Night Owl Cards

U2's "The Joshua Tree 2017 Tour" is stopping in the Buffalo area next Tuesday. It would have been a prime opportunity to witness in person what I would say is my all-time favorite group and all-time favorite album, if I was forced to name something like that. However, that Tuesday I will be busy. I have a doctor's appointment and then a night of work. Getting old is tremendous. I can't say it's completely heartbreaking as we have access to concerts in our very own home these days and I watched the entire Joshua Tree '17 concert a few months ago (I don't remember where it took place). It was terrific. When I watched the concert, the songs didn't hit me quite the same way as they did in 1987. I am not the same person I was in 1987 -- I was young and ready to change the world as many college-age people are.  But I still felt at one with everything on that album. This is the sweet spot for me in music, in terms of sound, mood and lyrics. I...

I was watching one of those Rockumentaries on Netflix last night. This one was about U2's The Joshua Tree, an album that is probably the defining moment in the history of my life as a music fan. I had been a U2 fan since War was released in the U.S. at the end of 1982. Back then, they were one of those edgy new bands that you'd only hear on progressive AOR stations. Mixed among Red Rider, Planet P and Def Leppard was "New Year's Day" by U2. I had mostly followed pop music up to that point, but something made me switch the dial over to the new stuff that had more of an edge. I became such a fan that I searched out their older albums -- Boy and October -- and bought those. It was the first time I had done that with a band. When The Unforgettable Fire came out, I played that thing over and over, and wished that the band was more popular so I could hear their songs more on the radio, and talk about the band with more people. I couldn't find many people wh...

In 1992, U2 came out with a song called "One." It was hugely popular. I liked it, too. U2 was my favorite band since way back in 1982 when no one outside of the U.K. knew what a U2 was. But not long after One, Mysterious Ways and Achtung Baby, I started to lose interest. U2 got a little strange for me, and Bono, who was always the "look at me" sort, seemed like he was ready to swallow the whole band. In fact, if rock stars wore jerseys with uniform numbers, I'm pretty sure Bono would wear the No. 1. That's how some of us view that number, as a blatant way to draw attention to oneself. "Look at me, I'm No. 1" And then there is the corresponding reaction: "Who does he think he is, wearing the No. 1? This is a team game. Nobody is above anyone else. Nobody is "No. 1." But I get the feeling that for baseball folks, the No. 1 means something different. Or at least it does with the Dodgers. The Dodger associated the most wi...