U2

SOMERVILLE - U2 celebrated the number one debut of its new album "No Line on the Horizon" with an intimate gathering for a few friends last night. But even shrunk down to the cozy Somerville Theatre for the final gig on its three-city "secret show" promotional blitz, the quartet exuded its signature widescreen, "greatest band in the land" charm and swagger. For an audience of 800 or so ecstatic U2 fans in the theatre, and those tuned in around the world via radio simulcast, the Irish rockers spent 60 minutes powering through a handful of tracks with stadium-size energy and gamely fielding audience questions...

In the beginning there was Bono. And what a baby face he had. Photographs documenting the gritty beginnings of U2 in the smoky pubs and clubs of 1970s Dublin are being unveiled Thursday at an exhibition in the band's home city. Much of the exhibition by photographer Patrick Brocklebank has never been seen before. Brocklebank's black-and-white images capture the teenage Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen in 1978 and 1979 gigs, their vibrant hairdos and fashion missteps, and their clowning around in impromptu shoots and scruffy nighttime hangouts.

When he's not busy stumping for human rights across the globe, meeting with world leaders and presidents, or being considered for peace prizes, Bono sings for a fair little rock and roll combo called U2. You might have heard of them: aside from some geezers called the Rolling Stones, they're just about the biggest band touring the world right now. Last night's dazzlingly celebratory, pitch-perfect performance (the first of two sold-out shows in...

Billy Joel had intended to release an autobiography this year but decided against it when he thought it would be falsely marketed as a salacious tell-all. But last night he told plenty to a packed house at Durgin Hall on the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus. Billed as "Q&A … and a little music," a high-spirited Joel, 62, performed for a shade over two hours, gamely answering questions about his life and career, poking fun and telling jokes along the way and playing snippets and several full-blown renditions of many of his songs and telling the tales behind them, including hits like "Piano...

"No Line on the Horizon" is one of those titles that can be interpreted several ways. Like the cover image of U2's 12th album - a Hiroshi Sugimoto photo - the idea could mean limitless possibilities ahead. Or, with no place to make safe landfall in sight, it could represent a fear of uncharted territory. (Can you relate, y'all?) The black-and-white photo captures gray skies and placid waters; who knows what lurks beneath. Favorable currents? Stagnancy? Sea monsters? That multiplicity suits the many moods of the Irish rockers' latest, out today.

Frankly, it's been a while since U2 made a great album. The band rolled out a series of iconic records in the '80s, including "The Joshua Tree," which was the final word on spiritual, conscience-driven music at the time. But in the '90s, the group tried to outpace its own fame with a baffling array of self-absorbed discs, pursuing a postmodern, dance-club hipster path that was trendy but smacked of dilettante interlopers sacrificing their soul to stay ahead of an impossibly commercial curve.

In the beginning there was Bono. And what a baby face he had. Photographs documenting the gritty beginnings of U2 in the smoky pubs and clubs of 1970s Dublin are being unveiled Thursday at an exhibition in the band's home city. Much of the exhibition by photographer Patrick Brocklebank has never been seen before. Brocklebank's black-and-white images capture the teenage Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen in 1978 and 1979 gigs, their vibrant hairdos and fashion missteps, and their clowning around in impromptu shoots and scruffy nighttime hangouts.

QB Tom Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen , were spotted at U2’s concert in Anaheim over the weekend. Meanwhile, Patriots Jermaine Cunningham and Rich Ohrnberger and former Pat Andre Tippett spent Saturday working with kids at Classical High School in Providence as part of the New England Patriots Alumni Club’s free “Football for YOU’’ youth clinic.

MALIBU, Calif. - A few years ago, U2 guitarist The Edge went for a hike, and there in the golden hills overlooking Malibu's cerulean waters, he finally found what he was looking for. The Edge and his wife, Morleigh Steinberg, bought 156 acres in Santa Monica Mountains and now want to build five mansions there, including their own dream home. From a distance, they say, their house will look like nothing more than scattered leaves on the ridgeline. "These homes will be some of the most environmentally sensitive ever designed in Malibu -...

"The pride of Ireland is here this evening," Conan O'Brien said to much applause on Thursday's episode of "Late Night," which was devoted entirely to U2. "I meant me," he added. Fortunately, O'Brien did not let his reverence for Bono and the boys turn his celebration into anything heavy or sappy. For a brisk hour, he was his usual ironic self, and the band was its usual rocking self -- while plugging its album and world tour, of course. U2 sounded great in the confines of the "Late Night" studio, which happens to be the first American TV studio...

Is Surfer Blood priming for its close-up? The Florida quartet's 2010 debut, "Astro Coast," was a crunchy power-pop record swathed in reverb and dusted with distortion. Its new four-song EP continues with that sturdy foundation, even as it occasionally hints at larger arena-rock ambitions. The sprawling "Voyager Reprise" kicks off with majestic, echoing U2 guitars, before settling into a spiky groove and then adding synths, a harmonica, and some slicing riffage that somehow all coheres.

U2 singer Bono, guitarist The Edge and their band mates have let their guard down for a revealing documentary about their creative development and a pivotal career shift 20 years ago. "From the Sky Down" opened the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday night, the first time in its 36-year history that the prestigious cinema showcase began with a documentary. The film centers on the band's renewed sense of purpose as they created the 1991 album "Achtung Baby. " The Edge and Bono joined director Davis Guggenheim for two screenings of the film, which premieres on...

Bill Nighy and Rachel Weisz's British spy tale "Page Eight" has been chosen to close next month's Toronto International Film Festival, one of the world's biggest cinema showcases. Co-starring Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon and Judy Davis, "Page Eight" will bring down the curtain on the festival that runs Sept. 8-18. Other films added to the Toronto lineup Tuesday include Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage's thriller "Trespass"; Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard's Winnie Mandela drama "Winnie"; Gerard Butler's African missionary tale "Machine Gun...

Tony La Russa is a big rock fan, having hosted members of the Eagles and Journey among others in his office as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. He's a bit lukewarm on U2, though. "I think they're all right," La Russa said. "They're not top 10, but they're good. They put on a good show. " La Russa and his team will be in Cincinnati this weekend, meaning he won't have a chance to catch Sunday's U2 concert at Busch Stadium. Organizers anticipate a crowd of 52,000, which would be a record for the 6-year-old stadium.

QB Tom Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen , were spotted at U2’s concert in Anaheim over the weekend. Meanwhile, Patriots Jermaine Cunningham and Rich Ohrnberger and former Pat Andre Tippett spent Saturday working with kids at Classical High School in Providence as part of the New England Patriots Alumni Club’s free “Football for YOU’’ youth clinic.

If Bono wasn’t a hockey fan before, he is now. On the eve of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the U2 singer and his assistant got caught in the rain while walking around West Vancouver. Why Bono wasn’t being ferried around in a long black car, we don’t know. Anyway, he and his buddy stuck out their thumbs just as Edmonton Oilers center Gilbert Brule and his girlfriend, in town for the Bruins-Canucks game, were driving by. They gave Bono a lift and in return, he gave them backstage passes to the U2 show Wednesday at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.

Tony La Russa is a big rock fan, having hosted members of the Eagles and Journey among others in his office as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. He's a bit lukewarm on U2, though. "I think they're all right," La Russa said. "They're not top 10, but they're good. They put on a good show. " La Russa and his team will be in Cincinnati this weekend, meaning he won't have a chance to catch Sunday's U2 concert at Busch Stadium. Organizers anticipate a crowd of 52,000, which would be a record for the 6-year-old stadium.

This was one nifty assist by an NHL player. Edmonton Oilers center Gilbert Brule stopped this week to pick up a most unlikely hitchhiker — rock star Bono. The U2 frontman and his assistant were walking in West Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday when they got caught in the rain. Fortunately for them, Brule and his girlfriend were driving by, taking their German shepherd to a park. Bono hopped in for a ride. To thank them, he offered Brule and his girlfriend backstage passes for the U2 concert Wednesday night at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.