There has been a lot written in the mainstream music press about the stage set for U2’s current 360° Tour, which is taking the world’s most famous rock band (with several members who are professing Christians) around the globe.
What is getting much of the attention is how U2 has removed the gargantuan backdrop for its stage, creating a feeling of intimacy and an artificial sense of a small stage that is in fact huge, and also is allowing the band to sell more seats.
In trying to bring the show to fans in a different way, it has a precedent in Christian music.
It all reminds me of the newsboys’ tour back in 2000, when the band was traveling around in a bubble.
The same creative approach to bringing fans not just the same old concert stage, the same innovative hope of bringing fans and performers closer … the two tours have a lot of the same things in common.
That newsboys’ tour of nine years ago produced an excellent set in Hershey one chilly April Saturday … I would say “in Hersheypark Arena,” except it was out in the parking lot.
When the newsboys needed a portable concert hall for their 2000 “Love Liberty Disco” Tour, they called a firm that designed and manufactured the so-called “air domes,” which drew plenty of media attention and lots of “Love … Liberty … and a Tent?” headlines.
The tour was a success, but obviously drew a lot less than U2’s current trek … for example, try the 95,000 people who are expected in the Rose Bowl this Sunday.
To learn more about the U2 tour, there is an excellent story on U2’s stage by Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times, and go the newsboys’ Web site for more on what’s up with them.