U2 radio event at Metro tonight: No, it's not a concert
U2 will be in the house Tuesday at Metro, the landmark Clark Street rock club, but promoters say the Irish quartet won’t be bringing their instruments and they won’t be swinging open the doors to the public.
They’ll be doing an hour-long interview with Garbage singer-turned-radio host Shirley Manson, to be broadcast on radio stations nationwide. The audience will consist of a few hundred radio-station contest winners and other invited guests. Security is tight, so promoters are advising anyone without a ticket not to show up at the club.
The event is designed to promote U2’s latest album, “No Line on the Horizon,” and upcoming tour, which will launch its U.S. leg Sept. 12 at Soldier Field. No ticket sale date has been set for the tour.
greg@gregkot.com
Can you just imagine Chris Farley doing this interview? Would be great to be there, one of my all time favorite bands. A live U2 concert is on my bucket list.
Posted by: rider | March 10, 2009 at 03:03 PM
Can we right now please have a moratorium on the prefabricated phrase "bucket list"?
Posted by: Victor Perkins | March 10, 2009 at 03:46 PM
I saw U2 on their Zooropa tour some years ago and it was one of the worst concerts I've ever been to. Mainly, because all they played was Zooropa stuff or whatever the cd was named.
I'm more of an early U2 fan and was hoping for music up to Joshua Tree. Oh well.
Posted by: craig | March 10, 2009 at 03:56 PM
It's a travesty to have such a crappy overrated band such as U2 disgrace the hallowed halls of the Metro. Seems to me a Lincoln Park venue would be a better location for these chumps.
Posted by: Randy | March 10, 2009 at 04:08 PM
Stop being so smug Randy. We can't help it the N'Sync broke up and you'll never get to see Lance Bass perform live again...
Posted by: Randy's ex wife | March 10, 2009 at 04:36 PM
L.A.M.E
Posted by: Typo | March 10, 2009 at 04:47 PM
Don't you just hate it when someone is always negative....in life, there is always some bonus-baby sad-sack...'i don't like this, I don't like that'....shut up and let somebody have some fun...and you, go jump.....who care about you, or what you do or do not like...have a nice day, we are alive and it's almost spring.....im in debt over my head...but lifes a blast....
Posted by: Jim | March 10, 2009 at 04:47 PM
Yeah, Randy, and other than U2, there have be no other crappy, overrated bands that have played the Metro??
You sound like some whiney, indie hipster.
Posted by: Tired of the Idiots | March 10, 2009 at 04:53 PM
Hey Randy, last I checked, it was Metro, not THE Metro. Maybe you remembered seeing The Skinny Puppy there, or maybe The Ministry. Your "cooler than thou" slip is showing. Trust me, THE U2 deserve to play anywhere in Chicago they choose, and people like you will just have to deal with that.
I don't know about the Zooropa tour, it never came to the US, but ZooTV was, and still is the best tour ever.
Posted by: Paul | March 10, 2009 at 04:57 PM
As if Metro is in some hip neighborhood that can't abide U2. Whatev. U2 is the best.
Posted by: linda | March 10, 2009 at 05:16 PM
Randy - I know it is tough being you. Always being right. Always being angry. Always being alone. We all understand.
Craig - You saw the 1993 Zooropa tour and didn't like it. WOW. That is some great reporting. Very helpful to have that cutting edge up-to-the-minute feedback. Thanks, Craig.
Everyone else - Hi Everyone. I'm Jones and I was just picking on Craig and Randy. It would be pretty cool to be at Metro (or even The Metro) tonight but I'll have to settle for reading about it in Greg Kot's column.
Posted by: Jones | March 10, 2009 at 05:23 PM
Craig,
You must have a faulty memory about the Zooropa Tour, which was basically just an extension of the ZooTV Tour. I saw U2 at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland on August 7, 1993 and it was the most amazing experience of my life. Sure they played about five or so songs off the then-recently released Zooropa album (which actually are quite good in their own right), but the rest of the show was filled with amazing songs from most of the albums from their first to Achtung Baby! It was a great show, and I'm sure that the upcoming tour will also be great.
Posted by: Kevin | March 10, 2009 at 05:31 PM
Randy is right this band sucks.
Posted by: Peter | March 10, 2009 at 06:10 PM
Thanks for reminding me of Zooropa. One of the best concerts I've ever been to. I'm going to go grab that CD and load it into my iTunes!
Posted by: Ric | March 10, 2009 at 06:38 PM
I heard some of the new U2 Songs. Fun to listen to. Interesting production. But I noticed the MELODIES were kind of lame. Production is nice, but a melody is something a classic should have. Remember to WRITE the song first, THEN PRODUCE IT. Not the other way around.
Posted by: whales | March 10, 2009 at 06:59 PM
[[Can we right now please have a moratorium on the prefabricated phrase "bucket list"? Posted by: Victor Perkins | Mar 10, 2009 3:46:00 PM]]
yeah! seriously. putting an end to the phrase "bucket list" is a task that's on my bucket list.
Posted by: M. Freeman | March 10, 2009 at 07:20 PM
I saw U2 in 1980 in Champaign, and because I worked for WPGU, I got to meet the band. They were great guys and didn't seem ostentatious in the least.
Posted by: Dave Elliot | March 10, 2009 at 07:24 PM
How I do hate when a band gains much mainstream attention and suddenly it's not "cool" to like them anymore. Pull the stick out. Grow up and look at the finer points of the music.
Yes, some is good (Joshua Tree) and some is awful (Zooropa), but you have to realize there's a reason this band has lasted 30 years. Other bands gain much fame (Limp Bizkit) and sell out the same stadiums, but they fade fast because they suck quite honestly, and eventually people catch on to that.
Now, I'm not a huge U2 fan, but I have to give them much props for what they do and the things they have tried. I would be really interested to hear this interview live or on the radio.
Posted by: lucky77 | March 10, 2009 at 07:25 PM
The greatest concert I'll ever see was their The Joshua Tree tour in 1987 in Kansas City. Saw them in Miami, Tampa and again in Kansas City... they are a great live band. The new album is quite good actually. I'm playing it over and over in my car currently. For those who don't like them, who do you recommend instead?!
Posted by: David Murphy | March 10, 2009 at 08:21 PM
I've heard some rumors of a "midnight" show a little west of Metro...Any one else?
Posted by: JohnP | March 10, 2009 at 08:22 PM
I"m surprised Randy had a wife, considering he lives in his mom's basement. He probably thinks fallout boy is good.
Posted by: ABC | March 10, 2009 at 09:18 PM
I had 13th row center for ZooTV - Outdoor Broadcast. It was an amazing show. I have no possible idea how you could complain about it. Perhaps you just don't like U2, which begs the question, why comment on this story?
And as far as U2 not being good enough for Metro, give me a break. I have seen some horrible bands at Metro in my time, let alone some of the winners that take school buses to hang out in the neighborhood from April thru September.
Posted by: siobhanoc | March 10, 2009 at 09:46 PM