U2BABY - MILTON KEYNES, MK11 31/03/18
Coming onstage to a huge roar, frontman Richard Peace, took the band, Simon Peace, Jon Couling and Ashley Barber, through a hit filled, 60 minute show. I have seen other tributes perform the songs of bands live before and frankly, it isn’t that easy. In most cases the tributes play the ‘most successful’ songs. U2Baby was up for a challenge!
The vibe was up-beat from the minute go, as they ripped through songs like ‘All I Want Is You’ and ‘City Of Blinding Lights’, before hitting the classics like ‘The Streets Have No Name’ and ‘With or Without You’. This sent the crowd into party mood, laying the foundation for a superb night of engulfing music. Richard was in great form during the show and interacted with the audience and his bandmates throughout. This was just about the music and the lyrics. They did nothing to detract from that. Instead of
This was just about the music and the lyrics. They did nothing to detract from that. Instead of risking obvious discomfort to their audience and speaking their minds as Bono did in the '80s, U2Baby in 2018, opted to focus on the music. There is no introduction to ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, but the instantly recognised song welcomes a huge cheer and singalong from the audience. The world has changed since U2 recorded the tracks that make up this set. Everything changes. The songs written in a studio and recorded weeks or mere days later have developed into something more and now deliver on another level. When a band plays ‘the album’ version, it loses something special. U2Baby have clearly sat and watched the videos, listened to the tracks and seen which of the live tracks works for them. And then they deliver!
The four men that stood before us offered something bigger than most other tributes. Better than the real thing? Whether or not they can measure up to U2 isn't the question; it’s more like, can they they find the spirit that is
U2? U2Baby in a short time, had succeeded in driving home everything that U2 that has successfully kept in a lifetime of music.
For many, the missing song, ’Bad’, originally planned in the set, didn’t matter. To me it is just another good excuse to check out these guys again.
‘I Will Follow’. Who will join me?