So maybe you didn’t get a seat to that other big event last week, but for all of you who missed out on witnessing President Obama’s farewell address in person, get ready for the next historically significant affair rolling into town: Bono, Drumming Bono, Bass Bono and The Edge Bono will all be here for two shows this June. Heck, even Barack is a fan—he entered the stage to “City of Blinding Lights” before taking the podium. And that’s not where the overlap ends.
Both events are throwbacks.
Just like the president’s own victory lap in front of a crowd of adoring supporters, the Irish quartet’s concerts will feature a special performance of the 1987 album that launched them into superstardom—”The Joshua Tree.”
The crowd will be just as diverse.
The thousands who crammed into McCormick Place were made up of a veritable rainbow of the Obama coalition. The Soldier Field events will also boast a diverse crowd: white men who went to Northwestern, white men who went to IU, white men who went to U. of I., their wives.
Opinions are split.
The presidential Farewell Address and the platinum album arose from a deep love of American custom and value, honed from a youthful outsider perspective—but they also both paper over the deep divisions among supporters that threaten future output, meaning Sanders backers vs. Clinton backers and people who liked that Apple album tie-in vs. people who are not in the band U2.
While tickets to Obama’s speech were free, tickets to the upcoming concerts will be … not free. The shows themselves will probably be lacking the somber tone that cast a pall over McCormick Place. After all, U2 was able to spend 30 more years (and counting) writing, playing and touring after the release of “Joshua Tree.” As far as the exit of POTUS No. 44 goes, we’re still not sure if Earth will still exist in June.
Either way, both events are worth celebrating. Whether you’re a 27-year-old former community organizer who said “Yes we can” or you’re a 44-year-old Notre Dame grad who still mouths the words to “With or Without You,” you know that squeezing as hard as you can onto a cherished past helps summon the will to power through, even when so much in the world has changed. As fans and Americans, perhaps we still haven’t found what we’re looking for … but we can keep searching together. See you at Soldier Field.
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