MacPhisto’s Tales #U2eiTOUR

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2018-05-21)

Updated: May 17, 2018

MacPhisto made his return in Tulsa, and has since appeared in St. Louis as well. MacPhisto is a devilish demon that Bono created for the 1993 legs of Zoo TV. We recently took a deep look at the history of this character that Bono has returned to throughout the years.

We’ve had a few questions about what he is seeing in concert, so we present his words for the shows so far. The speech so far has been very similar each night, but we expect as time goes on it will shift even more.

But first, with thanks to U2gigs, you can watch his performance in St. Louis for yourself:

VIDEO: “Acrobat” by U2 in St. Louis by Fantie for U2Gigs.Com

Tulsa, May 2, 2018

Desire, greed, lust, deceit, vanity — all the essentials for a showman in all his forms, and of course a license to just look in the mirror.Oh! I haven’t seen this guy in quite a while. Oh! Oh! Age brings beauty and a spot of bother. Ha! Is there a dermatologist in the house? Is there a slight blemish I see? I’ve been a busy little devil – oh yes! But you’ve all made it so much easier for me these days. I told Stalin, that one day that people would bug themselves. Oh yes, and here we are. The truth is dead, and the KKK are out on the streets of Charlottesville without their silly costumes. Who’d have thought? Tulsa, Tulsa…When you think I don’t exist, that’s when I do my best work.

Don’t believe what you hear
Don’t believe what you see
Just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy.

St. Louis, May 4, 2018

Desire, greed, lust, deceit, vanity — all the essentials for the showman in all his forms and of course a license to just look in the mirror. Oh! I haven’t seen this guy for a while. Oh! I haven’t seen this guy for a while. Oh! Oh! I see a little blemish. Is there a dermatologist in the house? I feel busy for a devil, but you’ve all made it so much more easy for me. I told Stalin all those years ago people would be spying on themselves with their telephones. The truth is dead and the KKK are alive out on the streets of Charlottesville without their silly costumes on. Who’d have thought? Oh St. Louis, when you think I don’t exist, that’s when I do my best work.

Don’t believe what you hear
Don’t believe what you see
Just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy.

San Jose, May 7, 2018

Desire, greed, lust, deceit, vanity — all essentials for the showman in all his forms, and of course a license to just look in the mirror. Oh! Haven’t seen you in quite a while. Oh! Oh! Age brings beauty and a spot of bother. Is there a dermatologist in the house? I have a little blemish. How the hell are you California? I hear you’re a little backed up on the 101. Who do you think turned the 680 into the 280? Hello? I do love highways. My absolute favorite is the information superhighway. I love information on people. I was just today at the coronation of Comrade Putin, my old protege. I remember telling him back in his days in the KGB, soon people will actually spy on themselves. So here we are, the truth is dead and the KKK are out on the streets of Charlottesville without their silly costumes. Who’d have thought? Oh San Jose. When you don’t believe we exist, that’s when I do my best work.

Don’t believe what you hear
Don’t believe what you see
If you just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy.

San Jose, May 8, 2018

Desire, greed, lust, deceit, vanity — all essentials for the showman and of course a license to just look in the mirror. Oh. Very revealing. Oh. Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m a man of wealth and taste. I’ve been around for many a long year. Stole many a man’s soul to waste. I was there in Charlottesville when the KKK sieg heiled together. They made sure the president’s hands were full with stormy weather. Pleased to meet you. Hope you guessed my name. My name is actually Mr. MacPhisto, sometimes I try to be Mick Jagger. Oh San Jose. It’s when you don’t believe that I exist, that’s when I do my best work.

Don’t believe what you hear
Don’t believe what you see
Just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy. Enemy.

Las Vegas, May 11, 2018

Desire, greed, lust, deceit, vanity — all the essentials for a showman in all his forms, and of course a license to just look in the mirror. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh. Very revealing. Age, age, can bring a spot of bother, no? Is there a dermatologist in the house? Tell them MacPhisto is on fire. So is everyone else with the Iranians on hold to blow up the world. The truth is dead. The truth is dead and the KKK are out on the streets of Charlottesville without their silly costumes. Who’d have thought? Oh Las Vegas. When you don’t believe I exist, that’s when I do my beset work.

Don’t believe what you hear
Don’t believe what you see
Just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy. Feel the enemy.

Las Vegas, May 12, 2018

Desire, showoffishness, deceit, lust, vanity — all the essentials for a showman like myself. Guilty of all! And of course a license to just look in the mirror. All very revealing. Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m a man of wealth and taste. I’ve been around for many a year and stole many a mans soul to waste. I was there in Charlottesville when the KKK sieg heiled together, made damn sure the president’s hands were full with stormy weather. Who could make this shit up? Seriously? Pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name. Name’s MacPhisto actually. I sometimes dress up as Mick Jagger. Oh excuse me Las Vegas. Just one thing. When you don’t believe in me, that’s when I do my best work.

Don’t believe what you hear
Don’t believe what you see
You just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy.

Los Angeles, May 15, 2018

Desire, greed, showoffishness, deceit, lust. All of the essentials for a showman like myself. Guilty of all of them. Vanity. Of course a license to just look in the mirror. How revealing. Oh. Oh. Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m a man of wealth and taste. I’ve been around for a long long years. Stole many a man’s soul to waste. I was in Charlottesville when the KKK sieg heiled together. Made damn sure the president’s hands were full with stormy weather. Ha! You can’t make this shit up. I’ve so little to do these days. Pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name. My name is MacPhisto actually. I sometimes dress up as Mick Jagger. Oh excuse me Los Angeles, its when you don’t believe I exist that I do my best work.

Don’t believe what you see
Don’t believe what you hear
Don’t believe what you see
Just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy. Feel!

Los Angeles, May 16, 2018

Desire, greed, lust, showoffishness, deceit, vanity — all the essentials for a front man like myself. Guilty of all. And of course, a license to just look in the mirror. Oh. Very revealing. Age brings a spot of bother. Is there a dermatologist in the house? My name is Mr. MacPhisto. I have always been with you, though its nice when I get a chance to dress up. It feels like I’m making a comeback. Do you get that feeling? You’ve made it all so much easier for me with your telephones and your zeros and ones. I’m so proud of you Comrade Putin, dearest Vlad, I told you one day people would spy on themselves. The truth is dead. And the KKK are out on the streets of Charlottesville without their silly costumes. How very honoured. Get with it, Vladdy Vlad. Polonium ???? seems a little old school. Oh. And soon Angels, you should know when you don’t believe I exist, that’s when I do my best work.

Don’t believe what you hear
Don’t believe what you see
Just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy.

Omaha, May 19, 2018

Desire, greed, showoffishness, deceit, lust, vanity — all the essentials for a showman like myself, guilty of all of them. And of course vanity is a license to just look in the mirror. Oh. Oh. It’s you again. Very revealing. Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m a man of wealth and taste. Been around for many a year, stole many a man’s soul to waste. I was there in Charlottesville when the KKK sieg heiled together. Made damn sure the president’s hands were full with stormy weather. Hahaha. You can’t make this shit up. Seriously. There’s nothing for me to do! Pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name. Actually my name is MacPhisto, sometimes I dress up as MacPhisto. Oh excuse me Omaha, because it’s when you don’t believe I exist that I do my best work.

Don’t believe what you hear.
Don’t believe what you see.
You just close your eyes.
You can feel the enemy

Note: The screen in Omaha displayed differently than we saw previously. Now there is a number of icons running along the bottom of the screen including six different devils and three angels. The first three devils are the MacPhisto we’ve all become used to in increasing levels of detail. In Omaha the second was chosen, so MacPhisto may get more realistic yet. The next two devils are without a hat, with darker horns, and the final one is also without a hat, but with down turned horns. The three angels have varying facial expressions, and different tilts to their halos.

If you are interested in more information about the character of Bono’s we just put together a long look at MacPhisto’s history since his debut in May 1993, right up to his appearance in Tulsa. Thanks to Robb for assistance with the above, and to Justin Kent who took a great photo of Bono that inspired us recently.

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