Other and steal the dough? There is some of that spirit in the U2 throne room today.

U2 have just canceled the plan to film the Sydney shows for the January triplecast—three versions of Zoo TV broadcast simultaneously on three different channels. This is the project for which Alien Gins-berg, William Gibson, and others filmed bits to interact with U2 songs for channel surfers. Triplecast planning has already eaten up many hours of U2's time and much of U2's money, but on the eve of the filming the band decided that the concept had not come together; if they go ahead it will look half-assed. So they pulled the plug—which got MTV (their partners in the project) steamed and means the loss of a huge paycheck that was supposed to make this Pacific tour really profitable.

Profits—there's another horror. The "spare no expense" largesse of Zoo TV has been haunting the band for a long time, but here in Australia it's turned ugly. In order to pay for the Pacific tour U2 had to demand big guarantees from concert promoters in Australia, New Zea­land, and Japan. As the Biggest Band in the World they were in a position to squeeze the impressarios dry, but that doesn't make it pleasant. In the past the band was willing to share some risk with the local promoters and then share in the profit afterward, but this time the show was so big that there had to be money up front and lots of it. The promoters coughed up, but they tried to protect themselves by jacking ticket prices through the ceiling. U2 fans in Australia are being asked to cough up fifty (Australian) bucks a pop to sit in a football stadium, and a lot of them just can't afford it. There is public hitching from disk jockeys asking if U2 have gone greedy and the band keeps running into fans who tell them they couldn't afford to go to the concert 'cause it would have cost a week's pay.

Amid this general tension and recrimination, Bono and Edge are getting antsy that some of the concert routines have been repeated so long they are turning into pantomine. And wrapping all these other aggravations into a big, pulsating package of paranoia is the ulcer-inducing fact that tomorrow night's concert is to be broadcast live around the world as a pay-TV special, and tonight's show is the televi­sion crew's only shot at a rehearsal and run-through. Aside from needing it to pay the bills, the pay-per-view broadcast is U2's only real shot at promoting the songs from Zooropa, the new album that was almost ignored during the summer European tour. They have worked about

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Half of the Zooropa songs into the show, but they don't sit as comfortably as the songs they replaced. At this moment no one would be too surprised if any or all of the four members of U2 disappeared into the bush and was never seen again.

Willie Williams, the affable production designer, has taken to telling everyone that this TV broadcast is the final exam, and once it's done U2 can treat New Zealand and Japan as a postprom party; the pressure will be off and they can play whatever they want. The band members appreciate hearing that, but it doesn't keep the blood vessels from standing out in their eyes.

And here comes a big new problem. Last night Adam fell off the wagon he's been riding since the British tabloid scandals of last August and today he did not turn up for sound check. As bad as things have ever gotten with Adam's dissenting lifestyle, that has never happened before. Drunk or sober, Adam's made the gig. This time he was too blitzed even to recognize crew members in the hotel elevator. I'm won­dering if he's heard about the gossip in the British papers that Naomi has been seen around London with her old boyfriend Robert De Niro. At first I think, "We're in Australia! Of course he hasn't heard!" Then I realize that if I've heard, Adam's heard. When crap like that floats by there's always a dozen so-called friends who can't wait to point it out to you.

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