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2018-08-31 - Berlin
 Tour: Experience and Innocence tour
Songs played: 25
Audio recordings: 2
Videos: 1
  1. didn't really do any sightseeing, but I just noticed this bridge near Ostbahnhof (and the arena) which looked at lot like this..
    does anyone know if it's the same spot ? not that important, but I was just wondering..

    Edit: I just found it on google streetview and it's totally different
  2. Originally posted by Ricku2:didn't really do any sightseeing, but I just noticed this bridge near Ostbahnhof (and the arena) which looked at lot like this.. [image]
    does anyone know if it's the same spot ? not that important, but I was just wondering..

    Edit: I just found it on google streetview and it's totally different
    Rick, nice to meet you again afther the show. Unfortunatelly you missed the 3.30 shoarma. Pieter was in a hurry........
  3. Ok, a long one here, perhaps in Swenglish, but my intentions are all good:

    I’m not an avid writer here, but I read a lot. So thanks to everyone in here who are contributing, and the biggest thanks to Remy and all other U2start-staffers.
    You’re the best.

    This time, I feel that I must do more than read. I need and want to put this Berlin show in perspective.

    So, this is my story.

    I’ve been a fan since the Zooropa tour back in 1993, when I caught the band in Stockholm on the night Stay got it’s live debut. That night changed my life. It really did, and I owe U2 so much. I made a promise to myself that rainy night, and that was to go out and chase the power of music – that mysterious power that brings strangers together, lifts us up and make us sing our hearts out. That night it was Streets that blew my mind, it was like a spiritual awakening, and I haven’t quite recovered yet.

    Now, to put that in context: I hated U2 before that concert. I considered them boring and dull (Rattle & hum was not that exciting for a teenager at the end of the 80’s). But I let my friends talk me in to it, and I decided to follow them to Stockholm and the concert.

    As I said, that changed everything: after that show I wanted to dedicate my life to music. But since I was not the best at my instrument (played violin since I was 4) I decided it was better to write about music. Three years later I got my first gig as a music journalist.

    During my ten years as a reviewer I covered loads of concerts. Many hundreds. Springsteen. Depeche Mode. Pearl Jam. Coldplay. Killers. Black Sabbath. Manic Street Preachers. Suede. Oasis. Caught every U2 tour, also after I changed career. Popmart times three. Elevation, four concerts. Was at Slane Castle. Madison Square Garden and New Jersey 2005. 360 in many places. Innocence times three. Joshua Tree at Croke Park. Experience in Amsterdam, both nights.

    And so, a couple of weeks ago me and my dear friend decided we wanted to go to Berlin and catch the last concert of the tour. We were lucky enough to get hold of great tickets in the near-last-minute. Flew in late, wheels down at five o’clock, bags in hotel room and then off to the Mercedes Benz Arena.

    Now, as I said, I have been to many concerts, but I haven’t experienced what we witnessed this Tuesday (Tuesday for heavens sake! Not Saturday night…). We got a setlist that I would chop off fingers to see. Not only Acrobat, but Gloria, Zoo Station and Dirty Day in the same set. I mean, come on. That was unthinkable ten years ago. And above that a band on fire – and an audience that was… spectacular. The energy in that room, from the first bars to the last, was just off the charts.

    From time to time a read some negative comments in here, and that’s ok. But for me, a man who weigh his words and is careful with superlatives: I loved every minute of it. And they got his night on film, one of my (and hopefully theirs) best nights ever, and I can’t wait to show my family and my friends that yes, indeed, although critized many times, I made the right decision 25 years ago: to work with music and writing, and to follow U2.

    I chose the right band, with the best tribe.

    Thanks to all of you who made this last show such a special one.
    And... yes, this might have been the best of them all.
  4. Originally posted by Papo:[..]

    No.There is no queue that starts three days before the show with people leaving and coming back. It's only in some MAD people's minds. It's a condition. And behaviour as the above mentioned with aggressive behaviour against others who don't know about the bizarre 'queue Ing ritual' is really, really sad.


    My point is that when security hands out wristbands and tell people to come back at 5pm, security should fence off one entry or make other arrangements. At opening night in Berlin they did fence off an area and it was clear to anyone that the area was meant for wristbanded people. Last Tuesday nothing was arranged and then you get the clash between the wristbanded and other folks who queued for four hours or so.

    Again, I'm not intending to fire up a discussion about the sense and non-sense of a four day GA queue, but when security hands out wristbands the second step of fencing off one entry has to made as well.
  5. Originally posted by ver2go:[..]
    Rick, nice to meet you again afther the show. Unfortunatelly you missed the 3.30 shoarma. Pieter was in a hurry........
    ha ha, I'm actually glad I missed that.. but it was nice to have a little afterparty and hear some of the personal tour experiences...

  6. What a show, what a fans, what a time I had in Berlin the last 2 days. First went to the Hansa studios. I stood there (with many foreign U2 fans) were once Achtung Baby was recorded near the wall. Can you imagine. Met some very cool and nice U2 Start fans before and at the afterparty. The Edge was amazing with his solos, especially on The Fly. And Gloria, Dirty Day, New Years Day were incredible so were many others. Bono's intro's were so emotional. To see him leaving the stage on 13 (There's a Light) makes me almost crying because it came to an end. Thank you Berlin and thank you 4 boys from the north side of Dublin.
  9. It was a pleasure to meet you too Remy and a pleasure to enjoy a few drinks before and after the show with great company. Amazing people on this site.
  10. Originally posted by Maaaike:[image]
    The Hansa studio and bus tour was very nice too. So much information (in German), I thought my head would burst ? But so many nice anecdotes about Bowie, Depeche mode and U2.

    After we left the Meistersaal (the big recording room) to go to the former control and mix room, I sneaked out, went back to the big room, put my phone on the floor, and played the part of 'From the Sky Down' where Sick Puppy turns into One. To hear that moment in the very room where it happened was quite a beautiful experience ?

    The bus tour was great! Thilo, our guide, took us to loads of U2 related spots: locations from the One and Stay videos, but also the band's favorite restaurant, their hotel, the clubs where they played when the just started, and the One HQ. For each of these spots, Thilo prepared a video presentation with U2 backgrounds, videos and songs.

    Really a perfect way to end my Berlin adventure.


    I did this tour with Thilo after the cancelled Berlin show. I would highly recommend this to everyone. Sitting in that ballroom is an amazing experience. I’m glad you got to do this Maaaike!
  11. Originally posted by deanallison:[..]
    It was a pleasure to meet you too Remy and a pleasure to enjoy a few drinks before and after the show with great company. Amazing people on this site.
    Great to meet you Dean and others!
  12. Great to meet you too Paul, I really hope in the future a big group of us can all meet up for a show, had never considered travelling myself before to see u2 but wouldn’t think twice now.