U2 Vertigo Tour

Vertigo Tour 1st leg: North America

2005-03-30: San Diego Sports Arena - San Diego, California, USA

U2 ends visit to San Diego with a bang

By George Varga
POP MUSIC CRITIC

April 3, 2005

Opening-night jitters? What opening-night jitters?

If the members of U2 were nervous on the eve of the start of their "Vertigo/2005" world tour, as bassist Adam Clayton acknowledged they were in an interview in Monday's Union-Tribune, the group seemed more confident and relaxed at its second show.

With an increasingly animated Bono at the fore, Ireland's most famous musical export returned to the ipayOne Center at the Sports Arena Wednesday night to perform for another full house. The show came two days after the band opened its tour here Monday with a concert that was uplifting and inspiring, despite being a bit rough and tentative in places.

But there was nothing tentative about Wednesday's concert, which found U2 performing with greater ease, fluidity and dynamic control. (The band returned to the arena Tuesday to rehearse and work out some kinks.)

"So, last night went pretty good," Bono told the audience Wednesday, in reference to Monday's show. "That was (the) rehearsal."

If so, it was the most memorable and accomplished rehearsal Pop Scene has attended – and certainly the highest priced. It was also exciting in a way that Wednesday's more assured performance was not, as fans got to experience the debut of the most anticipated rock-concert tour of the year.

But Bono was quick to explain to Wednesday's sold-out crowd of 14,500 some of the differences between the two gigs.

"We're getting to know these songs, getting to know each other on stage again, getting to know you," he said.

Bono then asked the audience: "What's Spanish for 'Love is the drug?'"

A moment later, he pulled a dark-haired young man out of the audience and onto the stage. "What's Spanish for 'There's a lot of love in Dublin town?'" Bono asked, as he handed him a microphone. The fan translated the remark to loud cheers. U2 then ripped into its next song, which wasn't Roxy Music's 1976 hit, "Love Is the Drug," but "Miracle Drug," a winning tune from U2's latest album, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."

It was one of seven selections the band performed from its new album Wednesday, the same number as on Monday. But there were some surprises early in the show.

Rather than perform three songs from "Boy," U2's 1980 debut album, as the band did Monday for its third through fifth numbers, the group did just one "Boy" tune Wednesday, "Electric Co." It was followed by 1981's "Gloria," a song not heard Monday or, according to the U2tours.com Web site, at any concert by the band since 1990.

Two numbers later came another song not heard Monday, 1987's "With or Without You," which made for a nice change of pace between the soaring "Beautiful Day" and the moody "New Year's Day." One hopes U2 will continue to change its set list, the better to treat fans to different songs each night.

Another key difference Wednesday was how Bono and the band made much greater use of the stage's heart-shaped catwalk, which extended almost midway across the arena floor.

At one point he took a fan's camera to take a photo of the fan and then, playfully, of himself. Near the concert's conclusion, Bono took the American flag proffered by another fan and held it to his chest, as he sang the line a shot rang out about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King during "Pride."

Bono again implored U2's audience to volunteer to help end poverty in Africa, but interspersed his appeal with more songs than on Monday. This allowed Wednesday's crowd more time to digest his civil rights-inspired message.

"Can I ask you for some help? I'm not looking for your money; you've given us enough of that, that's for sure," he said, alluding to the steep ticket prices. "We're looking for your voice. We're looking for 1 million American to go to work. . . . "

During other parts of the concert, Bono tailored his comments more specifically to San Diego than on Monday. He hailed "the brave men and women at Camp Pendleton," then saluted San Diego as a "Navy town" at a time of war, saying: "Our hearts and our love go with you."

He also gave another shout-out in between triumphant encore performances of "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "One."

"Wow! This is where Eddie Vedder was born, right?" said Bono, who apparently forgot that Vedder lived in and around his native Chicago before moving to North County, where he attended high school. "(We) love, love, love him. We love Pearl Jam."

The fans at Wednesday's concert, as at Monday's, left no doubt about their love for U2. Bono's "rehearsal" remarks notwithstanding, both concerts were equally notable in their own way – Monday's in part because of the band's opening-night jitters and the waves of anticipatory excitement that repeatedly shot through the audience.