Monday was a beautiful day for a free U2 concert! Ahead of a much-anticipated Friday, May 8 performance on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, Bono & Co. have been popping up all over New York City — including to film a sketch about Bono's recent bike accident — and Monday night was no exception. Around 10 p.m. Monday night, U2 headed to NYC's Grand Central subway station and rocked out to "Angel of Harlem."
Fooling fans — including Mario Batali! — by dressing as everyday street musicians, Fallon and the band later treated commuters to an impromptu sing-along. In footage posted to social media, Bono, 54, looked healthy and happy (in a winter coat and cowboy hat) six months after undergoing surgery to correct injuries from an ugly bike accident.
@jimmyfallon and @U2 dressed as street musicians at a subway station at 10p on a Monday! #gottaloveNYC pic.twitter.com/DhiKtJXKRS
— Shane Ankeney (@ShaneAnkeney) May 5, 2015
The U2 frontman stuck to the microphone after telling The New York Times in late April that his injuries prevented him from playing guitar. (Bandmate The Edge took on strumming duties while busking.)
"It feels like I have somebody else's hand," Bono told NYT at the time, pointing out his curved fourth and fifth finger and injured hand to a reporter for the newspaper. "I can't bend these, and this is like rigor mortis. But they say that nerves heal about a millimeter a week, so in about 13 months I should know if it's coming back."
Following the accident, U2 was forced to cancel their weeklong Tonight Show residency as Bono recovered. The band will make good on their promise to return when they appear as Friday's sole guests with Fallon.
They'll kick off their 20-city Innocence + Experience tour in Vancouver on May 14.
