[capnjim]

Holy crap, they were great. I'm not even really a fan, but that was very impressive. I posted it in the guitar thread as the Edge was amazing. I don't know how he controls all that delay and feedback. I can see why they are one of the greatest bands of all time. Hard to believe its basically a trio.

 

[Guncho]

No and I can't find it on youtube.

 

[Diablo]

Edge has more talent in his feet than his hands.

 

[Tarbender]

Edge also has a backstage tech controlling his effects. 60 Minutes did an episode of them several years ago.

 

[Ronbeast]

I’ve never been a huge U2 fan, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I always felt Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen carried that band. I never much cared for Bono or The Edge, but the rhythm section is solid.

 

[Diablo]

I’ve never been a huge U2 fan, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I always felt Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen carried that band. I never much cared for Bono or The Edge, but the rhythm section is solid.

I think the writing carries the band. As individual musical talents, they're all pretty meh...

 

[zurn]

Was this it ?

 

[capnjim]

Thats it! A great performance all around I thought.

 

[Rollin Hand]

Any great band is alchemy. The parts combine to form something greater than just the four parts, kind of like adding 1+1+1+1 and getting 6.

They haven't reached their stature in the music world for no reason.

And they still have that swagger they've always had.

 

[Mooh]

That was a good performance, as it should be under the ideal circumstances of that show. Not sure the song is all that strong, but everything else is in place. Nice to see they haven't become a washed up self-parody like some other bands I can think of.

As usual, I keep waiting for an inspired guitar solo and as usual I didn't get it. There was a teaser lick with the slide which could have become something more but didn't.

Regardless, U2 is one of the great and relevant bands of our time.

 

[LanceT]

I saw them earlier this year and was impressed with their solid performance.

 

[TWRC]

I'm a big U2 fan, but haven't paid much attention to them beyond All That You Can't Leave Behind. Their early work pre-Unforgettable Fire was incredible; so visceral and very "punk rock" for lack of a better term - listen to Live at Red Rocks and you'll know what I mean. Say what you will about The Edge and his talent / lack of talent, but he managed to create a sonic landscape of his own, and inspired other guitarists to look beyond conventional rock guitar.

 

[Distortion]

All effects put aside Edge is a fantastic rhythm player. That song did not show case it but have look at all the early stuff and you will see. " Streets have no name," " Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Years day" etc.

 

[Business]

I like U2

Larry Mullen has some great beats / patterns, some stuff I don't hear anywhere else
Adam Clayton... same thing, great bass lines (and U2 is a bass heavy band, production-wise)
Edge? Who cares about his "technical skills". He's one of the best at what he's doing; creating sonic textures

That being said, I also lost interest in them after ATYCLB, the album was very good, but they stopped trying and got in a boring comfort zone (and became ultra commercialized). At least they were putting on a good show back then. Now they're just old / tired / bored.

You want to see what a great performance of Bullet The Blue Sky is? Watch this one from ZooTV (with guitar solo, too).
ZooTV is probably the best show I've ever seen (live or on tape) by the way

 

[Player99]

Not really much there. You need to buy into Bono's "I'm the new messiah" shtick or it comes across as bloated pontification.

 

[Scottone]

I dug the Zoo TV version more, but the one from Fallon's show has its charm too.

 

[Roryfan]

ATYCLB was a great album! Although the subsequent records have had their fair share of drek, there have been a few gems since then.

Edge needs to sing more.