I was fortunate enough to score a reasonably priced ticket from another fan and joined 103,000 other fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on October 25th.  Opening act was the Black Eyed Peas who were really fun and entertaining, with Slash joining them for a cover of “sweet child o’ mine”.  The 360 tour stage was vastly large at a cost of more than $40 million to build; imagine a giant spaceship claw that rises 200 feet up.  It’s hard to believe but U2 still haven’t broken even on the tour… the cost is approximately $750,000/day of operating costs… despite selling out nearly every stadium/theatre.  Anyhow, what a joy to see these lads from Ireland rock out finally.  I have been a fan for more than 25 years but had never seen them; lame – i know!   I can still recall when Rattle and Hum movie came out at Midnight and I got a free album with it.  I was such a fan and still am of the Joshua Tree – one of my all time favorite recordings.  Even with all the technology and visuals that u2 employs with their big shows – the songs from the Joshua Tree speak to the soul with just the melodies alone.  Amazingly, the red seats at these concerts are auctioned and will raise approximately $9 million to charity.  Bono has done a lot for the world, as has u2 and it’s inspiring… one love, one love, one love.  A highlight for me was seeing the Edge, as I have been a huge fan of his guitar work for many years…  I don’t know any guitar player who thinks that much about their wall of “sound” per se without the desire to be a total shredder showman… but he’s just humbly there doing his role as equal with his bandmates.  A lesson to be learned for many…

It Might Get Loud, a documentary that consists entirely of Jimmy Page, Jack White and The Edge swapping stories, expounding on their experiences and of course jamming with each other. The film, directed by An Inconvenient Truth helmer Davis Guggenheim, will satisfy casual fans as well as hardcore guitar afficianados.

For me personally, I absolutely loved this film as it shows you that behind-the-scenes feeling of what it was like for these guys to tap into their genius and play from their soul versus just another imitator of their influences.  The kid like smile on Jack White and the Edge’s face as Jimmy page played an old Led Zepplin riff is just touching in the most sincere way of gratitude and respect.  They even take turns playing each others songs – with the edge playing an E minor and then realizing – oops, that was a B minor I was suppose to be playing.  It just shows you how genuine he is, as well as going as far to mentioning each of the other members of the band; no ego whatsoever!  There is no doubt that it was the blues that started it all for these guys…  Son House, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie, etc.  The film was shot all over the world – Ireland, England, Seattle, LA, and Nashville.

Growing up in Michigan, we were very familiar with Jack White who played drums in a band called Goober and the peas, and then obviously Brendan Benson who Jack formed the Raconteurs with, although Brendan Benson is far more talented as a song writer in my opinion.  In fact, we once had drinks with all of them next to the Troubador about 4 years ago after Brendans show… Jack is incredibly tall and suspiciously nervous all the time – like who wants to steal my soul now? ahah!  I remember being in Europe in 2003 and everywhere I went – all i saw was the White Stripes being advertised.  It’s nice to see Jack just pick up any crappy guitar and put soul into it… and even cooler that he is from Michigan and kept it pretty real all these years.

My 2 cents,

Geoff Koboldt