PARIS (AP) — Members of California rock band Eagles of Death Metal on Tuesday revisited the ravaged Paris theater where they survived a massacre by Islamic extremist suicide bombers.
Solemn and silent, they came to the now-shuttered Bataclan theater in eastern Paris, whose facade has become a shrine to the at least 89 people killed inside. Band members laid flowers at the site under a persistent December rain, some embracing as they stared at the wreaths, notes and banners heaped in mourning and tribute.
Singer Jesse Hughes covered his face with emotion as he paced pack and forth. Drummer Julian Dorio wiped away tears.
The band members escaped the carnage by hiding in a dressing room. Co-founder Hughes said in an emotional interview with Vice and HBO that he wants the group to return there when the concert venue reopens.
The band made a surprise return to Paris and performed with U2 on Monday night, their first on-stage appearance since the Nov. 13 attacks, which killed 130 people overall and terrified the country.
U2 were playing the last of four concerts in Paris, two of which had been postponed when France announced a state of emergency following the attacks.
U2 frontman Bono told the audience they said he wanted to introduce "some people whose lives will forever be a part of this city of Paris. These are our brothers. Our fellow troubadours. They were robbed of their stage three weeks ago, and we would like to offer them ours tonight."
The two bands then played the Patti Smith song "People Have the Power."
Hughes told U2 and the crowd, "We love you too, so much for giving us this opportunity. I look around and what do I see, nos amis, our friends. I f---ing love you guys so hard, and I will never stop rocking and rolling."
