U2 Review

Saying that U2 had a pretty big week is an understatement. The hugely successful band went on a promotional blitz: they released a new album, spent the week as David Letterman’s band and even had a street named after them.

March 2, when they started their weeklong gig on the "Late Show with David Letterman."

The band's first night of their weeklong gig was strategically scheduled the night before the band's new album, "No Line on the Horizon," hit stores. On the show U2 performed their new song "Breathe" and were featured in a comedy skit that found them shoveling snow in front of Roseland Ballroom the day after a blizzard hit the area.

"No Line On The Horizon," is band's first album in nearly five years; and is a really good album, but definitely not their best. Sometimes when a band comes out with so many albums over the years, it's hard to keep churning out quality work. That's not the case here, but a couple of the tracks are not up to par with what U2 has perviously done, including "Stand Up Comedy," which leaves listeners wanting more. The track has a good melody, but Bono's lyrics such as, "I need to stand up to my ego/But my ego is not my enemy," seem uninspired.

During their phenomenal week, Tuesday March 3 was perhaps the biggest day for the band. Coinciding with their new record being released they were honored by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. On the cold afternoon Bloomberg announced that a section of West 53rd Street will briefly be renamed "U2 Way." Later on that night the band gave another great performance, playing "Magnificent," which is by far the best track on their new album.

The group was absolutely hilarious on their third show when they did the Top Ten List, which was called the "Top 10 Things U2 Has Learned Over the Years." One of the funniest bits was when guitarist The Edge admitted that he does "suck at Guitar Hero." The band proved that they can make a joke, but also take one at their expense.

On Thursday, their fourth night on the show, the band sat down for the first time this week with Letterman for an interview. During their very relaxed chat they spoke about the Beatles and about the early days of the band including a time when they accidentally ventured to the wrong side of the Berlin Wall.

Afterwards, they took the stage to play "Beautiful Day," an older song rather than one from their newest album. While it's not one of U2's best songs, they played it with high energy and their performance was a pleasant surprise.

The band's last night on the show was a solid performance, but it didn't stack up to the rest of the week. They played the first single off their new album "Get On Your Boots" and thanked Letterman's audience for watching all week.

For anyone who felt that five nights of U2 would be too much, the band definitely proved them wrong. Their performances were great and when featured in skits, they proved to be genuinely fun and humorous.

The band also announced this week that they are going on a world tour which will kick off in Barcelona, Spain on June 30. They plan to stay on the road through the fall of 2010, playing between 90 and 100 shows. The initial European leg will wrap up in August 22, then head to North America on October 28.