The Elements of Greatness

I went to see U2 last night…I have always wanted to see them live, and was not disappointed. The whole show was in a word, crisp! From the energetic explosion onto the stage, to the ultra-dynamic lighting gear, to the seamless song transitions and purity of Edge’s raspy guitar and Larry Mullen, Jr’s entrancing drum beats, and ultimately, to the absolutely elegant final song, it was in Bostonspeak, “wicked-good”.

Bono is one of the few celebrities who seem able to interleave deep political messaging with pure entertainment, and not leave you with a  cheap feeling in the pit of your stomach. Much of his engagement with the audience was around topics of great import; solving extreme poverty (though, is there some other kind?), war and disease. At one point in the show, he asked everyone to hold up their mobile phones as a symbol of solidarity, and soon the Fleet Center was aglow with thousands upon thousands of mobile phones in a high-tech redux of the cigarette lighters of my youth.

In a world of increasing sameness, the whole experience was so very refreshing. And in comparing the animal gravitas of U2 with that of their highly forgettable opening act (granted, it is a tough role), it provided such a stark contrast that it made me wonder about what is it that makes a rare few great at what they do? To be sure, these are four guys who are really good at what they do and who are supported by scores of entourage who make things happen; and sure, they are famous and have made tons of money. But U2 are clearly more than just rock stars; they are artists, philosophers, and ultimately, innovators. And I think it is these rare such examples of passion-intersecting-purpose-intersecting-potential that drives us all to imagine, and reach for, our own better selves.

Comments

[Paul]

Isn't U2 a band made up of a bunch of old guys from Ireland? I think Vanilla Ice really depicts what you are trying to describe in innovation and freshness, you know the classice Ice-Ice-baby...dun-dun-dun-da-da-donna...a very innovative song that was really close to another song by Queen which went like dun-dun-dun-da-da-dunna. I do have a couple U2 Fav's - New Year's Day (with one of the first and best MTV video's, you know the one with the guys on some horses in the snow and the water vapor exuding from the ponies noses) and Pride and a bunch more...Edge is pretty awesome - would love to play a couple songs on the GeTar like that fella. Cool site Jimbo, how'd you design it? chat later (in traffic)