U2

with Florence & the Machine:

Miami finds what they are looking for in U2

Sun Life Stadium
Miami, FL
June 29, 2011

Review by Mike Hernandez
Photos by Anthony Cave

As the four members of U2 arrived to the enormous stage dubbed The Claw, cameras captured the band's march along to the deafening applause from the 73,000 in attendance. Leading man Bono grazed by the camera, offering a peace sign before their ascension to the musical mother ship. With David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” playing during their entrance, it felt as if U2 was walking in slow motion, ready to board for their voyage. It felt as cliché and perfect as a Michael Bay film. Coincidentally, Bay was in attendance for the show.

Florence and the Machine

U2 has built quite the legacy over three decades; they've sold out stadiums, filled up outdoor venues and possibly at one point performed for our future alien overlords on Mars or something like that. If there's one person in the world you want as your ambassador, it’s probably Bono.

Choosing from an infinite catalogue of music, the 360 Tour show started with three songs from 1991’s Achtung Baby, first the smooth, swooping “Even Better Than the Real Thing,” then “The Fly” and the sultry popular song “Mysterious Ways.” The third song had everyone grooving along with the swaying synthetic models on their prodigious LED screen. This 74-ton LED spiral is composed of 888 screens that eventually expanded downward over the band, frantically dazzling the crowd with various light patterns.

Tornado and U2

The early part of the show combined older favorites like “I Will Follow,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” along with newer songs like “Get On Your Boots” and “Northstar” (a relatively new song from the latest Transformers movie.) One has to remember that with all the flashing lights and screens hypnotizing the crowd, this is just a four-piece band that uses pedals when The Edge wants.

Bono has this regular charming banter during shows, saying to the crowd, “The Irish are like the Latins, we just don’t know how to dance.” He also sarcastically made references to playing at all three stadiums in Miami – Joe Robbie, Pro Player and now Sun Life. It’s always good to see someone with the status of Bono being able to chum it up with the thousands in attendance, giving the massive show a sense of intimacy.

Bono has this regular charming banter during shows, saying to the crowd, “The Irish are like the Latins, we just don’t know how to dance.”

The Edge

       The concert offered even more spectacles when astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, greeted the crowd on the screen straight from space, with cut-out words saying “Beautiful Day,” which directly segued into their resurgent single. It was a touching moment that made the outplayed song connect with the crowd.

       Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi was also featured on the screen, thanking everyone who was a part of the “One” campaign that helped with her release. Political discourse has always been a staple of U2, and it’s a given that this will occur during all of their performances, whether you like it or not.

       Songs like “Pride (In The Name of Love),” “Walk On” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” hit an emotional chord with everyone singing in rhythmic unison. The encore was especially captivating, “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” featured Bono in a red-light adorned jacket, swinging on a microphone vine. “With or Without You” propelled everyone to “Ooohh!” along with Bono, who progressively got better throughout the show.

The show could have ended on that high note but a more touching ending was needed for the night. “Moment of Surrender” was dedicated to Clarence Clemons, former member of the E-Street Band, who had recently passed away. Bono asked everyone to raise their phones to create our own Milky Way, while he compassionately sang a song to the late Mr. Clemons, whose family was in attendance.

Through the years, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. have provided a singular voice and idea for millions of people, who in turn have granted U2 the credibility to profess their humanitarian movements and progressions. It’s amazing how a bare, honest four-piece band has amassed this identity and popularity while staying intact for all these years. Already, it’s the highest-grossing tour of all time and as Bono pointed out early on, “We’re not ready to retire.” It's good to know that U2 still hasn’t found what they are looking for and continue to ask others to join them on their universal journey.

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