U2 frontman Bono has a thrilling solo date in Toronto in Canada

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Bono may have sung a pared-down version of A Beautiful Day in Toronto on Sunday night, but it wasn’t until the U2 frontman came to town as the only Canadian destination for his Stories of Surrender tour that What a thrilling night it was.

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The 62-year-old, who released his memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, on November 1, has devised a one-man show worthy of a Broadway run. while he sings a shortened version of a U2 song.

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From the Dublin band’s first single Out Of Control, their first hit I Will Follow and Live Aid’s breakout song Sunday Bloody Sunday, just three of the fourteen songs he performed at Meridian Hall are: there was everything.

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Who knew these arena rock anthems could sound so good with just cello (Katie Ellis), harp keyboard vocals (Gemma Doherty) and keyboards/percussion (Jacknife Lee)?

“I can’t think of a better way to spend my Sunday night,” the singer said during a very personal and moving concert that also detailed her heart surgery in 2016. also open).

I accept.

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There was a long line due to Yondr packets for cellphones not being allowed during the concert and having to go through a metal detector, but for a 1 hour 45 minute performance in such an intimate space , everyone seemed totally excited. Each attendee was also given a copy of Surrender.

The stage was bare except for a few tables and chairs, and the background was a series of sketches that rotated in white and yellow, depending on what Bono was speaking or singing.

He also looked up the names of Canadians Leonard Cohen, Daniel Lanois, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Canada for giving his band a career, and the Prime Minister for supporting the AIDS activism. and Canadians).

But Bono had the funniest moment when he impersonated U2 bassist Adam Clayton (“Where’s the smoking room?” the British-educated Clayton graciously said when he first applied for the bassist job. ). His father, tenor Bob Hewson (“Is there anything surprising or amazing?” is his first line for his quiet weekly pub visits whenever his father and son meet). did). Opera star Luciano Pavarotti (who showed up unannounced at Dublin Airport with a camera crew) and Princess Diana (walking in slow motion to Hewson, and a very appropriate “How are you?” melted appearance).

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“800 years of oppression melted in 8 seconds,” joked Bono.

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Then, in 1978, he began dating his future wife, Alison Stewart (whom Alison Stewart met when she was 12), after drummer Larry Mullen Jr. placed an ad looking for musicians. , had a pivotal week that reminded me of joining U2 (originally called Hype).

It turns out that only Mullen and guitarist The Edge really knew how to play.

But it was really heartbreaking that Bono’s mother, Iris, died of an aneurysm at her father’s funeral when she was 14, and Hewson died in 2001.

Bono was a baritone who thought he was a tenor, but when his father died, when he ended Sunday’s show singing Pavarotti’s favorite Torna a Suriento a cappella in Italian, he really wasn’t. He said he became a tenor.

Definitely a night to remember.

bono set list

jstevenson@postmedia.com