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As rock 'n' roll royalty go, U2 are generally thought of as being among the most thoughtful bands in the world.

Not that they're up against especially stiff competition or anything (the Rolling Stones? Metallica?), but thanks to their New-York-Times-editorial-writing, United-Nations-addressing lead singer, Bono, they are certainly assured of a slot next to the Clash as one of the most empathic, socially conscious rock bands of all time; they are the kind of band you'd expect to play a free concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

But are they the kind of band that would erect a giant tarp-covered fence to prevent people who couldn't get tickets to this free concert from seeing it?

Apparently, the answer is yes.

As part of an apparent bid to shatter the world's Irony Index, the MTV-organized show, whose expressed purpose was to celebrate the Berlin Wall coming down and the reunification of the former capital of East Germany, was closed off to everybody who failed to snap up one of the 10,000 free tickets that MTV offered on its website (they were all gone within three hours).

According to the story, neither U2 nor MTV would respond to requests for comment. Which makes sense to us; sometimes, during the most momentous occasions, words only get in the way.

[via The Daily Swarm]