U2 in San Jose

Jay Blakesberg on May 17, 2018

U2 has moved indoors! After sweeping the world in large stadiums in 2017 celebrating the 30th Anniversary and playing their hit album “The Joshua Tree” in its entirety, they have scaled down and are playing arenas. A few shows in to the Experience + Innocence Tour the Bay Area was treated to a two night run relying on a setlist filled with more new material than hit songs. This is a show not to be missed. Opening with several songs from the 2017 release “Songs of Experience,” the band soon hit familiar ground with a trio of hits in ‘Beautiful Day,” “I will Follow” and “Gloria.” This was followed by another block of new songs including “Iris” about Bono’s Mother, before heading back to familiar territory playing a set on a smaller circular stage at the other end of the arena and launching in to rip roaring versions of “Elevation,” “Vertigo” and “Desire”. The set closed with “City of Blinding Lights” from How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. After the group wave and bow they came back with a few songs including a slow but powerful ‘One” to send us all home.