For the first time since the Paris tragedies on November 13, Eagles of Death Metal — whose performance at the Bataclan was interrupted by terrorists who killed more than 130 people — took to the stage in front of a live audience. Fittingly, that stage was in Paris, and it was thanks to U2. Bono, ever the gracious showman, invited the the band to the stage, saying, “They were robbed of their stage three weeks ago. We would like to offer them ours tonight.”
The band performed two tracks: the first, a cover of Patti Smith’s “People Have The Power,” which U2 also performed with Patti Smith the day before. The second was one of the band’s own, the sleazy jaunt “I Love You All The Time.”
U2 had originally been scheduled to perform on November 14, just a day after the attacks, and the concert was meant to be aired live on HBO. They instead postponed the show, booking two separate shows at Paris’ AccorHotels Arena on December 6 and 7.
Following the performance the band’s lead singer, Jesse Hughes, posted a statement to the band’s Facebook page, saying, in part,
“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.”
Read the full statement here.