U2. TD Garden. Boston. June 22, 2018

Over the last few years, U2 seems to have hit a bit of a creative renaissance. Embarking on their two-part opus "Songs of Innocence + Experience," they sandwiched in the 30th anniversary of their epic 1987 "Joshua Tree" tour. In the last four years, they've brought three different tours to Boston. The latest, "Songs of Experience," performing here last Thursday and Friday.

The "Songs of Experience" album is an interesting addition to their catalogue. It seems to go both forward and backward at the same time. The band scrapped their original album and started over after the 2016 election to create something that more accurately captured the chaos that was created.

The result is a darker, rougher, and less polished work than "Innocence." But one that feels more immediate and needed.

On tour, the effect is the same. While a slightly smaller version of the set from "Innocence" is used, it relies less on spectacle and more on message. In some ways, it is closer to their "Unforgettable Fire" tour or the original 1987 "Joshua Tree" than its recent counterpart.

The concert focuses heavily on the new material, but balances with more recent hits including "Elevation" and "Vertigo" and a very timely return of Bono's alter ego MacPhisto (who is very much enjoying our current state of affairs).

And it would not be a U2 concert without politics and the band does not disappoint with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" as well as a chilling "Staring at the Son/Pride" accompanied by footage of the white supremacists marching on Charlottesville.

But while both the main concert and the encore end with messages of hope ("City of Blinding Lights" and "13" respectively) it is a more subdued ending than in previous tours. After "13" the audience is left with a single light bulb swinging in the darkness with the song's challenge hanging in the air....

"Don't let it go out."

For dates on U2's current tour, visit the group's website.