U2 at the Air Canada Centre, Monday July 6th, 2015

October 3rd, 1987, and I have a dilemma: my brother has offered me a free ride to the Arctic Circle and back on the British Airways Concorde, but I have tickets to see U2 for the first time at CNE Stadium in Toronto. My reply is quick, and the logic is as follows: “I have to go see U2. Concorde will always be there but I’ve heard that U2 might be breaking up after this tour.” In 1987, the air was cold in the outdoor arena, and the young band was on fire, with a setlist heavily celebrating their Unforgettable Fire _and _Joshua Tree albums. We sang along to a great cover of the Beatles’ ‘Help’, and to the beautiful medley of ‘Bad’ and Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’. I came home in love with the live version of a group whose every record I owned, and crossed my fingers that the rumours were false. Thirteen years later, having seen U2 three or four more times, I gasped in horror as an Air France Concorde crashed in Paris and all the beautiful birds were retired from service before I could step aboard and experience the magic of supersonic flight.

The British Airways Concorde. Sadly missed.

Last night, watching U2 at the Air Canada Centre on the Innocence and Experience tour, I came as close to forgiving myself for the monumental moment of stupidity I had twenty-eight years ago as I ever will. My heart still aches for the loss of the aircraft I once saw takeoff at Heathrow and found so beautifully elegant, but I’ve made my peace at last.

U2 announcement just outside the Air Canada Centre.

U2 concerts were always a feast for the senses: from the Trabantis hanging in mid-air on the Achtung Baby tour to the lemon elevator of the Pop era, the band has always added visual effects and three-dimensional backdrops to their performances. Last night was no exception, with a runway that went across the floor of the Air Canada Centre from the main platform and finished with a circular, banjo-like secondary stage. From one end to the other, an intersecting screen was at times transparent, then suddenly filled with moving images and graphics, as well as used for enlarged video of the group. What was interesting was that the first few numbers, including the rarely played gem ‘Out of Control’, were played on the stark, open stage, leading me to whisper to my sister that they had gone back to their early roots and stripped the show of any props and enhancements. No sooner had I said that than we were transported back in time to the Dublin of Bono’s childhood, to his house on Cedarwood Road, with graphics that only hinted at the magical moments to come

Scenes from Cedarwood Road fill the video screen.

There was a largely Irish theme to the first part of the concert, culminating with a powerful rendition of ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday’ that had the flag of the Irish republic lighting the runway floor and news reports of the terrible Dublin bombings of 1974 along with photos of the many victims appearing on the screen. It ended with a plea for a Truth and Reconciliation committee to be formed so that there could be justice for the forgotten.

The Irish Troubles on display.

From the Irish Troubles, the band moved to the fall of the Berlin Wall, with graffiti on the big screen and songs from Achtung Baby, before the band took a break as an animated Johnny Cash delivered a stirring version of ‘The Wanderer’. It was amusing watching some younger fans using the moment to take a bathroom or beer purchasing break— one beside me asked if this was intermission music!

Graffiti to evoke the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Johnny Cash interactive piece.

The band steps behind the transparent screen to play in between graphic enhancements.

From their return to the stage, the energy shifted and kicked into high gear. A belly dancer was plucked from the audience after being spotted by bassist Adam Clayton, and she swivelled her hips for the better part of ‘Mysterious Ways’ before being handed a camera to participate in a live Twitter feed; I was mostly amused by repeated tweets that kept mentioning, in large block letters, VIVE LE QUEBEC LIBRE, but it was really cool that the woman, Jessica, had been on stage dancing with them ten years before at a Toronto tour stop.

The tweet that held my attention and made me laugh.

One special moment was followed by another as a cover band named Acrobat was generously invited to take over the round side stage, from which they delivered a superb version of ‘Desire’, complete with a harmonica duet with Bono. It was a magical display of generosity and fan engagement that reminded me how much U2 are masters when it comes to connecting with their followers. The Edge took to the piano for the lovely ‘Stuck in a Moment’, and a beautiful, acoustic ‘Every Breaking Wave’, both songs gorgeous, soft, and stirring before the volume and intensity rose again.

The video backdrop for ‘Every Breaking Wave.’

The final shift went westward to America, with two consecutive songs pulling from current headlines to deliver strong emotional responses to injustices committed recently. I stood stunned at the end of ‘Bullet the Blue Sky’ when Bono fell to his knees and lifted his hands in the air to plead, “Don’t shoot me! I am a Canadian!” The imagery and words were powerful, and a reminder of recent police brutality. Then came the anthem ‘Pride’, and a segue that rejected division and violence in favour of celebrating immigrants and contributors through the song ‘Hands that Built America’. From there, Bono launched into the magnificent ‘Bad’, and the crowd responded with a passionate sing-along that continued with the huge hit ‘With or Without You’ to close the main set.

Bright lights as the band returns to the front stage.

Video of our planet to accompany ‘Beautiful Day.’

When the band returned for their encores, the video screen had been lit in red, the colour and brand name of their one.org campaign to eradicate HIV and AIDS. Bono implored us to abandon our shyness and modesty and to take our “Canadianness” to the global stage; he encouraged us to demand that more governments emulate our unique qualities and told us that the world needed more Canadas. We cheered, we basked in the love fest he offered, and then we were off to sing once again. The two opening numbers of the hugely successful Joshua Tree album brought the crowd to its feet, fists raised and bodies jumping up and down, and the group took its final walk down the runway to the great Ben E. King song, ‘Stand By Me’.

The Red campaign lights up the entire ACC.

I can honestly say that this was the best U2 concert I’ve been to: it took songs from each era, and the approach worked well with the video montages and retrospective of the band’s different periods. Bono seemed less preachy than I remembered him being in previous years, although I must finish this review with a nod to Glen Callender, the founder of the Canadian Foreskin Awareness Project: he stood in front of the Air Canada Centre before the show, like he had in Vancouver, to protest Bono’s promotion of a campaign in Africa which seeks to force mass circumcisions to stem the spread of HIV and AIDS. When I caught his attention and asked him if I could take a photograph, my immediate thought was, “What’s Bono gone and said now?”

Glen Callender protests outside the venue before the show.

Like U2’s musical excellence and unwavering ability to deliver performance magic, some things just never change.