In 2015, I was still a truefan(TM) and went to all 4 Paris shows of the I+E tour.
2 shows occurred right before the Bataclan massacre and 2 shows were postponed a few weeks after that.
I saw this show from very different angles : GA, good seats, bad seats…
As I watched Bono going up and down the catwalk, in and out of the screen at the exact same time, on the exact same cue each night it occurred to me : Bono isn’t as much a singer as he is an actor, now.
The show is heavily scripted and choreographed.
So much for spontaneity and the « element of surprise » he sings about in Until the End of the World.
But here’s the thing : he is very good at it. He’s at ease. It allows him to fully embrace the themes and characters he’s portraying throughout the show.
Fast forward 2022. We’re in post pandemic world. Just as if terrorist attacks weren’t bad enough.
U2 have been pretty much MIA for the last 3 years and the few glimpses of their music we got lately weren’t very encouraging (that’s an understatement).
Are U2 able to reinvent themselves one last time ? That’s a question for later.
Out of the mist comes Bono, on his own, holding a book. And for once, it’s not the bible.
I spend the day roaming around Paris, hoping that I won’t be too far when/if Bono signs books that day but he doesn’t. I come back to the venue at 3PM and they’re already here. The. GA. Line. Nazis.
A group of Italian fans decided they own the place. There’s 30 to 50 of them and they all know each other. Hugs and kisses, clearly they’re having a blast. And they are well organized, although it isn’t clear what they’re organizing since there’s no GA. They used a marker to put numbers on their hands, although the venue has reserved seats only… which is weird. Like a cult thing. Now they can’t enter a U2 show without a number tattooed on their hand. Creepy.
But the real magic trick is that they keep coming. Every few minutes another Italian arrives. And instead of packing up at the back of the crowd as every other fan does, they hug and kiss and stay at the front.
They’re only allowed to do that because the brainless security didn’t set up… security. We’re on a sidewalk 20 meters long, with scaffolding on one side and subway station stairs on the other. The worst possible configuration for such a crowd.
When they finally set up fences, I find myself in a much worse situation than I was previously.
Anyway… Bono arrives late and cannot possibly sign every book he’s being given and cannot stay for too long, fearing the crappy fences will collapse. I’ve had a few experiences like that and it’s one of the worst. I come out empty handed but I wash it off instantly because I don’t want a bunch of rude people to ruin my evening.
Bono’s autobiography has been described as « the next best thing to having a beer with the man ». It’s no surprise, then, that half of his book tour show takes place in a pub.
Bono plays the discussions he had with his father there, pretending he’s having a pint of Guinness (it’s a prop. The 2022 version of a giant mirror ball lemon is a Guinness pint mock up).
Bono plays himself. Bono plays his father Bob, Luciano Pavarotti, Paul McGuinness… as if he was telling us a good story in said pub. And it works. He’s funny, charming, touching, the whole package of a great pub companion.
Stage set up is minimal. A table and chairs, 2 backlit screens are enough to figure a rehearsal room or an operating table. But the real trick… and real trip is the music. It comes out always elegantly with touches of harp and cello, a female voice… U2’s music is the background of Bono’s life, quite literally.
You might criticize Bono for how he’s hiding behind characters to tell about himself. One could argue that Bono himself is a character. But to me, it sounds like Bono is at his most authentic self when he’s singing. And boy can he sing.
I’ve had my own doubts and reservations about Bono’s abilities these past few years but last evening… Bono’s voice was as clear and defined as you hoped it would be when he turned 60. Last night he managed to give us the whole range of expression he’s able to pull now. And in an intimate setting, it is both poignant and magnificent. At one time, I swear I heard his ZOO TV falsetto.
Is the show a home run ? Almost. The only part that I found cringeworthy was when the screens made the count of his charity work numbers. He tried to make it look like he was thanking the people and teams he campaigned with but in the end it felt very self gratifying. And of course, the mention of money when you know the price of the seats for this show is a bit unsettling.
What next ?
I wonder if this tour will be enough for Bono to talk less on stage with U2, or if it will backfire and make him talk more.
I wonder if the intimate feel of his voice will translate in U2’s future works. I hope it does since he’s so good at it. And maybe it’s the only way for U2 to reinvent themselves at this point in their career. Not as a stadium act but as a soulful songwriting band.
Oh… and while queuing for the show, I overheard a record company exec saying that he’s heard U2’s next album for next year. Or what he said is U2’s next album for next year : acoustic versions of old U2 songs. Nothing really new under the sun.