Stuck in the moment with U2 in Manila
This was it. U2 was finally in Manila. And for the thousands that congregated in that one big room, it was all that mattered.
The relatively far location of the venue, the traffic jam caused by combined Christmas rush and SEA Games finale that night, and the unbelievably long queue to hurdle before you get in were not enough to deter Filipino fans of U2 from finally watching live one of the world’s greatest rock bands ever.
As The Waterboys track “The Whole
Of The Moon” playing in the PA winded down, a roar started from those in front of the stage as they were first to realize the band has taken the stage. The noise swelled like a growing wave that eventually reached the rafters as Larry Mullen Jr.’s 16-beat hi-hat/snare smacks ushered the opening song. Then came The Edge, walking coolly on the extended ramp, administering the unmistakable arpeggiated riff to “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” Adam Clayton followed suit, and when Bono finally crooned “I can’t believe the news today…,” well, all those years of listening and loving from afar this band from Ireland, finally culminated in an explosive sing-along of “How long, How long must we sing this song?”
Next was “Gloria” that had rock guitar nerds in the house geeking out at the note-for-note delivery of The Edge’s most famous riffs. Let me just say that most of those watching U2 that night are from the New Wave generation. So, naturally, all of them were ecstatic when the opening strains of “New Year’s Day” came.
This was it. U2 was finally in Manila. And for the thousands that congregated in that one big room, it was all that mattered.
The Pinoy audience’s love for U2 wasn’t lost on Bono.
“Thank you Manila, for your patience. I know it’s taken awhile to get everybody in here to the arena,” he said, with dramatic pause, to give full potency to the punchline, “It took us four decades.”
Hearing Bono talk is every bit as entertaining as hearing him sing live. The master went on an extended intro for the next number, saying “Oh yeah, and if this could be a church, our prayer for this evening is for an epic night of rock and roll transcendence. Anything can happen! Anything will happen. We need it. You need it. Anything can happen.” It was then that the band went through an epic reading of “Bad.” Boom.
And by time “Pride (In The
Name Of Love)” came in, concertgoers have either shouted themselves hoarse or, I kid you not, they were in tears.
The U2’s “The Joshua Tree Tour” of 2019 is the second leg of the band marking the 30th anniversary of the eponymous groundbreaking 1987 album. No wonder the repertoire consisted mostly of songs culled from that work.
When the band did “Where The Streets Have No Name,” the video accompaniment did more than enhance the songs. It brought Bono and the rest of band to the guy at the uppermost corner of the arena. And believe it when I say that when you’re watching from the upper box of the Philippine Arena, you need all the visual help you can get.
“It has been a long, long road that brought us to you, in Manila. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to where you wanna go as long as you get there in the end,” said Bono as The Edge’s guitar segued into the uplift of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” The band then brought the house down with the ultimate U2 sing-along number “With Or Without You.”
They ticked the track list off “The Joshua Tree” one by one. “Bullet The Blue Sky” was a particular favorite as Bono re-enacted that whole spotlighton-The Edge-as-he-plays-solo as seen on the “Rattle And Hum” album cover. The fragile delivery of “Running To Stand Still” highlighted one of the many times that we saw The Edge show off his deft keyboard skills. Deep cuts like “Red Hill Mining Town,” “In God’s Country,” and “One Tree Hill” all proved to be interesting focal points. “The Joshua Tree” feature was book ended by an electrified “Desire.”
At 25 songs, the show was indeed, in the words of Bono (in his ringmaster persona) “a rock and roll spectacle.” U2 crammed the almost two-hour show with hits. The eight-song encore alone traversed the latter part of the band’s catalog. These included “Elevation,” “Vertigo,” “Every Breaking Wave,” and “Beautiful Day.” When “One” started playing, all cellphones in the arena got “lit” to look like stars in unpolluted sky.
We felt U2 could have also played “All I Want Is You,” “Sweetest Thing,” “Mysterious Ways,” “Walk On,” to name some. Then again, what Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr., and Adam Clayton gave was enough.
The phrase “worth the wait” comes to mind. Should there be a next time, we wouldn’t mind getting stuck in a moment like this with U2 all over again.
‘If this could be a church, our prayer for this evening is for an epic night of rock and roll transcendence.’ – Bono