U2 — Concert Reviews // — On the Flipside Music

By Jessica Klausing

Alternative rockers Inhaler turned The Belasco theater into a massive dance party with an hour long set chalked full of rollicking guitar hooks and bold lyrical confessions. For two nights in a row, music fans of all ages crowded into the venue eager to see the Dublin quartet; Ryan McMahon (drums), Robert Keating (bass), Josh Jenkinson (guitarist), and Eli Hewson (lead vocals).

The band opened with their album title track “It Won’t Always Be Like This” to the deafening screams of mostly teenage girls. It’s very easy to see why. Eli Hewson has a strong vocal prowess and a commanding stage presence. My eyes were glued to the frontman as he sauntered from one side of the stage to the other belting out, “You’re in my head/It won’t always be like this/be like this/I’m dead, honey, I’ll be dead/It won’t always be like this.” Hewson is well known among the U2 fans for being Bono’s son. Right away you’ll notice the family resemblance as both frontmen are talented and extremely charming, but Hewson does not need to stand in his father’s shadow for attention. Inhaler proudly proves they can stand out on their own with their fresh, hip alternative energy.

The dance party continued with “We Have to Move On” and then slowing down for “Slide Out the Window.” The tempo picked right back up for the 2019 single, “Ice Cream Sundae” but it was “A Night on the Floor” that was the fan favorite of the night. Multi colored strobe lights flashed like a rave. As I looked around, I noticed every single person in the venue was jumping up and down in joy or dancing without a care in the world to this tune. The energy was so infectious that I found myself bouncing around like a jack rabbit too.

While the music is catchy, many of the songs focus on relationship issues and inner struggles. “Who’s Your Money On? (Plastic House)” mourns a failed relationship with, “This plastic house ain’t built to last/Things are just like they always are/We melt like ice in your hands.” The next song “My King Will Be Kind” was a punch to the gut with the angsty, “She says I’ve got no love/I fuckin’ hate that bitch.”

The band closed out the show with two hard hitters, “Cheer Up Baby” and “My Honest Face.” Once the show was over, we all filed out of the venue, flushed faced and exhausted from dancing. I can’t remember the last time that I danced so hard at a concert! Inhaler brings a refreshingly new sound into the indie rock genre that has been lacking for a while. They are such a fun band to see live.

SETLIST:
It Won’t Always Be Like This
We Have to Move On
Slide Out the Window
Ice Cream Sundae
When It Breaks
A Night on the Floor
Who’s Your Money On? (Plastic House)
My King Will Be Kind
Totally
In My Sleep
Cheer Up Baby
My Honest Face

Written by Jessica Klausing

A U2 fan told me she stood over 12 hours in line in the 97 degree heat to see the iconic Irishmen this past Sunday. She was not alone. Thousands of other die-hard fans braved heat exhaustion outside Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Stadium just to ensure a good spot in the general admission pit.

Performing their inspiring lyrics and soaring guitar anthems with vitality, U2 makes it evident during their concerts why they have such a loyal fan base.

U2—comprised of vocalist Bono, guitarist and keyboardist The Edge, bassist Adam Clayton, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. –came out to play a mind blowing two-hour set in honor of their groundbreaking 1987 album, The Joshua Tree.

The Joshua Tree ponders the core values of the American dream. These tracks reflect drug addiction, war, death, and discrimination. These powerful themes are every bit as relevant now as they were in the 80s.

The band took the B-stage for the opener, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” off the 1983 album, War. Next, The Edge riffed right into the ‘lightning in a bottle’ jam, “New Year’s Day.” Bono delivered a passionate plea for peace in “Pride (In the Name of Love)” from The Unforgettable Fire, which pays tribute to the late Martin Luther King Jr. before moving to the main stage, where the real treat was in store.

Fans were awed as a giant black Joshua tree silhouette was illuminated against an enormous blood-red LED screen.

U2 starts The Joshua Tree tour at Pasadena's Rose Bowl Stadium. Photo by Jessica Klausing.

“Where the Streets Have No Name” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” provided a theme park motion simulator ride experience with a walking tour through Death Valley. The band performed “With Or Without You” in front of the majestic Zabriskie Point. Vibrant multi-colored Joshua trees lit up the night during “In God’s Country.” A full pink moon shined on “One Tree Hill.” The song was dedicated to Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who passed away a week ago.

The tempo slowed down with the darker themed “Running to Stand Still,” which featured a beautiful musical interplay between Bono’s harmonica and The Edge’s keyboard. The duo showed off their stellar chemistry to the roaring approval of the stadium.

Bono chats with the crowd. Photo by Harlene Dryden.

“Thank you for letting us Irish into your country. We promise not to leave it as it is,” said Bono.

U2’s music is well known for its politically and socially powered messages. Bono sprinkled his thoughts on equality and the need to unite rather than divide throughout the show, and utilized the screen to drive the point home.

Before “Exit” the screen played a clip from the 1958 western, Trackdown, depicting a sleazy salesman named Walter Trump who tries to frighten a small town into building a protective wall.

“Miss Sarajevo” brought the attention to the current U.S. immigration policy with a clip of a young Syrian girl who dreams of coming to America, a place she refers to as a civil land of dreams where people can be happy. A large banner of the girl was passed around the stadium as Bono cried out “Here she comes/heads turn around/here she comes/to take her crown.”

Bono sings "Beautiful Day." Photo by Harlene Dryden.

“If we don’t organize, then we agonize. Nothing scares the shite out of the government more than when millions get organized,” Bono advised.

The mood picked back up for the encore.

“Beautiful Day” brought joy accompanied by a psychedelic light show. Bono’s signature raspy vocals weaved through The Edge’s pitch shifter during the bridge, as Bono changed the lyrics to sing about Los Angeles.

“Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” honored all women, using the LED screen to flash images of historical female figures such as Oprah Winfrey, Rosa Parks, Ellen DeGeneres, and Susan B. Anthony, to name a few.

Larry Mullen Jr. photo by Harlene Dryden.

U2 closed out the show with a new song, “The Little Things That Give You Away.” This new song is to be featured on the upcoming release, Songs of Experience, which serves as the sequel to the 2014 album, Songs of Innocence.

U2: The Joshua Tree Tour is not to be missed! The band revisits their post punk roots through the desert imagery and symbolic ‘American Dream’ ideology. These classics may be over three decades old but this band still performs them with as much heart and soul as the day they were recorded. Visually and musically inspiring, U2 continues to raise the bar on the live concert experience.

SETLIST:

Sunday Bloody Sunday

New Year’s Day

Pride (In the Name of Love)

Where the Streets Have No Name

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

With Or Without You

Bullet the Blue Sky

Running to Stand Still

Red Hill Mining Town

In God’s Country

Trip Through Your Wires

One Tree Hill

Exit

Mothers of the Disappeared

ENCORE:

Miss Sarajevo

Bad

ENCORE (2):

Beautiful Day

Elevation

Ultraviolet (Light My Way)

One

The Little Things That Give You Away

Inhaler @ LA's The Belasco

CONCERT REVIEW: U2 Lights Up The Joshua Tree at Pasadena's Rose Bowl