Scattered Thoughts and Videos from the Rock Hall Concert

Some brief thoughts and videos from my “cheap seat” view of U2’s set at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden on Friday:

Mick Jagger joining U2 for Stuck In a Moment (video):

Note: If his dancing is throwing you off, try and get over it. He’s Mick Jagger. I advise closing your eyes, if that helps. Ha. From 1:59 on, for me, it is pretty much gold, especially the part where he sings to Bono “You are such a fool …”.

U2 with Mick Jagger and Fergie (from the Black Eyed Peas) covering the Rolling Stones song Gimme Shelter (video):

Note: Sorry there is a gap at the 0:56 mark. I had turned my camera off (in protest, ha!) when I mistakenly thought this was going to be a song with just the Black Eyed Peas.

Before Jagger (and the Black Eyed Peas) came out, U2 had opened their set with Vertigo and Magnificent. Then on song three, Bono called out Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith and, joined by Roy Bittan (E Street Band keyboardist), they all went into a sort of classically U2-ish “oh crap, we’re screwing up this song” moment. They butchered the beginning of Because the Night (video):

Note: The screw up was not that big of a deal in the end. You see Patti’s microphone give feedback (at 1:07) and then she starts the verse late, and then woah, the timing for all of the musicians goes off (it gets pretty ugly starting at 1:40 in). And then Bono does his “Everyone be quiet on stage and I’m going to fix it by making the crowd sing” move right before the 2:00 in mark and then they are off. They then played it again to make sure the HBO cameras captured them doing it right.

U2 also played I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For with Springsteen accompanying them. Bruce and Bono traded verses. The song ended with Bruce singing the line “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” on repeat and Bono simultaneously singing words to Bruce’s song The Promised Land “Mister I ain’t a boy, no I’m a man, and I believe in the promised land.”

After Bruce left the stage, U2 played a version of Mysterious Ways that segued into Where Is the Love by the Black Eyed Peas. They were joined on stage by all of the Black Eyed Peas. This pairing did not appeal to me or make sense to me in this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame type setting. At all. But much of the crowd in the arena was going WILD with glee. Bono sang a brief snippet of One during Where is The Love. Then some of the Peas left to make room for the next guest (Jagger).

Oh, to be able to cause an entire arena to erupt with screams just by slithering out onto a stage. Mick Jagger is that guy. Or one of them. He’s a ROCK STAR. And that’s what this night was all about. I loved every silly second of his performance up there.

U2 ended their set with a one-song encore, Beautiful Day. This fan would have appreciated it if U2 had played a few more songs and represented their catalog’s depth a bit more. (Full setlist details are here.) However, I’m not going to complain about seeing U2, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith and Mick Jagger in one night. Together. (I might add, the act preceding U2, Metallica, with guests Ozzy Osbourne, Ray Davies and Lou Reed, was also pretty phenomenal.) And the U2-Jagger moment alone was worth the price of admission, for me. (Then again, I was in the cheap seats.)

-This post brought to you by Scatter O’ Light.

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