U2

The ten most noteworthy music publicity stunts

Sometimes flawless technique, inspired lyrics and a devoted fan base aren't enough. Sometimes you've gotta do something outlandish to step up your game and grab the world's attention. Some would say that getting on a stage and saying, "Hey! Watch what I'm doing!" might be considered attention-seekin ... More >>

KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko on Kill Mother F*cking Depeche Mode and how it came about

KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid) started as performance art one-off in 1984 that evolved into an ongoing concern. Founding member Sascha Konietzko was soon joined by drummer and vocalist En Esch, who formed the core of the band until its temporary split in 1999. With various collabo ... More >>

Here's what we're all listening to right now. What's rocking your world this week?

As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it's not surprising that the most common (and favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: "What are you listening to right now?" Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn't you know it, off we go, on and on about t ... More >>

Five best live concert films

While infinitely different than being there in the flesh, a live concert film can provide an up-close, multi-angled, cinematically inspired perspective of the music experience -- not to mention a glimpse into history for those who were born decades later. Such will be the case for a majority of the ... More >>

Romney/Ryan Victory Rally Tuesday to feature Kid Rock and Rodney Atkins at Red Rocks

Okay, so just when we thought we heard the last chords ring out for the year at Red Rocks comes word that the hills will once again be alive without the sound of music tomorrow night. There's another show slated for the Rocks, and this one's rather last minute and features a pair of acts supporting ... More >>

U2's The Joshua Tree turns 25

It's difficult to imagine, but U2 used to be cool. Not just cool, but one of the most innovative, inspiring and mysterious bands of their generation. The group challenged the sounds, look and emotional resonance of rock music, forever redirecting the cultural stream for good or ill. Today, while man ... More >>

Barry Fey on that time that he held a gun to Axl Rose's head and how the business has changed

​For years, Barry Fey says, music fans have been needling him to write a book. "You know, people have been saying 'When's the book? When's the book?' for fifteen years," Fey notes. "It was daily, wherever I would go out... 'When's the book? Come on, you've got to write a book!'" Well, he final ... More >>

U2's Achtung Baby turns twenty Saturday

​ While U2 frontman Bono said "The Fly," the first single from Achtung Baby, was "the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree," it could easily be applied to the entire album, which was released on November 19, 1991. Achtung Baby is a document of the band, almost on the verge of breaki ... More >>

U2 360 tour by the numbers (infographic)

​When the U2 360 tour rolled through Denver on May 21 at Invesco Field, it was exactly one week removed from the massive 108,800-person concert in Mexico City. The tour was huge (Huge! Remember how that stage dwarfed the grid at Invesco?) and on Monday, Live Nation released a report drilling d ... More >>

If you could rewind the clock, which shows that you missed would you make sure to see?

​I've seen probably upwards of seven million shows in my lifetime, give or take five or six. In all that time, there's been a ton that I'm grateful for having the chance to have seen -- Mars Volta at Tulagi, the Killers at the Larimer Lounge, an unreal triple bill at the Coliseum featuring Pea ... More >>

Issac Slade of the Fray talks about what it was like to open for U2, plus video of a few new songs

Aaron Thackeray​Last night, we caught up with Isaac Slade for a few minutes as he was sitting aboard a plane on the tarmac at DIA waiting for his flight to take off. With the eagerly anticipated hometown, Denver date of the U2 360° tour now behind them, Slade and the other guys in the Fray we ... More >>

Photos: U2 brings out crowds, shoes

​These days, U2 is less a rock band than some sort of weirdly beatific entity, to the extent that when the band comes to town, it even inspires good works. Case in point: the "Take off your Boots" ticket giveaway on Friday, where concert ticket retailer StubHub gave away some 150 tickets to Sa ... More >>

The rapture didn't happen on Saturday, but a documentary about it got filmed

There was none of this.​Despite the predictions of doomsayer Harold Camping, the Lord apparently did not see fit to visit destruction upon the earth Saturday, which passed somewhat unremarkably except that it was a particularly beautiful day. (Personally, I went to an apocalypse barbecue and a ... More >>

U2 tickets in 1981 and 2011: 30 years and $54.80 -- the difference of three decades

U2 in 1981 in Denver​What a difference 30 years makes. Below: the $3.20 ticket to see U2 in Denver in 1981, side-to-side with the $58 nosebleed ticket to see U2 this past Saturday at Invesco Field. To put this in perspective, if we counted for inflation, that $3.20 ticket would be about $7.5 ... More >>

U2 Denver, 360° Tour at Invesco Field, 5/21/11

Photos by Aaron Thackeray U2 360° TOUR With The Fray 05.21.11 | Invesco Field View U2 at Invesco Field slideshow Say what you will about U2. Name another band that can fill a stadium these days... Time's up. Drawing a blank? That's because there aren't any -- certainly not any from this era. That ... More >>

U2 in Denver at Invesco Field, What to expect tonight: (likely) setlist, parking info and more

Kevin Mazur Alright, so near as we can tell, when U2 takes the stage tonight at Invesco (after Isaac Slade and local homeboys in The Fray warm up the stage), the band's set will consist of two-dozen songs, possibly 25. Since the 360° Tour first kicked off in Barcelona in June 2009, the setlist ha ... More >>

Win tickets to see U2 at Invesco this Saturday!

​ Update (05/20 | 8 a.m.): Congratulations to Justin, Daniel, Christian, Jerry and Sessa709. You and a guest will be our guests at tomorrow night's show. Check your email for details on how to pick up your tickets. Thanks to everyone that entered!

U2 Invesco Field Denver: Channel your inner Bono with this downloadable rock star mask

Be a rock star or just look like one at U2's concert tomorrow night at Invesco Field. Download hi-resolution PDF file here. Follow Backbeat on Facebook and Twitter @westword_music

U2 at Invesco Field 360° Tour: The stage is set

Photo by Jon SolomonThe Claw has landed at Invesco for U2's 360 Tour on Saturday night If the weather gods are to be believed, this string of shitty weather we've endured for the past few days will be but a distant memory by the time U2 takes the stage at Invesco with the Fray on Saturday. Temps ar ... More >>

Jesus vs. Bono: Who would win? The founder of PeaceJam intends to find out

Pictured here without cross.​Come Saturday, Colorado's poised to have more incoming messiahs than anybody ever asked for, including the evangelicals; besides being the scheduled day of Jesus' second coming according to Biblical number-cruncher Harold Camping, it's also the day Bono comes to De ... More >>

Win tickets to see U2 at Invesco Field

​It's a great time to be Billy Bunting. Well, not that there's ever an especially bad time to make at least part of your living evoking the world's most iconic living frontman at the prime of his career. But now is a particularly optimal time to be fronting a U2 tribute band, in the weeks lead ... More >>

Is U2 providing the soundtrack to the End of the World? Survey says... yes!

​In a little more than a month, U2 is playing at Invesco Field. May 21, to be exact. Yeah, we're pretty psyched, too. Even more so now: Did you happen to notice any special significance of that date? Know what else is going down then? Um, just a little thing called Judgment Day. For realz! We' ... More >>

The Fray tapped to warm up for U2 at Invesco Field next spring

​Grammy nominations? Platinum status? Selling out Red Rocks? It's difficult to imagine any single event surpassing those sorts of mile markers in your career. Unless, of course, said event involves warming up for U2. In your hometown. Now that's beyond difficult. That's inconceivable. But tha ... More >>

U2 reschedules its prevously postponed Denver date, Rihanna cancels show this Thursday

​A few weeks before U2 was slated to come to the States for another leg of its 360° tour, Bono injured his back while preparing for the dates and had to have emergency surgery, which resulted in the postponement of a number of US dates, including the June 12 show at Invesco Field. Live Nati ... More >>

Under a Blood Red Sky to help soften the blow of U2's postponment

Bummed out that Bono and his U2 compadres won't be at Invesco this weekend? Yeah? So are we. Luckily, we have Under a Blood Red Sky, Denver's trusty rusty U2 tribute band, which has pulled together a gig this weekend at the Hard Rock Cafe this weekend to help us forget that we're now going to have ... More >>

U2's Denver date postponed, along with the rest of the North American tour

​ File this one under: Worst. News. Ever. Well, unless you don't count yourself as a fan of U2, that is. We've just learned that one of the most highly anticipated concerts of the summer, due at Invesco field on Saturday, June 12, has been postponed until sometime in 2011. Although Bono's sur ... More >>

Thank God "I See You" didn't win at the Golden Globe's

This was not a good year for the "Best Original Song" category at the Golden Globe's. In fact, it's arguably one of the worst in recent memory. We're not certain what this means, if it means anything at all, but it's clear the film industry tossed original music to the wayside in 2009 in favor of li ... More >>

In the Name of U2

The Dream grabs top spot at Independent Records

U2, which was the top seller the previous week, was knocked down to the number-ten spot after the Dream's brand-new Love Vs. Money, which was released last week, claimed the top stop for the week ending March 15. Jamie Foxx, Lamb of God and T.I. still hold on to top ten spots. See the full breakdown ... More >>

The Fray still in Top 10 on Billboard 200

In its fifth consecutive week on the charts, the Fray's self-titled sophomore release is still generating impressive sales figures, good enough, in fact, to remain in the top ten on the Billboard 200. Last week, the group registered 30,000 more sales, which moved it up a notch to number seven from n ... More >>

Eno, electronic music history and pop songs summarized

Stuck at work or bored at home, these three links should keep you busy for the rest of the day, either way. Fist up, enjoy these one-line summaries of the meaning behind some of the biggest pop songs in history.Second, electronic music pioneer and legendary producer (U2, Talking Heads, Coldplay, et ... More >>

Negativland

Tuesday and Wednesday, December 2 and 3, Old Main Chapel, CU-Boulder, free.

Voices from Red Rocks: Memories of U2's Greatest Concert

The Westword.com blog shortcut, October 2 edition

Mini Reviews

U2 Live At Red Rocks Released on DVD

Coldplay

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Capitol

45 Second Reviews: Hawk Nelson, Moby, Van Morrison, Your Vegas

45 Second Reviews

Under a Blood Red Rocks Sky

The Frames

Friday, October 7, Bluebird Theater, 303-322-2308.

U2

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Interscope)

Nine Inch Nails

And All That Could Have Been (Nothing)

U2

All That You Can¹t Leave Behind (Interscope)

Letters

Letters

Flop Mart

U2 brings its carnival to Denver--and Denver shrugs.

Letters

Playlist

HOUSES OF THE MOLDY

THE BANDS THAT CAN FILL STADIUMS OFFER ONLY BLASTS FROM THE PAST.