U2 and Me Too

i was on the U2 rattle from the get go
i did follow
and i still do
but not with the same glare glasses that i used to watch them through
they blinded me with silence
but every now and then i'll catch a new tune and jingle along

recently they ran the rock n' roll hall of fame 25th anniversary show on tv
there's a funny part where the guinness boys are on stage with springsteen
and bono's having a deep and profound chat to the crowd about rock n' roll
and springsteen kind of interrupts him as if to say
'shut the fuck up and let's play some music'
i love that
bono could always take the piss
he puts it out there
and believes it
say what you want
but he tries to save the world
and he tries very hard
lots of people talk a good game
i can't think of another revolutionary since lennon that put it on line
day after day
that's rock n' roll to me
when it jumps off the stage - off the album and into the public pockets

there's a scene in rattle and hum
they're playing sliver and gold
and bono says 'c'mon edge, play the blues'
and edge goes into this echo drenched guitar rhythm
that sounds nothing like the way blues are supposed to sound
yet it sounds exactly like the blues
that's never been done before to my knowledge

i've seen U2 live so many times
i cried once
it was the indoor broadcast of the actung baby tour
they did one
i couldn't move
i welled up
i've never done that at a concert before
that song can destroy the toughest of hearts
supposedly axl rose stayed in his room for days listening to that song over and over
i can relate to that kind of fervour

years ago me and a friend snuck into maple leaf gardens for their sound check
we just walked in the backstage
john had brought a brief case
they opened the doors for us
well once U2 arrived they cleared the entire gardens
and it was only the inside cabal of techs and staff
me and john were lying up in the greens on a walkway
watching them greet their crew and sound check
they played waterboys songs to check the PA
and they had some trouble with a click track
but their groove was loose and serious at the same time
i loved them
i wanted to be in a band like that
and i was jealous of bono's coat

U2 grew up in front of us
they are the last of the classic rockers
but even that title doesn't fit
they chase the carrot - but at least it's been grown in ireland
i'd love to get them into a studio and get rid of the electronica and click tracks
i'd tell them to stop writing choruses and just get a message out
without a hit seeking hook (that formula seems to fail of late)


we're performing the joshua tree in oakville
info on the site
i have murray james bosch singing the show
he has the opera and the range to capture bono at his finest
the guitar onslaught will be dialed in by russell gray
and clifton david broadbridge
i took troy feener off the who shows in florida
because i know that he's the best man for the job to play larry mullen jr
no small feat
the joshua tree is one of those left turn albums
it sounds like no other record
and it trespasses into your psyche and hangs around there as it begins
to rewire your brain
it's a perfect album
a beautiful album full of challenges and an earnestness that has long since
been removed by success and money

look at this blog
they make me all wordy
hell i even used some punctuation
usually my blogs are short little snippet lines
easy to read paragraphs with just the juice
but this one has run on sentences
and kind of meanders without a home
just like U2

craig
september 21, 2011
bud and jack