Strange Rumblings From Afar

I saw U2 the other night.

Bono spoke of Important Things and the band played like an unstoppable freight train. The crowd was fifty thousand strong and knew most of what they heard.

I saw U2 the other night.

A new band led by Gavin of Bush opened the night. We were polite, but they bored me. Gavin - skipper and bad dancer...

I saw U2 the other night.

Before experiencing them live, I had always assumed the band belonged to Bono and The Edge. Now... I assume the band follows Adam. He is a force of nature, a professor of the funk, a professor of the punk and a champion of the groove. Someone had to behind their rapid changes of style.

I saw U2 the other night.

They played Gloria. The Detroit crowd sang the chorus. It is an odd site watching fifty thousand people sing Latin, but, hey, it happened.

I saw U2 the other night.

Larry has a portrait of himself hidden in his attic at home that is aging. Cause he ain't.

I saw U2 the other night.

And it got me thinking... When this band sings of faith and God and religion and Jesus, we don't mock. We don't duck out for a quick smoke. We don't cuss them out for bringing down the party. When Social D plays When the Angels Sing or Angel Wings or Ball and Chain the pit doesn't stop, the room doesn't empty. When Johnny Cash would release an album of gospel music, we accepted it. And it go me thinking... Is this an example of a 3-dimensional faith? Are we (meaning, well, me...) more accepting of someone else's religious views and someone else's faith and relationship with their God and their beliefs if that person has walked thru fire and stood on the edge of the cliff and wakes up every day and has to decide if today they will be Good or if today they will Bad and their demons hound them every second of their life and it is a constant struggle to look in the mirror and be proud of what they see? I swear, when I listen to Hank Williams Sr, I can almost hear the battle going on in his head... Is that why I can listen to his suicide songs and his drinking songs and his goofy songs and his faith songs? Don't know, really... I can't stand listening to white choral music, but I get a groove on for black gospel. What's up with that? Things to ponder.

I saw U2 the other night.

And just as I was feeling real good, real comfortable with pop stars speaking their minds, with people in the music industry taking a pro-acitve role in world affairs and matters of the mind and things bigger than themselves... 50 Cent opened his mouth. The destruction of the Gulf Coast was supposed to happen? The displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, the deaths, the devestation of entire communities was what... God's practical joke? Once again to prove how important Chuck D is to world of hip-hop and rap... 50 Cent speaks his mind. Shut up 50. Please. Thank you.

I saw U2 the other night.

They made me feel good about the world.