Finally seeing someone you grew up listening to on the radio in the flesh is like riding an emotional roller coaster. First, you deal with an unhealthily high level of expectation after years of building them up in your head as demigods, or at least very cool, talented people. Next, you go to the trouble of snagging a concert ticket via a frustrating fastest-fingers-first reservation system, splashing out crap loads of moolah in the process. Then, you make the trip to the venue in a circuitous fashion to avoid the inevitable traffic-clogged roads and jostle with the sweaty crowd. At last, after all of that, you’re either rewarded with A: your idols sounding exactly like you’ve heard them on CDs (remember those?) and acting just like what you’ve seen in their MTV interviews, or B: their crushingly disappointing off-key IRL vocals, diva tantrums, or worse, bored indifference.

Luckily for us fans at 8 DAYS, Irish mega band U2’s first-ever concert in Singapore (held over two nights at the National Stadium on 30 Nov and 1 Dec, we went on the second day) was good. Actually, we lie: it was pretty damn awesome. Yes, it took 43 long years after they first emerged as skinny teenage rockers before they deigned to pay us a visit, but we thank the musical gods that the foursome, all pushing grandpa age at around 60, still sound and look incredible.

Lead singer Bono, guitarist the Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen started U2 in 1976 as a post-punk outfit. While earlier albums like War (their third) were quite successful, it was 1987’s album The Joshua Tree that propelled them into international superstardom. It remains their top-selling album among 14, starring their only #1 singles in the US, ‘With or Without You’ and ‘I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For’. The band kicked off the 30th anniversary tour of Joshua Tree in America in 2017 and continued the tour in Australia, NZ and Asia this year, including their virgin Singapore gig.

But as with any live gig, even good ones, there were (mostly) highs and (a few) lows — even for musicians that rock bible Rolling Stone magazine named the longest running band in the world.

On Day 1 of U2’s first Singapore concert with a sold-out crowd of 50,000, the band kicked off their 8pm set at 8.25pm (unlike Lady Gaga who was over two hours late for her debut show here in 2009, tsk) and ended around 10.35pm. On their second night with a 40K-strong audience, they started earlier at 8.20pm and closed the set at 10.40pm. That’s more than two hours of solid entertainment each evening. Compare this to gigs by the likes of Bruno Mars in Singapore last year, where the better tickets also cost upwards of $300 each, but the performance lasted for only about one hour and 15 minutes.

All was good if you were one of those who bought a standing-only ticket and bothered to queue hours ahead to secure front-row spots. However, for those with weaker legs who chose to sit, the priciest seated tickets in Category 1, over $300 each (where we were perched), were so far from the stage that Bono and gang were each about the size of three vertically-stacked M&Ms. Well, at least the onscreen graphics onstage were large and kinda amazing: haunting, stark images of Joshua trees, arid landscapes, and inspirational personalities flickering on a jumbo screen.

Bono’s vocals are one of a kind. It possesses a unique combination of raw sexuality, gravitas, soaring energy, righteous indignation and haunting melancholy. And at the concert, he sounded pretty much like the Bono we grew up blasting our ears with after school. Which is to say, still cool lah. ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, ‘Pride’, ‘Desire’ and ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’ all sounded fab, especially when he hit the extremely high notes.

While we were told that Bono’s singing was on point for every single song on night #1, the man understandably showed some signs of fatigue on the second day (he’s almost 60 years old and had been singing and shimmying onstage nonstop the night before, okay?). So he either lost steam or was saving his voice in ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’, because he got the audience to sing almost half of it. We're all for some feel-good singalongs, but we didn't come here to listen to uncles tunelessly hollering 'Oh, oh, oh, ohhh for more than five seconds, thanks. Also, the frontman sounded somewhat hoarse in ‘With Or Without You’. That being said, his vocals were mostly back on track after those few minor hiccups.

After powering through the first three songs sans talking, including the anthemic ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ and ‘New Year’s Day’ from the 1983 album War, Bono grew really chatty for the rest of the concert. One of his countless snippets: “If you’ve been listening [to us] for 30 years, we’d like to thank you. For some of you who’re listening only for tonight, we’d also like to thank you”. Drummer Larry wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the word ‘Singapore’ in a show of solidarity on both nights (but with different dates, of course). Bono added: “Thank you for your patience and for giving us the most unimaginably great life. Thank you for two unforgettable, epic nights of rock and roll. Let's not leave it for another 43 years, all right? Great, great weekend. So from the people of our island [Ireland] to the people of your island, thank you. We can do anything if we work together as one. Love to China, love to Hong Kong, love to you both.” And then he launched into the iconic, poignant song ‘One’ for the show’s finale.

Photo: U2, Instagram

On the second night, the band replaced the song ‘Angel of Harlem’ with the more stadium rock-appropriate, pulsating ‘Desire’ from the Rattle and Hum album (see video below).Also, they performed an extra song on Night #2 (25 vs 24) — ‘Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way’.

While 1987’s The Joshua Tree was the first album to catapult U2 into international fame, let's be honest: only hardcore fans are familiar with the other songs in it besides the handful of monster hits like the gospel-inspired ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’, ‘With Or Without You’ and ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’. So the crowd largely listened politely to the less popular numbers such as ‘Red Hill Mining Town’. Or else they went for a much-needed toilet break. They, however, visibly perked up when well-loved tracks like ‘Pride’ and ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’ (from the album Achtung Baby, 1991) were played. The energy in the encore set was especially electric, but we wish we also got to hear ‘Mysterious Ways’, ‘Stay’, ‘So Cruel’ and ‘All I Want Is You’ live. Still, after 43 years of, well, nothing, we’ll take whatever we can get.

The Edge, 58, shredded his guitar tirelessly with exhilarating jangly riffs and soaring solos. Larry Mullen Jr., 58, worked the drums and the crowd with his boyish charm and energy, while Adam Clayton, 59, pumped up the bass. The band sounded crisp, clean and amazing from start to finish.

The four have been on tour for some time now and Tokyo’s their next stop after Singapore. So Bono asked each band member what he missed most about home. Said Larry: “I miss snow, ice, cold weather. This is just... hot”, while The Edge replied, “I miss my girls.” Meanwhile, “local boy (as coined by Bono) Adam smoothly claimed, “I am home”. Apparently, Adam actually lived in Singapore, at Changi, with his family for about two years when he was 14. How about that.

Photo: Michael Chan

While the predominantly middle-aged fans on the second night alternated between bopping mildly and standing stock-still, or obediently seated in the chair section, there were some songs that got them really fired-up. Like during the exuberant encore number ‘Elevation’, followed by the rollicking ‘Vertigo’ (see above video). When even makciks in tudungs and ah peks in berms can’t help but jump vigorously — pumping their fists like ecstatic 18-year-olds — you know it’s been one helluva concert.

Photos: Marcus Lin for Live Nation Singapore
Videos: Florence Fong