With or Without You The One Man Show Must Go On: If you’ve enjoyed Springsteen on Broadway (see Netflix) or any recent Mike Birbiglia (see Netflix) you’ll dig Bono: Stories of Surrender currently streaming on Apple TV.
Yes Apple: which means we’re gonna hafta tolerate the social media morons who rub their meager brain cells together to issue a barbed comment about that free album. That was 10 years ago…the comments were dumb back then it’s even dumber now. However, it’s what passes for being clever online. It’s not. It’s outright dumb.
It’s the most annoying part of being online…even dumb people can sign up to social media for free. That’s why Bono wisely opens this special saying: “It Is preposterous to think that others might be as interested in your own story as you are.”
Exactly.
Dude just summed up social media from Day 1 to the present.
Bono’s one-man stage show Stories of Surrender: An Evening of Words, Music and Some Mischief was a surprise.
I didn’t know what to expect; it was a unique experience.
I saw it with Henry back in 2022: November 6 at Meridian Hall in downtown Toronto. Capacity: 3191 so it was an intimate affair.
It wasn’t just him reading passages from his biography Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story (published in 2022) and taking audience questions. He was performing like a stage actor. There was stagecraft. Props. He talked about growing up in Ireland, connecting with his father as an adult and he grieved the loss of his mother.
Bono performed U2 songs in stripped-down arrangements with musicians none of whom are in U2. Which made all of us uncomfortable. It’s like showing up to a party with a lady who isn’t his wife. He swears they’re just friends and maybe that’s true but it fails to dispel the discomfort.
(During U2’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2005, Bruce Springsteen said he was listening to “the last band of whom I would be able to name all of its members.” And to that Bono talks about each band member like they’re part of the cast and the audience of U2 fans follow along. We know these men.)
His (Irish) experiences and his stories put the classic U2 sons into a fresh context.
They injected them with a life.
If you dig Mike Birbiglia (whose latest special The Good Life just arrived on Netflix this past Monday) you too (U2!) will have a grand time with Bono’s Stories of Surrender. It’s thrilling that these two specials bookend this TV week. (And read the book! Always get your face between the pages. Featuring a new introduction by Bono, the updated paperback edition of Bono: Stories of Surrender is out May 20th in Ireland & the UK and May 27th in the US & Canada. Back to social media? #ReadMoreTweetLess.)
The TV special is directed by Andrew Dominik and oddly enough produced by Brad Pitt.
Another great line from the special to sum it up: “These are the tall tales of a short rock star.”
Sammy Verdict: It’s Bono and U2. They’ve been around for decades. So you’re either in or you’re out by this point. However, this TV special is freshtastic especially if you’re a creative person. What can you do a bare stage? What stories do you want to tell?
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
