u/Fantastic-Habit-8569

I remember when I was at the first time in a concert my big expectation was to listen With or Without You, Streets, Ultraviolet, Walk On, Original of The Species, Miracle Drug and these were really disapointing, not even close from the power of them in studio or oficial live audios. Ultraviolet it self I can't even take serious as if listened :( . One of my favorite songs and so empty in the concert, super sad.

In another hand the power of Sunday Bloody Sunday, I will Follow and New Years Day is unbelieveable, I knew it could be good, but I could not imagine so much. Edge almost really break the strings, each one of them plays perfectly, is easy to understand why it made them so famous in that time.

The big surprise because I was not expecting nothing from those came with Mysterious Ways, Elevation and Vertigo, specially Elevation, its impossible to stay quiet when they play those, the whole stadium go with them, now I know Why they never leave it out of the setlist.

Big Mention to Hold Me Trill Me, One, Zooropa and Even Better, all of them able to fill the Stadium perfectly

I can’t stop to listen the “In a life”, “Scars”, “Ressurection Song”, “Coexist” but with “In a Life” I am always caught on the traffic.

What the hell this really means?

“We get caught in the traffic”

Bono was just forcing a rhyme? Or is there any other interpretation for it?

The only thing I know that is great, specially for the following Larry’s drums right after.

Hey Guys, I was looking for diferent versions of The Edge guitar solos or moments he just extended it more than usual.

I could remember:
- With or Without You - 1992 Washington
- One - 2005 Ultimate compilation
- Kite - 2005 Sidney
- The Fly - 2001(not exactly but ok)

Do you have any other moment of him making varying or improvising from the usual?

PS: The diference should not be only from studio to live, but between the version they usually plays in most of concerts

Maybe look too much for the orange of the neighborhood made them forget their own green.

Long Morning Belfast

NOTE: This is not intending to make any sort of criticism, just an analysis on behaviour coming from this Masks filosofy, let's just discuss friendly taking bases on their own interviews/reports/acting and etc.

There's a very know saying "The mask we wear does not hide who we are; it reveals who we truly are"

It comes from another filosofy who claims: Give a man a mask and he will tell the truth.

Basically when a person feels protected by a mask, a character, anonymity, or a “social mask,” they may act with less fear of judgment. So the mask, instead of being merely a disguise, ends up revealing desires, impulses, or truths that the person usually keeps under control.

There is also a more theatrical/psychological reading: we all wear social masks at work, with family, with friends and these masks are not necessarily false. They are also part of our identity. Sometimes, what we call a “character” is actually a real part of ourselves that only appears in certain contexts. While those daily appearences while in social situations are the mask we would not wear if we could left.

For a long time I am having these feeling about U2 and Bono in general.
I mean, he was always trying to justify some acts by acting in characters and the most I was observing less I saw of mask. The man over the stage is the true instead of the man out of it.

In short:
The Fly were what Bono always wanted to be.
MacPhisto were how Bono always thought he would end.
And Bono is the mask of Paul, the son of Bob, the left boy behind the glasses from Cedarwood number 10.

The main reason to make me think nothing of this are really masks are:

The Fly:
By descriptions from the own band on 80's they are always trying to sell the image of honest and autentic, but that was them putting themselfes in a moralist cage of humbleness still afraid of the world, when The Joshua Tree blowed up, they felt themselfes in the top of the world and they started to feel like that, they're super happy, enjoying and letting some arrogance came out not as in the top of the world but as owners of the world, in his book Bono tells how do they thought that was really a moment to play with this, enjoy the moment and be free.

The movie Rattle and Hum may be really misunderstood, but that was the image the band was already building around them, its from this era the infamous sentence "The difference between Bono and God is that God do not walk by the streets of Dublin thinking he is Bono", in some interviews from this years(87,88,89) is also clear how Bono is unconfortable playing the right and humble guy, once he start sentences with "jokes" and suddenly wear the mask of himself from 80's again.

After all the critics of behaviour from those who knew them before and others who never liked them, this mask came out, not because they had an idea of entertainment which they'd always claimed, but because this was already happening, The Fly were Bono acting like he always wanted to act, a monster made of parts from his idols Elvis, Joy Division, John Lennon and himself with the alibi of theater. I bet many fans in here would love to act like Bono in a stage and just need a oportunity for that, in here he created this oportunity to act like his idols.

The funny part of this who "proof" that was never a mask, is he never let The Fly for behind, the glasses never left his face and the only reason for a calm down in his behaviour was the failing in the end of 90's, like a lion without teeth who knows is weak now and don't have this power to control the environment anymore, but it still there and in some interviews it begging to came out, and the "Self-indulgence" acting he addopted after that shows a bit of that. Looks a way he found to control the criticism and looks humble in other's eyes.

Mr.Macphisto:
Well, after partying hard for at least 4 years after the releasing of The Joshua Tree and many hangovers, prizes awards, fans near by and the glamour, he was basically in preview of what was coming for him, but the point is I don't see the character of McPhisto when he wears make up on E+I, I see MacPhisto when the 60 years old Bono shows up on stage from anything else which is not a U2 concert.

Bono:
"The last person who used to call me by Paul was my father and he is dead for more than 20 years"

In many ocasions Bono tell stories of people trying to sound intimate or professional calling him by Paul, in all of this ocasions he tells how he feels unconfortable

In the Experience + Innocence tour in his speech he tells on how people from his neighborhood tryed to reduce him by "That's not rockstar, that's just Paul, from number 10" once he answer "I am not Paul, I am fucking Bono, SIR FUCKING BONO"

Some of the explanations they have gave for their nicknames were still during the teenages they used to give names to each other so they could be who they wanted to be.

The conclusion I reached is that for him, Paul is his childhood name, is the name which his mother used to call, was the name which his hard father used to call and the name he was called in really tough time of his childhood, and a name which in some way actives a trigger from times he want to leave back, I think everyone have things like this, is like listen the voice of your beloved mom who's gone calling you, coming from mouths who should not be calling, its painful and desrespectful at the same time.

In the end he adopted Bono: the rockstar, the father, the friend of pope, politicians, the philantropist which everyone knows, maybe only Ali, or not even her knows much about Paul, once they've met when he was already becoming Bono.

Bono is a mix of all this characters together, who still got the leather jacket, the rock moves, the voice, the shades, the Wrinkles, but also the empathy, the sense of humanity, Bono is the closest thing he found between who he was, who he wanted to be, who was acceptable to be and who he should be, becoming in who he is really is now.

Please, I am not talking in here of those moments when fans were waiting for them in front of hotels/stadium/arena/events and stuffs like that and tells as if they're in a meeting with them.

I am talking about those who have the oportunity to meet them in daily situations and normal moments.

I am fascinating for example for the story of the guy(I think he was working in a event) who met Larry in a bar and Larry had a super natural conversation with him in the way he normally don't have with fans.

That's also because I always heard stories about them walking normally without bodyguard in Dublin or New York but I never heard these stories.

I can just imagine how crazy should be you are in a store and the guy behind you waiting to pay the bills are Sr. Dave Evans LOOL

Even from The Joshua Tree is possible, but zootv is really hard.

I am not talking about “Bono on ZooTV Stage” I am talking about the stage only turned off, before or after show, or from long distance where you can see the details.

I think I could find only two or three pictures in day light in a band rehearsal and eve like that it was not in the best angle