Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Music Makers

Once upon a time in Ireland, four teenage boys got together to form a band. (Actually it was five if you count Edge's brother.) They played and played, never looking for real jobs or losing sight of their dreams to be rockstars. And now, some 30 years later, they are (according to my standards) the most talented band on the planet.

Last night I saw their new movie, U23D, and it was astounding.

The technical aspects of the film were of course incredible—amazing overhead shots of Edge's hands on the keyboard; Larry beating his heart out on the drums; Bono crinkling his face to belt out an opera; sweeping pans of the crowd, pulsating and singing like crazy. And it was all 3-dimensional. But what truly got me (it's what always gets me) was the purity of their craft.

This quartet of men is globally renowned, yet they share so many moments on stage where they just seem like four high school friends—getting high off their sound and hoping to bring smiles to the faces in the audience. They mingle around one another, guitars in hand, seeming oblivious to their fans at times, truly loving what they do like playful little boys. It makes me feel like the Grinch when his heart swells to three times its size.

Although I think U2 does it better than anyone else, that same purity and passion comes through in the work of so many musicians. Perhaps that's why concerts feel like church to me. The music reaches inside and moves me...the melodies touch me and take me to another place...

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