Last summer I saw U2 on the Joshua Tree tour. Loved it.
It was at an outdoor stadium and outdoor stadiums have noise ordinances for how late into the night the noise is allowed to go.
With that in mind, it’s vital that U2 start on time.
In order to make sure U2 starts on time, the opener has to go on pretty early.
i.e. The opener has to go on while it’s still sunny out.
One Republic was the opener. They played 40minutes of all hits. Front to back songs that everyone had heard before on the radio.
But it was sunny out.
So the video screens were washed out. The lighting had little to no effect on anything. It was hard to see the band…certainly couldn’t see any faces.
It basically looked like a high school band playing a county fair during the lunch rush.
(it wasn’t, but that’s what it looked like)
Opening for U2, that’s a good gig. A gig you can’t turn down. And if you have a bunch of hits, you might even convert some people.
In a lot of ways, as far as opening gigs go, it was tee’d up for One Republic.
But it was sunny out. So it was forgettable. (Except for my ‘one republic- sunny opener’ note I wrote in my phone)
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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com