U2, “How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb.” Rock and roll is dead? Please. Every year, the “Kids Don’t Care About Guitars Anymore” narrative drives clicks—or, in the ancient times, sold magazines. Inevitably, Newton’s Third Law kicks in, and guitar bands, both new and old, push back with equal force.…

U2 performs during the opening night of its U2:UV Live at Sphere residency in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, 2023. Photo: Rich Fury. Others by Kevin Mazur. Sept. 30 photos: Roman Gokhman/STAFF. LAS VEGAS — Sphere at the Venetian is truly a visual and sonic marvel. The bubble-like theater…

U2, “Songs of Surrender.” U2 has released alternate takes of its songs on collections before, but they’ve always been either as bonus material on re-releases (Kindergarten Achtung Baby) or as fan-club-only releases (Medium, Rare & Remastered, Artificial Horizon). Their latest, Songs of Surrender, is their first attempt at mass-market…

Twenty years to the day that U2 released its landmark album All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Roman Gokhman and I jumped on Zoom to talk about what the album means to us as fans, its cultural impact and legacy, and how it changed the course of U2’s music–for better or worse–in…

U2. Getty Images Editor Roman Gokhman spoke to musician-producer Daniel Lanois yesterday about his current collaboration with lap-steel guitarist Rocco DeLuca and their upcoming tour, which will make a stop in San Francisco at the Independent on June 7, as well his his next work. But we also asked Lanois…

Photos: Tim Durkan SANTA CLARA — On its own, U2 performing its 1987 breakout album, The Joshua Tree, is significant for two reasons. Foremost, it means the Irish band has accepted its position as a legacy band with a storied songbook that the casual fan prefers over new material. But…

Courtesy: U2 By Joseph Ahorro The themes of U2’s last album, 2014’s Songs of Innocence, and the subsequent Innocence + Experience Tour primarily highlighted the Irish band’s upbringing as youth on the north side of Dublin, and the artistic, social and political influences that ultimately shaped their music. U2,…

U2 is still working on Songs of Experience, the awaited follow-up to 2014’s Songs of Innocence, but this morning announced a shortened two-month stadium tour during which the band is expected to perform songs off its groundbreaking 1987 album The Joshua Tree. The album will be played in full, from start…

U2 performs at Dreamfest, the Salesforce Dreamforce concert, at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on Oct. 5, 2016. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. DALY CITY, Calif.  — Dreamforce, the high-stakes tech conference/theme park/party that takes over San Francisco for one week in the fall has grown larger and larger each year.…

Lykke Li, courtesy. I couldn’t believe it when U2 released a complete album yesterday. I didn’t think they had the guts to “pull a Beyonce.” Yeah, there were rumors, but still. I figured we’d get an Apple ad and maybe a new song. As the shock was wearing off,…