No Surprise on the Horizon: U2 rock the hype like an Irish Watchmen

By Johnny Loftus in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 11, 2009 4:10PM

Gosh, the "U2uesday" jokes. It was like the Irish quartet only became richer than most of the world so they'd have the power to physically alter the naming conventions of our work week. A rundown of reactions to Bono, et al's rattle and hum through the local media landscape yesterday, which included a exclusive schmooze event at Metro last night:

• While the Sun-Times' Jim DeRogatis has some faint praise for No Line on the Horizon, U2's latest, he also skewers the promotional hooey of their (non-performing) Metro appearance, as well as their sidestep of questions about a new tour revenue agreement with the ever-loathsome Live Nation.
• Over at the Tribune, Greg Kot gives props to Shirley Manson, ex-Garbage vocalist and host of U2's Metro appearance, but takes the band to task for joking about not performing while not actually performing. Kot also lists each member's "DJ picks" for the evening.
• Speaking of U2's DJ skills, "Brown Eyed Girl" is about the stalest Van Morrison pick of all time, despite the Edge's touching introductory story about thinking the Belfast Bomber was Dutch because of his first name. And maybe next time WXRT simulcasts an event such as this, it can fix the audio. When Larry Mullen, Jr. spun the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated," it sounded like he was rocking it in his bathroom while we were left to hold a half-empty glass of water to the door.

WXRT will conclude its adoration at the feet of U2 tonight at 8 p.m. with a live broadcast of the intimate concert they didn't perform last night in Chicago.

BY: Johnny Loftus