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U2, Waldbuhne, Berlin |
| Across the Line, 08/13/2001 |
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by Stuart Bailie |
The venue is a mosquito-riddled outdoor bowl that once
showcased Nazi muscle during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Tonight of course,
there's a different kind of power play, as Bono makes a starling case for
all that is inspiring, giddy and great.
Succoured in America, the
Elevation tour is now doing the business across Europe, aiming to keep
things intimate and soulfully simple. Tonight is a rare occasion when the
action happens under the stars, and it takes a while for the mood to settle, for
Bono's personable energy to enliven the joint. He gets there, sure enough,
and by the time the coolest moon rises over the rim of the venue, we’re
party to another expansive communion of hearts and hopes.
The songs
from the new album 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' have grown a lot over
the last few months. 'Kite' has matured the most, as the singer hunts for
precious content in difficult times. And there's the ghostly import of
'Stuck In A Moment', in which Bono argues with the soul of Michael
Hutchence, willing him to accept those better possibilities.
It's an
urgent tour, based on the idea that the flesh decays and time hurtles past. 'In
A Little While', a song that was originally written about a hangover, has
now come to define the last days of Joey Ramone. So it's fitting that Bono
should pull a girl out from the crowd who's wearing a Ramones T-shirt. He's
slow-dancing with her around the heart-shaped rim of the stage, pulling her
close when she starts to wave at her mates, willing it to be
special.
'Stay', a decent enough tune from the 'Zooropa' record, is now
another giant tour song, relayed with an acoustic guitar and revving the
crowd with the mention of "London, Belfast and Berlin". Again, it fits with
the theme, and there's a likelihood that the entire show will be upbeat,
consensual and bright.
Enter 'Bullet The Blue Sky', fresh after an
encore break. We've just been watching a film clip of Charlton Heston,
making a repulsive case for the gun lobby. And the song works as a fierce
rebuttal of this idea, backed up with blazing guitar and images of corpses,
kids with guns and idiots across the world with shooters, aiming for
trouble. Bono starts raving about John Lennon and then he morphs into Mark
Chapman, stalking the former Beatle outside the Dakota Building, mad as
hell.
'One' is an immensely plastic song that changes according to the
emotions of the event. In Berlin, Bono uses it to remember the recent G8
Summit in Genoa and the death of a protestor. "It was a warzone," Bono
recalls, "And I was ashamed to see politicians hiding behind a wall, a very
high wall. Violence is never right, but… we have a right to be angry".
Onwards, he raves, past 'Wake Up Dead Man', and signing off with 'Walk
On', a summation of the trip. Private pain, global ills, jubilation,
sickness, fear and faith are all coloured in the experience. Like Bono says,
the heart is a bloom. And this one is especially radiant. |
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