U2 personal show charts calculator

Oh, the wonders of technology. U2-vertigo-tour.com have created an application that lists the shows you’ve seen and which U2 songs you have heard live: check out their personal show charts calculator. I was surprised to learn that with 50 shows under my belt, I’ve been subjected to Pride ‘only’ 45 times. Funny, it feels like more than that…

Bono advertises his thievery

In the current issue of Billboard magazine, musicians and actors pay tribute to legendary crooner Tony Bennett, who celebrated his 80th birthday earlier this month. Many of the musicians who collaborated with Bennett on his Duets: An American Classic album, which will be released on September 26, placed advertisements in the magazine to congratulate him on his successful career and wish him happy birthday. Bono, who sings with Bennett on the song “I Wanna Be Around” on Duets: An American Classic, took out a full-page ad that reads the following:

Tony,
Trying to sing with you was a humbling if not humiliating experience.
You’re like a house you can’t break into, at least
not by force. You can run at the door, but the doors
are locked…you can bang on the windows…
I got into the House of Bennett, but
only as the cat burglar…looking to steal a place in
this incredible legacy.
I’ve had the pleasure of singing with you, and for you…
I broke in through the bathroom window, up a
drainpipe…I’m not leaving.
Bono

Is “Fresh Blood” needed?

Since there seems to be a bit of a lull as far as U2 is concerned at the moment, we decided to drag up an old article and maybe add a little more discussion.

The article, which originally appeared in the New York Times, speaks of the organisers of Ozfest and their quest for fresh blood. More interestingly, it goes to explain how all the big audience pullers these days (U2, Madonna and Metallica to name a few) are all the same bands that were big audience pullers 10 years ago. While there are newer bands such as Coldplay or the Killers emerging, these bands simply don’t seem to have the same crowd pulling abilities as a band like U2.

“It feels to me like a lot of people have their heads in the sand. More people are focused on the fact that they’re having a hard time selling tickets this summer than are focused on the fact that they may not have anything to sell tickets to in 10 years.”

And that specifically is an interesting view that may have some truth in it. It’s undeniable that bands like U2 or Madonna easily sell out complete stadiums, but who’s there to take their place. Much as we’d like to see U2 go on forever, realistically, there will be a time when they call it quits. And then what? Is there a future for stadium concerts, or concerts at all and will any band ever be able to live up to U2?