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Didn’t queue early for a wristband, firmly against these fan led lines!
Went to Sphere at 1pm for merch as weren’t sure what was going to be available come showtime, many other fans had the same idea?. Queued for about 1.5 hours but got all we wanted, they had plenty of stock. Arrived at 7pm, entered venue about 7.10. Grabbed a drink and headed onto the floor. Got a spot about 5/6 rows from front on the Edge’s side, great spot and absolutely no need to join a queue from the day before! On the rail is not necessarily the best place to be as stage is higher, in fact this was the only draw back is that we didn’t get full experience of stage (but at the end of day it’s just lights).
Atomic DJ just didn’t do it for me (personal opinion)
However when he finished his set the anticipation and excitement started to grow in the crowd. When the band came on there was a great energy, and then the show started! WOW, sound was Incredible, impossible to be clearer, the use of the screen outstanding. It truly has to be seen to be believed, YouTube videos, impressive as they are, simply don’t do it justice. So many highlights, So Cruel and Love is blindness were outstanding. Streets is always a highlight (the intro-goosebumps every time)
Sphere need to do a bit of work around exit of GA, only had 2 exits open. Able to go up through 100/200 section. Overall an amazing experience that will live long in the memory. Well worth the airfare from the UK?
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This was the only show that I was seated for the residency. Got seats in section 305.
Going from the bridge..
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Personally, the greatest U2 concert I have attended. And I’ve been going since 97 Popmart. I was too young for..
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Fantastic opening night - Bram is a huge breath of fresh air and a great stand in while Larry recovers,..
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Little can be said about Bono that hasn't already been said a thousand times. Rivers of ink have been poured about him and his band, he has transcended the boundaries of his own persona and is now in the public domain. Everyone has an opinion about him, good or bad (usually bad). But what almost no one knows is that this chubby little red-headed Irishman is capable of moving mountains with a simple gesture, capable of getting standing ovations just by stepping on stage, capable of making you cry just by uttering a word. He is our little shaman, our 1,67 m billy goat, and around him we feel at home. Because we are. U2 and everything around them is home. As ABBA says in a song, "Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk, she says I began to sing long before I could talk". And so it is, my friends. The first conscious memory I have of my life is sitting - at the age of 3 or 4 - on the parquet floor of the living room of our house in Peñagrande, in front of the record player, and asking my mother to play "the lemon record" (Zooropa) again.
The music, voice and lyrics of Paul David Hewson have been with me since before I can even remember, and to have him slitting open his chest literally in front of me to show us his weaknesses, his strengths, his worries, his triumphs and his defeats has been an absolutely unrepeatable experience. Halfway between micro-theatre and stadium concert, between the intimacy of telling in whispers how his father died on a hospital bed in front of his eyes and the grandeur of describing a Wembley stadium packed to the rafters? Life itself. For what is life if not that, a succession of contrasts and contradictions?
Monday 28th was a luxury, a rara avis, one of those times when everything aligns and life smiles straight out for a few hours. Thanks are superfluous because all of us who were there shared the privilege of having enjoyed our shaman looking us in the eye and convincing us that the streets have no name, that he is still out of control and that, in spite of everything, if you leave, if you leave.... We will follow.
And if, as fate would have it, Monday 28th ends up being our last event in the presence and under the baton of Paul David Hewson, I will be happy and grateful that it is so. If that brutal a cappella "Torna A Surriento" ends up being the last thing we hear Bono sing, we'll just have to say amen and thank you. Thank you for giving us a great life.
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Not having seen the standard show, I don't know how much of the "stories" I missed by only attending this..
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The show was great from start to finish. It was very entertaining when Bono told his stories, and exciting when..
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After 24 hours of processing last night’s performance, here are a few of my thoughts on Bono’s “Stories of Surrender”..
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I was born in February of 1999 and basically ever since then i have been listening to this band, especially the Joshua Tree album. My parents were U2 fans so i got my interest from them and once i learned how to work the CD player, i would listen to them non-stop. So when this tour was announced i decided to do as many shows as possible, meaning crossing the pond and heading over to Auckland.
I came alone and had no idea what to expect. I was told at a fan meet up about the check-in system and the 8:00 wrists band so i made sure i got to the ground early. After getting the wristband and and getting some rest, at 1 i headed down to the stadium to line up, buy merch (which i bought everything there was) and great ready for a great show. i got to know some people and found that socializing with U2 fans was easier than people i went to high school with. We got let in at 5 and went straight for the Tree stage, that way i had a good view of the screen and could still be close to the band.
at 7 Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds came on, i was not an oasis fan but i did know Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger, i had bought Noel's latest album, but hadn't listened to it much so i wasn't really aware of his solo stuff either. "Wow" i said at the end, it really surprised me how good he was and his interactions with the audience was nothing i had ever seen before. He made a real good impression on me and i was looking forward to seeing him at the other Australian shows.
8:45 rolls around and The Whole of the Moon starts, which was cue that U2 were about to start. Finally after waiting 9 years i finally get to see my favourite band and also i'm seeing them in a different country, this idea was ludicrous to me just a few years ago and yet here i am in Auckland waiting for Larry to walk out and launch into Sunday Bloody Sunday, which he did. I'll never forget when the syth to Bad started, i lost it, this was one of my favourite U2 live songs, i have never heard a version of Bad that didn't stop me in my tracks and made the world disappear, and this was no exception; this was amazing, i still struggle to find the words for that moment, you could have come up bend me and stabbed me as many times as you like and i still wouldn't have paid attention to you, i was going to live in this moment for as long as i could.
After Pride had finished the intro synth to Where the Streets Have No Name started, again i was gone. This wasn't like any other concert where U2 were about to play streets; They were about to start The Joshua Tree. One by one the songs came along, Still Haven't Found, With or Without You, Bullet the Blue Sky and on and on. Bullet is one of my favourite U2 songs, but i though version was a bit flat (there would be better versions to come); Running to Stand Still, however, brought me to tears again, except this time it was unexpected. I'd always loved the song but in that moment something happened and any emotions i was feeling just came out, love, anger, joy, remorse, it all laid bare to see. The album continued on, i enjoyed every minute, but once was got to One Tree Hill, things got serious. Part of the whole reason i came to NZ was to hear them play One Tree Hill in that country, and it didn't disappoint. Exit was next that was amazing, the Trump reference and Bono playing the character of this dark, mysterious cowboy was fantastic and how he adapted to stage movements to the dynamics of the song was amazing to see, he truly is one of the great front-men. Finally ending with Mothers of the Disappeared was just perfect, however that didn't end the main set, they decide to celebrate Rattle & Hum and the Lovetown tour by playing Angel of Harlem, which was fantastic, no complaints here.
The encore was a reference to the eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE tour from last year, it had a short version of the show from when the intermission ends. Bono came on in his MacPhisto get up (from the e+i tour) and they did Elevation, Vertigo and Even Better Than the Real Thing. they then went into Every Breaking Wave, returning to the proper tour setlist for the first time since the end of the iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE in 2015. Then did the feminist section with Beautiful Day, Ultra Violet (so happy to hear that, love that song) and Love is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way. That was rumored to be the end of the show but i noticed out of the corner of my eye, while the band was bowing, Dallas put Edge's Les Paul on the Guitar stand. Bono gave a speech about the terrorist attacks in Christchurch earlier this year and how it was great how NZ responded with such grace, then Edge begun the riff for One. On the screen behind them they had a Muslim symbol and then slowly all the names of the victims appeared on the screen. This was the perfect way to end a great concert.
This was my first time seeing U2 since the second Sydney show of the 360 tour and it easily topped that show. Everything was great so far, the people were awesome and i had a great time talking to every single person and then seeing this show feed an appetite i had been working up for the last 9 years. Although there were better shows to come, this night, still, was amazing and a night I'll never forget.
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U2's first performance at the sacred Adelaide Oval - and their first in Adelaide since the Vertigo Tour in 2006..
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The first night was my opportunity to be right in the middle of the action and it gave me a..
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I wasn’t originally going to this concert due to the similarity to the 2017 JT tour and the poor venue..
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Love this band, these shows, and my experience.
We had seats for night 1. After relaxing and enjoying dinner and listening to The Joshua Tree tribute band at Hurricane’s across the street, we walked into the arena and to our seats around 7pm. Once we realized that security wasn’t really paying attention and people without wristbands were just walking onto the floor, we did the same thing and ended up center of the screen on Adam’s side, second row off the rail.
Thinking I could do the same thing again the second night, I bought a cheap balcony seat the morning of the second show. But security was a lot tighter – there were only a few entrance open for floor access, and there was one guard at the top of each entrance and two at the bottom, and they were each checking the wristbands pretty diligently. So I enjoyed night 2 from the very top row of the arena, which was a totally different but still awesome experience. I sat next to and chatted with a wicked nice family from Texas; the husband told me he had seen them on every tour since Joshua Tree all over the country, and now he and his wife were bringing their daughters to see them. This was their first show in Boston. Even though we were in the seats, our entire section still got into it and stood up for a lot of the concert. A super fun, casual, but enthusiastic vibe all around, and it seemed that way for most of the entire arena, both nights.
The opening is perfect. LIAWHL with just Bono underneath the screen is great. Blackout is killer. The images, the reveal of the band under the screen, the song itself – unbelievable opener. I wish they played the strings part and Edge’s guitar up way more during Lights of Home, but that was still amazing.
From my vantage point both nights, I Will Follow got the biggest crowd reaction of the night. Insane feeling to scream and jump along with an entire arena and to see the band love playing it so much. I think Gloria got a bigger reaction than ABOY, but both are great high energy songs. I get now why Beautiful Day follows there – to keep up that energy. It’s needed, because The Ocean then kills every last ounce of it. It stopped everyone dead. I understand that it’s the start of the innocence narrative, but wow is it a buzzkill. Even going straight into Iris would be better.
Seeing this version Sunday Bloody Sunday up close was more intense than I thought it would be – the entire band still get really into it, even though it’s not the regular version. Edge and Adam had their eyes closed for a lot of the song.
Until the End of the World is still my favorite song live. It can stay in whatever incarnation it’s in for every show from here on out and I would never get sick of it. I didn’t miss Streets, but I would’ve missed UTEOTW.
The HMTMKMKM comic on the screen is fucking awesome. Even better would be the band actually playing the song live while they show it…
Acrobat. Acrobat. ACROBAT. I thought I died last year when I heard Exit live. Nope. That was last night. I’m so glad they’ve never played this live before. It’s a fucking monster. My favorite live performance of the show.
I love SATS but I think in every way – thematically, musically (acoustic) – it could be replaced with Please. Or even rotated with SATS.
When I had seats the second night, I had full view of the screen, and I got the clearest sense of the narrative of the show from here, way more than in being in GA and more than listening on the mixlrs. The images of the current KKK and pure filth going on in America right now was stark, and I expected those to be the most impactful on me. But nothing made me scream louder during both shows than those images immediately giving way to Pride and images of MLK and protestors. There’s no other song that could come after those images (angry songs like Bullet or whatever) – the feeling of being lifted up by love after seeing that was unreal. By far, my favorite part of the show is Pride – GOOYOW – American Soul – COBL.
One is a crowd pleaser, but I really wish it was rotated with something else. I was way more excited to sing along to Love is Bigger, which is fresher. 13 is as gorgeous live as it is on the album, but it ended so abruptly that it ends the concert on a weird, very mellow note. I get that it’s the end of the narrative – but still…
Since this was definitely a Bono album, it’s definitely a Bono show. I understand it’s the story, the journey, the narrative, etc. – but it seemed that this was more tipped towards Bono’s storytelling rather than four men playing together on a stage, and I was left missing more of that balance between the four of them. I think the narrative can still come through even without a lot of the inter-song stuff, like Bono’s “phone call home” as he’s taking off Macphisto’s makeup, and The Ocean, which the way it’s played is not even a song. Even just one more rotational song spot would make a difference.
Still, yet another awesome live U2 experience I will never forget.
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On the morning of 28.10.2018 I was with my family in the Titanic Museum and therefore drove past the SSE..
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We made our way to the concert way too early, but the rain had stopped, and we had little else..
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This was my 34th U2 show, and only one on this tour sadly, and I went with the mindset that..
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American landscape in Belgium
That show has been special to me. I went to USA for the first time in May-June 2017. I went in Arizona and California and saw the kind of landscape the band saw and used for their album "The Joshua Tree" but also for the visual of this tour. So seeing them two months after my USA trip was special to me. I went to my fifth U2 gig with my father. We had GA tickets and well Belgium is not known as a good organized country. Doors were supposed to be opened at 4pm. To enter in GA in King Baudouin stadium there are two doors. With a bit of logic and organisation you open those two doors on same time but they didn't and one of them has been opened before the other one. I was not on the lucky door but it didn't matter. We had a good spot. If you look at the drums on main stage we were in front of it and if you look on B-stage it was on our left at maybe five meters. So we had a great view on B-stage and we were not too close of the huge screen of the main stage, we actually had a good view on the screen, not too far and not too close. I mean in my opinion being in first row of the main stage for this show wouldn't be great because stage and screen are too large and you wouldn't enjoy the show the best. Of course if I would be in first row of the B-stage it would be the best but my spot was great like I said. So after a few hours of waiting we had the opening act and what an opening act. It's like having two gigs for price of one and half. We enjoyed Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds concert. "Champagne Supernova", "Wonderwall", "Don't Look Back In Anger" it was a nice moments. I mean the atmosphere was the one you can have on a hot summer day. Lot of sun, hot weather, nice sunlight on stage, people were in good mood and in peace with lot of smiles listening good music from Noel and his band it was really cool. Crowd sung some songs like the ones I mentioned before and Gallagher joked with the crowd wich was pleasant. Also a word about the stage. Well like usual U2 didn't make it small and minimalist. A large main stage (59 meters), behind it a large screen (61 meters long and 14 meters high) with a high resolution (7200 x 1560 pixels). On the screen we could see the shape of the Joshua Tree. That shape made the 14 meters of the screen high but also 9,1 meters higher than the screen, so 23,1 meters high. Then there is a catwalk and a B-stage wich looks like the Joshua Tree. The tree trunk stage is 37 meters long and on the end of the trunk around it there is a 17 meters wide B-stage in form of the Joshua Tree. So a cool stage.
During all the waiting, before the opening act and after it, poems in English has been showed on screen. Then "The Whole of the Moon" from The Waterboys could be heard from the speakers and people gets excited because everyone knew it's mean showtime.
We saw Larry Mullen Jr walking on catwalk to the B-stage and then launched the concert with "Sunday Bloody Sunday", The Edge appeared second, followed by Bono and then Adam Clayton. All the band is on B-stage so pretty close of my dad and I. Of course a classic song like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" made the crowd happy and some of them jumping and it's an energic start. Nobody in sit in seats place. Band then played a new version of "New Year's Day". They actually played and sung the last verse they usually skipped. The song was so longer than usual and in a kind of new version. People were happy so my father and I were too. Crowd made clapping during the song. Band was energic and our view were good. They were playing and moving all around the B-stage so everyone could see each of them closer to them from time to time.
Then came THE moment. After four gigs without my favorite song (even if that song was on the printed setlist of my first U2 concert they didn't play it on that night) they finally played it. I heard "Bad" in concert for the first time. To be honest if I could had "A Sort Of Homecoming" and "Bad" like they did in Seattle on 14th May 2017 it would be perfect. But back to "Bad". As soon as first keyboard introduction notes started, the crowd really appreciated it. I could hear "Aaah" all around me. I remember that when first notes has been played I turned back to see my father face and said "Yes" happily. It's my favorite song and I do really love that one. I can't explain. It's just a beautiful song with a nice sounds and atmosphere like U2 can created and it start quiet to became wild and wild and it put lot of energy and emotions on same time. And if you look the video of this concert you will see that the crowd is wild during "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day" but on "Bad" the crowd is just listening and seems quiet but it's not the boring quiet, it's the kind of quiet when a crowd is into the song and enjoyed it and the kind of quiet when a crowd is astonished by a performance. I'm a guitarist myself and during my first small concert I did at my college with friends we lived something similar but way less good than U2 of course. It was an exhibition and we were there to play music while people were looking at pictures. And we had three songs to play, it was our first gig and we only made a few quick rehearsals. I didn't talk on microphone because I was so stressed. So we just started to play a first song and to be honest nobody were really looking at us and I think nobody realised we started to play and everyone was talking. Then we started to play the second song and during it I made a guitar solo and suddenly in 20 seconds step by step the crowd became silent and quiet and they looked us until the end of our small gig in a deep quiet and it's that feeling in much bigger and deeper I recognize in the crowd during "Bad".
Even if it's my favorite song I didn't recorded with my phone, I wanted to be into it and to enjoy it from start to end and I did. Lot of people didn't used their phone during it. There were lot of phone for first two songs but not here wich was better. I can play it at guitar so I know how wonderful is it to play it but listen it is great too. And the "Heroes" snippet is a good one as well and everybody recognized it and sung it. Anyway good song that make everyone in the audience alright and agreed on it. There were clapping and singing. I think I kept my eyes on the band singing all the time and making the clapping when it need to do it. Well Bono messed a bit in the lyrics but it didn't matter. Also everyone in seats place were still standing. Intense performance.
"Pride (In the Name of Love)" followed and well I would prefer "A Sort Of Homecoming" or another song but only because I already heard it at almost each of my fifth U2 gig and so yes even if I like the song and think it's a good one I would like some change but it's only to me. Crowd appreciated it and made the "Oh, oh" wich lead us to "The Joshua Tree" part of the set.
At the end of "Pride (In the Name of Love)" the screen wich always been off before turned on to show some messages before turning all red with the shape of The Joshua Tree in black while the orgue introduction of "Where The Streets Have No Name" was starting. Larry Mullen Jr walked at the end of the B-stage to give his drums stick and then rejoin other members all standing in silence on B-stage. Then the band walked on main stage, stand at the foot of the tree for a few seconds and then The Edge launched the song. Like usual during this one crowd became wild and when the screen show an West american road trought the desert we could see the crowd like us appreciate the quality of the video. Visuals were really good and of course reminded me my recent USA trip wich was awesome. Something I really appreciate in that live version is the fact the introduction lasted quiet long like in the album version, it's something which give me the magic feeling of the song as well as seeing thousand of people jumping and singing it. Energic and great moments.
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" followed and visuals were once again really cool. Bono drunk a Belgian beer at the start of the song. Crowd sung the first two verses and the chorus and in this live version drums and bass started at the beginning of the song wich was nice. There has been some clapping from the crowd too. Everyone really enjoyed the song as well as me and my father. It's the first one I ever learnt to play at guitar after all so it's a bit particular for me. Song end on people singing the chorus.
"With or Without You" followed and as soon as it started the crowd make a huge noise of satisfaction. A live version closer of the album version as ever. Nice visuals from the Death Valley and crowd singing the song and also making the "Oh, oh". Some lightfire in the audience and some clapping. Band walked on main stage on this one. Good moments.
"Bullet the Blue Sky" came then. Darker song, visuals still showing USA, and what a great live version. Close of the 1987 version with The Edge also using a "Wah Wah" effect and a bottleneck. Great guitar parts, nice crowd wich sung and was energic. Solid drumming too, in two word, amazing song.
"Running To Stand Still". Quiet song played on keyboard. This song is a great one too and is maybe underated. There is emotion in it and it was cool to heard it. Bono ended it with some harmonica parts. People sung it a bit and used lightfire again. Nice moments.
"Red Hill Mining Town" followed. First time for me I heard that song live and well I was expecting better. I was expecting the guitar parts like in the album version and well I was dissapointed by the keyboard but also the small orchestra playing it. So glad to saw it live but I was expecting better.
"Welcome to the side two of the Joshua Tree itself" said Bono to launch "In God's Country". I love that song and since the snippet Bono made of it in "Beautiful Day" in Rose Bowl in 2009 I wanted to heard it live and tonight this became true. I loved the guitar, bass and drumming parts, the energy in it and visuals were nice especially at the start with the Joshua Tree, the mountains and the sun. I also appreciated the Irish flag on the landscape and the end.
"Trip Through Your Wires" was the next one. I like that song. For me there is the typical American sound U2 was looking for. A bit of country and south music in it. I also liked the visuals again, with the woman painting the USA flag on her house. Guitar parts were good as always. For a first time hearing this song I was happy of it.
"One Tree Hill" followed. And really I was so happy to heard it. It's one of my favorite song of that album. I like the sound in it, the guitar parts and when The Edge lets himself go to a good guitar solo. And I always thought I will never hear that song live unless I go to Australia but I finally saw it live and I really appreciated that performance even if the guitar solo was not the best I heard for this song. Also visuals were once again really beautiful.
"Exit" was the next one. It began with a short video clip showing western and cow-boy. One of them looked a bit like Fred Trump, the father of Donald Trump, but was not him. However his name in the clip was Trump and he made the promise to protect the village by building a wall around it. One of the villager said he is a liar. I learned after the show that this short clip came from a 50's TV series called Trackdown. Then the song started and two hands apparead on screen with messages on them. One had "Love" the other had "Hate" on them. During the song Bono came on B-stage for the first time since the start of The Joshua Tree set so we could see it closer wich was great. That live performance was a great one. Lot of tension, intensities, energy in it. Musicaly song was awesome but guitar parts were really great. Bono had energy as well and light show was cool.
Bono stayed on B-stage during most part of "Mothers Of The Disappeared" before going back on main stage. Visuals showed a dozen of women holding a candle in their hands. Song was nice and I loved it and was glad to heard it for the first time live. Song ended on crowd singing the "Oh, oh". Band came then in front of stage to applause the crowd while Bono made a speech of thank you and said the stage has been build in Belgium. End of The Joshua Tree set and time for the first encore. During the wait the stage was in dark and the shape of The Joshua Tree was in blue.
Then a face apparead on the screen, probably a Syrian woman, and a speech was written on the screen. Well unfortunately almost nobody could see it. Speech was too low on screen and behind the drums set. Pictures of devastated Syria followed and "Miss Sarajevo" renamed "Miss Syria" was played. Not my favorite song but not a bad one neither, it's a nice and emotional one. Visuals were a war and ruined Syria. During Pavarotti singing part, a giant flag with a woman face on it travelled on seats place and it's a prerecorded Pavarotti singing wich could be heard. Crowd was quiet but listening it carefully. Bono thanked them.
Bono then launched the crowd with a "Oh, oh" while a pretty visual similar to an aurora borealis was on screen and while a prerecorded remix version of "Beautiful Day" could be heard from the speakers. This of course launched the song itself. Bono was on B-stage for that one so close to us for our pleasure. Also a funny fact from "Exit" to the end of the concert, Bono didn't wear his sunglasses wich is rare for him. Anyway back to "Beautiful Day" it was a bit of a different version played here. Introduction was a bit new and the verse "See the world in green and blue" was sung by Bono but also by robotic voices. Song is still nice and give energy to the crowd. I heard it at each of my five U2 show I attended so yes in a way if they would play another I would be happy but I was fine with hearing it.
"Elevation" was next, here too it's a nice song wich gave energy to the gig. Third time i heard it after 2005 and 2010 but I liked hearing it. Visual of Larry Mullen Jr waving to the crowd was fun and cool. "Vertigo" followed and well even if it's a good song, first it's not their best one but also hearing it at each gig became tiring. I heard it six times in five concerts, it's enough. Please skip it and play another one instead. Crowd reacted good but my father and I were maybe the only one who were boring by this song. Same way of playing it since 2005, same joke about Spanish lessons since 2005 and even same visuals of red and black circles since 2005. Really guys on next tour just forget about that song.
Bono walked back to main stage at the end of "Vertigo", so he stayed on B-stage for "Beautiful Day", "Elevation" and "Vertigo". A word about stage and how band used it. Main stage was 59 meters long but mainly the band stayed in the middle of it on about 15 meters almost all the concert. They rarely walked along the stage so why having a 59 meters stage long when you used maybe 20 meters of it. And about B-stage, members used it for the four first song and then only Bono came on it during "Exit", "Mothers Of The Disappeared" and the three song I mentionned before. So Bono used it good but other members didn't go on B-stage often wich was a bit dissapointing. It's not so bad but if The Edge or Adam Clayton would go on B-stage once or two after The Joshua Tree set it would be good.
"Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" followed and I was happy to heard it. Pictures of many, many women with their names apparead on screen during that song. I recognized many of them and discovered many as well. I remember of Anne Frank, Hillary Clinton, Marie Curie, Queen Mathilde, Patti Smith, Nafissatou Thiam, Emma Watson, Malala Yousafzai, The Suffragettes and The Pussy Riot. Good songs and Bono again came on B-stage half of the song and stayed on it for next one.
"One" was the one. Stadium became dark with only phone lights from the crowd who sung some parts of the song. Classic one but good one with great guitar parts on it. Happy to heard it. Bono then thanked us the crowd but also remembered that U2 has a special connection to our country. A lot of innovation and staging came from Belgium. After all his thank you he launched the last song of the night "I Will Follow". That one of course make all the stadium happy and wild. A great old rock song to close the show. I loved it especially when he made some Werchter references saying it's happy memories. We could clearly see they were happy to play it and to made that show in Belgium. And in conclusion I would say I lived a great show and concert, a good afternoon and night, a nice opening act, a nice setlist and some impressive visuals and I had a nice spot in GA to watch all of that so yeah I loved that gig.
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“FULL CIRCLE”
A circle:
-a perfectly round shape
-a line that is curved so its ends meet and every point on the..
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Well, the day started quite early. It was quite dark and cold in the wristband line at 5 AM, and..
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This was the first of two shows at the Rose Bowl, and the first two night stay of the tour...
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Well, what a difference it makes to arrive early! The corridors were practically deserted, and I was soon able to scooch over to the merchandising stand, where there was practically no queue. I actually couldn't believe it, standing at the counter, when the guy behind it came up to me almost straight away to ask what I wanted! Easy-peasy, I now have a Dublin 2015 t-shirt.. I also see they come in a variety of colours; the day before, I saw one in vivid green, mine is red (which I prefer), and I saw another chap admiring one he'd obviously just bought, which was in a light grey. All with the same pattern - the outline image from the cover of the Boy album on the front, the Dublin dates on the back. By the looks of it, they were all sold out again when I was leaving..
With nothing else I wanted to do, I took my seat - there was practically nobody in the auditorium at this point. My row turned out to be a bit higher up, and I had a touch of vertigo (of course) as I passed the end of the railing, climbing up to it. Anyway, I made it, and noted the locations of the rear stairs - the ones with handrails - for coming down again. Some entertainment was provided during the long wait, watching the individual spotlight operators being hoisted into the rigging - especially when one of them got stuck, suspended in midair, for about 30 seconds.. there was no-one to help; I think the pulleys are self-controlled.
As the house filled, the tension grew - helped no end when they turned off the lights in the upper levels, for some reason. I came to know the people sitting beside me, a little - a couple, not young: she had never seen them before, he had, in McGonagle's, way back in '76/77. Well, it came to that moment; People Have the Power started, and I jumped up. And as happens, it went on a bit and there was no sign of anyone. Next thing I know, I'm being tapped on the shoulder. The guy behind me wanted to know if I wouldn't mind sitting down - he'd stand with me in a minute. Eh, ok - I'd hate to block your view of an empty stage. After a minute or so, there was some excitement on the floor, and I jumped up again.. only to have the guy behind me wanting me to sit again.. I was spoiling his view! I guessed he thought they'd come on via the i stage, and didn't want to miss their entrance.
Well, I hadn't been sitting for 10 seconds when Bono did appear, and I jumped up again, and this time was left standing - third time lucky, eh? Along with the whole house. I have to hand it to them, this crowd - with the obvious exception of the (insert expletive here) behind me - were the crowd of the tour so far! The guy at the end of the row, who'd seen them all those years ago, was particularly blown away, and plagued his poor wife with exclamations of how good the band were! He was greatly impressed when Bono seemed to spot someone in the crowd, near the stage, that he recognised. He turned to The Edge - "Hey, d'you remember that guy in McGonagle's, years ago, who heckled us with 'More punk than The Monkees'? That's him!!" Later, we discovered that the President was also in the house.. a good mix, then!
And so they took us through a blistering first four numbers, the poor guy at the end of my row thinking he'd have a break after the third, only to find himself on his feet again.
And so I was up again at the start of the next song, and down again in the middle of it, when the people in front of me got bored of standing - again - and I got a tap-tap-tap again. I see the shredded pages of poetry are back for that song, though - great, it's a terrific effect! Even if I couldn't stand to show my appreciation.
I was actually scared to stand during Invisible, since no-one in front of me was. Halleleuja, they decided that Even Better Than the Real Thing was worth the effort, and I got to my feet at last. And at least I was getting a rest. And so into Mysterious Ways, where a guy was brought onstage to dance with Bono - only the second time that's happened, that I know of! I'm not surprised - he was dressed just like Bono at the start of the concerts on the Popmart tour, as a boxer with large shades and a fake "torso" t-shirt. As Bono remarked, "You're not from around here, are you?" Nope, he was from Brazil..
Introducing Angel of Harlem, Bono revealed that the very first time it was played live was in '89, on this same spot, when it used to be the Point Depot..! Jeez, and I was there.. I was happy enough to sit for the next couple of numbers, along with the people around me. One man was moved to jump to his feet at the end of Every Breaking Wave, just briefly, to applaud, though - well, it is memorable. And then we all jumped up for Bullet the Blue Sky.. and then my section unbelievably got bored of standing halfway through it, and sure enough, tap-tap-tap from the guy behind, wanting me to sit down..
Fortunately, that was the end of my woes. For the rest of the show, either I didn't feel like standing, or everyone did. So my nemesis had nothing to complain about. At the end of the second set, the guy on the end of the row - who'd been so enthusiastic all night - wanted some reassurance that they'd do one more. "Three!" said I.
They've included identifiable images of Dublin in the visuals for City of Blinding Lights, in these Dublin shows - well, this night they also included some of Paris, and Bono sang a snippet of a French song to finish. Beautiful Day saw flags being flung onstage - Bono finally chose a large Irish one to drape over the drum kit. And It was lovely to see his face in closeup on the big screen, because he was beaming.. he'd sensed what I sensed, that this crowd was (pretty much) at one. Concert of the year so far, for me. And as a reward - they didn't do three encores, they did four. Bad and 40, usually reserved for the last show in a city, got an outing last night. Well done, gentlemen!
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Hello, hello.. last U2 concert in Britain this year! After an amazing show the night before, I was hoping for..
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#4 of 4. This was U2's last night in Spain.. and I was there! Got up nice and late -..
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I'm french and I do not write properly in English, sorry.
Paris, Sunday, December 6, 2015. A fabulous concert, amazing,..
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Real Thing: I wish that Zoo Station was used to open 360 shows with the AB set. That would be sick.
The Fly: Standard for 360
Mysterious Ways: TTTYAATW snippet is a highlight, with about 2 lines of the song sung.
Until The End Of The World: I don't remember ever hearing such a long speech in the middle of it before.
Out Of Control: A couple of mistakes I noticed in the first minute and a half, however some of these are likely just the recording- it starts with some loud sound carrying over from UTEOTW, but then Edge seems to make a mistake. Later there's a couple other small things that are likely just the mic moving, but I'm not 100% sure.
Boots: get off yrou're sexy boots i hate them and you SPECIFICALLY, mr tax fraud bono man
Between song chatter: Honestly pretty hilarious, ranged from discussing Adam stripping and checking out the wildlife, to campaigning for Independence Week rather than Independence Day. I'm all for it.
Still Haven't Found: The Promised Land snippet was kinda cool but really just a meh song live
Stay: Standard 360 Stay, I think I prefer Zoo, Elevation and EI Stay over 360 Stay though, so nothing excellent
Beautiful Day: At the end, Edge begins the ending riff early, but Larry and Adam keep going. Meanwhile Bono sings his Space Oddity snippet, which was something I'm not sure I've heard before. I liked it, good snippet tbh
Elevation: the "oh" at about 3 minutes sounded wrong please never do that again bono
Pride: fine
Miss Sarajevo: fine
Zooropa: fine
COBL: The piano in the beginning seems like it's missing something, maybe an echo or reverb effect.
Vertigo: fine
Crazy: I always forget about the Pop snippets. I like those. Shame the rest of the song sucks though!!!!!!!!!!!
SBS: fine
Scarlet: just politics
Walk On: fine
One: fine (hear us coming would've been nice but they are becoming rarer in recent tours)
Streets: A new song as the intro to Streets I haven't seen before. Standard performance otherwise.
Hold Me: 360 arrangement is great. this is a 360 arrangement
WOWY: fine (where is shine like stars after zoo :c)
MOS: The OTH snippet was less exciting than expected being just a spoken word "oh great ocean" verse, with no instrumental.
OTH: This was clearly not very rehearsed, which I don't mind. The dialogue before it was quite funny though:
Bono: "ok, heres the deal, if we screw up really badly, you don't put it on the internet. fair?"
*edge comes in messing around with guitar*
Bono: "hows it start??? ...edge looks real confident..."
*edge gets going*
Bono: "oh for f*cks sake"
Highlights: Fly (because it's a good song), MW (Arms snippet), OOC (rarity/slight goofs make it interesting), Sarajevo (good song), Zooropa (good song), Hold Me (great arrangement), MOS (OTH snippet), OTH (seemingly on the spot)
Lowlights: Until The End Of The World has no business with that speech, Boots (trash song), Elevation (don't love the arrangement for 360), Vertigo (overplayed imo and also the 360 arrangement isn't my favorite with the blasting sound to start with), Crazy (SO BAD. Studio version was fine.. if it ain't broke, don't fix it.), Scarlet (just aang san syu kyi speech)
Overall one of the more interesting 360 shows I've heard. Definitely not perfect, but it's got some interesting aspects to it. Definitely worth a listen!
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This was my 1st GA show for any U2 show, i'll say that this was my greatest concert experience ever...
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Ok so as I mentioned in the band performance section, this was my first, and as of writing only, U2..
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A family Oddity
My second U2 gig. Like the first one it was in France Stadium, like the first one my..
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An impressive bloody Sunday
I remember that day, I was 12 years old and I was going to see my favorite band. Four years before it I already tried to see them during their Elevation Tour but I couldn't have ticket. This time my father got two tickets by doing queue at a real shop (not on internet) and on the D-day we took the road from Belgium direction Paris. The night before I had difficult to sleep because I was so much excited and on the morning of the concert I woke up with a headache but I was still very much happy. We took the road and I was so excited that I couldn't stop talking and we listened U2 music during all journey. It was not my first concert ever. I already saw Peter Gabriel in 2003 and 2004 but my favorite band of that time was U2 and so being able to see them in concert seems nearly impossible for me (We tried twice in 2001 and in 2005 we didn't have ticket for Brussels or for Paris 1). So it was nearly impossible for me to see them and however I was on the road to the gig.
A dream was coming true. I remember how impressive I felt when I saw the France Stadium from the highway for the first time. The building seems huge to me. We drove the car under the stadium and after some security check on the car and on my father and I (three day before there were the London terrorism attack) we walked to the Z gate of the stadium. It was about 2pm and I remember I was feeling impressed by all small shops selling U2 articles and U2 music could be hear anywhere (in each bars, each shops) and everything, everywhere was like a huge U2 party. It's something that even now make me think that atmosphere at a U2 concert is particular. Now I saw about one hundred of gigs and even if we could hear some music of the band near the concert place, it's never as huge and impressive as we could see or hear around a place where U2 will play a gig. It's different, more intense, more shops, more bars, more music, more excitement. I remember that before that day I already hear some comments saying that atmopshere around a U2 concert is unique and I can say that on that day when I was walking around the France Stadium those comments hitted me and seems really appropriate. I was impressed. Then We reach the Z gate and just sat down waiting for the opening. I remember my father calling my mother and brother to tell them we were arrived safe. As a big reader I started to read my book "Bono by Bono" written by Michka Assayas and I was not the only one reading that book. A little bit before 4pm excitation was there for everyone. Everybody just stand up and rush near doors which were still closed. It was my first experience as an outdoor concert and I was impatient to come in but false alerts like my father said came often.
Then a bit after 4pm doors opened. I remember climbing steps and steps and I was almost in top of the stadium while going inside and I had my first view of the whole empty stadium and my first view of the stage. It's difficult to express the feeling I had when I saw that stage. I was 12, it was my first outdoor gig and there is a massive stage in front of me and it's on same time massive and impressive but also just like normal like the stage is just quietly there. It was a mix of the both feeling. I think seeing the whole stadium from the inside for the first time also astonished me. We walked down the stair to join the ground and tried to went as close as we could to the stage. Unfortunately there were two GA categories and we were not in the front one. Also as a 12 years old boy I was not tall and so couldn't see things very good but I didn't care I was there. After a while of course we wanted to buy a tee-shirt, drinks and need to use the bathroom wich where in the back of the GA. Since my father didn't want to let me go there alone (I was only 12) we lost our spot but when we went out of bathroom and walked to the front I realised that since there were less people in front of me my view was better on the stage. So we still went to the front but not as close as before and like that with less people in front of myself my view was correct. Even if we were not particulary close of the stage.
I don't really remember the first opening act, The Music. I have some memories of the second opening act, Snow Patrol. After that stadium was full and excitement was there. Some ola in the seats but also in the GA. It was the first time I was seeing that and it was huge to me to see so many people connected between them.
Then the song "Wake Up" of Arcade Fire has been played. Time for U2.
"Larry Mullen Jr, Adam Clayton now, say hello, bonsoir, hello hello" said Bono and immediatly the crowd repeated the hello, hello. "Un, deux, trois, catorce" and the show began. The band already caught the crowd in their hands, I was jumping and screaming lyrics of "Vertigo" in a bad English (I didn't speak it at that time). I also remember I phoned my mother and brother at home to let them hear the first song of the concert.
"Out of Control" when Bono kicked a glass of water in the crowd has been followed by "The Electric Co". It's during the solo of that song when The Edge came on B-stage that I saw him for real with my eyes for the first time. A few seconds later I saw Bono on the other B-stage. Seeing them in real for the first time was like a dream coming true for me.
After that very energic start band began to play "Elevation" and the crowd immediatly started to sing the "Ooh, ooh, ooh". Bono didn't need to lauch them. Right after "New Year's Day" started and my father pressed my arm and made me a wink and a smile because he loves that song (so do I). Adam Clayton walked on the B-stage during The Edge solo and I could see him for first time. "Beautiful Day" followed and it was indeed a great day for me and my father.
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was also a good moment. At the end of it seeing and hearing for the first time a whole stadium singing a song togheter while seeing Bono walking on B-stage is kind of impressive for a 12 years old boy.
I learned a few years after that the band scheduled to play "Bad" at that moment but didn't. When I learned that I was dissapointed because it's one of my favorite song. But during the show I never been dissapointed and when "City Of Blinding Light" has been played I was still very happy. Screen turned on and it was very pretty.
"I want to say an happy birthday to my godchild who is here tonight, Hollie, it's her 21st birthday, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Hollie, happy birthday to you" said Bono before asking to the crowd "En Français" wich the crowd answered by singing "Joyeux anniversaire" to Hollie who is The Edge daughter. This cute moment has been followed by "Miracle Drug" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" (when Bono made an appareance on B-stage). Great songs, nice singing by Bono and The Edge and of course nice guitar parts. I remember the giant character on the screen.
"Love and Peace or Else" was the opportunity to see Larry Mullen Jr for the first time since he was on the B-stage. Actually the whole band moved on two B-stage during that nice song. I could see them and I enjoyed the song that I found good with a nice guitar solo. Followed by "Sunday Bloody Sunday". It was a pleasure to hear it, sing it, scream the "No more" and jumped on it. My father really appreciate "Bullet The Blue Sky" and I did too. I clapped my hands in rythm at the end of "Bullet The Blue Sky" like the majority of the crowd.
I didn't know "Running To Stand Still" at that time but I enjoyed it and tried for the first time to do like everyone using a light during a gig. I was looking around me all the time to see that spectacular view of thousand and thousand of small light. I remember I burned myself at the end because the light became quiet hot after a few use.
Then one of my favorite U2 song of that time "Pride (In the Name of Love)" has been played and I was jumping and singing. I was also screaming the "Oh, oh" at the end and was impressed by all the crowd singing and didn't really realise I was a part of them doing the same. I hear Bono talking in French "Mais ce soir, c'est un rêve Africain". And all the crowd kept doing the "Oh, oh" until the first notes of "Where The Streets Have No Name" started. I also remember all the African flags. The crowd turned crazy during "Where The Streets Have No Name" and I was not the only one then jumping and screaming the song. That moment definitely put a great ambiant during the show.
Just before "One" Bono did a French speech to the crowd. I remember me and my father applausing and thinking "well said, he is right". "One" was truly a great song that night.
The band then left the stage with a "Bonsoir Paris".
After a few minutes a screen divided in four turned on with Zoo TV era pictures. Then like a slot machine four faces of four unpopular people at that time appeared on the screen. I remember Michael Jackson was there. Crowd reacted badly to those faces. Then two faces were replacing with the Zooropa face and two other faces apparead and once again crowd reacted badly to them. Those two faces were replacing by Zooropa faces to make four Zooropa faces on screen. Crowd was finally happy and "Zoo Station" began with lot of positive reaction from the people. Bono on screen was acting like in the introduction of the Zoo TV show and came into the B-stage again (for my great pleasure since I could see him again even if it was far away from me). The Edge also came on the other B-stage.
When "The Fly" started both my father and I were happy because we loved the "Elevation Tour" version. Screen was a reminder of the Zoo TV era it was astonishing and song was energic, The Edge solo was good, crowd was happy and I was jumping and singing. I remember I was still jumping and screaming when "With Or Without You" started and I saw a woman looking at me with a smile on her face. She maybe thought this kid is crazy but I think she was more like smiling like an adult sometimes do when they see a child being very happy. Anyway "With Or Without You" was good. I used the light again and burned myself again. I remember Bono took a girl from the B-stage with him and leading her to the main stage. She said hello to each member and I thought she was lucky. I sing most of the song too and like all the crowd made the "Oh, oh". We learnt at the end of the song that the lucky girl was Fanny. Band left the stage and it was time for a second encore.
It began with "All Because Of You" which was followed by a wonderful acoustic song "Yahweh " who has been singing by the crowd too. Just before singing it Bono thanked The Music and Snow Patrol for opening the show. The last song of my first U2 gig was the same as the first one "Vertigo". It's weird to play twice the same song and I wished we could have another song to conclude but oh well I was happy to see that band. Words "The End" then apperead on the screen to conclude the show. Crowd of course applaused the band long time after the end of the concert.
My day dream didn't end yet. My father bought me a poster and I recorded some songs of the show on my old Sony Ericsson and listened them while talking about the show to my father on the way back home. I remember we paused on a highway shop. He took a coffee and I took a tea. There was a sign "Out of service" on the slot for money and I was so tired I didn't get it and removed the sign and was about to put my money in the machine but my father stopped me and lead me to another machine where I got my tea. I was exhausted but truly happy and it's on that funny little story that my review end.
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The show was brilliant; we were standing for one hour straight after the guys came out with their flashlights. The..
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I downloaded the entire thing solely to hear "Crumbs From Your Table" placed that early in the setlist, and listened..
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20 years of my life waiting to see them, and this is what I got.
The crowd was disappointing, even before..
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It’s no secret that the band bring their ‘A’ game to Chicago. This run of Elevation shows culminates with a real set list shake-up. Excluding Elevation, it kicks off with a standard Zoo TV set from The Fly through to New Year’s Day. Even Better Than The Real Thing and Mysterious Ways shine here, even if Bono is bailing on the falsetto. It’s all quite bizarre having such a throwback and we’re soon brought back into the new decade with Stuck In A Moment for a run of three Elevation era tracks.
By this point they’re well embedded into the set, Kite in particular stands out. There’s a great moment in Sunday Bloody Sunday where Bono allegedly pulls out the cord from Edge’s guitar so he has a little chuckle and proceeds to vocalise the solo!
Bono makes a reference at the start of Sweetest Thing to going home to see Ali who at the time was heavily pregnant with their 4th child. It’s a good little performance, can’t complain. Angel of Harlem is neither here nor there, before Bono introduces Still Haven’t Found as an “old obscure B-side” as they play it acoustically and for the first time on tour. It’s a very pleasant rendition actually, fits in well to the acoustic slot.
Things pick up pace again with the now familiar combo of All I Want Is You / Streets, but the next real highlight is the encore opening ripper Bullet The Blue Sky, leading into With Or Without You complete with Shine Like Stars, which the audience immediately caught on to.
On the whole, it’s a sold gig. The band are slap bang in the middle of the first leg and seem to be having a good time in Chicago. The setlist is what catches the eye with this one and it’s certainly a worthwhile listen. Beyond the Zoo TV set it’s a relatively standard Elevation show, but that doesn’t detract from its qualities. There’s still little gems dotted throughout beyond the initial run of songs.
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From the outside, this is simply the best Elevation concert and the most special one. It was way more important..
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I was at this concert. It was my first time back in NYC after 9/11, and you could feel the..
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So, for the 1st night of the Chicago run, this show is another must-listen for the 1st leg of the..
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Review written on 22 March, 1998.
Saturday night i was rather deaf and got in bed @ 2am - but sooooooo excited. A dream came true. There’s this ultra marathon in South Africa - 90 kilometres (60 miles?). Once the winner commented looking @ the crowd still finishing in the heat 7 hours after him, that they experience the true spirit of the event. So was the U2 concert. 35 metres from the front or was it 50? Seeing the screen beautifully, but having to stretch to see the stars we wanted to thrill kiss, hold, &kill :-). Afterwards smelling from beer, nicotine, marijuana and dripping from sweat, but happy after a truly spiritual experience. It was the best worship of God I ever had (even better than church where I lead it) when we pleaded with God in 40 and throughout.
The event was broadcast semi-live over national television. Semi because the show started 9:30 and on tv @ 10 so they could squeze commercials in - so popmartish :-).
Looking 2 the show afterwards on tv I got the best of both worlds. Live the vibe and crowd…..tv the quality and some moments you missed in the crowd.
I taped it from my VCR to tape - great listen in the car. Anybody wanna trade? I need Achtung baby & Zooropa on CD.
What a mess afterwards. Interesting - selling beer in plastic bottles - good thing :-). Were there from 5:00. Tickets (ours) cost 170 rand each for me and my youngest brother - I made him the U2 fan year’s ago, so he bought the tickets. We sang “how long to sing this song probably for 5 minutes and heard some music and went wild!!!
But that wasn’t them. Just a cd. Then: looking for baby Jesus under the trash.
U2 - thanx for blessing us. We’ll pray for you guys. Peace to you and fans all around the world.
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No lows, just highs really!
This was one of the first bootlegs I listened to and is since then my..
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Highlights
– Miami. Although it starts a little shaky, it turns REALLY good. Probably the best it’s ever been performed,..
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Well,as I said,I was down on the band at this point.Thank God they woke up and went back to basics..
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A great Outside Broadcast show, just after the 92 U.S. Presidential elections. Bono talks about that before and after ISHFWILF.
Let me start with the bad: the sound is not that good during When Love Comes To Town, we hear the audience better than the band in that song. Bono also had some problems at the beginning of MW and then with the harmonica in RTSS. I'm not sure if this is bad, but Edge's solo in MW started in a weird way, but he recovered quickly.
Still, there are a lot of reasons to listen to this bootleg:
- It's ZooTV Outside Broadcast! All songs were performed quite good. Gotta love the Mirrorball Man and his "I have a vision" speech. It was particularly good that day, with the elections and B. Clinton becoming president.
-The new source has very good sound overall.
- UTEOTW was excellent. This performance later appeared in the Alternative NRG: Greenpeace Compilation album.
- Bono changed or improvised the lyrics in a lot of songs, like One, Satellite Of Love, BTBS. The intro of NYD is very unique, I loved it.
- WTSHNN was excellent, especially at the end with Bono singing the high notes beautifully.
- I'm not a fan of ZooTV SBS, but it was pretty good that day.
EDIT: I previously stated that this boot was incomplete, but it has been updated now and luckily for us, no song is missing.
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15/3/1992 - Providence, Rhode Island - This review has spoilers
This show alternated to the band trying new things out in..
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At that time, I was overwhelmed by the sheer size, dimension and loudness of the event. It was my first..
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17/3/1992 - Boston, Massachusetts - This review has spoilers
Here we see the first major variations in the Zoo TV setlist..
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My very first U2 gig, was amazing!! But I've an even better story that I've been telling for years but never published it till now.
I'll cut it short. I befriended a Bono lookalike competition winner from Dooley's Irish Bar in the Valley the night before. He was the absolute spit of Bono with the wig and all the Joshua Tree era clobber on I'm not kidding you. I never knew his name except I called him Bono.
We decided we'd go around Brisbane City looking for U2's hotel. Made up a story that he was actually Bono, that he was drunk and lost his key, and could someone escort him to his room. Went to 3 different hotels till we found them at the then named Sheraton. Before that all the other hotels believed it was really Bono but said he wasn't staying there.
We went up to the check in desk at the Sheraton like we did at the other hotels and low and behold one of the managers believed us and said "yes sir I'll help you to your room, come with me". I said my goodbyes and the manager brought him to the lift... I was absolutely gobsmacked! Here was this guy who I'd never met before till that night heading for Bono's room!
I left him and went and sat down in the foyer. 5 minutes later they came back down and the manager and another staff member bundled him into a taxi.
I never ever saw him again after that. It all happened too quick. I didn't even know his name except I was calling him Bono all night.
Anyway the next night at the concert we're half way through the gig, don't know what song, but Bono starts talking about this geezer who knocked on his door in the middle of the night!! Says he opened his door half asleep looking at this guy who was the spitting image of him and saying WTF! He said he wasn't happy about being woken up but saw the funny side of it.
I couldn't believe my ears!! I was telling everyone around me that I was there! I never actually knew till Bono told the story whether he had actually made it to his room or not. And there was Bono confirming it the next night... unbelievable!!
True story I absolutely kid you not!!!!!!
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A very special show for multiple reasons: they had to evacuate the venue due to a bomb threat (sounds familiar?),..
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My personal story of this show was the moment that Bono was standing in front of me during People get..
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Overall a good ending to the 1st leg though, it could have gone better but, even with this performance, there..
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The atmosphere was very foul. It was my first U2 concert, but not my first stadium concert, and I remember it well. The rain had started in the afternoon, but in the morning and around noon it had been very hot. There was a terrible pushing and shoving of the audience waiting at the entrances for doors open, and many seemed to be well drunk and I did see many, many empty drinks containers, beer cans, wine packs and bottles outside. The doors open seemed badly organised. Some a few yards away opened before others did, the seemed to be little coordination. People were pissed off by that, they wanted an equal chance in the run to the centre stage spots.
The openers, I remember The Pretenders, Big Audio Dynamite and Lou Reed, were all booed and generally badly accepted, at least in the part of the audience I happened to be stuck in, which was third, second row, slightly to the right of centre stage. The place looked like an open battle for the first row and of course I participated first, being rather stoutly built and not one to back off easily. This concert had meant the world to me, after I had gotten hold of a ticket, through a multitude of different lucky concurrences.
I believe, I cannot be sure anymore about it, that The Daltons opened last. I might confuse that, though, with a show I might have seen on the internet of that time, after all, it's been 28 years.
When WTSHNN began with its droning synth-sounds and the guitar's delayed arpeggios, and the band appeared one by one, the crowd went mad and the stifling squeeze got worse. But when the bass and the drums joined and slowly built up the song's hard pushing, driving beat the crowd went berserk. I had a fight with an American, a GI by his crew cut and confidence, and the security did not notice. He hit me in the nose, but luckily he could not swing properly, for lack of room to move. I could not get my arms up enough, so I hit where I could. The security were highly unprofessional (I did that job later in life myself) and completely taken aback with the sheer violence of the crowd's pushing forward, the yelling and the screaming of girls who obviously were in acute fear. The waves of people’s shoving often moved me ten or more yards away from where I had been before. I remember the moment when the band jumped into the first song and the red lights flooded all over the rain-drenched crowd. The heat from the electric lights washed over the people and actually felt quite warm on the face. Seconds afterwards clouds of vapour of the drying rain partially took away the sight of the stage.
I had had enough by then. I withdrew to the seats ranks, found myself a place and watched from about a hundred yards away. I was deeply disappointed with the on-goings and felt betrayed and let down. I had thought that we had all been there together to celebrate the same thing. I had been wrong. U2 had become a phenomenon and had stopped being a rock and roll band. They were a sensation, not music to dance and sing the lyrics and to feel alive by, because the songs spoke to you about your life and you inner self. This was a spectacle, not a concert. No one danced. They all fought. No one sang. Everybody screamed. No one had fun. They all tried to hold on to their place or get a better one by being more brutal than the opponent, because that is what everybody was, an adversary and a rival in trying to be as close to the band as possible. Do not think that I was naive about it. I understood as I do now that people want to be as close as possible to their lucky stars. But I wasn't expecting the brutality I encountered, and it did not seem to make sense, and I was not prepared to put up with it, as I would not be today. I do not think that it was anything else but sheer good fortune that there wasn't anyone killed in the throng in front of the stage. It was brutal enough for that. None of my later U2 shows had that quality and quantity of ruthlessness and viciousness.
When 40 began I was on my way out, walking outside the stadium trying to hitchhike my way back to where I was due. I remember feeling like hell. It took me weeks to be able to enjoy the music again.
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First concert I ever went to age 17. I haven't missed a U2 tour since. Listening to this was like..
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When the Where The Streets Have No Name organ sounded over the 125k people on the stadium and lights went..
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There are no Lowlights only Highlights ...a very good show the sound is almost as good as 1987-11-07 - Denver..
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Oh my fu...in` goodness what a brilliant show.
Today first time Iistened/watched this awesome concert. What an oustanding performance, especially Bono is freaking out during Bad. So much energy, his dancing is from another world, the snippets made me speechless...the whole Band is in best mood, good times 1986 - pure energy.
Sunday bloody Sunday...the first two verses sung slowly with Edge´s beautiful picking guitar, Bono´s voice is from another star. Maggie´s Farm...without words - goosebumps time !!! Pride...it is never been my favourite song...but here...Chapeau !!!
Please download this Show...it is like drinking a very good wine.
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Everything I WASN'T looking forward to about this show, I loved. "Pride" and "Maggie's Farm", I wasn't all that cracked..
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mazing! It was the first ever Unforgettable Fire tour bootleg I listened to. It exceeded my expectations. It’s a very good recording if you’re looking for the same thing as I was. I might suggest this other show as well, it’s got a longer and a bit better setlist (includes Indian Summer Sky, Surrender, Two Hearts Beat As One,...): 1984-10-23 - Nantes, France - St. Herblain (I found it right after having posted Chicago as this week’s bootleg!).
The whole bootleg and show are just great (talking about this week's show, not Nantes mentioned in the last paragraph!!)! Also, it’s interesting to hear them when they weren’t as big as they are now. The ego hadn’t done its work yet, they are a band who has just become famous and big…you can hear Bono’s comments that reflect this (telling the CBS people: “you want some people? Come up here!” or the comments before Knockin’… there is another part where he says they used to have 500 people watching them and that he’s glad there are so many watching now).
**Comments: Just wanted to point this out…it’s interesting how similar this show sounds to Joshua Tree Tour shows (particularly Paris 87, as I was listening to it at the same time). Of course, JT had new songs and a more confident band…but the (very short) speeches/comments (such as “for a very special man…” or “this is a big place but we’re bigger than this place”) and performances are very similar, which shows they didn’t spend as much time as they do now on how the tours should be, it REALLY was only about the music (though maybe we’re lucky that they changed their manners, or all the shows would be the same, up till now! )
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This has quickly become one of my favourite U2 recordings. The crowd are wild and the show is excellent. All..
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We were all young. The place was crammed. U2 were already massive in Glasgow by the end of 1982 and..
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Second UF show I've done, first being Dortmund. This show is much longer so already better in my books, plus..
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After a somewhat rough start to the show for Bono (it's the end of a six-day-run after all), his voice reaches INCREDIBLE heights after 'Sunday, Bloody Sunday' with several wildcard moments spread across the earlier songs as well. His falsetto is spotless here and many belts in almost every song makes this one of the strongest shows for Bono before the 'Conspiracy of Hope' Tour.
The band are also really tight both vocally and musically with the only noticeable exception being the already mentioned blunder during SBS. What really helps is the addition of 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' during the encores which is also played and performed absolutely fantastically with two additional musicians playing along.
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First of all, the FM broadcast is NOT from this concert, it is actually from the show next day, so..
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The show is plagued by tech problems but was oddly funny, specially after first 6 songs!!
Highlights: Out of Control..
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A must-have. Excellent quality bootleg, probably the best I've heard from the early tours.
Highlights:
-Surrender (best performance, somewhat different than the..
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Excellent early October show, just about up there with the Lido Beach gig the following month. That one benefits from better sound, but this one has got a longer setlist.
The very ending of Stories For Boys is cut, which is a shame as it was very strong. The sound is good throughout (barring Gloria) but does waver somewhat here and there.
Ultimately, I was on the fence between 4.5 and 5 stars, but given the strength of the performance went for the full 5. The sound quality is decent enough that it's not much of a setback.
Highlights:
- I Threw a Brick Through a Window/A Day Without Me
- An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart
- With a Shout
- Rejoice
- The Electric Co.
- 11 O'Clock Tick Tock/The Ocean (very long and excellent!)
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A good friend of mine was at this show and was billed as U2's homecoming show in Dublin in January..
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This and Lido Beach are perhaps the best October bootlegs you'll find. The setlist is great and some songs had..
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U2 playing in Werchter for the first time (they eventually became the headliners just 3 years after) and they gave..
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As I remember it, this was a free show or cost next to nothing to attend. It was held in the student union ballroom of San Jose State University. This room was built to be earthquake proof and the floor was suspended on something like springs. When the floor got packed and the music started and people started moving in time with the music the floor started to act like a trampoline. No kidding. If you timed your jump you could launch yourself 3 to 4 feet off the floor. They had to have crew guys hold the P.A. system in place as everything started to wobble. I saw XTC, Huey Lewis, Fabulous Thunderbirds and more in this room and all the shows were amazing with a very intimate vibe. I miss those days.
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Still early in the tour and their career which probably explains the lack of enthusiasm in the audience. The band..
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This is one of the best Boy tour bootlegs around and has all the songs you'd expect to hear at..
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I rediscovered this gig and it is truly fantastic. I listened to the old source a long time ago and..
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Silver Lining is an early version of 11 O'Clock Tick Tock. Musically it's nearly identical (except a few neat little things at the end) but has very different lyrics. Speed of Life has lyrics, unlike the version that was eventually officially released. Trevor is an early version of Touch. Shadows and Tall Trees sounds quite different to the version on Boy.
Overall, a very solid show with great historical value. It's really something special to see the band at this early stage playing with all the passion and fire that will define their whole career.
Highlights
- Life On a Distant Planet (one of my favourite of U2's early songs)
- Another Day
- Pete the Chop
- Cartoon World
- Twilight
- Out of Control
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One of the earliest known bootlegs and a fun one to listen to. As many have said, only here you..
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The tracks that latter would be included on Boy have different lyrics or structures, so it's very interesting listening to..
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Nothing spectacular, fun but inexperienced performance and mediocre sound. The main selling point for this boot is the number of..
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WOW,wow,wow,wow! This is the best bootleg on this site. i know everyone's favorite show(s) is on you were at, but for one that you just download and listen to, this is the best...hands down. we all watched the show in the net, but that takes away from the performance because you subconsciously will compare it to the show(s) you were at. Download t and turn off the lights, get the best pair of headphones or speakers you have, along with whatever enccoutrements you favor, close your eyes and just listen to the show. It is the best sounding bootleg by far. Its also the best setlist of any 1 U2 show ever! And they deliver in the performance of the songs. The only show i can compare this to in terms of sound, performance and setlist is the slain cd. Every fan who listens to this show should write a review, let your thoughts be heard...thank you U2., you played brilliantly. this is the greatest rock performance, at least since Slain, and it will be remembered and enjoyed forever.
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A true raw outdoor performance. Engagement with the crowd takes place at some level on almost every song. Three..
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We were one the few radio station winners to win this contest. Each radio station only had one grand prize..
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One of the most bizarre U2 performances I've ever watched. Edge's guitar stops working at the beginning of New Year's..
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