Legendary Hollywood U2 Performance at “The Claw”
As I sit here and write this article, I am still in disbelief of the weekend that just passed. It was one of those whirlwind few days that doesn’t happen very often. At the completion of the Green Day concert Friday night at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, I arrived home for a brief three hours before returning to Philadelphia to fly out to Salt Lake City, Utah. After a short, yet delayed layover in Dallas, I arrived in the desert state to join Hollywood U2 as they prepared to play the very first concert at “The Claw”, located at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium.
"The Claw," as it has come to be known, was the innovative stage setup for U2's remarkable 360 Tour, which spanned the globe from 2009 to 2011. The band's ambition was to be completely encircled by their audience during performances, an unprecedented achievement in stadium tours. To realize this vision, they played on a circular stage, underpinned by a 164-foot-tall structure with four legs, affectionately termed "The Claw." This structure housed the sound systems, a cylindrical video screen, and lighting. In support of the tour, three such structures were constructed, with one eventually finding a permanent home at the Loveland Aquarium in 2019, becoming the focal point of their Science Learning Campus expansion.
The decision of who to invite for the inaugural concert at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium's new feature was clear. Hollywood U2, renowned as "The World's Greatest U2 Tribute Show" and one of the longest-standing U2 tribute bands, was the ideal choice.
Hitting the stage at 9pm, Hollywood U2 immediately had the crowd, numbering well over a thousand, on their feet. They opened the show with 'Elevation,' 'Vertigo,' 'Until the End of the World,' and 'Beautiful Day'—four of U2's most iconic hits that continue to be staples on nearly every tour to this day. Fans enjoyed a setlist of more than 20 songs spanning the band's discography from their debut album "Boy" to "No Line On The Horizon," the album supported by the 360 Tour.
The full setlist:
Elevation
Vertigo
Until the End of the World
Beautiful Day
One Tree Hill
Sweetest thing
One
In God’s Country
I Still haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
With or Without You
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
The Fly
Get on Your Boots
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
Mysterious Ways
I Will Follow
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Desire
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
Bad
40
Hollywood U2 are consummate musicians who bring the look, sound and true hear of U2 to every performance with the precision and excitement, of a U2 concert.
Joe Hier, popularly recognized as Hollywood Bono, recreated three signature styles of Bono: the red and black jacket paired with Emporio Armani 9592 sunglasses from the Vertigo Tour, the recognizable The Fly sunglasses from the ZooTV era, and the contemporary look of a black sports coat with round sunglasses that Bono currently sports, complete with red and black rosaries.
Lead guitarist Chas Alm (The Chedge) skillfully portrayed The Edge, donning the checkered flannel shirt and iconic beanie from the 2017 Joshua Tree Tour. Adam Clayton on Bass was performed by Michael P. Rovatsos, and rounding out the band is Steve Judd, replicating the drums played by Larry Mullen Jr.
In addition to looking like the band, Hollywood U2’s attention to detail of past show re-enactments bring back the memories of U2’s tours from the past 40 years.
The LED screen graphics behind the band displayed song accurate graphics: The airplane from the “Beautiful Day” video, the red and black circles during “Vertigo”, seeing “ZOOTV” on the screens was a throwback to the tour that began all the video imagery. “The Fly” included both the colored numbers of recent tours with the rapidly changing array of textual words and aphorisms, including the most popular one “Everything You Know Is Wrong”.
During “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, Hollywood Bono raised the white flag, reminiscent of the band’s War Tour. As “The Chedge” played the guitar solo to “Bullet The Blue Sky”, he was lit up by a singular spotlight held by Hollywood Bono, as seen on The Joshua Tree Tour.
Ending the show was “40” complete with “Adam” and “The Edge” switching instruments and finishing with only “Larry” on stage playing drums, as the others walked off one by one.
ABOUT HOLLYWOOD U2
Based in Los Angeles, Hollywood U2 was founded by lead singer Joe Hier in 2003. The band has toured the world performing to sold out crowds in such countries as United States, Singapore, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Mexico, to name a few and they recently performed for the US Marines in Japan. Their vast experience has taken them around the world, captivating crowds of 10,000 plus.
In 2016 Hollywood U2 received the Hollywood FAME Producers Choice Award for Outstanding U2 Tribute and were nominated as “Best Tribute Band” at the LA Music Awards.*
*Taken from Hollywood U2 - About Hollywood U2 | Hollywood U2
ABOUT LOVELAND LIVING PLANET AQUARIUM
Loveland Living Planet Aquarium (LLPA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that inspires people to explore, discover, and learn about Earth’s diverse ecosystems. A world-class facility, the Aquarium provides learning opportunities for all levels, interests, and ages. Since opening its new facility in Draper in March 2014, the Aquarium has welcomed over eight million guests and provided innumerable educational experiences to students. Home to almost 5,000 animals representing 600 plus species and an additional 600 plus plant species the Aquarium showcases ecosystems from around the planet including kelp forests, coral reefs, the deep ocean, Antarctic waters, Asian cloud forests, South American rain forests, and the waterways of our home state of Utah. Loveland Living Planet Aquarium is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
The new Rio Tinto Kennecott Plaza, a nine-acre expansion south of the Aquarium, recently opened and features the 165-foot tall EECO structure, peaceful gardens, artistic sculptures, and unique event space.*
*Taken from About Us | Loveland Living Planet Aquarium
