|
THERE
were rumors that U2 will perform somewhere in Subic late
this year. Then again, they’re just rumors and the
official web site of the band, www.U2.com, yields not
even a whiff of confirmation or denial. And like any
other fan who would sell his grandmother’s skeletons for
a front-seat ticket, or just about anywhere in which the
Irish new wave-punk band will play, suddenly our life
has added meaning. For our parents and a few
grandparents, it’s like the visit of The Beatles.
But
we’re lucky to have watched the Philippine premiere of
U23D at the Imax Theatre in SM Mall of Asia on April 1.
This National Geographic Entertainment presentation is
described as “the first-ever live-action digital
three-dimensional film.” Not only that but the
multichannel surround sound made the experience—for lack
of a better term—hyper-real.
In a
nutshell, U23D is like having Bono (lead vocalist) and
the rest of U2 in front of you, as palpable as the
newspaper you’re holding now or the computer monitor
reachable within an arm’s length. We can go as far as
saying that the Imax audience are even in a better
position than the one who paid for front-seat tickets in
a live concert because where the cameras are, you’re
also there.
The
concerts captured on 3D were those done in
South America,
which hosted the last leg of U2’s Vertigo tour last
year. The cities covered were Mexico, São Paolo,
Santiago and Buenos Aires.
All in
all, there were about 100 hours of digital 3D footage,
which directors Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington
reduced to an 85-minute running time. Owens functioned
as the visual-content director for the band’s past
videos like “ZooTV,” “PopMart,” “Elevation” and the
Vertigo tours. Pellington worked with U2 previously when
he directed the surreal video of “One.” Remember the
carnival midget falling in love with a woman thrice his
size? Pellington also directed the video for Pearl Jam’s
first hit, “Jeremy.” He also did two feature films,
Arlington Road
and The Mothman Prophesies.
No other
credible directors can Bono trust fully than these two.
And we
could almost smell Bono’s sweat as he jumped, kneeled,
ran and did all those stage acts he’s become known for
before our jaded eyes. We even thought he had a few sip
of wine but as it turned out, it was our beer-smelling
seatmate. It’s expected in rock concerts to seat beside
an intoxicated dude. Then again, you won’t need any
artificial enhancements to enjoy U23D.
On the
immediate row before us, we saw The Dawn’s drummer
Junboy Leonor, head-banging and raising his arms during
highlights. Like any unabashed U2 fan, I can guess he
was suppressing the urge to stand up and jump. On the
row we’re seated, there was Parokya ni Edgar’s bassist
Buwi Meneses.
More
surprising, at the middle of the farthest back row, we
saw The Jerks’ enigmatic
leader-vocalist-composer-guitarist Chikoy Pura with wife
Monette. We never thought Pura as U2 fan, because he
always plays The Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, The Who
and The Doors. We thought that the next time we watch
The Jerks in its regular Friday gig at The ’70s Bistro,
or Pura’s solo acoustic performance every Thursday in My
Brothers Moustache, we’d request some U2 songs.
Come to
think of it, in the local rock scene, Chikoy and the
rest of The Jerks are the only rock musicians who can
equal the passion and sociopolitical conviction that
Bono and his bandmates have.
U23D
starts with “Vertigo,” followed by “Beautiful Day,” “New
Year’s Day,” “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own,”
“Love and Peace” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” When
“Bullet the Blue Sky” was played, followed by “Miss
Sarajevo,” there were video clips behind of important
people reading the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
Then
came “Pride (In The Name of Love),” which prompted us to
stand up and sing with the rest. More so when the guitar
works continued to the opening chords of “Where the
Streets Have No Name.”
The urge
to jump and dance was pacified by the heart-wrenching
“One,” followed by “The Fly.” For the final song, there
was the No.1 hit of all time, “With or Without You.”
After hearing how countless Filipino videoke singers
massacre this international anthem over the years since
Bono did it with a Chinese-looking fan he picked up on
the front row for their Live in Boston DVD
release, we’re thankful of a new interpretation,
followed by an encore, “Yahweh.”
U23D is
being shown in Imax, where you can watch it exclusively,
because it’s the only cinema equipped to do the job.
Sorry, pirated copies will surely yield a videoke-like
experience.
Amid all
this, we’re still praying that the rumors of a live U2
concert here will become reality. Be it in
Subic or Araneta
or in Cagayan de Oro, we’d gladly sell our liver for a
seat. |
