THE BAND
These guys are busy! Bono and guitarist The Edge have written the score for a musical about Spider-Man. However, despite the big names behind it, "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" has run into financial trouble and temporarily has suspended production, according to The Village Voice. If the musical makes it to the stage, the show would follow the superhero's origin story, with slight changes from the movie and comic book, Bono told the BBC. Edge has said the production will be almost opera-like, and actress Evan Rachel Wood has been tapped to play Peter Parker's love interest, Mary Jane Watson. Edge also is featured in the recently released documentary "It Might Get Loud," along with fellow guitar icons Jimmy Page and Jack White.

THE TUNES
We wish we could tell you which songs U2 will perform this weekend, but not even Oprah is that powerful. Instead, we'll turn to the set lists from the band's European leg of the tour for some clues. The band has been kicking off the shows with new songs such as "Get On Your Boots" and "Magnificent" before blending in some classics, according to u2gigs.com, a database of U2 shows. Other live staples have been "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "Mysterious Ways," "One" and "Where the Streets Have No Name." Each night's encore in Europe was the same: "Ultraviolet," "With or Without You" and "Moment of Surrender."

THE OPENERS
Thanks to TV and movies, Snow Patrol has been operating in a flurry of activity. The Scottish rockers, who will open both shows this weekend for U2, got major play on U.S. radio with "Chasing Cars" in 2006 after the song appeared on "Grey's Anatomy." Another episode of the drama used "Somewhere a Clock is Ticking," and "Signal Fire" was featured on the "Spider-Man 3" soundtrack. So will Snow Patrol properly warm up Chicago's U2 audience? If it means anything, U2 fan sites gave the Scots generally positive reviews for their performances in Europe.

SOURCES: Billboard, The Associated Press, Reuters, u2gigs.com, Los Angeles Times, BBC, Product Design & Development, The New York Times, Time, Village Voice


GET READY CHICAGO
Jeff Elbel recites the date so quickly you'd think it's his birthday: Dec. 11, 1984.
But it's not.
That was the day Elbel saw his first live U2 concert, at the Aragon in Chicago.
"My memory is a weird thing," said Elbel, 42. "Big gaps from my youth seem to be missing. But I can vividly picture Edge playing the jagged intro to `Wire' at the Aragon. It was like lightning straight through my spine."
An electrified Elbel has missed only one U2 tour since--1992's Zoo TV--and his streak will continue Sunday, when the Wheaton resident sees the second of the band's two highly anticipated concerts at a slightly larger venue--Soldier Field. (Saturday's show is a sellout, though as of Friday afternoon, tickets remained for Sunday's concert.)
The 360 Tour, named for the 360-degree views of Bono, Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton that the colossal stage provides for fans, was a sensation in Europe and kicks off the North American leg with this weekend's two-night stand at Soldier Field.
How great is the anticipation? Mark Souce, 35, told RedEye he plans to drive 865 miles to witness Sunday's show.
"It's all about the fans," Souce said by phone from his hometown of Winnipeg, Canada. "It's like everyone's one."

MEGA BRAND
U2 will perform on the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" on Sept. 26 to promote the tour. Yawn. The foursome have shown themselves to be masters of promotion, so an "SNL" appearance rates on the promo scale somewhere around coffee shop flier. Here are five of U2's more memorable moments. KENT GREEN

Meet Dave
March 2009
To promote its most recent album, "No Line on the Horizon," the band played for five consecutive nights on the "Late Show with David Letterman." The Edge even dropped some improv comedy skills while reading No. 5 on the "Top 10 Things U2 Has Learned Over The Years": "Cool name: The Edge. Uncool name: Sting," he said, cracking up the audience. (The line was supposed to be, "Uncool name: The Itch.")

Apple a day
October 2004
U2 partnered with Apple to bring attention to the release of "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." Apple got use of the single "Vertigo" for an iPod commercial and released a special U2 edition of the mp3 player. The band received no money for the ad but did receive royalties on iPod sales, Rolling Stone reported.

Super band
Feb. 3, 2002
Just a few months after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the Irish band paid tribute to the victims in what Sports Illustrated earlier this year called the greatest Super Bowl halftime show ever. During a medley of "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "MLK," names of the victims scrolled across a massive video screen. At the end, Bono revealed a stars-and-stripes pattern on the inside of his coat.

Culture clash
Both 1992-93's Zoo TV tour and 1997's PopMart tour aimed to send up certain elements of Western culture through outlandish and elaborate stage setups. Zoo TV featured countless video screens, satirizing the public's appetite for information. PopMart, with its lit-up arch, mirrored lemon and garish costumes, aimed to be mock the band's own fame and pop culture as a whole.

Singin' in the rain
June 5, 1983
This was the day that the U.S. and U2 fell in love. The band was playing Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside of Denver, and the venue was deluged by heavy rain. Instead of canceling, U2 played the gig of their young careers. Bono famously hoisted a white flag during "Sunday Bloody Sunday," the first hint of his unabashed earnestness.