U2 frontman Bono honoured the late Anthony Bourdain toward the end of the band's special performance Monday at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
Bono spoke of losing a "lot of inspiring, useful people" in the past few years "who gave up on their own life", apparently alluding to the deaths of musicians Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington, as well as fashion designer Kate Spade.
"And now this great storyteller, who I'm sure has stories he couldn't tell us. So for Anthony Bourdain, and his friends and family, this is a song inspired by a great, great, great friend of ours. His name is Michael Hutchence," Bono said, before launching into an impassioned version of Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of.
Bono pays tribute to Anthony Bourdain at #U2 Apollo Theater show in NYC. pic.twitter.com/jifAfJ3Qpt
— Dalton Ross (@DaltonRoss) June 12, 2018
The Grammy-winning song was written by the band after INXS singer Hutchence was found dead in 1997 of an apparent suicide.
The 61-year old Bourdain was found dead last week in France.
As for the performance, the band took a break from their Experience and Innocence arena tour to play a special one-night show at the legendary theatre for Sirius XM subscribers. The invite-only show had a star-studded guest list, including tennis legend John McEnroe, rocker Jon Bon Jovi, E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Click to listen to Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of:
The band ripped through their 90-minute set, featuring 18 songs, and maintaining enough energy to keep many of the nearly 1,500 onlookers on their feet for most of the night. On the floor, fans waved their arms and sang along from the first chorus of opener I Will Follow to the last encore of Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way.
Never afraid to play songs from a new album, four came from Songs of Experience, but they played also included standards including Pride (In the Name of Love), Vertigo and Desire.
They also dusted off a few gems that have not been heard yet on the tour, including Angel of Harlem, the band's homage to Billie Holiday. For that song, and a few others, they were backed by the Sun Ra Arkestra.
Other songs making their first tour appearance included When Love Comes to Town and Every Breaking Wave, as well as Out of Control from Boy, the band's 1980 debut album.
