As if the guy didn't have a big enough ego already, right? I know, I know....he means well, charity and third world savior and human rights and all, but he farts just like the rest of us. Always remember that. That'll always take someone down a peg in anyone's eyes.
FILLER TEXT, FILLER TEXT, BY GAWD STONE USED THE FILLER TEXT
Where have all the good RAW recaps gone? Now, hold on, I'm not trying to piss off the 411 people at and frankly the RAWtopsy and the Raw Report are good quick overviews how I like 'em these days, but I came from the ancient time of CRZ and Hyatte. There was that level of either complete and utter transcription and/or a level of charisma that made the report more about the report than RAW itself at times. I miss that. I wish it would come back.
AND NOW, THE COLUMN...
If you missed part one of In The Year 2001 you can go on back and read it. Long story short, buy the first Boston album.
Today I'd like to remember for you one of the more religious experiences I've had with live music. I was broke, unemployed, yet still had me a ticket to go with a bunch of friends to see U2 during their Elevation tour when it stopped through Chicago. Regarding U2, I was a fan of their later work first and appreciating their early contributions to the music world later. When they arrived in Chicago for the ZooTV tour, I first saw them live (writing a review for my school paper no less) and was awed by the atmosphere and the ambience that could be created in your average rock stadium. Years later I would catch the Popmart tour, first in Las Vegas for a rough and rocky opening night and then later in Chicago on another leg of the tour, when the songs that had been hurried into production on the album finally had their chance to be road tested and knocked into shape. The maturing of the songs from the Popmart album had followed them into All That You Can't Leave Behind, a disc that carefully mixed the atmosphere of the later material with the barren landscapes of their earlier work and married them into an entirely new direction for the band they would follow to this day.
While other U2 shows had been on average with any other mega-concert I had seen before, this one was different. Despite Bono's exponentially expanding ego over the years, you can tell there is a lot of love in that man's heart and the rest of the band follows suit. Within the opening minutes of the first song, the band had the entire crowd sucked in. Every note, every word, every beat was applauded by the capacity crowd in the United Center. In addition to that, the singing! Now, I've attended shows where people know the good songs and a lot of people sing a long, but here EVERYONE sang. Seriously, it appeared that every person in every seat in the area was singing along with every lyric. It was infectious. I even ended up singing, as well as my friend Shawn, who, well, if you knew him you'd probably be amazed that he'd do something like that. Throughout more than 90 minutes of music and encores, we all sang, threw arms around people's shoulders and sang until the night was done.
I've been a big fan of music for years. I've seen many shows, from a $3 bill at the VFW hall to a $90 seat in the nosebleeds for U2 and the $15 lawn seat at Tinley Park for AC/DC and the juvenile boob fest that was. Nothing has ever come close to the experience that night was, and I doubt anything will again. I can't think of any bands currently in business that will retain that level of popularity and excellence so many years into the future. When you look at the trends of the music industry and the digital music revolution, there ends up being so many fish in the water that none of them ever get much bigger than the rest. If you can show me one band with the skills and charisma to make it for 20 years, consistently have good sales, stay in the public eye despite long bouts of not making albums or touring, and still be well like by more than just a specific stereotype of the populous I would like to hear about them.
