U2

My congratulations to Edward Carroll, who in a single letter managed not only to belittle the opinions of U2 critic Evan Marlowe, but disparage the Calendar's letter-printing process as well (Calendar Letters, May 17). The Calendar, Mr. Carroll, chose to print Marlowe's letter not because it contained "wit" (one of his so-called necessities for a letter). Humor is certainly not the issue here. When one tries to compare a band such as U2 to the Beatles, I laugh not. The Beatles did not just make rock history--they were rock history.

Scratch the new U2 album off your Christmas list. Singer Bono says the album, which had been anticipated for release this fall, will now arrive sometime in 2009. But he says there's a good reason for the delay. "We've hit a rich songwriting vein and we don't want to stop," Bono says on the band's website, U2.com. "It gets a bit dark down here but looks like we've found diamonds not coal. I thought a while back we might have the album wrapped by now, but why come up above ground now if there's more priceless stuff to be found?"

U2 and its management have created a scenario where ticket brokers appear to be purveyors of evil gouging and U2 management appears to be protecting fans by limiting the number of tickets to U2's two local shows. In reality, when U2's manager Paul McGuinness stated in the Nov. 16, 1991, issue of Billboard that "we want to reintroduce the American public to the concept of the hard ticket," he was extremely aware of the scenario that would be created by playing one or two shows in a smaller arena and limiting access and ticket quantity.

In response to Robert Hilburn's review of the U2 concert at the Coliseum ("U2, Not Quite the Real Thing," June 21): Being a loyal and faithful fan of Bono, Edge, Adam and Larry since the beginning of the '80s, I've seen my share of U2 concerts, from the bare bones of the "October" tour through "The Joshua Tree" and "Zoo TV" tours and their current "Popmart" outing. To compare this tour or any future ones to "Zoo TV" is unfair. The concert was immediate and endearing. Our section was more interested in the intimacy Bono provided with his comments to the crowd.

U2 and Sting are among the performers scheduled to appear at the Forum on June 6 as part of a six-city concert tour to raise funds for Amnesty International USA. Information on tickets isn't expected until late this month. Mary Daly, director of communications for the nonprofit, U.S. section of Amnesty International, said the series of shows will begin June 4 in San Francisco and include stops in Dallas, Atlanta and Chicago. The final concert at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Bono was all lighted up Saturday for the opening of U2's North American tour at Chicago's Soldier Field. In a high-tech show beneath a four-pronged, 90-foot-tall canopy that he referred to as "our spaceship," Bono dressed for the occasion in a jacket outlined in neon and dangled from a glowing, steering wheel-shaped microphone as the band kicked into its encore. As he twirled madly during "Ultra Violet (Light My Way)" and then more lazily during "With or Without You," the 2-hour, 10-minute concert took on a surreal air, with a disco ball reflecting shards of light against the balconies of Soldier Field, a tiny constellation in a galaxy of sound and glitter.

In response to Ticket Time owner Larry Gold's letter ("U2 Ticket Limits Cause a Fuss," April 18), I would like to answer his question about U2, "Did they really have the best interests of their fans at heart?" My girlfriend and I had tickets for U2's second show in Los Angeles. Although we had seats behind the stage and one row from the top, we were still excited being there for that night's show. It was 30 minutes before concert time, when a man (a U2 employee, I suspect) approached us at our seats and asked us if we would prefer better seats.

Regarding your report on the "Two Rooms" compilation of Elton John-Bernie Taupin cover tunes (Pop Eye, Dec. 1): Robert Hilburn disturbs me by lumping Kate Bush's "Rocket Man" in the same "decidedly ordinary" category as Hall & Oates, Jon Bon Jovi and others. While I agree that the majority of the tracks on the album are pale imitations of the originals, "Rocket Man" stands apart. Bush manages to preserve the integrity of the song while infusing her own unique artistic vision.

There was an air of intense excitement at the Rose Bowl for Sunday night's concert, but there was also a sense of urgency -- the era of rock bands selling out a 95,000-plus-seat show in America is, as they say, rapidly fading. "The days of the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd and all those stadium tours, all of that is winding down; U2 may be the last band of that type," said Dan Bell of Monrovia, one of the fans who attended the biggest concert in the history of the venerable venue.

Plans to build the tallest building in Ireland -- with new recording studios for Irish supergroup U2 on top -- were suspended Friday because of Dublin's slumping property market and slide into recession. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority said it remained committed to building the long-planned U2 Tower, but a souring economy at home and abroad meant the $250-million project must be shelved. It expressed hope of reopening negotiations with potential developers within 12 months.