U2 Elevation Tour

Elevation Tour 3rd leg: North America

2001-11-09: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

U2 show "You Can't Leave Behind"

By KEVIN GROSSHANS
TX. Layton High

Last Friday, U2 took to the stage once again on the "Elevation 2001" tour to support their recent album "All That You Can"t Leave Behind." The concert took place at the Delta Center and proved to be not just another show but an event not to miss.

Energetic Orange County rock/ska band No Doubt opened for U2, displaying their upbeat tempo and powerful female lead singer Gwen Stafani. They started with "Spiderwebs," off of their "Tragic Kingdom" album, and continued their 40-minute set with songs from "Tragic Kingdom" and "Return Of Saturn," such as "Don"t Speak," "Ex-Girlfriend" and "Bathwater." On "Just A Girl," Stafani sung out "I"m just a girl in Salt Lake City," accepting cheers from the crowd.

The SoCal band started the concert out with rock riffs, reggae beats, and traditional ska-like tunes. Drummer Adrian Young showed up in his underwear, thankfully covered behind the drum kit. Bass guitarist Tony Kanal and guitarist Tom Dumont brought the rock sound to the band, while lead singer Stafani sprinted around the stage and even included a set of push-ups. Bono later commented, "I"m always impressed with girls who do push-ups on stage."

U2 shortly followed No Doubt by coming onto the heart-shaped stage with lights on and The Beatles" "Sgt. Pepper"s Lonely Hearts Club Band" blaring through the speakers. U2 opened with "Elevation" and "Beautiful Day" followed by the "Achtung Baby" B side "Until the End of the World." On that song, The Edge and Bono fought using words vs. guitar, leading The Edge to knock Bono down to the floor of the stage.

U2 soon followed this set with their new single, "Stuck in a Moment You Can"t Get Out Of," in which Bono danced with a fan. Next came acoustic versions of the peaceful "Wild Honey" and "Please," featuring Bono pleading "Please, please get up off your knees; please, please leave me out of this."

Halfway through their two-hour set, U2 changed the tone of the concert and started playing their older music. This included "New Year"s Day," "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Where the Streets Have No Name." The group performed their first released song, "I Will Follow," and a gospel-style "I Still Haven"t Found What I"m Looking For." They ended with a moving "Pride (In the Name of Love)," featuring video footage of Martin Luther King Jr.

Soon the crowd"s chant of "Encore!" brought U2 back on stage to play an explosive version of "Bullet the Blue Sky." Bono was shining lights on the crowd while yelling out "One hundred, two hundred . . . Outside is America." The band ended the night with a solemn "One" as victims" names from the Sept. 11 tragedy went by on a screen behind the stage. U2 then sang "New York," "Kite" -- dedicated to Bono"s father, who recently passed away -- and ended the concert with "Walk On." During the last song, the words "All That You Can"t Leave Behind" were displayed on all of the walls.

The night was something none of the sold-out crowd would want to leave behind, with memorable events like Bono playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors" with a fan to a teenager being pulled on stage to play the piano. The concert was perfect for all generations of U2 fans.