U2 3 Nights Live: Second Night
Tonight, U2 held the second night of their "U2 3 Nights Live" promotional appearances in the US. The first night was an interview with Shirley Manson about No Line On The Horizon, held in Los Angeles. Tonight, the band were in Chicago for a "radio takeover" DJ set, playing songs they love or are interested in right now. Tomorrow is a small concert in Boston. All three appearances are being broadcast by numerous North American radio stations.
Like last night, Shirley Manson of Garbage was the host of tonight's appearance. The band's playlist was:
1. The Ramones: I Wanna Be Sedated (Larry's selection)
2. Van Morrison: Brown Eyed Girl (Edge)
3. The Airborne Toxic Event: Sometime Around Midnight (Adam)
4. Smashing Pumpkins: Bullet With Butterfly Wings (Bono)
5. Arcade Fire: Rebellion (Lies) (Larry)
6. The Waterboys: The Whole Of The Moon (Edge)
7. The Klaxons: Golden Skans (Adam)
8. Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah (Bono)
Read on for details about the set and interesting comments made by the band.
The show began with some technical difficulties with Adam's microphone. Larry chose the first song, and since The Ramones were a significant influence, he picked a song by them. He said he could have chosen any Ramones song, but selected I Wanna Be Sedated for present reasons, as "bits start to fall off" once you reach his age, and being in U2, "sometimes you need to be sedated". This is a song Bono has snippeted once live, during Out Of Control on 4 December 2006 in Saitama.
Edge picked the second song, and he quipped that when he first heard of Van Morrison, he thought Van was Dutch thanks to the name. He described Van as where Irish rock and roll began, and Brown Eyed Girl as one of the great rock and roll songs of all time. Adam got to choose the third song and consciously took the DJ set in a more recent direction by picking a new song that he has been enjoying this year: Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event.
Bono was the last of the four to make a pick. He picked Bullet With Butterfly Wings by the Smashing Pumpkins. This song was sometimes snippeted by Bono during The Electric Co. on the Vertigo Tour. He said that the Smashing Pumpkins occupied a "special moment" in music, and that what Bono wants from rock and roll is life force, such as the rage in this song. He managed to lead this into a discussion of the band's next album, describing melancholy and sombre tendencies as not being exactly rock and roll, but that U2 "have a gentle, more reflective side that you'll hear about next year". Technical errors persisted throughout the set - during the songs, the band were talking to Manson and the crowd, and this was audible on air, especially during Bullet With Butterfly Wings. Furthermore, the end of Bullet With Butterfly Wings was actually cut off.
Larry then got to make another pick - Arcade Fire's Rebellion (Lies). He remarked that music rarely grabs him and takes him somewhere else, but when he heard Arcade Fire's album Funeral, it gave him hope that people were still out there making challenging music. Arcade Fire had made him jealous, as he felt they were doing something U2 never thought they would be able to do. Yet again, discussion at the venue was broadcast during this song. Before it began, Manson mentioned that she actually had no idea if she was on air - she nonetheless kept going, and luckily for those listening, she was actually on air and Larry's comments on the Arcade Fire were broadcast.
Edge's second pick of the night was The Waterboys' The Whole Of The Moon. He elaborated about being a fan of the Waterboys. The first time he heard them was when he was in the car travelling back from recording The Unforgettable Fire at Slane Castle, and it was very inspiring. He got their album as soon as he could and followed the Waterboys throughout their career. He believes Whole Of The Moon is the song that sums them up, and that three concerts have changed his life; one was The Clash in Dublin in 1978, another was Bruce Springsteen in London, and the third was a Waterboys gig in a small theatre. After the song finished, Manson apologised to radio listeners for the technical difficulties and remarked that the techs were looking somewhat alarmed.
Adam's second pick of the night was Golden Skans by The Klaxons, since wanted to pick something that the band were listening to around the recording of No Line On The Horizon. He namechecked some songs, including tracks by MGMT and the Arctic Monkeys. This led to him mentioning that the Klaxons' album Myths Of The Near Future was one of his favourite albums at the time NLOTH's recording began.
Finally, Bono got the last pick of the night - Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. He returned to Edge's earlier discussion of best live shows. He said he could have named the Ramones, the Clash, and Bruce Springsteen, but the very best to him was Leonard Cohen last year in Dublin. He went on to urge people to see Leonard Cohen live, calling him a "sacred talent". Just before the song began, Bono added that Jeff Buckley's cover was also a "beautiful version", but that his own cover was not as beautiful.
Like last night, Shirley Manson of Garbage was the host of tonight's appearance. The band's playlist was:
1. The Ramones: I Wanna Be Sedated (Larry's selection)
2. Van Morrison: Brown Eyed Girl (Edge)
3. The Airborne Toxic Event: Sometime Around Midnight (Adam)
4. Smashing Pumpkins: Bullet With Butterfly Wings (Bono)
5. Arcade Fire: Rebellion (Lies) (Larry)
6. The Waterboys: The Whole Of The Moon (Edge)
7. The Klaxons: Golden Skans (Adam)
8. Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah (Bono)
Read on for details about the set and interesting comments made by the band.
The show began with some technical difficulties with Adam's microphone. Larry chose the first song, and since The Ramones were a significant influence, he picked a song by them. He said he could have chosen any Ramones song, but selected I Wanna Be Sedated for present reasons, as "bits start to fall off" once you reach his age, and being in U2, "sometimes you need to be sedated". This is a song Bono has snippeted once live, during Out Of Control on 4 December 2006 in Saitama.
Edge picked the second song, and he quipped that when he first heard of Van Morrison, he thought Van was Dutch thanks to the name. He described Van as where Irish rock and roll began, and Brown Eyed Girl as one of the great rock and roll songs of all time. Adam got to choose the third song and consciously took the DJ set in a more recent direction by picking a new song that he has been enjoying this year: Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event.
Bono was the last of the four to make a pick. He picked Bullet With Butterfly Wings by the Smashing Pumpkins. This song was sometimes snippeted by Bono during The Electric Co. on the Vertigo Tour. He said that the Smashing Pumpkins occupied a "special moment" in music, and that what Bono wants from rock and roll is life force, such as the rage in this song. He managed to lead this into a discussion of the band's next album, describing melancholy and sombre tendencies as not being exactly rock and roll, but that U2 "have a gentle, more reflective side that you'll hear about next year". Technical errors persisted throughout the set - during the songs, the band were talking to Manson and the crowd, and this was audible on air, especially during Bullet With Butterfly Wings. Furthermore, the end of Bullet With Butterfly Wings was actually cut off.
Larry then got to make another pick - Arcade Fire's Rebellion (Lies). He remarked that music rarely grabs him and takes him somewhere else, but when he heard Arcade Fire's album Funeral, it gave him hope that people were still out there making challenging music. Arcade Fire had made him jealous, as he felt they were doing something U2 never thought they would be able to do. Yet again, discussion at the venue was broadcast during this song. Before it began, Manson mentioned that she actually had no idea if she was on air - she nonetheless kept going, and luckily for those listening, she was actually on air and Larry's comments on the Arcade Fire were broadcast.
Edge's second pick of the night was The Waterboys' The Whole Of The Moon. He elaborated about being a fan of the Waterboys. The first time he heard them was when he was in the car travelling back from recording The Unforgettable Fire at Slane Castle, and it was very inspiring. He got their album as soon as he could and followed the Waterboys throughout their career. He believes Whole Of The Moon is the song that sums them up, and that three concerts have changed his life; one was The Clash in Dublin in 1978, another was Bruce Springsteen in London, and the third was a Waterboys gig in a small theatre. After the song finished, Manson apologised to radio listeners for the technical difficulties and remarked that the techs were looking somewhat alarmed.
Adam's second pick of the night was Golden Skans by The Klaxons, since wanted to pick something that the band were listening to around the recording of No Line On The Horizon. He namechecked some songs, including tracks by MGMT and the Arctic Monkeys. This led to him mentioning that the Klaxons' album Myths Of The Near Future was one of his favourite albums at the time NLOTH's recording began.
Finally, Bono got the last pick of the night - Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. He returned to Edge's earlier discussion of best live shows. He said he could have named the Ramones, the Clash, and Bruce Springsteen, but the very best to him was Leonard Cohen last year in Dublin. He went on to urge people to see Leonard Cohen live, calling him a "sacred talent". Just before the song began, Bono added that Jeff Buckley's cover was also a "beautiful version", but that his own cover was not as beautiful.
Posted on by Axver