I will agree that U2's albums are not as good as they used to be, but live they make every other band out there look like children. even SPIN magazine, which hates U2, ranks them number one among live bands. I've seen them numerous times and never seen then coast throught anything, they always give it their all.
As for bono, its not cool to be earnest, not rock and roll to give a damn, but the man is dedicated to his causes and if he wants to use his music as his vessel, i can't blame him. Sometimes it does get a bit... trying, but when he really has something to yell about (like the first concert they did after 9-11) he's a powerful speaker who can really do interesting things to a massive crowd of people. Many people can get an audience to pay attention, but when a man has 80,000 people actually caring about what the speaker is imparting... thats a rare quality.
i saw pearl jam in 92 or 93 ( i was 11 or so, wish i had been older to appreciate it) and then i saw them open for the stones in 97 (now thats a great concert) when i was 15 and was old enough to see how badass they were. eddie was going thru his bloated stage, but man could he sing. McCready was amazing as well. I've seen them a couple more times since, they rock.
