U2 at Busch Stadium tops critic’s list of best concerts of 2011
BY KEVIN C. JOHNSON
Thursday, December 29, 2011 9
U2's The Edge performs in front of more than 50,000 fans on July 17, 2011, at Busch Stadium. Photo by Huy Mach, hmach@post-dispatch.com
U2 tacked on a St. Louis date near the tail end of its massive 360º Tour, and, in the case of Bono and crew, it was definitely an instance of better late than never.
That show, part of the biggest-grossing tour of all time, continues to resonate a full six months later. Memories of “The Claw” — the band’s mammoth stage set — aren’t exactly easy to shake, and why would anyone want to?
The show tops my list of the 10 best St. Louis concerts of 2011. Here’s the rundown, with excerpts from reviews.
1. U2 and Interpol at Busch Stadium, July 17: “One thing that remains the same about U2 is that the Irish rockers consistently put on a show to remember, and Sunday night’s stop of the 360º Tour was one for the books, a sold-out show of 53,000. And despite being very late in the tour’s run that began in 2009, the show still thrilled all but the most jaded.”
2. Sade and John Legend at Scottrade Center, July 28: “Lower than expected attendance may have forced the entire upper bowl of the arena to be closed off, but nothing could diminish the intelligent and classy show, where for two hours (Sade) Adu and her band consistently dazzled.”
3. Florence + the Machine with Hanni El Khatib at the Pageant, July 5: “(Florence) Welch doesn’t just stand at the microphone and belt out songs. She has a Stevie Nicks way about her visually and is prone to stretching her arms wide, as if she’s either about to levitate or cast a spell. And she did cast a spell over the crowd … with a voice that’s equal parts wail, yodel and yelp.”
4. Arcade Fire and the National at Concert Club at Scottrade Center, April 21: “Arcade Fire has a way of making its performances seem effortless and loose, as if the musicians are doing whatever they feel like doing at the time.”
5. Wilco and Nick Lowe at Peabody Opera House, Oct. 4: “Wilco can hardly perform a gig in St. Louis without words such as ‘epic’ and ‘monumental’ showing up in a description, and Tuesday night’s concert was no exception. Breaking in the renovated Peabody Opera House with its first rock show, Wilco’s sold-out homecoming concert was not only a triumph for the band, but for the venue itself.”
6. Lauryn Hill at the Pageant, Jan. 16: “Hill’s execution was great, and there is obviously plenty going on in her head musically these days. Her voice is still there, a little raspy but workably so, and her band clearly has mighty chops to tackle the night’s remixes and reinventions.”
7. Mumford and Sons with the Low Anthem, and Matthew and the Atlas at the Pageant, June 5: “Watching Mumford and Sons’ triumphant concert Sunday night surely forced some listeners to wonder how the band could have lost the best new artist Grammy to Esperanza Spalding this year”
8. The Foreign Exchange at 2720 Cherokee, Nov. 14: “Phonte, Nicolay and a stellar array of supporting singers and musicians making up soul act the Foreign Exchange made its long-overdue St. Louis debut, where it did everything from mix genres like it was nothing to causing the entire floor to break out into one big Electric Slide.”
9. Santana with Michael Franti and Spearhead at the Fox, Sept. 6: “The two-hour-plus concert, part of Santana’s Sound of Collective Consciousness tour, started at a fever pitch with an introduction that sounded more like a finale and never let up from there.”
10. Eddie Vedder and Glen Hansard at the Fox, July 1: “Rocker Eddie Vedder is well known as a commander of the stage when he goes out on the road with his longtime band Pearl Jam, but who’d imagine he’d be able to command the stage with just a ukulele? After making a shock appearance on stage at Elvis Costello’s show at the Pageant, Vedder made his way over to the Fox to get the ukulele songs cracking.”
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