Project Description

U2

“The Joshua Tree Tour 2019”

Optus Stadium, WA

27/11/19

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Melanie Griffiths

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Photo – Danny North

 

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U2 returned to Perth in celebration of 1987’s “The Joshua Tree”. The monumental album that propelled them from rock band to a global supergroup of mythic and lofty proportions.

With a 60m long and 12m high LED screen, the largest unobscured and highest-resolution screen ever used in a tour, U2’s classic style of larger-than-life performance was an impressive sight to behold. Soundtracked by several classic songs, the group gave Perth an exhibition that it rarely, if ever sees. Their sonic power and charisma were unquestionable, and they gave it all to a crowd in excess of 50,000.

U2 also don’t just bring along a local act as support, they invite the creative force from one of the biggest bands of the 90s. Noel Gallagher and his band the Flying Birds came out dwarfed by the stage set up to play a set that by Gallagher’s own admission was for him including “It’s A Beautiful World” and “Wandering Star”. Known for his prickly demeanour and biting humour he asked the audience “Any Oasis fans out there? This one’s for you” and then proceeded to play the lesser-known “Little By Little”. Eventually, though his classics were rolled out receiving a massive sing-a-long for “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back In Anger”.

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Photography by Ross Stewart

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This concert was U2 in three parts. Firstly touching on the band when they were everyday rock heroes, to their metamorphosis to global superstars and a third act of mixed bag songs that showed how far, as Bono put it, “the best band this side of North Dublin” had come.

Starting the night out on the B-stage, a direct shadow of the towering Joshua Tree on stage, the group started powerfully with “Sunday Bloody Sunday”. With Larry Mullen Jr’s marching time drums, it was a call to arms with the momentum continuing with a cracking outing of “I Will Follow” from album Boy (1980), followed by “New Year’s Day”, “Bad” – featuring an interlude of David Bowie’s “Heroes” in honour of our firefighters – and “Pride (In The Name Of Love)”. With no visuals, it forced the crowd to focus on the four individuals. It was a killer start and the best portion of the night, returning to their roots as a four-piece post-punk rock band.

But U2 shows aren’t about intimacy so as the ambient organs of first song from “The Joshua Tree”, “Where The Streets Have No Name” played, the towering screen become blood red and the band as black silhouettes, positioned themselves underneath the shadow of a tree signifying the creative turn of U2 towards spiritually driven lyrics and textured sonic landscapes.

Where The Streets Have No Name”, a song that conveys loss to explode with the liberation of hope with The Edge (lead) and Adam Clayton’s (bass) guitars is a stunning must-see song live but tonight it suffered from a muddy mix losing the vocals.

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “With Or Without You” turned Optus Stadium into a massive choral group. Bono strutted around the stage in front of the Anton Corbijn’s visuals and appeared to be holding off on hitting the emotional high notes, only giving himself permission to go for it in the latter portion of the set.

Bullet The Blue Sky”, led by The Edge’s impressive guitar effects was a welcome refresher back to rock after the emotional weight of the previous songs. Yet from that point, the material became lesser known to the crowd and notably, there were no visuals of the band until “Running To Stand Still”.

U2 concerts teeter on gregarious performance art that it seems like the band considers itself secondary in the whole machinery of their show. There’s no arguing the visuals were striking and impressive but for those up in the nosebleed section the lack of actually seeing the band would’ve surely been frustrating.

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Photography by Ezra Acheson Mullen

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Angel Of Harlem” from “Rattle and Hum” (1988), first performed live ever in Perth 30 years ago closed off “The Joshua Tree” portion of the night leading to an extended encore performance where U2 went full-U2.

Firstly with “Elevation” with all its flashy production showed how the band by 2000 had reached peak Y2K wokeness. This portion of the show thankfully showed the band up on the screen through “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and “Beautiful Day”. “Ultra Violet (Light My Way)” a song in support of the ONE organisation displayed images of female trailblazers and was a fine example of showing rather than telling an audience a message.

Finishing with “One” the band played over two hours and for all the grandiose gestures, proved that when its stripped away, they are a group of magnetic musicians with some of the most era-defining songs of the last 40 years. Imagine how stunning a concert just like the first act could be.

4/5 Stars

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