U2 Fandom

U2 played a concert in Nashville on Saturday night. I was tired of hearing about it before the concert even occurred. Now, a week has gone by, and people still won't stop talking about it. Folks are still posting pictures, talking about the blind guy who played with the band at the end, and generally gushing. One friend remarked on Facebook that she had actually made eye contact with members of the band. Be still, my beating heart.

I find all of this very annoying, and not because I don't like U2. I think "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Pride" are profoundly good songs. And I appreciate Bono lending his voice to the struggle against poverty in Africa. But come on. They're a rock band, and not a particularly talented one. Many of their songs sound an awful lot alike. None of the musicians ever do anything all that impressive. They are heavily dependent on electronic effects. I suspect we will never hear a stripped-down U2, but if we did, I don't think it would be much to listen to.

But more than just annoying, I find this near-worship of U2 pretty troubling, and it's because of the language people use to describe them and their concerts. People talk about U2 using theologically-loaded words, such as grace. I heard a young man refer to the concert by saying something to the effect that it's not just one moment, it's a thousand moments, and the band is inviting the audience to catch a glimpse of God's kingdom, of what God is doing in the world.

Just to be clear, I'm not really picking on U2. I would be equally uncomfortable applying kingdom of God language to any other human institution, regardless of whether we were discussing Ford Motor Company, my alma mater Lipscomb University, the San Diego Chargers, the Tennessee Supreme Court, CNN, or even the Methodist Church. I contend that we must be careful when we talk in such ways about human institutions, particularly in this case when we are describing a highly successful, flashy, indulgent arena rock band.

On a certain level, some of the things that have been said are true, of course. Many of the lyrics to U2's songs are inspiring. That's one of the functions of good music. It should wake people up a bit. We need to be mindful of the future, to hope for a better day of peace and unity and love. And I am convinced that part of God's dream for the world involves Africans being lifted out of poverty. But I wonder whether some fans of the band are employing such language without practicing any kind of discernment whatsoever. There are, in fact, aspects of the U2 experience that I would argue are very much not in line with the work of God in the world.

For example, I learned from friends who attended the concert that everyone in attendance looked pretty much the same: upper middle-class white people that were middle-aged and younger. One friend reported seeing not one African-American in a crowd of 50,000. Such homogeneity is alarming at a U2 concert, where Bono dreams of all people being One, and where the plight of Africans is so often referred to. And it is frankly difficult for me to stomach a lecture about poverty from a multi-millionaire rock star who is standing on a $25 million stage. It's like eating steak at a fundraising dinner for starving children. Such over-the-top self-indulgence seems very much in opposition to the kingdom of God. After all, how many children could have been fed with the money that was spent on the stage alone? How much gasoline is used by the 120 trucks required to carry the three concert sets to different venues? A little introspection never hurt anybody.

Perhaps most importantly, I am reluctant to use divine language to describe a U2 concert experience because attending a concert is too damn easy. It requires almost nothing of those in attendance. The concert-goers may have felt hip and socially-conscious, but they were obligated to do nothing more than enjoy the show. I could have gone to the concert, listened to the sounds, felt goosebumps from the lyrics or the music or a combination of the two, and then left to return to my life, otherwise undisturbed.

That is not how God's kingdom works. Such a musical proclamation is not tantamount to the gospel because it is not incarnational. Sure, it is possible that a concert attendee will, as a result of what she heard, change her lifestyle in order to give to the poor, visit the imprisoned, etc. But the gospel does not just leave open the possibility. The gospel is not a mere suggestion. It is a demand. It requires the bearing of a cross, not merely the signing of the ONE petition. And upon hearing the gospel, many rich young white people will likely walk away sad because they will not give up on their materialistic dreams of great comfort, or perhaps, if they are especially lucky, even the kind of luxury that characterizes the daily existence of the members of U2. In contrast to the sadness of the rich young ruler, who had been confronted with the cost of participating in the kingdom announced by Jesus, many of the concert-goers left very happy, singing tunes like "All I Want Is You," because nothing was demanded of them except for the money they paid for their tickets.