit or splice between Detroit medley and Shake. Sounds like they might have cut something out.