U2 took a pause during its sold-out show at The Forum in Los Angeles Wednesday night to honor a loss of “family”… the band’s longtime tour manager, Dennis Sheehan, who died earlier in the day.
Bono paid homage to Sheehan as he introduced “Iris” from Songs of Innocence. “What a privilege to share the stage with these brothers of mine and to share this evening with you who have given us everything. U2 is kind of family. It’s a brotherhood, although there’s a lot of sisters too. But our extended family is very, very important to us. We look after each other and it takes a lot to put on a show like tonight. Last night we lost a member of our family. Dennis Sheehan was his name. He was U2’s tour manager for 33 years. He loved, as we all do, the city of Los Angeles and he called the Sunset Marquis his ‘home away from home’. He came to this city as a young man in the ‘70s, working for Led Zeppelin. He always thought maybe U2 could be the next Led Zeppelin, which of course is impossible.”
Staying on the Zeppelin theme, Bono continued, “We did try once at his last big birthday. We turned up at his birthday dressed as Led Zeppelin.” He recalled, “Adam was quite something because he had kind of professorial Jon Paul Jones look. The biggest problem was I couldn’t quite fill Robert Plant’s pants.”
The show is U2’s second night in a five-show run at the Los Angeles arena and the eighth date on its expanded international Innocence + Experience Tour that will last until November. Following word of Sheehan’s death, the band issued a statement saying the concert would proceed without postponement or delay.
Sheehan was found dead Wednesday morning in his hotel room in West Hollywood. Paramedics were reportedly called after he was found unresponsive in the early hours of the morning; shortly thereafter, he was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene.
Bono commented during the early stages of the L.A. show, “A lot of U2 songs over the years were written to fill a void, an absence, a hole in a heart left by a loved one.” With the loss of Sheehan, U2 now has such a wound.
Later, Bono recalled the classic Live at Red Rocks and dedicated the show to the band’s late friend. “Lone voice, it was the voice of Dennis Sheehan trying to get everyone to sing. We dedicate this song, in fact we dedicate the whole night to St. Dennis, as he’s known around here.”
A photo montage played out on the big screens, and the band kicked into “40” from the 1983 album War. [Billboard]
