80's Weekend Rewind #5

For this edition of the 80’s Weekend Rewind I am going to go back to a time when being a U2 fan was cool: Specifically, the Live at Red Rocks Concert.

As I have mentioned before I am really torn when it comes to U2. I was a huge, huge fan back when I was a teenager and note that was in the pre-Achtung Baby era. Being a U2 fan then still had some indie cred to it. Sure, Joshua Tree had broken big but they hadn’t become a football stadium band yet. Essentially, their music and style hadn’t turned to crap yet.

Ok, that is a little harsh. The music has always been decent. It is more like Bono’s act hadn’t started wearing on everyone yet. Watch this video. Bono is completely earnest in his sentiment and the crowd is wholly behind him. There is no messiah complex yet, just someone who is singing what he believes in. The problem is as the years past and the band grew bigger so did Bono’s presence and you just can’t provide an aspect of earnestness to fill a 60,000 seat stadium. You’re going to look like a jerk. There is no way around it.

That’s why I prefer this era of U2. Everything is real. The crowd has less douchebags than you will find nowadays. The band has something to prove. The Edge has hair. The sound is raw and unpolished. It just works better.