Papa Do Preach (Bono shares his thoughts about the United States with NYC crowd)

NY Post ^ | October 10, 2005 -- | Dan Aquilante

[dead]

SOME performers say they love New York, but U2's 25-year affair with the city couldn't be expressed better than at their Madison Square Garden Vertigo Tour opener, played with panting passion that was returned kiss for kiss by the sold-out house.

The performance on Friday was the kind of show that makes it easy to answer anybody who asks, "What was the best concert of the year?" This was it — hands down and no question.

During the two-hour gig, Bono was chatty and even reminisced about when he first came to New York at age 19. He half-joked, "That's when the megalomania began." At past New York concerts, Bono has used the stage as a pulpit with sledgehammer suavility. But Friday, he made amends saying, "Thanks for listening to me. I know I can be a pain in the ass."

During "Sunday Bloody Sunday" he requested "The Stars and Stripes Forever." He treated the flag respectfully and later praised the men and women in the U.S. military. He observed about the United States: "It is in the worst of times that this country finds the best of America . . . America is a powerful idea, it belongs to the world."

[dfwgator]

I thought he died in a skiing accident.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

America is a powerful idea, it belongs to the world.

This sounds a lot like "from those according to their ability to those according to their need".

In other words, I don't think it's just the idea that Bono thinks "belongs" to the world - I'm thinking its $$$.

[Dallas59]

Who's Bono?

[Trust but Verify]

His music is simply, quite simply, fabulous. The rest of Bono you can keep. If you have never been to a U2 concert, you are missing out on something special.

[Trust but Verify]

A of H is terrific. Sunday, Bloody Sunday is great as well. We have a U2 concert on DVD. We watch it on the HD set. It's magnificent. I think I'll watch it again after work.

[adgirl]

I think he means in his cool rock star way that our constitution kicks butt and that if the rest of the world were more like America the world would be a much better place. He's right.

[Slainte]

Hey, did you raid my record collection?

[Rummyfan]

At past New York concerts, Bono has used the stage as a pulpit with sledgehammer suavility

Suavility??????? Another Columbia Journalism grad?

[Rummyfan]

They hit the top with ACHTUNG BABY and it's been downhill ever since.

[Rummyfan]

Hey, if Mohammed Baradei can get one, why not Bono?

[greylurker]

I like Bono's Voice, it is a shame his guitarist squandered his guitar lesson money on tattoos

[joebuck]

In the new Family Guy movie which came out on video recently, there's a hilarious short bit dissing Bono. Actually, the whole movie is funny.

[Cosmo]

I always detested Bono......

Then, when Bush took office, he started acting as a liberal I could respect.

Then he went on the Conan O'Brien show last week and behaved as graciously as any celebrity I've seen ( Bob Hope aside, perhaps).

I still have little use for U2, but to hear that Bono has basically shunned the postmodern notion of "Amerika" is heartwarming to say the least.

[philled]

The UK bookmakers had Bob Geldolf and Bono as decent bets to win the Nobel Peace Prize THIS year. While I can find absolutely nothing redeeming to say for Geldolf, I can for Bono. For about the past dozen years (as I have moved towards conservatism), I cringed whenever I heard Bono speak as he is "one of the World's most importrant persons" . Rock stars make incredibly poor role models and even worse policymakers. However, U2 was what led me to Christianity as a high school kid in the early 1980s. Bono leading a daily Bible study and differences in commitment to faith (or one member's lack thereof) nearly destroyed the band before they made it big in the mid 80s. They had lost me by 1987 and I have largely ignored them since. In 2004, I received a copy of their current record ("How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb") and was greatly surprised and found myself liking it. It is their most spiritual record in a very long time and Bono is easily on his knees during several songs. While there is nothing as overt as "40" (basically a re-working of the 40th Psalm), listen closely and it is not exactly what you'd expect from someone that is such a darling to the UN crowd.

[segis]

I concur. Have been to a few of their concerts and all of them have been nothing short of fabulous. I tried really hard to get tix for this tour but all were sold out fast.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Sure, I agree with you but I wonder if he left it deliberately vague (in his cool rock star way) so that the interpretation would be open enough to include the definition that I suggested. Rock songs have certainly been known to include meanings within meanings.

[Cacique]

l8r

[Trust but Verify]

We last saw them on the Elevation tour. We had crappy seats, though. They are a tough ticket, and not cheap, but worth the cost.

[AmericanChef]

What a generous spirit! Sharing his thoughts with others when he has so little to spare...

[Irish_Thatcherite]

We wouldn't even have him for the Irish presidency!