By Benjamin Wagner
It was the worst-kept secret in Boston, and for good reason. The World's Biggest Band was tearing up one of Beantown's most-intimate venues, and everyone wanted a piece. As a kid from Iowa who's life was changed by The Joshua Tree, I was no exception.
All around the 900-seat Somerville Theater, thousands of chattering fans queued behind barricades for a fleeting glimpse of the band. One woman plead to Sway through tears as he endeavored to deliver a stand-up. Traffic stalled. Police lights flared. It was chaos.
Inside, the tiny, one-time vaudeville theater was ready to blow. Sway only added to the frenzy, briefly introducing the band then ushering them onto the stage as only he could with his extra-long, extra-emphatic vowels. "Give it up for Uuuuuuuuuuuuu Twoooooooo!"
And with that, The Edge attacked the already-familiar fuzz-guitar intro of "Get On Your Boots," and it was on. Bono marched in place like some 21st century general calling his troops to muster.
"This is where it all began," he said as The Edge's feedback momentarily faded. "Right here in Boston."
Just as quickly, though, The Edge signaled go-time with the thickly-distorted intro to "Magnificent." The audience of radio-contest winners and uber-fans cheered wildly as Bono sang, "I was born to sing for you," the Moroccan-origins of the track especially evident in his turn of a vowel.
With one leg on the monitor and both hands on the mic, Bono leaned forward into "Breathe." He spat out its "Subterranean Homesick Blues" inspired, spoken-word lyrics like a poetry slam, then unleashed his soaring tenor for the chorus. "These days" he sang, "Are better than that!"
And as the band plunged headlong through "I'll Go Crazy If We Don't Go Crazy Tonight" and "Vertigo," all I can think through the din of the guitar, the rumble of the bass, through the blue smoke and the bright lights is, "Yes, they are."
Comments