U2: Dark Space Festival

“Death Race 2000” had passed its halfway mark when U-2 took the stage to the hearty applause of the dedicated followers of fashion who had forgotten to bring sleeping bags. And the band’s rock ‘n’ roll breakfast tasted just fine.

With perfect posturing and dynamic delivery, Paul Hewson, straining every muscle and pulling the band forward, was always arresting. While they were always confident and competent, Dave Evans (gtr.) and Adam Clayton (Bass), belied the intermittent tendency to drag the music into the clutches of the age-old malaise of heavy metal sludge, especially on the shadily atmospheric “Shadows and Tall Trees.” The sound was crisp enough, but Tayto it ain’t. Yet on numbers like “Cartoon World” and “Another Time, Another Place” they showed enough bravado and intelligence to show anyone that this young band has hair on its chest. “Street Missions” was great. Their encore “Glad to See You Go” was energetic but it suffered slightly from its slower-than-Ramones pace. Not to worry. Their own numbers and enthusiasm will see them through.

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