U2's "PopMart" Tour stops at RFK stadium in Washington, D.C. 
Monday May 26,1997 
By: Tony LaFianza 

Expectancy rose as lines of security guards made a path through the crowd and was then fulfilled as U2 came jogging out of RFK stadium's dugout with a circle of protection around them. Looking like a procession of heavyweight champions--the Edge first in line wearing a big white cowboy hat and his fist raised high in a power salute; then Adam Clayton with a hooded coat, goggles, and a Michael Jackson style face mask; Larry Mullen, Jr. was next, plainly dressed, followed by Bono in a hooded boxer's robe--they all made their way to the stage through the crowd. As Bono took the stage for the first time, he even threw punches, shadow boxing in preparation for the fight to regain the title: number one stadium band of the world.  

The Edge picked up his guitar as Larry Mullen, Jr. took his place behind a mix-and-match, multicolored drum set, Adam Clayton put on his bass, and they started with the strong "thump bump, thump bump" that U2 has perfected and went into "MoFo," an industrial sounding tune from Pop, their latest record. They then moved right into "I Will Follow" from the band's 1980 debut Boy. Although separated by all those years, they are two emotional, urgent songs dealing with the death of Bono's mother when he was a teen-ager. The band gave notice that even though the stage was big and cheesy like the Zoo TV tour, there would not be the same games and kitsch theater that that tour featured.  

Then with "Even Better Than The Real Thing" Bono introduced the fifth member of the band this night, "So, what do you think of all this s**t?" The crowd responded with loud approval referring to the huge stage and all that stood there on it. Most of the action took place under a one-hundred-foot, yellow arch that seemed to change colors through the night, setting moods for each song. Off to stage left stood a one hundred foot tooth pick with a lit olive on top, a 35-foot lemon that later in the evening turned into a giant mirror ball and super star transport (more on that later), and the world's largest video screen flashing pictures of the band or flaunting film and art to animate the set and the songs. This production is responsible for the biggest ticket price I've ever paid for a concert--$52.50 before the service charges! All this revelry costs $250,000 a day involving 75 trucks, 16 buses, a private 727 and a 250-person troupe with 200 more folks added at each city. That's a lot of "shnanakna" to be in front of and still project your personality and emotion into two hours of music. But even the overpowering, colossal TV was no match for U2 who, with powerful and emotional songs, were the focus of the night. 

The concert continued and Bono announced, "let's go to church," as the Edge built the temple with layers of guitar, picking out his chords into the arena. The night took a turn as "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" stirred us with their spiritual yearning and questioning. The band impressed us with "If God Will Send His Angels," "Last Night on Earth," "Until the End of the World," and "Staring at the Sun." The Edge and his giant TV lightened things up a bit in the middle of the show by leading the 45,000 U2 fans, including first daughter Chelsea Clinton, in a karaoke sing along of the Monkey's "Daydream Believer." Bono came back out dressed in a coat and bowler hat to dance with a girl he pulled up out of the audience, and sing through "Miami" and "Bullet the Blue Sky" in front of animated Roy Lichtenstein's pop art jet fighters.  

U2 left the stage as the lights went down. After a few minutes of the crowd's insistence for an encore, the stage lights came back up to enliven the huge mirror ball which threw light beams into the crowd and made the stadium look like the star-filled sky. As the ball turned, it started to move out toward the center of the stage area and then slowly opened revealing the four members of U2 standing inside looking Village People-ish with sparkling outfits and props. When the ball finally settled at a flight of stairs that had come out of the floor, the band descended to take their places at a new set up, in the middle of the ramp that extended out into the crowd. There they leapt into "Discotheque," the first single from Pop. The encore continued for half an hour, including a powerful "Please," "Where the Streets Have No Name," and "With or Without You." U2 closed with the last song of the night, Achtung Baby's "One," a song that speaks of the need for community and love for healing.  

U2 has continued to produce intriguing and moving music through the style changes, proving their place in rock history. Some fans of the band haven't been happy since Joshua Tree, after which U2 moved from roots rock into the world of techno, industrial, and other styles of music to keep it all interesting for themselves. Which brings us to the other contenders for the title of the world's top stadium band: Pink Floyd, who hasn't done much important or even interesting music in ten or more years, or the Stones or McCartney or the Dead, none of whom are out there in the fray. This is a summer full of one day festivals with an assortment of bands and attractions to draw the music fan. U2 still does it alone with style, big big props and two hours of intense, affecting music. This year, we crown U2 and put the "stadium band's" heavyweight title belt around the collective waists of Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen, Jr. U2 stands with the Edge's fist held high as kings of the ring. Congratulations, champ!