'There's no band like U2': The Edge
Posted By JANE STEVENSON, SUN MEDIA
Posted 1 day ago


U2 guitarist The Edge is largely considered the soul of the Irish rock band, what with his distinctive, atmospheric style of playing that conjures both emotion and awe with every chord.

He told Sun Media, in an exclusive Canadian newspaper interview backstage at Rogers Centre on Thursday night before the band's second show in two nights, that performing live is where it's at for him.

"On a good night, I think there's no band like U2, and there's certainly no audience like the U2 audience," he said.

Here's the best of the rest of what The Edge had to say during our 20-minute chat:

SUN MEDIA: You seem to still be enjoying yourself up there after three decades of doing this.

THE EDGE: Touring is sort of a crazy way to live, but what really makes it bearable is that two-hours-15 that you're on stage playing the songs with your best friends, to some other great friends -- the U2 fans. It's a fantastic job.

SUN MEDIA: How did you think the first show in Toronto went on Wednesday night?

THE EDGE: I thought it was really one of the best shows we've played for a long time even though, yeah, it was challenging (set-list wise). I just think everyone played so well. Adam and I, the swing of us, everyone gave everything, and musically, it just sounded really top. And on a great night like Wednesday night when the music is really coming together, you get a great buzz out of that.

SUN MEDIA: Is walking out on that enormous, space-ship like stage on your current tour, still surreal after launching the trek in Barcelona on June 30?

THE EDGE: It takes my breath away. Quite often I just look over and go 'whoa' every time I go out for sound check during the day. Actually, I think it's a thing of rare beauty myself. Just the form of it and the architecture of it and the fact that it's so practical and does such a great job is obviously important, but it is beautiful to look at. It's a wonderful bit of kit.

SUN MEDIA: Your documentary film It Might Get Loud, with White Stripes guitarist Jack White and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, is coming out in Canada soon. What was that experience like for you?

Advertisement

THE EDGE: It was a great experience, very inspiring. We'd not met. I think I'd met Jimmy but not really had a chance to talk about much. And Jack, I think I'd met once at an awards show, to say hello. So we'd never really sat down and had a proper talk about anything, so this opportunity was great. I really like what they do with a guitar, they're very unique players and I'm a big fan of theirs -- so it was just great to spend a bit of time with them and see what they're about. We hit it off really well. The surprise for me was how different we were in terms of what sounds we were creating and ... what we were hearing and intending to reach, in terms of the sound and the expressiveness of the guitar. They were very different. Different to each other, and different to me.

jane.stevenson@sunmedia.ca
stcatharinesstandard