To give you an idea about the excitement level of U2's Friday night stopover at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the most stirring moment came when the Edge broke a guitar string during an encore rendition of "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses." As a guitar tech raced down the stage's long, circular gangway—only to hand off another faulty instrument necessitating his return with a third guitar moments later—the world got a quick taste of what U2 would sound like as an Edge-less trio, and it wasn't pretty.
But at least it was spontaneous, something that can't be said about the rest of the two-hour-plus concert, which drew a capacity crowd of 16,000 for up to $175 per ticket. From a set list dominated by humdrum new songs and the obligatory hit parade to Bono's well-intentioned but momentum-sapping speeches about human rights and poverty, the entire night felt canned, as if the Irishmen have been there, done that a few too many times before.
Which they have. The Vertigo tour started March 26 and hasn't let up since, snaking to Europe and back between two massive U.S. legs. The promise of U2 emptying out its considerable vault of under-performed favorites—fueled by the appearance of such tunes as "An Cat Dubh" and "Gloria" early in 2005—fizzled out somewhere along that giant route, leaving us with the perfunctory "Pride (In the Name of Love)," "One," "With or Without You" and so on.
Not that U2's greatest hits aren't great. A few even sounded it on Friday, including a hard-charging "Sunday Bloody Sunday" that conjured up the spitting angst of the band's youth and a droney, Spacemen 3-esque reworking of 2001 single "Elevation" that proved the foursome can put a new spin on past successes if they bother trying. But too often, the oft-labeled "best rock band in the world" spent the night simply satisfying its fans, rather than truly wowing them.
A few additional stops were apparently pulled out during the second MGM show Saturday night, with U2 mixing in more interesting numbers ("Zoo Station," "Bad") and bringing guests Mary J. Blige and Brandon Flowers of the Killers to the stage for one song apiece. But reports from Vegas engagement No. 2 also indicate Bono's voice was shot to the point where the Edge picked up many of the high notes. And, as the weekend wore on, message-board posters in cyberspace even speculated that recorded vocal tracks may have been utilized. Intrigue at last!