It was a “Beautiful Day” for a U2 concert as The Edge (left) and Bono delighted the New Meadowlands Stadium crowd last night. (Zandy Mangold)
U2’s gig last night at the New Meadowlands Stadium was a year late getting to Jersey, postponed in 2010 after Bono’s back injury, but it wasn’t a dollar short.
Dubbed the 360º Tour because of the circular-ramped stage covered with a futuristic claw, it ranks as the highest-grossing concert tour in history, earning more than $560 million to break the record previously held by the Rolling Stones.
So what do you get for all that cash? One of the greatest spectacles in rock hitched to a career-spanning set — and even a few words from Commander Mark Kelly, from back when he was on the International Space Station, during the mid-show song “Beautiful Day.”
After giving kudos to his bandmates and before playing “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” Bono teased the sold-out stadium: “I’m a man of simple means. I just need 95,000 screaming fans and I’m happy.”
U2 is still an all-original lineup with Bono at the mike, The Edge on guitar, Larry Mullen Jr., at the drums and Adam Clayton thumping bass. They also are still original in sound, whether playing early material like their iconic “Where the Streets Have No Name” or tunes from their latest experimental-rock disc, “No Line on the Horizon.”
With “Even Better Than the Real Thing” used as the liftoff for U2’s set, Bono immediately demonstrated his falsetto was in splendid shape. It was followed by “Mysterious Ways,” “Until the End of the World” and ” I Will Follow” — all showcases for The Edge’s chiming guitar work.
Despite the years that separate the advent of these tunes, the music was smartly sequenced and flowed easily from song to song.
There also was musical panache punctuating the show, like Bono slipping snippets of songs he admires, such as Springsteen’s “Promised Land” and Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer,” into the body of the set.
At this show, the more you paid attention to the details, the better the concert got.
Everyone in the quartet pulls their weight, but special mention should be given to Mullen’s irrepressible drumming, which gave the music a propulsive drive that never flagged, even during gentler melodies, and was a force of nature in the percussive fury of “Elevation” and “Vertigo.”
The concert was riddled with space references — from the claw set design, astronaut guests and the rocket-like spire, to a cover of Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”
Besides the obvious space themes, the concert was really about making connections — be it between old music and new or fans uniting under the U2 banner. Musically and visually, this will be remembered as the summer’s most stunning concert.