U2

MUSIC The Irish rock gods U2 make their first Southland appearance of 2011 with their ongoing 360 tour, which was originally launched in support of their 2009 album, "No Line on the Horizon. " So named because of the 360-degree staging that gives the audience an unprecedented view of the rock 'n' roll action, the show features the band performing atop a massive four-legged supporting rig that has been nicknamed "The Claw. " Angel Stadium of Anaheim, 2000 E. Gene Autry Way, Anaheim.

Trumpeter Wayne Jackson was the personification of mixed emotions in February when he and his longtime musical partner, saxophonist Andrew Love, were presented with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award for their work over half a century together as the Memphis Horns. Jackson tearfully acknowledged the music industry accolade for the hundreds of recordings that he and Love made in Memphis and elsewhere. They had backed such R&B and soul music greats as Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Sam & Dave and Wilson Pickett, and rock, pop and country luminaries that included Elvis Presley, U2, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Robert Cray and James Taylor.

U2 isn't a band that does things on the cheap. When frontman Bono and guitarist the Edge went to Broadway, they did so via "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," which has earned itself the distinction of being the most expensive show in Broadway history. The band's 360 Tour has been no bargain either, with costs tallying at least $750,000 per day, according to Billboard, whether or not the band even has a gig that night. So perhaps the announcement Monday from concert promoter Live Nation that trumpets the 360 Tour as the highest-grossing rock 'n' roll endeavor ever should come with an asterisk.

Wars have come and gone. But for more than half a century, the CIA and U.S. military have relied on a skinny sinister-looking black jet to go deep behind enemy lines for vital intelligence-gathering missions. The high-flying U-2 spy plane was first designed during the Eisenhower administration to breach the iron curtain and, as engineers said, snap "picture postcards for Ike" of hidden military strongholds in the Soviet Union. And although the plane is perhaps best known for being shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960 and the subsequent capture of pilot Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 continues to play a critical role in national security today, hunting Al Qaeda forces in the Middle East.

U2, the Irish pop band, is the subject of a fascinating new documentary, "From the Sky Down," premiering Saturday on Showtime. Like most modern rockumentaries, it was commissioned by the people it is about, and it will be included in some of the versions of the 20th anniversary deluxe re-release of "Achtung Baby," coming in November. (The most deluxe of these, the Uber-Deluxe package, which costs upward of $400, also comes with a pair of sunglasses like those singer Bono wore in his guise of the Fly.)

In just 20 beautiful days on the concert trail last year, U2 racked up the highest-grossing North American tour of 2009, pulling in $123 million at the box office in a year in which overall concert business was one of the music industry's remaining bright spots. The Irish quartet's bar-raising 360 Tour of sports stadiums, which visited 16 cities, sold more than 1.3 million tickets, translating to a nightly average of just more than 82,000 fans, according to Pollstar, the concert-industry tracking publication.

U2's concert at the Rose Bowl shattered attendance records at the venue as more than 100,000 people, including Rose Bowl staff, took in the band's Southern California stop on its 360 Tour, according to the venue's general manager, Darryl Dunn. Yet the number of fans who watched the concert online probably dwarfs that tally. Final figures aren't in yet from Google-owned YouTube, which streamed the concert live, but the page housing the concert has received close to 7 million "channel views."

I agreed with Robert Hilburn that the U2 shows of late reflected added intensity and spirit compared with the April shows--and I wouldn't have thought that was possible ("Joy Makes a Return," Dec. 16). My two U2 concert experiences this year were joyous, uplifting and redemptive. To remain connected with a band like U2 at age 44 gives me great hope for rock music. JIM KEEGAN Seal Beach

I don't believe it. Upon reading Robert Hilburn's article about U2 ("The First Temptation of U2," Nov. 20), I realized that Hilburn actually seems to have listened to "Rattle and Hum"! He knew what he was talking about! It was exciting to find that he paid attention to the lyrics. Why? Well, nearly every other record reviewer, The Times excepted, drones on about U2's obsession with their own success and their "self-important" attitude. But has U2 ever said they were the best rock group in the world?

I am amazed by the stupidity of people's efforts in trying to compare U2 with the Beatles. What we have here is an obvious case of apples and oranges. What the Beatles did two decades ago has no relevance to what U2 has done today. The Beatles began in a period of time when little love songs (though some of the best love songs ever) were the order of the day. Their progression into the increasingly turmoiled '60s, led them on radical searches for self awareness through religion and drugs.

The following are the Top 10 North American concert tours of 2011. Figures expressed in millions. U2 $156.0 Taylor Swift $97.7 Kenny Chesney $84.6 Lady Gaga $63.7 Bon Jovi $57.1 Elton John $51.8 Sade $48.6 Kanye West / Jay-Z $48.3 Lil Wayne $44.4 Celine Dion $41.2 Source: Pollstar

"Killing Bono" whips up a frenzied mix of musical jealousy, wishful stardom and farcical lucklessness into a movie too slippery to hold onto. Inspired by the memoir of Irish music journalist Neil McCormick, who as an aspiring musician watched his schoolmates become U2 while he toiled away in failing bands, the movie grafts onto Neil's story the dramatic notion that he prevented his guitar-playing brother Ivan from being part of the original U2 lineup in...

U2, the Irish pop band, is the subject of a fascinating new documentary, "From the Sky Down," premiering Saturday on Showtime. Like most modern rockumentaries, it was commissioned by the people it is about, and it will be included in some of the versions of the 20th anniversary deluxe re-release of "Achtung Baby," coming in November. (The most deluxe of these, the Uber-Deluxe package, which costs upward of $400, also comes with a pair of sunglasses like those singer Bono wore in his guise of the Fly.)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will play a rare small-theater show later this month to benefit a local public radio station so marginal its ratings should be characterized not as off the chart, but in search of one. U2 has donated a customized green Gretsch Falcon electric guitar, signed by all four band members, that could fetch $150,000 or more during the station's fall pledge drive. Mick Jagger, Coldplay, Sheryl Crow and other power players also are pitching in. So what's suddenly so compelling about KCSN-FM (88.5)

U2 guitarist the Edge, whose real name is David Evans, and three other Malibu property owners filed separate lawsuits Friday seeking to set aside the California Coastal Commission's denial of their applications to build ridge-top homes above Malibu. The plaintiffs, who own four adjacent parcels of land zoned for residential development in the unincorporated Sweetwater Mesa area, allege that the coastal panel's June 16 denial represented an unconstitutional taking of property without just compensation.

Heartfelt duty Re "Gates fought, and wept, for troops," June 19 Outgoing Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates deserves the highest honor our country can bestow for services rendered above and beyond the call of duty. Here we have an individual who, because of the nature of his job, has armored his heart to face the ugly realities of war but could not prevent that heart from bleeding when faced with the precious loss of our country's sons and daughters. I know I would not want to be in his shoes penning all those letters meant to console grieving families.

The reboot of the "Spider-Man" musical hasn't been hurt by opening-night reviews. The show, which finally welcomed professional drama critics, grossed more than $1 million last week and even beat the popular musical "The Book of Mormon. " The reviews acknowledged improvement over the earlier version but were still poor. "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" opened Tuesday. It pulled in nearly $1.28 million for the week ending Sunday. That makes it the third-highest-grossing show on Broadway after "Wicked" and "The Lion King.

The California Coastal Commission on Thursday rejected a controversial proposal by U2 guitarist the Edge to build five mansions on a rugged ridgeline above Malibu that is home to mountain lions and native chaparral. The 8-4 vote was the culmination of what has become a closely watched property rights battle between the musician, whose real name is David Evans, and the agency that regulates development along the California coastline. "In 38 years of this commission's existence, this is one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation," Peter Douglas, the agency's executive director, said in an interview after the vote.