More than 50,000 fans swarmed the massive Rose Bowl Stadium on Sunday for the sold out second night of U2's Los Angeles stop on their Joshua Tree Tour commemorating the 30th anniversary of the landmark album. Watching the band engage the stadium in full force made it hard to believe that so much time has passed.
For two hours, U2 performed The Joshua Tree in full, after starting off with a few other fan favorites to warm up the crowd including "Sunday Bloody Sunday" from 1983's War, "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" from 1984's The Unforgettable Fire and "Beautiful Day" from 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind, with beautiful moving images projected behind the band supporting each song. The Irish rock stars have always been one of the most innovative touring bands in the world—their Zoo TV Tour in the '90s featured dozens of large video screens featuring visuals that would still awe fans today—and the screens get bigger and bigger with every tour.
One reason U2 remains relevant after so long is their genuine desire to deliver something special to fans who spend a lot of money to see them—some even follow them around the world. It's a difficult thing to do for decades on end, especially considering the scale of these shows—the Rose Bowl Stadium is the one of the biggest venues they've played, with a capacity of more than 90,000—but Bono and the gang somehow managed.
The band also doesn't shy away from politics. If anything, The Joshua Tree feels especially timely with themes throughout of greed, feminism and the American spirit. During the concert, there were images projected of war-torn Syria and a clip played of a sketchy man trying to convince a small town into building a wall (sound familiar?). The band never pretends nothing else is happening outside the bounds of their epic concerts.
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