#@u2

New York: Mark Baker known to many as the Mirror Ball Man or as U2BROTHR has been to at least 35 concerts and we should get an update to include the few he has attended this year.

One show Bono said "Catch me" and as Bono jumped into Mark's arms you just knew Mark's would catch him. Mark is a big guy, standing about 5.10 and coming in at 240 pounds this was not going to be an issue for him. 

So who is Mark Baker ?  Well from what we know. Mark is a father, husband , school teacher and yes a musician that happens to have a cover band dedicated to U2 music. It was back during the Zoo TV tour that Mark created Mirror Ball Man and while he really was the only black man in the front row at most U2 shows this alter ego proved to be just the thing that Bono could spot easily in the audience.

Toronto filmmaker Michael Corbiere chronicled Baker’s quest to join the band on stage during U2’s 360° Tour in the 2013 online documentary U2 BROTHR. (The film’s name, incidentally, is based on Baker’s personalized licence plate, which he also wears around his neck at concerts.)

To say Mark Baker is a huge U2 fan is an understatement. Mark had an idea. His dream was to be pulled up on stage by U2 during a show. He needed an idea. A long time ago, Bono used to hit the stage under the moniker of the Mirror Ball Man.

The Mirror Ball Man was a character Bono played on the 1992 Zoo TV tour dates in Europe and North America. He was dressed in a silver suit and cowboy hat. So with the help of Betabrand’s Disco lab, Mark decided he would be the Mirror Ball Man 2.0.

Mark is a huge fan of U2, even building a ‘shrine’ to the band in his basement. After winning a car in a contest held at the radio station, Mark’s girlfriend bought him a personalized license plate that reads U2BROTHR. Easily one of the biggest U2 fans around, Mark received plenty of friendly teasing from others, but Mark’s passion for the band, and his dream of being pulled up on stage during a U2 concert, was the building block for Michael Corbiere’s documentary, U2 Brothr.

 During one of the tour stops something amazing was about to happen to Mark and his fellow musicians.  Acrobat, a U2 tribute band that’s been performing for two years was about to be pulled up on stage to perform with Bono and the boys.

They knocked it right out of the venue with Desire to the point the band got off the stage to watch Mark and his band perform. 

A special evening that included Mark's parents in the audience.

Entertainment

U2's Bono says he may never play guitar again after cycling accident

Bono, the frontman of the Irish rock group U2 who was injured in a cycling accident last year, said on Friday his recovery has not been easy and he may never play guitar again. In a blog on the group's website, the 54-year-old rocker described how he blanked out on impact during the cycling accident in New York's Central Park, which he said he could not blame on anyone but himself. "Recovery has been more difficult than I thought," he said in the message written from his home in Dublin.

As I write this, it is not clear that I will ever play guitar again. The band have reminded me that neither they nor Western civilization are depending on this.

Bono

Bono's arm was shattered in six places. Doctors inserted three metal plates and 18 screws to repair the injury. He required hours of surgery for fractures and has had extensive therapy. But he is expected to make a full recovery. Despite the positive prognosis, Bono says he'll have to concentrate hard for U2's first tour date this year in Vancouver in May. The cycling accident was not the only harrowing event for the rock star in 2014. In November, shortly before the cycling accident, a private plane in which he was traveling from Ireland to Germany lost its rear hatch but the pilot managed to land it safely.

I personally would very much miss fingering the frets of my green Irish falcon or my ... Gretsch. Just for the pleasure, aside from writing tunes. But then does the Edge, or Jimmy Page, or any guitarist you know have a titanium elbow, as I do now?

U2’s deal with Apple, and why some people went Bananas

I’m sure everyone has stumbled across some negativity towards the recent release of Songs Of Innocence for free on iTunes. This is my interpretation of what happened.

So U2 and Apple made a deal.

Apple will pay U2 a lump sum of money (reportedly $100m), in order to buy the rights to give Songs Of Innocence away for free to all iTunes users, making this the biggest record release in the history of…

5th Anniversary of U2 360 US Opener in Chicago Sept 12, 2009

The first time I visited Chicago was for the U.S. opener of the 360 Tour in September of 2009. U2 played two back-to-back shows at Soldier Field. The first show was my favorite because it was opening night and everything was new to me. More importantly, that 360 Tour Opener in Chicago on September 12th became one of my favorite shows because it was the first time I heard “Unforgettable Fire,” and…

End of Elevation (1st leg) - Jersey June 21-22, 2001 #U2 #Elevation #Larry

The last two shows of the first leg of U2’s Elevation Tour on June 21 and 22 were simply magnificent. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. Little did I know the third leg would get even better. Stay tuned.

For the first show, we’ll call it Jersey1, I drove up to New Jersey around 6:30pm the night before and was in the GA line at Continental Airlines Arena the next morning by 6:15am. I was…