Lengthy career bridges generation gap in Coliseum performance

By SCOTT DODD
Staff Writer

You can tell a band has been around a long time when a father and son are both big fans.

John Justice III and his 16-year-old namesake share that distinction when it comes to U2. The elder Justice has been listening since 1987's "Joshua Tree." John IV started with "The Best of 1980-90."

So it was hard to tell if father dragged son or son dragged father to Thursday night's concert at the Charlotte Coliseum.

"He's been listening to them on CD since I got them," the younger Justice said of his dad. And the tickets were a gift for the son's 16th birthday.

Spanning generations is what U2 does nowadays. After all, their first album was in 1980, and they just won a Grammy for their latest hit.

"They were a little angrier then, but they're the only band I've liked all along," said 41-year-old Lynn Blackwell. "They're the age I am, so you grow along with them."

Longtime fans - the majority of concertgoers Thursday night could buy a beer without being carded - say that for any band to survive as long as U2 has, there has to be something special there.

"They're just really real," said 28-year-old Morris Lumpkin, searching for the words to explain the band's appeal.

Jim Faherty of Pittsburgh has been going to U2 concerts since the mid-80s. This time, he brought his 6- and 4-year-old daughters all the way from Pennsylvania for the concert.

"You couldn't pick a better concert to be their first one," he said. "It sure beats Britney Spears."

Music isn't everything, though. One older concertgoer hesitated when asked what has kept her a fan for so long.

"Oh, just tell him," her husband said.

"Bono's rear end," she 'fessed up, asking that her name stay out of the paper. She's got two teen-age kids of her own now, after all.