Review: U2 360° — Great Music, Bi-Partisan Politics

OK, first things first: U2 put on a great show in FedEx Field in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

This was a relief, because the previous Saturday they had turned in a dismal, oddly disjointed performance on “Saturday Night Live.” But three days later the boys were back in fighting shape; it was, in fact, one of the hardest rocking shows I’ve ever seen them give — and I have seen my share of U2 shows (my lifetime total is now somewhere in the double digits).

The show opened with several numbers from the woefully under-appreciated new album No Line On The Horizon; the thrilling and unique “Breathe,” segued into “Magnificent,” a tune which doesn’t quite soar as as high as it wants to, but comes closer live than on record. The lackluster “Get On Your Boots” was followed by Zoo-era favorite “Mysterious Ways,” bringing the stadium down and prompting Bono to remark, “Well, it’s a warm night after all!” He then gave a preview of the rest of the set: “We have old songs; we have new songs; we have songs we can barely play!” (more…)