At dinner we were debating genius.

Obviously Bob Dylan is a genius.  John Lennon was one too.  But what about
BONO?

I was clear about this, DEFINITIVE, Bono IS NOT A GENIUS!

Then, sotto voce, I said…"But Edge is."

Bono gets all the attention.  He’s the one making the pronouncements, he’s
the one in the news.  He’s talented, he’s got an interesting voice, but the
worst Don Henley lyric is better than the stuff Bono pens.  It’s all about the
PERFORMANCE, and that’s fine, that’s great, I give him credit, there have been
great entertainers throughout the ages, but someone with INNATE talent, with
something in his genes, who then works to develop it, and lets us peek inside at
his creations, that’s GENIUS!

The reason I love "Achtung Baby", resent everything they’ve done since, is
they’ve subjugated Edge’s genius to structure, everything the band does is in
service to being the BIGGEST BAND IN THE WORLD!

History is littered with creators who were lionized in their day but have
been forgotten over time.  The key isn’t to play for popularity, but to
constantly test…the edge, push harder, into the unknown.  Oh, you take the risk
you’ll fail, that you’ll go up a blind alley, hit a dead end, take some of the
shine off your career, but you also might discover something so exquisite it will
change lives.  Even though these people ultimately affected might not come to
the party early, even though they might profess to want more of the same, when
confronted with something so beautiful, so amazing, so DIFFERENT, they
EMBRACE IT!  Hell, isn’t that the secret of Apple Computer?

But Apple makes tools.  That ENABLE geniuses to do their work.  And it’s THIS
work we truly admire.

Now Edge isn’t Eric Clapton, certainly not Alvin Lee, he hasn’t built his
reputation on playing a lot of notes.  Oh, speed isn’t even a factor.  It’s
TONALITY!  And rhythm.  He lays down these grooves, and peppers them with astral effects, to the point where you’re ENTRANCED!

You’re sitting at your computer, you’re driving your car, and Edge starts to
play and your foot starts to tap, your leg starts to move, your head starts to
nod…INVOLUNTARILY!!  Your complete MOOD can be changed just by hearing what
comes out of his guitar.

It’s not the genius of Lennon and McCartney.  It’s not about melody.  It’s
about PURE SOUND!!

And this is why the U2 tour is selling out.

Oh, of course, there’s mania.  Hype.  But the reason all those
thirtysomethings and early fortysomethings clamor for a ticket to see the band is that SOUND!  They want to remember a time gone by, when they still felt hope, saw
OPPORTUNITY, when they were SET FREE BY MUSIC!  They just want to go to the show and have Edge fire up his amps, string his guitar around his neck and PLAY!

Bono’s working the stage, mugging for the camera.  If Edge is moving at all,
it’s minor.  His feet are planted.  His upper body leans forward and back just
a bit.  He’s not reacting to the music, he IS the music!!

Now U2 has had its share of hits.  And "I Will Follow", their debut single,
is one of the best of all time.  With all that energy.  But talk to the fans,
it’s really the album tracks, the more obscure stuff that resonates.  Songs
like "Bad".

My iTunes library just shifted into a live performance of "Bad" from the
Elevation tour.  The guitar starts off sparkling, like a SATELLITE!  Announcing
the arrival of something FANTASTIC!

And that’s what you get when Edge lays into the groove.

It’s like the Millennium Falcon.  It’s like the spaceship in "E.T." 
Suddenly, 20,000 people LIFT OFF!  They’re no longer on the ground, they’re hovering in space, weightless.  They’re part of something bigger than themselves, a sea of humanity powered by this little Irish guy on stage.  Bono’s just the
cheerleader, really, EDGE is the team!  He’s the quarterback, the integral element
that everybody else is supporting.  Oh, a fine ensemble cast it is, then again,
greatness, GENIUS, is always fragile, it needs a friendly supportive
environment in which to flourish.

Edge can’t handle the spotlight.  Bono’s for that.

Larry and Adam provide the underpinning, the canvas, Edge just dances upon
it.  Sometimes all over the place like a Jackson Pollock painting, yet there’s a
rhythm to the madness, it’s not without form, there IS control.

You’re mesmerized.  You’re flying around the arena, checking everybody out,
grooving to the music.  You start to sing along, in joy, with Bono, as Edge
slowly sets you back in your seat, like the experienced pilot of a 747.

You can tell everybody about your trip, but unless they were there with you,
that night, or at another show, they just won’t get it.

You’re a member of a secret society.  You can listen to the records, and
they’re great, but they’re just a FACSIMILE of the live performance.  And that’s
why you go.