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U2 Plays Bouncer at Boston "NightClub Gig" Loyal fans get the shaft in favor of "Hollywood compatibles" Face check: a nightclub term which describes a club doorman (usually possessing an IQ which is lower than his age) looking you over and deciding if you have the "look" to get inside his precious club. The practice is demeaning and disrespectful to anyone who has any self-esteem. According to
reports surfacing from a recent U2 Boston show, a group of approximately
twenty five U2 fans staged a protest in the heart (elevated walkway
surrounding the general admission floor standing section) after
they waited numerous hours in line only to be leap frogged by
better looking "Hollywood compatible" fans who arrived
later. The protesting fans sat in When you purchase
a general admission ticket to a concert, it is usually understood
to be first come first serve. This is America remember? However,
that was obviously not the case for a group of "hardcore"
U2 fans who camped While waiting
in line, representatives of HBO, who was filming the Boston show
for an upcoming concert, (can't wait to see the Hollywood style
fans) came out and handpicked the "beautiful people"
who they wanted at the front of the heart and on camera. A rather
disheartening experience for the faithful who rightfully thought
they earned their front row spots by |
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When you purchase a general admission ticket to a concert, it is usually understood to be first come first serve. This is America remember? However, that was obviously not the case for a group of "hardcore" U2 fans who camped out many hours to insure their position at the front of the heart. Why weren't these fans told in advance they would be screwed out of their positions? While waiting
in line, representatives of HBO, who was filming the Boston show
for an upcoming concert, (can't wait to see the Hollywood style
fans) came out and handpicked the "beautiful people"
who they wanted at the frontof the heart and on camera. A rather
disheartening experience for the faithful who rightfully thought
they earned their front row spots by |
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There are those who say that HBO is to blame and U2 had nothing to do with this incident. When those fans purchased their seats to the show, did they pay to see a U2 concert or an HBO concert? For a band like U2 to permit their fans to be treated disrespectfully signifies the band has settled comfortably into their current role as elitists. Does this band really care about the people who put food on their tables, or are the fans just another annoyance to them? Talk about losing touch with your audience. We're glad to see we're not the only "hardcore" fans who have caught on to U2's insulting publicity stunts on this tour. If there is one constant in this U2 Elevation tour, it is that U2 continues to dump on their most faithful fans in favor of cheap cheesy promotion by non-fans, who do not even come close to possessing the passion for the music their long time fans have. The new generation of fan sees U2 as some older guys who play good music. They have not lived U2 and cannot be expected to live U2 like the original fans. And for all their support, what do the real U2 fans get? Scrub teatment from a band that has obviously elevated well above their little guy fans. We applaud the twenty five Boston fans for not letting the band shove this face check garbage down their throats and by responding with class and dignity. Their protest was commendable and in effect told the band, "Who do you think you're fucking with? Just because you're U2 doesn't mean that we'll eat any shit you decide to dish out." The one great and unique thing about alternative music is that it pays no attention to what you look like, what clothes you wear and how much money you have. The music has always transcended these shallow and insulting societal boundaries. For U2, an alternative band at one point in their career, to approve of such demeaning activity toward their fans only goes to show what they REALLY think about their fans. Several weeks ago, Bono was saying on Toronto's Much Music how the band has this honest relationship with their fans. How the band does not ignore the fact that these same fans have given them these great lives. Was it this honesty that caused twenty five U2 fans in Boston to tell you what they thought about your demeaning nightclub style face check practices? And what does U2 have to say about this latest incident? The silence from their camp is deafening, even more so than the 106 decibels the Montreal fans logged at the Molson Centre on May 27 (just out of curiosity, was the HBO Boston crowd just as loud?). Will U2 bury their heads in the sand and pretend this incident never happened? Have they elevated above the level of apologizing to their slighted fans? Bono wants
us to support the band's causes and sign our names at U2 concerts.
He wants to be seen as a world leader type who is proactive and
makes a difference. If he can't stand up for his fans (the people
who feed him and his family) and say a few words about the incident
in Boston, how does he expect us and the rest of the world to
trust him with the genuinely Apparently, U2 changed the filming location of the HBO concert from Montreal to Boston to accomodate NBC and the halftime NBA Finals festivities. U2 obviously used this as a promo opportunity to shamelessly plug the HBO Boston concert. And by the way, didn't Ahmad Rashad say during halftime we'd see more of U2 in the post game show. Guess what? The post game show came and went and we saw no more of U2. Thanks Ahmad for keeping us up late for nothing and sending us to work tired the next morning! On a side note, did you see that multi-colored beach ball Bono was playing with on stage during the NBA halftime promo? I know an official NBA Basketball costs a few bucks, but to use what looked like a nickel and dime beach ball instead of the official ball is ludicrous. Will the fans who were seated during the protest be expertly edited from the HBO production? As you know, digital imaging can do wonders these days. Maybe the video editing staff can also touch up some of the audience and band members who may not exactly have the right "Hollyoowd look". So the next time Bono stands on stage and gives you his customary song and dance of how much the band appreciates you for being a fan for the past twenty years, how much they appreciate you for spending your hard earned money on a rock show, think about the twenty five Boston fans who payed their hard earned money and gave their valuable time only to be treated with complete disdain by a less than appreciative band. U2 has always been a band who has been sensitive and responsive their fans which makes this incident even more surprising. As fans, we'll
stomach a relatively short 49 minute album (ATYCLB), we'll tolerate
a Hollywood style greatest hits concert setlist, we'll take a
lousy sounding piece of vinyl, we'll listen to five medicore
remixes of the same song, we'll pretend you're Hollywood royalty,
however, we will never tolerate our own being deceived and mistreated
at one of your exclusive Bono says their concert ticket prices are high because the fans will buy them regardless of what they charge. How about the fans who can't afford the high ticket prices and are unable to go to the show? Has U2 thought about them or do they have the same feelings toward these unfortunate souls as they do toward the Boston twenty five? As U2 winds
down the North American part of the Elevation tour, a strange
feeling overcomes us - for once, we want them to leave and go
back to their European homeland. We're tired of seeing their
faces on plastic Hollywood Now there is talk of U2 returning to North America this fall for another tour. And apathy...it sets in. Quite honestly, we no longer have the same anticiaption and excitement we had prior to the beginning of the Elevation tour. Maybe the band should go home and spend some time with their families and try to regain some of the values they have lost site of during their recent elevation to the rarified atmosphere of rock gods. Only two and a half months into the tour and their "hardcore fans" already need a well deserved break from U2's newly acquired lofty elevated non-alternative attitude. In all fairness, I must thank U2 for giving me a new perspective and appreciation for my boring mundane little guy type of existence - the best things in life are free. Bravo to the Boston twenty five for standing up (in this case sitting down) to a big idea bigger than U2 - the truth. The band who "loves and appreciates" their fans so much, definitely dropped down to the basement with this ONE. Boston fans are one, but definitely not the same. Sphinx "There's Only 1 Station" |