Concert review: U2 moves Utah fans in ‘Mysterious Ways’

Concert review: U2 moves Utah fans in ‘Mysterious Ways’
Bono and Co. were back at it Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.

Back being the operative word – literally.

As Bono himself pointed out during Tuesday’s U2 spectacular at Rice-Eccles Stadium, it was a year ago this week that he underwent emergency back surgery in Germany, forcing the band to reschedule the North American leg of its 360° Tour, which was within a few days of launching with the Salt Lake City date.

“Let me tell you, we are so much better this year,” Bono told the screaming masses after thanking them for their patience. “In all modesty, I’ve got a brand new spine. I have been built with a brand new spine. ... Thank God, and thank the Germans. What do you think of Robo-Bono?”

Judging by their raucous reaction and a stadium-wide standing ovation for all but the most mellow moments, audience members had high praise for the worth-much-more-than-$6 million man and his not quite as bionic bandmates.

In fact, fans’ patience for the year delay paid off as the Irish popsters delivered as stunning a visual concert as has ever been seen along the Wasatch Front during a 2-hour, 20-minute performance. Much has been written about the band’s massive stage structure, dubbed “The Claw,” but, if anything, its utter uniqueness and ability to make a stadium show seem intimate was clearly not over-hyped.

The mammoth stage dwarfed the south end of the stadium, making the Olympic torch, visible in the background outside that end, appear like a mere flashlight. It may measure 150 feet from the bottom of the main stage to the tip of its disco ball-like spire, but it appeared as if nearly every inch of the staging served some functional purpose visually. The four legs of “The Claw” neatly housed all manner of lights and other effects. With most of the equipment suspended in air or perhaps contained underneath, the main stage itself was amazingly uncluttered, leaving pretty much just the musicians and their tools of the trade.

A pair of rotating walkways bridged an inner section of fans and connected the main stage to a circular ramp that brought band members closer to the primary sections of the audience. Bono, guitarist The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton all made judicious use of the bridges and walkway to maintain connected with the crowd. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. even took a late-set spin around the ramp while playing a bongo drum during “I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight.”

The undisputed king of special effects, however, was the out-of-this-world cylindrical video board. The display was so eye-catching that at times it was certainly a distraction to the proceedings on stage – but almost always a welcome one. The board mostly displayed live action from the stage, showing off facial expressions and actions that would otherwise be undetectable by a large portion of the crowd in a stadium setting.

The video device moved into uncharted territory, however, when it started morphing and changing shape late in the main set. The screen actually broke apart into hundreds of separate pieces and started funneling downward toward the band during “Miss Sarajevo.” Following up with “Zooropa,” the video tunnel lowered and actually encased the entire band – with the members intermittently visible behind the separated pieces of video screen behind eye-popping light effects. It was amazing to behold, leaving one to wonder where the next generation of video experimentation will go from here. The bar has been set extremely high.

None of the effects, however, would mean diddly without the music to back it up. U2 has little to worry about in that regard. The band mixed in big hits with more obscure material, but the fans – and are there any more devoted fans than U2 followers? – seemed familiar with everything, singing along at every prompt from Bono and offering cheers of recognition at the beginning strains of every song.

“Get on Your Boots,” “Mysterious Ways” and “Elevation” were early highlights and the tranquil “All I Want is You” was simply beautiful. An ongoing theme emerged at the end of the latter tune as Bono segued into “Love Rescue Me,” a tune co-written by Bob Dylan off the “Rattle and Hum” album. Tuesday marked Dylan’s 70th birthday and at the end of the song, Bono led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to the folk icon.

Bono would add a later Dylan tribute in the encores by playing the first verse and chorus to “Blowin’ in the Wind” while accompanying himself on guitar.