U2 - 360o At The Rosebowl

Over-the-top and unengaging

The cancellation of this summer’s live shows due to Bono’s ongoing recovery from surgery denied UK festival-goers an opportunity to see U2 in a relatively intimate setting. Glastonbury’s famous pyramid stage is pretty much a modest shed compared to the hi-tech construction the band have employed over the last year or so. But big is not necessarily better.

Filmed in Los Angeles in front of 97,000 fans – the group’s largest ever US audience – the 27 cameras that capture the quartet as they cavort across a stage dominated by an adaptable hydraulic structure bring the viewer a little closer to the action. The sheer scale of the live playground, however, means there’s still a feeling of distance between performer and punter, the knock-on effect being a frustrating lack of atmosphere.

It’s almost as if the musicians are acting independently of each other, like four lost souls in separate airport terminals, the energy and thrust of Vertigo, Magnificent and Beautiful Day languishing in the wide open spaces between them. It’s all beautifully presented, but only on the less bombastic songs, such as Stuck In A Moment, is there any sense of rock band camaraderie, one of the few occasions when the camera can train on two members together in close-up.

2 stars 2 stars

Mercury | tbc

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
<< Back to Issue 378

Login Here

Free Newsletter


Subscribe to
our email newsletter by emailing:

david.harvey@
metropolis.co.uk