Thursday, March 13, 2008

U23D (go see it, fool)

Leave your cynicism at home and go see U23D. It would take me a long time to write a meaningful review, so read Wired’s if you require convincing. Here are my personal highlights.

Favorite moment? Bono kissing Clayton on the lips. Sincerely sweet.

Most surreal moment? In “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, when Bono sings “wipe your tears away,” his arm extends into the audience and literally wipes your tears away. I wish he had done this during “Pride” when I actually was a little teary. Oh, who am I kidding? I even got weepy during “Beautiful Day.” Sheesh.

How the film experience best mimicked my real U2 concert experiences? At the end of every song, my inner 15-year-old pleaded, Please play “Bad” next. PLEASE. PLAY. “BAD”.

Moment when the theater crowd acted most like a real U2 concert crowd? Two guys sitting behind us were very drunk (at 7pm? Eek!). It was quite reminiscent of “Knocked Up” when the guys go see Cirque du Soleil on mushrooms. They were really paranoid and freaked out by some of the more intense 3D effects; but by the end of the film, they had come down from their high. When U2 played the opening bars of “With of Without You” they simultaneously yelled out, “Yesssss!” This happens at EVERY U2 concert. All homophobic tendencies are tossed out the window when this song is played. Drunk men are hugging, swaying shoulder to shoulder, closing their eyes, singing, “I can’t LIIIIIIIIIVE”.

Quote I’ve heard from E during every U2 concert, repeated during the film? “Ugh. Why do they always play “Bullet the Blue Sky”?”

Best inspiration from the film? Halloween 2008.

Adam Clayton = E
Larry Mullen Jr. = Drew W.
The Edge = Luke
Bono = do I even have to tell you? Have you ever seen Paul S. not looking exactly like this:


Other thoughts. It’s so easy to be cynical about U2. Every time they produce another album, it’s like, ‘Uh, that’s great that you’re enjoying making new music and all, but really, guys. We’re cool with just listening to “The Unforgettable Fire”. You’ve given us enough already.’

So you kind of suffer through the tedious singles like “Stuck in a Moment”. But then they go and blow you away with something incredibly touching. Like the song “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own”. Yeah, the guitar riffs in the bridge are kind of cheesy, and the lyrics aren’t exactly brilliant. But the whole back story is so moving. Bono wrote this song for his father’s funeral and claims that when his father died, he gave him a voice. And sure enough, for the following couple of months, Bono’s voice was more powerful than ever. They depict this perfectly in the video. Bono walks down a street, hoarsely singing the opening lines; the instruments kick in, and his voice transforms.

Did you see U2 perform this on Saturday Night Live? Quite honestly, the only way I can describe Bono’s voice that night is angelic. Somehow supernatural.

Post-script:

A quick stop at the Sidebar on our way home from U23D taught me two things:

1. Seattle Supersonics’ Chris Wilcox is copping Method Man’s style.

2. Me + jukebox + $1 = Flight of the Conchords dancing to LCD Soundsystem (this dance, not this dance). Always. Without fail.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I was saddened when a friend returned my Flight of the Con. DVD and had only watched 3 episodes. Their commnet: they're kind of weird. Friend didn't get it. If only I could find that jukebox.