Forgotten lyrics
But unforgettable fire!
Sunday, Bloody Clash Mash

Haiku by Andy Cohn
Photos by Rob Stone

Taking to his blog, David Byrne recently criticized U2’s touring excess after playing a date in Warsaw; claiming that U2’s mega tour effectively subsidized smaller, lower-grossing performances at the venue where he performed, since the money lost on less-lucrative productions would be made back once U2 hit the stage. Byrne went on to say:

Those stadium shows may possibly be the most extravagant and expensive (production-wise) ever: $40 million to build the stage and, having done the math, we estimate 200 semi trucks crisscrossing Europe for the duration. It could be professional envy speaking here, but it sure looks like, well, overkill, and just a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all. Or maybe it’s the fact that we were booted off our Letterman spot so U2 could keep their exclusive week-long run that’s making me less than charitable? Take your pick — but thanks, guys!

Yeah, Bono- what about the starving people in Africa? It’s interesting that despite the singer’s effort to brand himself as a messiah for Africa’s cause, Bono has made no attempts to limit the impact, environmental or monetary, of U2’s tour. A STORM IS BREWING.

On October 29 and 30 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, a veritable cornucopia of rock royalty will descend for a two night concert series celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Over the course of the two-night stand, members of the Hall of Fame will perform onstage with guests, effectively documenting the evolution of various musical styles. Crosby, Stills and Nash will perform with California-based artists, Metallica will headline the hard rock portion of the concerts, and Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin will perform with Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra as part of a soul revue.

Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, U2, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, and Simon and Garfunkel are also expected to perform in what the event’s executive producer and Rolling Stone founder, Jann Wenner, calls “a celebration of the artists and their music.” Joel Gallen, the induction ceremonies’ producers, will direct the shows, with a highlight version scheduled to be aired on HBO. Proceeds go to establishing an endowment for the Hall of Fame; AMEX cardholders will be able to purchase tickets today, while sales open to the general public on August 3.

To further commemorate the Hall of Fame’s anniversary, a book, titled The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years will be released via Collins Design in September. A nine-disc DVD collection will be released in August by Time Life, featuring highlights from past induction ceremonies and rare footage. (via RS)

We were awfully amped to report not too long ago that Bono and the Edge’s Spiderman on Broadway project was going forward, full steam ahead. Rolling Stone is reporting today that major roles have now been cast with Evan Rachel Wood to play Mary Jane Watson. You may remember Wood as that crazy girl from Thirteen or Marilyn Manson’s most recent special friend. We’ve developed newfound respect for the starlet as a result of this little bit of sound-byte magic:

“Bono and the Edge are doing the music. It was hysterical, I got to do the workshop, sit down with them playing guitars going over the music, and I was making jokes going, watch by the end of this, I’ll be telling them what to do. And by the end I was! I was like, Bono, I know you want to save the world and everything, but in this song you’re talking about poverty and world hunger and it’s Broadway, can we lighten this up a bit, can I just not sing this? And he was like, [in Irish accent] ‘You’re right, I know, we have to try, we have to try.’”

She’s bold. Alan Cumming, who will be playing the Green Goblin, provided no additional laughs.

In a video interview for the forthcoming Broadway show’s website, U2’s Bono and The Edge talked at length about what exactly compelled them to begin work on Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark. The bespectacled frontman explains: “We were open to the idea of musical theater, but Spider-Man, that’s a different thing again, because that’s comic books, and there’s a whole series of relations between punk rock and rock bands and comic books, that goes back years.” The Edge, who seems to really connect with Peter Parker’s plight, revealed a bit of psychic scar tissue, saying, “every rock & roll star probably started out as the geek who got bullied on in school, and eventually their form of revenge was to write songs or learn to play guitar.” This prompted his bandmmate to make the following joke, one which explains much of Bono’s sartorial choices over the past three decades: “I was more of a Green Goblin.” We smell intraband strife of epic, blockbuster proportions. (via RS)