Rewind: U2 at FedEx Field

U2 hit all the right notes at FedEx Field on Tuesday night.

U2 at FedEx Field. Photo by Kyle Gustafson.

>> See the full slideshow of our photos from the U2 concert

Say what you will about Bono—the man knows how to make a statement like no one else. Late in the band’s set last night at a nearly full FedEx Field, he pulled a flag-bearing U2 fan clad in a red turban onstage to help him sing “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” After getting his chance to belt the song, the fan stepped back behind Bono and held his US flag above his head with both hands, letting it waft in the wind. The camera angle shown on the screen—with Bono singing and the fan behind him—was striking, to say the least, and just a drop in the bucket at what was at times an overtly political concert. But hey, what did you expect from a U2 show?

Bono knows better than to take sides, especially in the nation’s capital, so he spent the night being overtly nonpartisan. Nancy Pelosi got not one but two shout-outs while Bono also big-upped Eunice Shriver, Ted Kennedy, Pat Leahy (“the John Wayne of . . .”), Tom Daschle, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and a host of other Beltway superstars who have supported Bono on the issues he lobbies for, such as debt relief and AIDS drugs.

As for the music, there was plenty of it—22 songs, pulled from eight of the group’s albums. Knowing that stadium shows are for playing top hits, most of the seemingly hookless songs from their latest album, No Line on the Horizon, were frontloaded in the set, leaving classics such as “One,” “With or Without You,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” for the end of the night. Standout tracks included “New Year’s Day,” which is more than 25 years old but sounded brand new. Bono sang his lines with gusto while the Edge attacked his guitar parts in between playing the song’s piano hook. More recent hits such as “Vertigo,” “Walk On,” and “The City of Blinding Lights” gave the crowd a chance to sing along and make some noise.

The only glaring missteps of the night were “Your Blue Room,” a song from the U2/Brian Eno side project Passengers—which signaled to everyone it was time for a bathroom break—and a strange dance remix of “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” that seemed to confuse the crowd more than energize it.

The opening act, Muse, did all it could to steal the show before U2 took the stage, tearing through a taught seven-song set that showcased its slinky, sexy glam-rock. Its new single, “The Uprising,” sounded right at home next to the band’s other hits such as “Knights of Cydonia” and “Supermassive Black Hole.” Muse has sold out London’s Wembley Stadium on its own, so it’s doubtful it was nervous about opening the show. It’s not every day you get to see a bona-fide stadium band opening for another stadium band. Muse undoubtedly left the arena with a gaggle of new fans.

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Posted by: NexyHoosyuI, Feb 01, 2012 09:22:44 AM

The Crazy remix was one of the best change ups in the show. It got Larry out from the drum kit which all of us Larry Mullen fans appreciated. Seeing him strut his stuff is so worth every penny! He is so understated and there is something so very cool about that.

Posted by: Kathleen, Dec 19, 2009 05:26:42 PM

They should get it right... the volunteers were from ONE not Amnesty. There will also always be someone willing to pay $250 or more for seats to a U2 show. If they can’t afford them they wont buy them. Honestly... I had $95 seats at one show and couldn’t wait to go to the next show as a GA. It is the only real way to see U2!

Posted by: kathleen, Dec 19, 2009 05:22:56 PM

Kyle wrote "a strange dance remix of “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” that seemed to confuse the crowd more than energize it" - that is the point of the song. It is a transition between the first half of the show (personal) and the second half of the show (political). And personally, I love the remix. It was fun to watch people loosen up from their disbelief and get a groove on.

Posted by: Drei, Oct 05, 2009 08:48:34 AM

To all those appalled by the ticket prices: my seat was $30, which for a Muse/U2 lineup in 2009 is pretty effing phenomenal. Granted, I was in the upper deck, but it’s not like there weren’t affordable options for people who didn’t want to shell out for $250 seats.

And as a recent New Yorker article discussed, Bruce Springsteen’s recent "underpricing" of tickets just encouraged even greater speculation and inflated prices in ths second-hand market. In the end, the market will set the prices for these tickets, so considering the expense of putting on a massive show, why not capture that value yourself instead of enriching scalpers?

Posted by: Jim D., Oct 01, 2009 08:44:21 AM

I was mildly entertained by the show Tuesday night, but am still so appalled at the ticket prices when Bono talks so heavily about world debt and debt cancellation. Will he be there to for America when we need debt cancellation? I doubt it.

But he’ll put another show on for $250 a seat.

Posted by: John B., Oct 01, 2009 04:52:45 AM

Posted by: John B., Oct 01, 2009 04:51:30 AM

Critics dissed "Your Blue Room" but I thought that was a great song to include. Excellent show! But the $40mil set was too much.

Children are starving in Africa.

Posted by: John, Sep 30, 2009 04:38:43 PM

Thought the show was phenomenal, but the comment about it not really being "360" is spot-on.

Posted by: Lanzman, Sep 30, 2009 02:19:10 PM

I really enjoyed the show, but calling it 360 was quite a misnomer. It was more like 180, or maybe 270, but they very rarely used the rear of the stage, which was not even lighted through much of the show. Turning a drum set around does not make a show 360, you have to entertain that side too. We laughed hard when they brought the Amnesty International volunteers out, and they went to the "front" half of the stage instead of using the entire stage. Otherwise, great song choices, excellent production. I also enjoyed the dance remix of I’ll Go Crazy, but Beautiful Day, which is not my favorite song by them, was my favorite song performed last night.

Posted by: Carol, Sep 30, 2009 01:42:18 PM

Actually? I found the dance remix of "I’ll Go Crazy..." a lot of fun, and vastly superior to the album cut, which sounds like an uninspired retread mashup of a half-dozen other U2 songs. Completely reinventing the song live seemed to signal that they knew it wouldn’t hold up when played next to all the better songs they recycled to record it.

Posted by: Jim D., Sep 30, 2009 01:16:48 PM

Rewind: U2 at FedEx Field

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