From

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-...-129546598.html

 

 

 

Bono meets with press in Toronto, worries that U2 on 'edge of irrelevance'

 

By: Nick Patch, The Canadian Press

 

Posted: 09/9/2011 2:30 PM

 

TORONTO - U2 came to Toronto to promote a documentary that reflects on the band's history, but the Irish rockers were more in the mood to talk about the future at a packed news conference on Friday, with Bono worrying aloud that the band was on the verge of "irrelevance."

 

Flanked by guitarist the Edge and director Davis Guggenheim, a black-clad Bono was forthright and introspective — even seeming a little choked up behind his rose-tinted shades at one point — during a 45-minute chat with assembled media at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the documentary "From the Sky Down" opened the movie-marathon on Thursday.

 

The film focuses on the period before the 1991 release of "Achtung Baby," when the rockers were at a creative crossroads, struggling to find a new direction. On Friday, Bono said that the band agreed to do the movie because they feel they're at that moment again now.

 

"U2 has been on the verge of irrelevance for the past 20 years," Bono said.

 

"(We) made some great work, I hope, along the way, and on occasion, faux pas. But this moment now, where we're at, for me, feels like really close to the edge of irrelevance.

 

"And we can be successful, we can play the big music in big places, but whether we can play the small places — the small speakers, the radio, clubs, or where people are living, remains to be seen. And I think we have to go to that place again if we are to survive."

 

It was a somewhat sombre end to a news conference that seemed to capture Bono in a quietly reflective mood, despite the dozens of journalists and snapping photographers assembled in front of him, not to mention the fans watching via live webstream.

 

A day prior, Bono and the Edge stalked a red carpet lined with screaming fans clutching various U2 paraphernalia (one opportunistic fan even brought a copy of a screenplay he had written, which the Irish lads gladly signed).

 

"From the Sky Down" captures the Irish rockers during a tumultuous period in the late '80s when, despite the worldwide success of 1987's "The Joshua Tree," the quartet seemed fractured, creatively drained and unsure of what to do next.

 

Reliving that era through Thursday's screening seemed to have an effect on the rockers.

 

"I found it a little humiliating to realize that we were so inept," Bono said when asked for his reaction to the film, before launching into what seemed like a criticism of the band's modern output.

 

"These days, we're a better band, we've learned our craft — and therein lies the huge danger. There's a giant chasm between the very good and the great. And U2, right now, has a danger of surrendering to the very good. In those times, 20 years ago, and indeed before that, we were crap and great. There wasn't much very good."

 

"It was a self-imposed crap-ness. Like, we were trying to make music that we didn't understand. And the band seems to do its best work when it's in that environment. And when it gets comfortable, it's not as interesting.

 

"So there may be some more crap coming up."

 

Indeed, neither Bono nor the Edge missed an opportunity to sling a self-deprecating witticism.

 

When asked about listening to the band's own tunes, Bono said that "Miss Sarajevo" — a somewhat obscure single released in 1995 — was "the one that I hear on the radio, and I don't cringe." The Edge, meanwhile, lamented having to hear U2's music when he's out at a club.

 

"If you happen to be on the dance floor, it's kind of embarrassing — they play your song and everybody leaves the dance floor because they can't dance to it," he said, clad in his signature knit cap, a plaid button-down, black jeans and white sneakers.

 

"That's happened a few times."

 

In addition to the serious-minded discussions of the band's future, the afternoon did feature plenty of lighter moments.

 

Asked to chart on a scale from one to 10 how close the band was to breaking up in the difficult pre-"Achtung Baby" era, Bono responded: "Very." When pressed for a number, he joked: "'Very' is Irish for nine."

 

The band also dished on their taste in music (Protest the Hero is a current favourite), music documentaries (the Edge likes the Bob Dylan-focused flick "Don't Look Back," while Bono said he'd seen Martin Scorsese's documentary on the Band, "The Last Waltz," 10 times) and their musical heroes, including the Clash, the Beatles and Toronto-born songwriter Neil Young, whom Bono called a "sacred talent."

 

And at one point, the guys marvelled that anyone would play the band's melodic but poison-penned "One" at a wedding.

 

"It just shows no one listens to lyrics," the Edge said.

 

The band also discussed its complex feelings about "From the Sky Down." The film is revealing at times, probing the inner workings of the tight-knit group and even penetrating the band's personal lives, with Bono discussing the Edge's divorce at one point.

 

On Friday, Bono said he felt as if he was being "mugged" at times when watching the film, and joked that he "ended up in the trunk, bound and gagged."

 

"I'm still trying to figure out why we let him in," he said, referring to Guggenheim. "We as a band are very protective."

 

But he also said he "actually nearly enjoyed" the film upon his most recent viewing. Later, Guggenheim was asked if he had any lingering questions that he had never had the chance to pose to the band.

 

"Do you like me?" he asked them, to a chorus of laughter from the crowd.

 

"That's a strong word," Bono replied. "Let's not get carried away here."

 

Hmmmm. Interesting article. :mellow: