This is a very exciting technology. I'll be looking for a group or artist that currently thrills me, then probably go experience this.
I would say the same thing. But man does it pain me to do so.
I've seen U2 on every tour, often multiple times, since the original indoor leg of Achtung Baby in '92, and have pored over everything they've ever officially released (and loads of stuff they haven't as well) since I was 11. I am not a "fanatic" for any person, artist, etc., and they're one of many whose work I know very well—but they're a big part of my life and musical DNA since I got into them in my very formative years. For a couple of them, U2 was almost all I listened to.
They've certainly annoyed/disappointed me here and there over the years but I've always eventually bounced back... I just can't get over the nagging feeling I've got these days that none of what they're doing right now feels
good to me.
Once again, it ain't about me, of course. They're free to do whatever they want and time is precious and fleeting. They're not anywhere close to the first band that has changed out key members (permanently or temporarily), but for me personally, this is the first time it's really hitting home in a way that doesn't work for me. In so many other instances I could at least argue why... someone simply quit or died, they all hated each other anyway, etc., etc.—but I've always said that a huge component of being a U2 fan for me, in some ways maybe more important than anything else (including the music), was their
story. No matter how ambivalent I ever was about the latest record, whenever these four friends who did something absolutely unimaginable together, and always put the friendship first and foremost so that it remained only the four of them, walked out on stage—I would always get emotional, all would be forgiven, and they would always kick my ass live no matter what.
When the announcement came out this week about the tickets, I did blink... because the venue does look amazing and I'm super curious about the technology and the experience. But ultimately stood firm that I'm going to sit this one out. Who knows if this is the end of the road (it feels like we're starting to come to that) and if there will be an opportunity to even bounce back to this time... but either way, I'm good.
The price tag is also HUGE, especially factoring in flights, hotel, food and everything else on top of it. But I still might be tempted if it were in fact U2... but for me, after all this time and mileage, this band is just not "U2" without Larry and I really don't care "what would U2 sound like with a different drummer?" I already know the answer - "not U2". Even if this didn't involve a cross country flight, I just don't think I'd bite on the marketing and hype and what feels like a money grab and a lot of smart spin around a situation that is less than ideal and in reality they probably can't back out of. Other things I went and saw maybe people would say the same thing... but this one is just different for me due to emotional investment. I already know my friends attending are going to tell me it was absolutely insane. That's all fine and good, and it doesn't change my mind.
All of the recent activity (Songs of Surrender, the Letterman special on Disney+, Bono's book and mini-tour, the Tiny Desk Concert, this Zane Lowe stuff, and now the promotion for the Sphere) kinda exposes what I guess we kinda all knew to be true under the surface anyway all of these years... it's ultimately the Bono + Edge show. But I liked how they always played it cooler and more magnanimous than that regardless.
Still, Edge (and Zane) singing the praises of Atmos audio gives me hope we could yet see some back catalog in the format.
OK fine, I'm a fanatic for pizza.
