It hasn’t yet been a month since terrorists took the lives of 89 concertgoers during an Eagles of Death Metal show at the Bataclan in Paris on Nov. 13, 2015. (See our initial story here.) However, the band are already planning to return to the city for a brief performance with U2 at AccorHotels Arena this Sunday, Dec. 6, specifically during their final song of the evening.
Rumor has it that EODM co-founder and Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme will also participate – a surprise, since he usually doesn’t tour with the band and wasn’t present at the November attack.
Members of U2 were rehearsing in Paris at the time of attacks, and in the aftermath, they offered EODM the use of their plane, as well as new mobile phones to replace the ones they left in the Bataclan.
U2 will play shows in Paris on both Dec. 6th and 7th, the latter of which will be filmed live and subsequently broadcast on HBO at 9 pm ET the same evening. The band’s performances are part of their dynamite Innocence + Experience tour. Dates were originally scheduled for Nov. 14-15, but were postponed after the tragic attacks.
Frontman Jesse Hughes has said how eager he is to get back to Paris to perform. “I want to be the first band to play in the Bataclan when it opens back up,” he insisted in an interview with Vice. (See full interview here.) “Our friends went there to see rock ‘n’ roll and died. I want to go back and live.”
U2 made a triumphant and emotional return to Paris Sunday night in the first of two performances.
“If you love liberty, Paris is your hometown,” said Bono to the sold-out crowd at the AccorsHotel Arena. The concert proceeded safely if emotionally under heavy security.
U2 acknowledged the victims of the Paris attacks; each name was shown on a giant screen as the band performed “In the Name of Love.”
The evening’s surprise guest, Patti Smith, joined them for “Gloria” and Smith’s “People Have The Power” (see below).
Rumored guests Eagles of Death Metal did not perform on Sunday but joined U2 onstage for Monday evening’s concert at AccorsHotel Arena. “These are our brothers, our fellow troubadours and they were robbed of their stage” Bono said in introducing the band.
Related: Who are the Eagles of Death Metal?
Watch the bands reprise Patti Smith’s “People Have The Power,” which Smith performed at Sunday’s concert. EODM also played their song “I Love You All The Time.”
EODM posted a message on their Facebook wall:
“We want to offer our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for everything our brothers in U2 did for us in the aftermath of the November 13 attacks. They reminded us that the bad guys never take a day off, and therefore we rock ’n rollers cannot either…and we never will. We are incredibly grateful to U2 for providing us the opportunity to return to Paris so quickly, and to share in the healing power of rock ‘n roll with so many of the beautiful people – nos amis – of this great city. Thank you to Bono, The Edge, Larry and Adam, thank you to their wonderful management, thank you to France, and thank you to everyone in the world who continues to prove that love, joy, and music will always overcome terror and evil. We look forward to fighting the good fight on many more fronts very soon, especially when we pick up our tour in 2016.
See you again in February, Paris.”
[easy_sign_up title=”Sign up for the Best Classic Bands Newsletter”]
