Monday, Oct. 12, 2009

U2 show is visually arresting, occasionally moving

By PRESTON JONES

dfw.com

ARLINGTON — U2 is incapable of intimacy.

The Irish rockers’ detractors would tack "subtlety" onto that sentence as well, but Bono and the boys were never about hushed, small moments. No, this outsized foursome is engineered to deliver epic moments, pulsing with urgency and hope.

Such moments were frequently on display Monday night at Cowboys Stadium, as U2 played its first North Texas gig in five years, as part of its U2 360 tour. Much has been made about the stage affectionately dubbed the "spaceship" and, yes, it was mightily impressive. It should come as no surprise that despite its gargantuan size (the pylon atop the stage was a hairsbreadth from Jerry Jones’s big ol’ HDTV), this feat of engineering appeared right at home in the futuristic new stadium.

For more than two hours, U2 mingled spectacle and sincerity, dazzling more than 70,000 fans with songs old and new. On the road supporting its latest album, No Line on the Horizon, U2 dispatched many of the fresh tunes up front, leaving the bulk of the set list for favorites like Mysterious Ways and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. The crowd roared for the classics, but gave No Line’s selections a cooler reception. If the indifference bothered the superstars, it didn’t show.

Despite more than three decades in the business, U2 still attacks its songs with a ferocity that belies its standing. That said, the overwhelming scale of the stage, not to mention Bono’s healthy ego, can hold even the most ardent fan at arm’s length. While visually arresting and occasionally moving, the night was not without its hiccups: Bono’s peculiar decision to pluck a random child out of the crowd and parade him around the circular stage during City of Blinding Lights was a head-scratcher. Sure, it’s cool for the kid to witness a sea of humanity and get a pair of your shades, but, uh, what’s the point?

But that’s the nature of U2: Random acts of generosity spiked by exhortations to get involved in your world. Excess rests comfortably against sacrifice; hubris wrestles with humility. If the band wasn’t so talented — ambition has arguably been slowly snuffed out of U2’s music, although a stage such as this one suggests a few burning embers — it would feel like cheap rock 'n’ roll theater.

As the Edge’s regal, gleaming guitar lines reflected and refracted off of Cowboys Stadium’s interior and the crowd took the first verse of Looking For, it was hard not to give over and let U2 work its magic.

Preston Jones is the Star-Telegram pop music critic. 817-390-7713

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