Most U2 shows feel more like a religious experience than a proper rock and roll show. Even if you don’t care for their music, there’s something about how Bono commands the stage that makes him look like a missionary for rock music rather than someone wanting to get the crowd to dance for a little while. That runs the risk of being a bit too serious, but in terms of their presence onstage, Bono thought it doesn’t get better than ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’.
But no one gets to that position without paying their dues, and U2 were no different. For all of the stadiums they can pack now, their first gigs included them coming in on the heels of punk rock, including creating songs that would lay the foundation for what they would do, like ‘I Will Follow’.
Most U2 shows feel more like a religious experience than a proper rock and roll show. Even if you don’t care for their music, there’s something about how Bono commands the stage that makes him look like a missionary for rock music rather than someone wanting to get the crowd to dance for a little while. That runs the risk of being a bit too serious, but in terms of their presence onstage, Bono thought it doesn’t get better than ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’.
But no one gets to that position without paying their dues, and U2 were no different. For all of the stadiums they can pack now, their first gigs included them coming in on the heels of punk rock, including creating songs that would lay the foundation for what they would do, like ‘I Will Follow’.
Despite having a firm place to start, though, they could hardly get arrested at the beginning. Since PR managers advise artists to stay out of religion and politics, having one album about God and the other about the problems in their homeland was sure to go over well with groups that just wanted to hear some rock.
And against all odds, that kind of gamble paid off. Following in the tradition of artists who don’t look like jackasses when getting up on a soapbox, Bono actually managed to reach the people every time he brought up injustices, or at the very least made a catchy tune out of it on songs like ‘Pride’ and ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’.
Though the group were in danger of becoming a parody of a serious rock band, The Joshua Tree became a watershed moment for the group. No more having to cower to being an answer to what the punks wanted. This was now about being one’s self and getting in touch with a higher power, and Bono knew ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ was just what they needed for the live stage.
Despite thinking that the final product was just a fluke that the group worked out in the studio, the frontman thought the track was the highlight of every show, telling Rolling Stone, “It contains a powerful idea. ‘In the desert, we meet God. Do you want to go to that place… where the streets have no name, where you glimpse God?’ That’s what it means at every U2 show. No matter how crap a U2 show gets, we can be sure the gig will come off if we play that song.”
Then again, ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’ is a fairly tricky piece to get every time it comes on. Since the intro is in 6/4 time, everyone needs to be locked in exactly right to get everything rolling, which eventually ended up with Brian Eno almost erasing the sketch for the idea in protest when they couldn’t get it right in the studio.
Even if all you have is the recorded version, there’s a certain magic that was captured whenever the group came together for that chorus. It might be a spiritual power at play, but as soon as The Edge comes in with those cascading guitar parts, it feels like stepping into the future.
