U2 Laser Shows, California Pilgrimage Sites, and Persisting Through This Hell: Season 8, Episode 4

The Garden Tarts
2 days ago
3 min read

It's still January (somehow), and your favorite U2 podcast hosts are back with lasers, California U2 landmarks, and a whole lot of cocktails.

If you've ever wondered whether a U2 laser show still exists in 2026, or whether there's a literal guidebook to every U2 site in California, this episode has your answers. Plus: Bono tips big on corned beef in Los Angeles, and we get real about what it means to be a U2 fan—and a human—right now.

Side A: U2 Laser Shows Are Still a Thing (We Know, We're Shocked Too)

Hillary went to the Virginia Living Museum planetarium on MLK Day and came back with a full report from a U2 laser show that felt like it time-traveled straight out of the 90s. The U2 laser show setlist? Where the Streets Have No Name, I Will Follow, Beautiful Day, Pride, Mysterious Ways, Zoo Station, and New Year's Day.

For Pride (In the Name of Love), they played a speech from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a powerful touch that made this U2 laser show more than just lights and nostalgia.

And here’s a gem for longtime U2 fans: Jenny’s high school friends once gifted her a U2 laser show outing AND offered to xerox her U2 fanzine for free. That’s old-school fandom, pre-social media, pre-YouTube, and exactly the kind of U2 fan community energy we’re still chasing with this podcast.

Side B: Your New U2 California Road Trip Bible Has Arrived

If you're planning a U2-themed California trip, or just want to armchair-pilgrimage through iconic U2 locations, get your hands on I'll Go There With You: The U2 Sites of Southern California from Significant to Sacred by Brook Flagg. This is the U2 California travel guide Jenny wish she'd had in 2019. (affiliate link)

The book walks you through U2 sites in Los Angeles, Joshua Tree, Zuma Beach, Greater Palm Springs, and San Diego, breaking them into sacred sites and sites of significance, where fans can stand and say, “U2 was here, and so was I.” Think Joshua Tree photo locations, LA venues like the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, the Sunset Marquis, and more U2 Southern California landmarks you’ve only read about on fan forums.

Highlights for U2 fans include:

Stories from fans who were at key U2 shows and moments in California
Deep research tying together multiple eras of U2 in Los Angeles and beyond
That Billboard story about Bono at Canter's Deli, ordering a corned beef Reuben at midnight and leaving a $150 tip on a $20 bill.

The book quotes friends of the pod, like Andy Greene and Ronda Wood, and its 2025 release makes it a perfect starting point for planning your own U2 fan pilgrimage to California ahead of whatever the band has in store for their 50th birthday.

Intermission: Fan Mail, YouTube Milestones, and the Naughty Elf Cocktail

Shoutout to Barb in Victor, New York, who sent handmade watercolor U2 note cards AND a cocktail recipe: the Naughty Elf (cherry vodka, Baileys, chocolate liqueur, and vanilla bean ice cream). Consider it an official addition to the Garden Tarts U2 cocktail menu!

Also: We just hit our 200th video post on YouTube. If you’re a regular U2 podcast listener who usually sticks to audio, now’s a great time to subscribe to our YouTube channel for extra U2 clips, reels, and bonus content. And yes, please make everyone in your household subscribe too! It helps our U2 small business grow without turning them into U2 fans against their will. Our next milestones are 100, then 500 YouTube subscribers.

The Whiskey & Cake Question: Would You Still Come Here?

This week's “Questions to Ask Bono Over Whiskey and Cake” question got heavy: with everything happening in here, at what point do you just not come to America anymore as a band like U2?

We’re not going to pretend this is just politics. This isn’t some mild “left vs. right” debate. It’s humanity versus cruelty, and if you’re still cheering on what’s happening, this U2 podcast is not for you. U2’s history has always been tied up with activism, protest, and calling out injustice, and we’re trying to live in that same spirit as fans.

If you’re in the United States, call your representatives. Leave a voicemail. Tell them you disapprove of what’s happening with ICE and the current administration. You don’t have to be eloquent; you just have to show up. Then do it again tomorrow.

Stream the episode, smash subscribe, and help two snarky U2 fans build this into a real‑life business.

Catch Season 8, Episode 4 of “Kissing Lips and Breaking Hearts with the Garden Tarts” on your favorite platform: