u2 in town for a reason (and for a chicagoan)

Rumors are true- U2 snuck in town to kick it at the Metro last night doing a super chill personal down and dirty Q & A with a select hundred or so guests- I was super honored to be there- props to them for such a unique and different way to promote the new album and North American tour– which kicks off in Chicago on Sept 12 ‘09 at Soldier Field!  And of course by picking chicago as a place to have this special experience, and to start launch their entire tour, certainly makes it evident that they know the value of chicago fans, exposure and influence.

But behind all of this- I think we need to give props to one special Chicagoan that helped make this happen- and that most U2 fans that praise their appearance don’t know about- and that’s my really wonderful friend- metro owner joe shanahan.  We had our “monthly lunch” together at uncommon ground Monday, day before all this went down, and I was just so proud to hear about how his great relationships he created and developed with bands like U2 (REM, New Order, Smashing Pumpkins,… list goes into the hundreds…) over decades of promoting them and their performances in Chicago, for Chicagoans- has turned into a comfort and love for being in our city- and a feeling of true friendship- that these bands, talents, icons,… truly value our city and want to be here, at the level exemplified by U2 above.  It’s just amazing joe- as just another Chicagoan trying to welcome the world to love our city- thank you for what you do.