Lesser Known Kanye Interruptions

HT: The Rap Up

Muse: The Making of Uprising

U2 360 in Chicago = "Magnificent!"

U2. Always an amazing live show. Just when I think they can't do anything even equally as stunning as their last stage production, they go and do something crazy and innovative and blow my mind. "We built this spaceship to get closer to you," mused Bono.

Saturday night, we saw U2 kick off their American tour in Chicago with a sold out crowd at Soldier Field. The beautiful remodeled Soldier Field was a perfect outdoor venue--architecturally and aesthetically.

We left for Chicago at 2:00 eastern time, drove 3.5 hours, got stuck in traffic, met our friend Andy, parked a mile away (to avoid the almost $50 Soldier Field parking fee), grabbed some Jimmy John's and walked into the stadium at 7:00 central time. The show ended pretty late and we drove into our driveway back in Jackson at a little after 4am. The alarm went off at 6:00am making for an interesting sleep-deprived day at church. Well worth it.

Ireland's Snow Patrol opened the show. I liked these guys. Better live than in the studio.

Then, David Bowie's, "Space Oddity" a.k.a. "Major Tom" blared through the best live sound system I have ever heard (serious) and the boys took the stage.

Once again it was a spiritual moment. There's a vibe you can't articulate.

Bono was charming and poetic as always. He has always said Chicago is their favorite American city and, if you read Michka Assayas’ book, Bono—In Conversation” you heard him describe Chicago/the midwest as the “real America” as opposed to the coastal cities. Before breaking into “Still Haven’t Found . . .” Bono said, 'We Irish like to think we played a part in building this majestic skyline . . . we were the clouds.. the rain... in fact we are the wind in this windy city...'

The introduction of the band was humorous and touching. I don’t know if this is an “exact” quote but it is close: "Let me introduce my colleagues, on sky scraping guitar, the man who makes Dr Spock look like Dr Ruth, The Edge . . . On bass guitar, the man who from an early age knew four strings are better than six, a man who is well endowed mentally and physically, the elegant Adam Clayton . . . On drums, the man who gave us our first gig and never ceases to remind us of that fact, the thunder and lighting of the band, and when he smiles the sun comes out . . . Larry Mullen Jr."

"A few words about myself . . ." Bono went on to say people often laugh at him for his lack of humility as a rock star but said it's a little hard to be a humble rock star when you look around and see what he sees in the stadium. "When we get together, this band and you people, anything can happen. There's not much room for modesty."

THE SETLIST
Breathe,
No Line On The Horizon,
Get On Your Boots,
Magnificent,
Beautiful Day,
Elevation,
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,
Stuck In A Moment (You Can't Get Out Of),
Unknown Caller,
Unforgettable Fire,
City of Blinding Lights,
Vertigo,
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (Remix),
Sunday Bloody Sunday,
Pride (In The Name of Love),
MLK,
Walk On,
Where The Streets Have No Name,
One,
Bad

ENCORE
Ultraviolet,
With Or Without You,
Moment of Surrender

My favorite moment in the show was "Magnificent." Bono's body language left no room for guessing what the song was about and who it was written for. I worshiped Jesus unapologetically-- following Bono's lead. Singing,

Magnificent
Magnificent
I was born
I was born to be with you
In this space and time
After that and ever after I haven't had a clue
Only to break rhyme
This foolishness can leave a heart black and blue
Only love, only love can leave such a mark
But only love, only love can heal such a scar
I was born
I was born to sing for you
I didn't have a choice but to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry, it was a joyful noise...
Only love, only love can leave such a mark
But only love, only love can heal such a scar
Justified till we die, you and I will magnify
The Magnificent
Magnificent

Bono ended the night by reminding us, "all you need is love . . . and a spaceship."

My Favorite Stage Interruptions of All Time

I'm not quite sure yet that Kanye's interruption of the VMA's wasn't designed by the folks at MTV to get our attention and make sure they stay in the news. It's getting a little predictable (Eminem and Bruno?). Although, if it was their idea, and it was premeditated, Kanye is even more of a loser for agreeing to do it than he is if it happened spontaneously. I was through with Kanye already but . . .

Anyway, here are some clips of some famous stage/award show interruptions that are classic and memorable and . . . not premeditated.

#1 The 1998 Grammy Awards and "Soy Bomb." This interpretive dance by this guy makes me pee my pants laughing every time I stumble upon it again. I love watching Dylan try to keep his composure.



#2 Tim Commerford climbs a stage prop. At the 2000 VMA's, bass player from Rage Against the Machine climbed the prop to protest Limp Bizkit winning the category Rage should have won. Fred Durst (Bizkit) acknowledged the move was "rock and roll" and Commerford should have got the award. Commerford got arrested for his little stunt.



#3 The Streaker. This one is classic. Go to this link and watch it. The Academy won't let me embed the video. David Niven had a great wah-wa-wahhhh line for this one.

How to Ruin Your Career in less than 10 Seconds

Dear Kanye,

What?

What?

20 Bands from Sabbatical

I listen to a lot of music. It’s what I do.

I have a lot of favorite musicians who live in obscurity and will never grace the cover of Rolling Stone and, I kinda like that. But there are some bands who are embraced by the masses. Popularity does not a good band make but, there are a few popular heroes in my book. Here is a short list. Besides the great music, these are a few of my favorite “popular” bands and why.

This is not my Top 20 list necessarily, but they got the most play time on my sabbatical this summer.

The Beatles

The standard. The legend. The mark. The poetry. The hype. The story. The history. The personalities. The emotion.

U2

The grandeur. The spectacle. The extravagance. The politics. The God talk. The turn of phrase. The cleverness.

Foo Fighters

The rock. The energy. The laughter. The tone. The sing-ability. The fun. The angst. The legend that is Dave.

Kings of Leon

The freshness. The attitude. The family. The approachability (of the members). The anti-formula.

The Vines

The raw. The harmony. The in-your-face. The grit. The hook.

Beck

The artistry. The palette. The timbre. The talent.

Cake

The originality. The vibra-slap. The speak-singing. The humor.

Counting Crows

The array. The whine. The accessibility. The instrumentation. The poetry.

Lenny Kravitz

The attitude. The ethos/authenticity. The style. The clothes. The humility. The honesty.

No Doubt

The horns. The aerobics. The camaraderie. The punk. The pout. The pop.

Pearl Jam

The place in history. The flannel (of days gone by). The memories. The gravel. The sweat. The frantic.

The Police

The reggae. The minimal. The vox. The hits. The longevity. The relevance.

Prince

The guitar. The glitter. The soul. The color.

Radiohead

The art. The originality. The computer. The voice. The pain. The think. The provoke.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

The funk. The tats. The energy. The bad voice. The personalities.

Sheryl Crow

The studio sounds. The country/rock/soul. The writing. The guitars.

The White Stripes/Raconteurs/Jack White

The fervor. The guts. The sounds. The whine. The live show. The pale. The comfort in his own skin.

Fountains of Wayne

The every other song that’s better than Stacy’s Mom. The pop. The smiles. The soundtracks. The musicianship.

Tom Petty

The country. The ugly. The telecaster. The band. The cruise-ability. The memories.

AC/DC

The blues. The screams. The grit. The predictability. The school dances.