The Joshua Tree Tour 2017

May 20 2017
Los Angeles, CA, US / Rose Bowl
with The Lumineers
53

'Insist, persist, resist…’

Claudia Espinosa (@U2Baja) is a familiar name to many in the U2 fan community, especially on the boards of Zootopia. She filed this review from the band’s opening night in LA.

Rebel songs, joyful songs, protests songs, hopeful songs. This is what U2’s music has been since my introduction to the band during the War album. Their music has filled spaces in my life making them not only memorable, but unforgettable.

For longtime fans going to a U2 show is filled with anticipation, not only of music and spectacle but of getting to a moment that transports you past the now into a space filled with joy. Last night’s show at the Rose Bowl was a sinusoidal wave that carried us through many of the memories that we’ve formed with the band and their music.

During the pre-show music, the crowd sang-a-long to Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun turning the stadium into a star filled night, as people raised lighters and phones in honor of Chris Cornell who passed away three days earlier. As The Pogues’ A Rainy Day in Soho came over the PA Larry Mullen walked down to the drum-kit set up on the Joshua Tree shaped B-stage. It took me back to the War album (and the first U2 song I ever heard), the drums of Sunday Bloody Sunday filling the air as Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton joined him to open the show.

Reminiscent of their earliest gigs, the band stood on the smaller stage under simple spotlights as the end of Sunday Bloody Sunday introduced the most recognisable bass line in U2’s catalog - New Years Day - before a slower tempo A Sort of Homecoming led us into Pride (in the Name of Love).

With the opening chords of ‘Streets’ the band walked up to the mainstage, now illuminated in red, The Joshua Tree emblem outlined behind and a sense of palpable excitement in the air. As they performed the album in sequence, The Joshua Tree revealed itself as an album of songs that could be seen as about the search for meaning in today’s America. Bullet the Blue Sky reminds us, to quote Bono that “America is not just a place, it is an idea”. Running to Stand Still was dedicated “…to the lion that was Chris Cornell” and his family. Red Hill Mining Town was an ode to the labor movement, while the striking visuals of In God’s Country and Trip Through your Wires were a reminder of the beauty and grandeur a young Irish band saw when first visiting this country.

A hauntingly beautiful One Tree Hill, written in memory of Bono’s friend Greg Carrol, has always felt to me like you are floating in the sea, a moment where you are one with yourself. Mothers of the Disappeared reminded me that no matter what happens, even in the most profound moments of sadness, a mothers love will persevere. And ultimately …el pueblo vencera - the people will triumph.

If The Joshua Tree songs are about the state of our world, those that followed were about making a difference - that love, hope and joy are all around us. Beautiful Day was joyful and uplifting while Ultraviolet (Light My Way) went out to women in the stadium and around the world: those who Insist, Persist and Resist. A giant banner with the image of Omaima, the young Syrian refugee featured on screen, was carried through the crowd during Miss Syria (Sarajevo) before a rocking version of I Will Follow brought the night to a close.

This was a night that broke through the anger and frustration that many feel during these uncertain times. And as I always find with U2, it was a night that filled us with hope that we can make a better future.

And if you were at the Rose Bowl, tell us all about it. Add your own review and photos on our tour pages here.

 

 

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    Sao Paulo - last show of The Joshua Tree Tour 2017. Video by instagram.com/mvsphotography
    Comments
    53
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    Balski01
    Los Angeles, Rose Bowl
    My 1st u2 show out of the state. Tonight was amzing and something special. Was happy to finally meet some u2 family memebers
    paoladegliesposti
    1 Los Angeles, Rose Bowl.
    A shining star, that is the show, always. Where the streets have no name, still haven't found, bullet the blue sky, with or without you. It is the past in the present, but what a dream that comes true!
    corwin1
    #20
    This will be awesome to see one of the greatest rock bands play the full album that catapulted them to the top 30 years ago!
    renap
    No line on the horizon...
    I will be very happy yo be there
    chris_poore
    Anticipation
    Waiting is always the hardest part, but U2 is worth it..... always. In our seats and they're amazing!! Great view
    james_hardingham
    Dont be a stranger and stop by for a cup
    Hey U2, remember us? We have been some of your most loyal fans and have deep pockets. Please feel free to pop by for a cuppa and a scone, we are only a lazy 12000 kms or so to the west of where you are playing tonight. We have a number of large empty stadiums that urgently need filling. See you soon - Australia
    jenswez
    Armed Forces Day Request
    "No Line on the Horizon" ... missed the 2009 360 tour, was deployed, and didn't play "No Line" in 2011 Seattle, Oakland, Anaheim. Please play on 20 or 21 May Rose Bowl. "Into the Arms of America" God Bless! - Lt Col, USAF (Retired)
    kristyk105
    Sooo EXCITED ...
    Going with my Aunt (a total U2 fan who has been to like every concert they have had, including the original Joshua Tree Tour) ... Totally excited to be experiencing my first U2 concert with her and my first concert at the Rose Bowl on Saturday May 20th 2017, should be AMAZING :)
    btorres
    U2-Torres-family
    Can't wait... the whole family is going to see the best band in the world this Saturday in our backyard...we are just 5 miles away.
    brewskyclan
    Into the arms of America!
    Cant wait to see my favorite band again!
    danny101
    Not This Space (Aus)
    Please, Please tour Australia guys!!
    wooshey
    25 Years of Marriage with U2 along for t
    I met my husband with U2 playing in the background. I liked your music before, but he turned me into a true fan. Through the poverty of grad school and later kids, you were our 5th anniversary date for Popmart, and our 19th anniversary present for 360. We just hit our 25 year anniversary on Tuesday, and we'll be there on Saturday to celebrate. Playing cassettes (and later CDs and iPods) on road trips, introducing our kids to your music, and playing in the background of so many days together. Thanks for being the soundtrack in our lives.
    onewayout
    Ft. Worth to Pasadena
    I will be flying in from Dallas to LAX to see the May 20th show with my son. He is 14 and this is his 4th U2 show. His 5th will be in Arlington Texas. I listened to "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" with him in his mommy's tummy. It's our cradle to grave song. God Bless and Godspeed!!
    DWU2
    DW
    How early can we enter to park?
    RayJoiner
    JT vs Husband's doctoral graduation?
    All throughout the 14 yrs of my husband's schooling I told him when he was done I was gonna throw myself a party. When we found out his graduation was the same day as the tickets I bought for this concert he looked at me and said "No way you're sacrificing this too Ray! You're going!! This is your party!" My sister and I can't wait...here's hoping it's a GOOD party!
    Cogstar
    Coming from MAUI for U2 at the Rose Bowl
    ALOHA! We're taking our 11 yr old son to his first-ever concert! Here he is a few years ago singing one of his favorite songs: https://www.flickr.com/photos/reaganjames/5787875107/in/photostream/ We can't wait to hear The Joshua Tree! It would also be a thrill to hear Elevation, Stories For Boys, Vertigo, Volcano, This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now, Ordinary Love, Stuck In A Moment or California! THANK U -- or THANK U2 -- for being a special part of our lives!
    Renee1964
    Can't wait!
    See you next Saturday.
    ubad2
    Bono
    Happy Birthday Bono! So looking forward to seeing you and the boys in two weeks at The Rose Bowl. 30 years later, I remeber it like yesrerday listening to this album and seeing the Joushua Tree Tour. Cant wait to relive the whole experience again. To you the Best Birthday ever........ UBAD2
    garyquintana
    U2 and Veterans
    Boyz, give a shout out to us Veterans who served in US Armed Forces as it will be Armed Forces Day (May 20) That will be pretty cool. See you at the Bowl SGT Q US Army (Ret.)
    SCOTT1508
    Joshua Tree 1987
    I dropped off Grateful Dead tour and saw 4 shows on the Joshua Tree tour: JFK in Philadelphia PA, RFK in Washington DC, and the two shows at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton VA. They blew the roof off Hampton, absolutely killed it! Covered Southern Man by Neil Young, biggest highlight! Haven't missed a tour since War, can't wait for the Rose Bowl!
    streetr
    #30
    Can't wait! This will be my 30th U2 show! So excited to hear these songs again (and in one case for the first time) live! See you all there!
    Arda77
    In gods country
    My very first U2 album was The Joshua Tree cassette tape which I had purchased with my own money in 1988 when I was 13 years old. I had heard with or without you on the radio and fell in love with it so I wanted to hear what else was on the album. I'm so glad that I bought it because it changed my life and it was the best thing I had ever heard at that time. I can't wait to revisit he songs from one of the best u2 albums! See you at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena!!!
    Over & Over ...... Rose Bowl Here We Com
    Wembley, UK 1993 Los Angeles, CA 2005 Vancouver, BC 2009 Seattle, WA 2011 Los Angeles, CA 2015 We will be at the Rose Bowl May 2017!! This will be EPIC Joshua Tree!!!!
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