HelloAngel

By Diane L.



He is magnificent.

I have never been so close to a man who is so charismatic, so intelligent, so funny, and oh yeah, he’s nice-looking, too! My fifth-row seats to the right side of the stage gave me a wonderful vantage point to watch Bono being interviewed by two reporters from the New York Times. I was about 15-20 feet away from him the whole time, and I couldn’t, and didn’t, take my eyes off of him.

Yes, Bono still has the beard. He also wore shades and the green camo hat he wore during much of his “Heart of America” tour in December 2002. Bono had on a pretty green sweater with yellow highlights woven throughout, topped with a brown jacket. Black slacks and black shoes completed his outfit.

Bono received a standing ovation as he walked onto the stage. He took his seat, and the talk began with an explanation that the singer had back problems that caused the postponement of the event the week before. And what had caused Bono’s back pain in the first place? “I was having far too much sex for my age!” the rock star said.


Photo courtesy of Jenny

How do you follow up an opening statement like THAT? In this case, with some talk about Bono’s work with debt cancellation and the problem of AIDS in Africa. Bono mentioned the United States was the first country to respond to his urging for more funds to fight the battle against this disease in this continent, and he would now expect other countries to follow suit. The Nobel Peace Prize nominee promised “I’m going to be a major pain in the ass to Jacques Chirac, Tony Blair and Gerhard Schroder,” and these European leaders were going to be hit up big-time for funds.

Bono also mentioned that his knowledge of the Scriptures had been a common ground between him and conservative Republican politicians like President George W. Bush and Jesse Helms. He’d used Bible verses to illustrate his points about helping those in need, and the politicians were then more receptive to his message.

The talk next turned to U2 and the band’s approach to music making. “I think we’ve done our best work recently,” the singer said, and explained that the band worked best when they’d stirred things up. As he put it,“We keep breaking up the band—we have to keep it fresh for ourselves!”


Photo courtesy of Jenny

U2 had spent the week before this talk in the studio. Bono said he’d been especially pleased with one song that Edge and he had worked on first. Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. came in to lay down the rhythm tracks, and the singer and guitarist were impressed and delighted by the bass-and-drum duo’s contribution to the song.

Then, there was The Edge. Bono described his guitar work as that of a “very frustrated man who wants his singer back.” He then explained that through the years, Edge had been very shy about his guitar playing. “There’s no guitar out in Edge’s house—it’s in a case, locked away,” Bono said. He felt that shyness was due to the fact that Edge was of the Presbyterian faith, but the guitarist was finally “getting over being shy about being a guitar player.”

As for the general sound of these tunes, Bono said these songs “sound like a chainsaw starting up; it may be more cutting down of the Joshua Tree.”

Just as the question and answer period of the talk was about to begin, Bono lit up a clove cigarette. “I thought you stopped smoking!” an audience member near me said. Another fan asked if he could have a cigarette—Bono motioned him over, and gave him one. That guy is probably telling the I-Bummed-A-Cigarette-From-Bono story to someone as you read this!


Photo courtesy of Jenny

The bold fan asking for a smoke was just the beginning of what turned more into a Magical Moments With Bono segment than your usual Q & A session. He wished one fan a Happy Birthday, and listened intently as another told him about his 2-1/2 year old daughter’s love for the “Elevation Live From Boston” DVD. An ESL teacher told the singer that a student from Ghana had written a report on him and was now an avid fan.

One fan made an impassioned plea for the heart set-up to show up on the next tour; Bono said the band would look into it, and implied that indeed there would be another tour in the future. That news was a crowd-pleaser, as was his answer that his favorite U2 song was “Kite.”

Then, there was the boldest and most envy-inducing request of all. A female fan mentioned that she’d gone to U2 shows since the early 80’s, and she’d seen Bono dancing with other female fans at every single show she’d seen. Could she have a five-second dance with Bono? Yes, girls—he invited her on stage, where he danced a slow dance with her to music only they could hear. He even rested his head on her shoulder towards the end of the dance. And you know, you just know, that every other woman in the auditorium was swooning and thinking, “Why couldn’t that have been ME?!”


Photo courtesy of Jenny

After about an hour-and-a-half in Bono’s presence, he had to rush off to catch a plane to Washington, DC. He managed to shake hands with a few of the fans in the front row, then he was off to his next adventure.

What a man. What a beautiful day.


BONO: A CONVERSATION
A New York Times Talk Event
The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY)
March 16, 2003, 4-5:30 pm

ZewTeeVee

Thanks Diane! I'm glad someone from Interference got to go and give us all the inside scoop.

madamc

what a great article!

Bonofied U

I think my favorite part that sticks out in my mind from what I've read from the articles today about Bono's conference. Is the part about using scriptures to tell politicians as a way of explaining why it's so crucial to help the causes he supports. That is really kewl. Way to go Bono.

U2Kitten

I have always hated the 'cutting down the JT' remark. I mean, why? It was their best work, their biggest seller, their greatest triumph. It's like they're ashamed of that and running from it and there's no reason for that. They don't even seem proud of it. Why would you want to destroy what millions of people love about you, just for the sake of saying you did something different, oh look at us? Do what you really want and don't worry how it compares to anything else, and be proud of it all the same. Sometimes it seems like they are more ashamed of JT than any other album. That kind of pisses me off actually. If I could interview him I'd like to question him on that in more detail.

U2Kitten

Congratulations to all of you and thanks for the report.

Dorian Gray

I don't this he meant this to be a negative connatation. I just think he's simply acknowledging that the Joshua Tree is traditionally considered their best work, but he feels that their new work is better. He felt the same way about Achtung Baby when it came out.

Actually this comment excites me more than any. I LOVE the Joshua Tree, thus the idea of the new album being better than it is something to look forward to!

womanfish

I like the cutting down the Joshua Tree remark too. I LOVED that remark when he said The Fly "was the sound of 4 men chopping down the Joshua Tree". I love the Joshua Tree, and his comment does not mean they dislike the album. But that they HAVE to run from it, they have to try and top it (As they did with Achtung Baby). Because if they don't try and topple what most people consider their crowning achievment, then to me they are resting on their laurels (like most bands do) and will fade away into a distant memory.

P.S. - God I hope this album rocks hard, I am sick of people saying U2 has gone soft!!

Elvis

I couldn't have said it better.
I'm ready...
ready for what's next.

Bonofied U

I think perhaps he doesn't mean it that seriously. I do think they're proud of the JT. It shows on the JT documentary. But I think like all artists, they're their own worst critics. It could be his way of thinking he thinks it's better than JT.

Mr_LeMon

He's a LIAR! Nobody was workin in the studio the week before!