Pure and simple

With an energy that belied their status as middle-aged veterans, the Irish rockers forged a compelling, if occasionally disjointed, show from a set list incorporating material spanning the band’s 25-year career, from “Boy” to “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.”
After a strong opening set by southern rockers Kings of Leon, U2 opened the show with the sublimely beautiful “City of Blinding Lights.” The Edge’s trademark chiming guitar work set the mood for the evening, the delicate silvery notes alternating with driving rhythms that harkened back to the band’s early days. They followed up with their blowout single, “Vertigo,” with the audience thundering out “Hola!” and “Como estas?” without prompting, bringing a delighted grin to Bono’s face.
There’s plenty that is familiar about the “Vertigo Tour,” from the spare set design and minimalist lighting effects. The oval runway stage echoes the heart-shaped catwalk of the Elevation tour, but the designers have scrapped the more elaborate special effects in favor of simple curtains of lighted beads.
The show mixed old favorites with deeper cuts, such as “Elevation,” and, with a nod to the Irish fans in the audience, “An Cat Dubh,” along with a handful of classic anthems, including “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” and “Where the Streets Have No Name.”
These numbers dovetailed nicely with the newer material in the main part of the show, which was mostly comprised of hits and up-tempo rockers like “Love and Peace or Else.”
The band also performed a few brief flourishes of songs by other artists, including The Ramones’ “Rockaway Beach,” David Bowie’s “Jean Genie” at the end of “The Fly,” and The Beatles’ “Blackbird” in the closing bars of “Beautiful Day.”
With his familiar combination of swagger and earnestness, Bono’s command of the stage — and the crowd — is as powerful now as it has ever been. Demonstrating his need to connect with the audience, he constantly launches himself down the catwalk to stand, sit and, occasionally, crawl in a sea of outstretched arms.
He transformed a number like “Bullet the Blue Sky” to the level of street theater, pairing it with the anti-war anthem “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again.” To put his point across, he donned a blindfold emblazoned with “Jesus, Jew, Mohammed” and fell to his knees, arms above his head, in the all-too-familiar pose of a hostage in an Iraqi war video.
Bono nimbly walks the tightrope between entertainer and social activist, keeping the spotlight as focused on the music as on the message. When the band performed “One,” whose title has been adopted by the Campaign to End Extreme Poverty, the singer urged audience members to wave their cell phones — the millennial version of yesteryear’s cigarette lighters — in the air. And while everyone had their phones out, he suggested that they join the One Campaign by text messaging the number helpfully flashing on the overhead screens.
Among the highlights of the show was “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own,” with Bono nailing the big, operatic notes. Bassist Adam Clayton maintained his usual, impassively cool stage attitude, while The Edge, alternating between guitar and keyboards, seemed barely able to contain his enthusiasm, sailing off down the catwalk during a solo, and singing his harmonies and backing vocals with gusto.
The show’s pacing faltered a bit during the more introspective numbers from “HTDAAB.” Bono dedicated “Miracle Drug” to Irish Historical Society president Dr. Kevin Cahill, and “Original of the Species” went out to “to all of the girls [U2] have spawned,” he said with a laugh.
The two encores juxtaposed “Achtung Baby” favorites “The Fly” and “Zoo Station” with “Yahweh” and “All Because of You,” before ending with a reprise of the evening’s biggest hit, “Vertigo.”
U2 showed that, with a quarter century of experience under their belts, they’re at the top of their game.