U2 makes return to Tennessee in triumphant fashion

It has been a minute since U2 came to town. And a minute that notably seemed like an eternity.

With their last performance in Tennessee dating back to 1987 at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., the group was well overdue in the mid-state.

The four-piece composed of Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton strolled into Nashville on Saturday, July 2 as a stop on their current 360 Tour with Florence and the Machine opening in support.

After Florence Welch and her ear-piercing vocals gave up their course, warm-up music was blasting that led into David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”  With the levels cranked up a little louder than the previous tunes, the four members were walking in a line to the “claw” stage to the roar of the stadium.

Storming into “Even Better Than The Real Thing,” the Dublin-based group hit stride song after song that included several deep cuts among others across their 30-year career-spanning catalog.

When diving into “Where The Streets Have No Name,” Bono was sure to give a nod to Cowboy Jack Clement and segued into “The Wanderer,” a tune in which the group collaborated with Johnny Cash.

At one point in the show, astronaut Mark Kelly was shown on the large LED screen and gave a shout out to Nashville.

Other standouts for the night included “With or Without You,” “Stay” and “Pride (In The Name of Love)” and of course “One.”

As it was evident the show was over, Bono gave the attendees one more shot as a fan in the crowd swayed Bono to do one more number. Grabbing the fan and bringing him on stage, he was given a guitar and entered into the first few chords from “All I Want Is You.”  Gaining help on the vocals from Bono and a beat from Larry Mullen, it proved to be the ultimate closer for the night.

And as quietly as they entered, they exited in the same gracious manner with “Rocket Man” signaling the end of their night in Music City.

The guys from U2 have come a long way since their early days. The Edge has created a guitar sound that has marked the band and along the way carved his own niche as one of the most unique axemen of all time.  Whether you agree with Bono’s causes or not, his philanthropic and humanitarian efforts along with his notoriety stretch across the globe.

So for anyone that missed the show this past weekend, there is only one word that comes to mind – epic.