Chicago 1
Soldier Field
12th
September 2009
This
was my first concert in the US, I was very curious to see how it
would compare to gigs in Europe. I'd had an amazing day loitering
around Soldier Field but the actual concert was let down by appalling
sound where I was in the nosebleeds (see, I'm learning the local
lingo) and a strangely subdued atmosphere.
It was great to
meet Anu and co for a lovely big brunch in the morning. I got down to
Soldier Field about 1pm-ish I think. It was a scorching day and the
guys in the loooong but very spaced out GA queue were baking in it
for hours. The potential GA conflict seemed to have been resolved
amicably enough, I think they just merged the stadium queue with the
day-before queue by creating a double width line at the front.
I
didn't actually have a ticket for last night's show. The ticket
booths still had GAs available at about 5pm, and for $57 too i.e.
with no fees at all. I thought I'd use this info as a bargaining tool
to haggle with ticket touts. I saw a "U2 fan" with four GAs
in his hand. I asked him how much and he said £200. I told him I
only wanted one, and he said that WAS the price for one. And he'd got
them for cost. Others wanted $100 for a GA. "But they're still
available for $57 at the ticket booth", "Really? Ok, have a
nice day". Dearie me, profiteering qunts.
I got a $30
ticket for $20 from a girl who had won four at her work and wanted to
sell em to make some dosh back. But there were quite a few tickets
available, many below face value.
I must say, my general
impression so far is that Americans are extremely friendly and
approachable. (They were giving away a free pint of Guinness to
anyone in a little festival-like field, so I blagged some by cheekily
asking people who didn't want one to get one for me. I'm
contractually obliged as an Irish man to say it's better in Dublin,
but I'm not really a connoisseur. But what is this hilarious system
about having to show photo ID to the police before being allowed to
buy a drink? I'm 36!)
I also gatecrashed my first ever
tailgate party. That was a brilliant eye-opener for me: everyone in
the car-park drinking and having barbeques. And there were a LOT of
people doing it, the atmosphere was great, and the location was
stunning, with the dazzling Chicago skyline and sun setting behind
it.
Most of the people in the tailgate parties didn't go into
the stadium till about 8:30pm, some preferred to stay outside
partying and listening to Snow Patrol on their stereos instead of
going in to see them play, which was a little bit daft.
And
then to the concert.
Many people I'd met during the day
commented that Bono had said Soldier Field had the best sound they'd
had so far on the tour. Well, where I was it was by far the worst
sound. There was an appalling echo which ruined any possible
appreciation of the music. I don't know what people who were seeing
the show for the first time thought of it but I'd be very
disappointed if that was my only experience of this tour.
Also,
the atmosphere all around me and elsewhere I could see was
non-existent for the first hour or so. People were just standing with
their arms folded or hands in pockets. No-one was clapping, singing
along, or barely even moving. Mostly very stationery observing of the
gig. It was very odd, especially for an opening night where I thought
there'd be a lot of hardcore U2 heads in. Maybe the poor sound played
a part but I'd put the atmosphere last night right down with the
(comparatively) poorer atmospheres at Paris and Gothenburg. Even the
GA didn't seem to be too lively.
To be fair, I thought U2
were clearly trying to play a great gig, although I was a bit
disappointed there was nothing new in the setlist. The only
difference was the stunning new spacey video intro for the encore
which ended with a solid blue colour on the screen which bathed the
whole stadium in blue and convinced me was gonna be Your Blue Room.
But it was Ultraviolet again. I guess they played a "safe"
set to impress all the media present for opening night.
Bono
called Chicago the head and heart of America, dedicated CoBL to
Obama, and played a little bit on the Irish card - not unlike myself
I must say
Back
again tonight, let's hope the sound is much better.
Chicago 2
Soldier Field
13th
September 2009
Twittered
this last night:
"Searing, towering concert in Chicago
tonight, much better sound, much better atmosphere and a setlist to
cream your pants to. Lift off USA!"
An amazing concert.
The atmosphere and volume from the crowd towards the end was
deafening. Bono was really fired up for this gig, got the crowd going
from before NLOTH with a little speech about having old songs, new
songs, songs we haven't played before and asking "are you with
us?"
There were a gazillion references to Chicago, how
they could have opened in New York but chose Chicago, it's ok to kiss
Chicago's ass etc ... All lapped up by the crowd.
The outer
stage was used a lot more by all the band but especially Bono, he did
a couple of sprints of the whole ring, collapsing exhausted at the
end of UTEOTW, but still managing to sing Stay very passionately from
his back. He brought a young boy onto the stage from the pit for a
little jog around the stage during CoBL, what an experience for a
young kid!
Your Blue Room was absolutely mesmerising,
beautifully lulling the stadium into a quiet trance. There were no
cheers or applause at the end of it, but not because it didn't work,
probably because it had such a calming effect (and many probably
didn't know it). It was followed by Unknown Caller and these two
worked gorgeously well together.
Amazing Grace was beautiful,
although Bono did bottle trying to hit the REALLY high note in the
middle, and the segue into Streets was perfect. I didn't miss Pride.
I wasn't very impressed with Saturday's gig, thinking it was
one of the worst I've seen on the tour. Last night's was one of the
best. Lift off USA!
...
That's
good cos I was in section 445 on Saturday and the sound was really
bad with a terrible echo. So hopefully they were aware of the problem
and fixed it for the next night.
I was in section 432 on
Sunday and the sound was fine, just a slight echo during some songs,
but not enough to spoil the music, unlike Saturday.
Toronto 1
Rogers Centre
16th
September 2009
My
hostess in Toronto and I got two $100 tix for $40 from a guy who had
two spares and was happy to get anything for them. They were front
row up on the third tier towards the back of the stadium.
Some
quick random observations:
1) the sound was great - and very
loud. Larry's bass drum especially was thunderous, like a booming
bass in a trance club.
2) the CN Tower has fantastic hourly
light displays which were amazing to watch during the concert. I'll
stick a couple of vids below.
3) Bono said that the world
needs more countries like Canada because he had hassled their Prime
Minister so much he'd agreed to give more aid to Africa.
4)
they were a bit less lively than Chicago 2, not using the outer stage
so much but Bono is interacting with the audience more from the
start, trying to work the atmosphere up, especially before NLOTH and
with some cheeky, irreverent band intros before ISHFWILF
5)
Your Blue Room is sooooo downtempo but I like it a lot, mucho
mucho
6) there were a LOT of empty seats around, either not
sold out or there were very many no-shows
7) the atmosphere
wasn't too great, many people spent the entire gig on their arses. My
area only got up on their feet during Streets.
Toronto 2
Rogers Centre
17th
September 2009
A much
better show last night compared to Toronto 1 - and that was a good
show too. But the stadium was much more full and the atmosphere was
much more raucous. Strange that. It was the same in Chicago too - why
is the second night better and louder than the first?
And it
was a much better show despite quite a few sound problems. There
seemed to be some occasional weird kind of interference or distortion
in the sound, and the guitar sound fluctuated like a wave between
being heard clearly and drifting away, at least where I was in the
top tier directly in line with the front of the stage. The booming
bass drum from Toronto 1 had gone too. Edge had a few probs with his
guitars, I think during Magnificent, but most amusingly before Stuck
when Bono had to improvise a little bit of spiel to fill for him.
"Why am I talking to you like this? I'm waiting for the Edge,
shall we check in on him?" Nice!
The crowd in my section
didn't stand up till Mysterious Ways (knocking Beautiful Day off
fifth song spot for the first time on the tour), and even then they
sat down again after each song, only to be up on their feet
immediately when the next song (another big hit) started.
Bono
was again really working the audience between and during songs,
continually ramping the atmosphere up. He had a lovely crowd-pleasing
intro to ISHFWILF about how all these A-list Hollywood celebs who are
in town for the film festival are only flirting with Toronto, "WE
own this town, ours is a long-term relationship".
Although
Bono did make one quite hilarious faux pas at the end of Unknown
Caller when he tried to do his "Toronto, you know your name, so
punch it in" bit, but what he said was "Chica- trona ..."
and then improvised some new lyrics on the spot with a wry, awkward
grimace on his face
He
also managed to get the people in the apartment blocks overlooking
the stadium involved during Stuck by asking them to switch their
lights on and off if they were watching. Quite a few lights began
going on and off. So he's now directing people outside the concert
too! Stuck was amazing, I'm not a big fan of the song usually but
it's superb live.
There was another lovely spontaneous moment
at the end of Streets when all four band members ended up on Larry's
little drum podium, producing this huge, epic stadium blockbusting
sound whilst huddled together into a small space in the centre of the
stage.
Bono brought a young boy onto the stage during CoBL for
a little jog around the stage. At Toronto 1 the boy ran alongside
Bono, last night he raced ahead, leaving Bono trailing in his wake.
The boy then started out on a victory lap of honour but Bono called
him back.
But a fantastic concert last night, when they're
good they're very, very good.
Boston 1
Gillette Stadium
21st
September 2009
Didn’t go to the concert.
Boston 2
Gillette Stadium
21st
September 2009
My two
hosts in Boston, one of their friends and I got into the pit at
7:50pm on Adam's side. We got a great spot about two rows from the
back rail at the centre. And it wasn't too packed in there, I'm sure
it wasn't full.
It was my first time in the pit on this tour
(I was in the pit with Infinity Girl at Dub 2 but we left to grab
outer rail cos it was too packed). It was a rather good gig
Some
quick random observations:
- magnificent new opener
-
it was fantastic seeing all the little intra-band interactions, the
nods, winks, laughs at private jokes during the show
- Larry
had to sprint to get back to his kit during Crazy Tonight, and he and
his roadie (Sam) acted out a little joke with Larry pretending to
throw his bongo from a further distance out on the bridge and Sam
egging him on to throw it to him
- the lead-in to the first
line of Streets seemed a bit prolonged, I noticed Larry jokingly
shake his head at Adam a few times and then nod, as if he was telling
Adam to find his rhythm or something - and then Bono missed his
timing for the first line
-
really liked seeing Adam have a cup of tea with MLK
-
Bostonians are very quick to their fists. I'd seen two fights the
previous day, one I think was over parking in Boston, another was at
Mansfield station when a taxi driver challenged someone over picking
up passengers. Another one almost broke out in front of me at one
point during the show when a guy jumping around bumped into a guy
taking pictures, but I stepped between the two blokes to calm them
down, and thankfully they quickly shook hands
- ALWAYS ask
security if you can get into the pit - no matter what time you
arrive!
New York 1
Giants Stadium
23rd
September 2009
I was
at the outer rail area in the pit on Adam's side at the start of the
show. I got into the pit at 8:15pm!
I missed Muse cos I had
to wait for a friend of a friend to arrive in his car (who parked
about a mile from the stadium) so I could leave my bag there cos
they'd banned all backpacks from the stadium. And I was soooo looking
forward to seeing them too. Hopefully tonight.
But I walked
straight into the pit when I finally got into the stadium. My new
challenge is to see how late I can get into the pit. It was 7:50pm at
Boston 2, and now 8:15pm at New York 1.
I thought the noise
coming down from the stands was absolutely deafening, it was one of
the loudest audiences I've heard. I moved out the field during NYD,
and then to the back centre after Walk On and the noise from the
crowd was still insane. The stadium has a perfect shape for a
decibel-tastic 360 show.
Some random observations:
-
the view from the side of the pit (and I suspect a large chunk of the
Red Zone) is pretty rubbish, I'd rather be out in the centre of the
field
- Bono led a jam of a Bruce Springsteen song for his
60th bday which merged into Desire and back again, although Headache
suggests it was soundchecked so this may not have been as spontaneous
as it first appears
- I didn't see the point of bringing
Tattoo Dan with tattoos up onstage tbh, has he been up there
before?
- the atmosphere was fantastic during the big hits
like Mysterious Ways and ISHFWILF, the whole stadium looked like it
was on its feet for the whole show
- Bono had a few voice
probs, he sang the opening lines of MLK a few times trying to get it
right (although he was playing with his earpiece too so maybe he had
some sound probs), but when he found the key he wanted it was
beautiful
- there was a spontaneous jam of Don't Stop Till You
Get Enough after Beautiful Day for Quincey Jones who was in the
audience (although I think it segued more fluidly after Desire
earlier in the tour)
- Bono releases himself from his
self-imposed exile and now joins the rest of the band out on the
outer stage during Crazy Tonight which makes some lovely shots of all
the band interacting with each other and the audience
- a lot
of people left after Streets, the fools
New York 2
Giants Stadium
24th
September 2009
I got a
seat in the nosebleeds for $30 face outside - the guy wanted $50
originally. The seat was three rows from the very top and back of
Giants Stadium behind the stage on Edge's side, a seat to enjoy the
dazzling visual spectacle from more than watch the band play.
But
there was another phenomenal atmosphere last night. People were all
on their feet immediately from the very start, unlike Chicago and
Toronto when they sat down for most of the show.
I really
like how they're mixing up the order of songs so that you're not too
sure what song will be next. Breathe into Boots suggested Magnificent
and NLOTH might be dropped so when they were played I appreciated
them more, especially NLOTH which is becoming one of my fav U2 songs
ever.
I think the opening is better with two big hits
(Mysterious Ways and Beautiful Day) after Breathe and Boots and
before Magnificent and NLOTH.
Some random (Bono)
observations:
- Bono did a lot of name checking and shout outs
(Kanye West, Mick Jagger, Julian Lennon twice, loadsa artists and
guitar players, local activists) including a long compliment to Mayor
Bloomberg
- Bono's mess up of Stay was probably because he was
knackered after sprinting around the outer stage at the end of
UTEOTW, if messing the verses up means the song's longer then I'm all
for it
- Bono's voice was in fantastic shape, especially as it
was his fourth show in five nights, e.g. he nailed the high squeal at
the end of WoWY, and sang passionately and beautifully throughout
-
did Bono really dedicate One to people in "single sex
marriages"?! Or did I mishear him? I assume he meant same-sex
marriages, or maybe it really is "consummation, but no more"
-
I really liked Bono's little brag about playing to the most people in
Giants Stadium, more than the Boss, more than the Pope
-
watching the stunning video and light display from above the Claw
very nearly makes up for being so far from the real action
-
met three Interferencers before and after the show: the utterly
fabulous Maria, Joanne and Bonnie, thanks for feeding me and the lift
back to Manhattan!
Washington DC
Fedex Field
29th
September 2009
I think (Bono had a problem with his wireless mic pack) during New Year's Day. Bono dragged Phil (his stage assistant) across to the mic behind him to start his fast hand clappy bit after Edge's solo. It was quite comical really!
…
(Moment of Surrender is) far, far, far and away the best song of the concert imo.
...
I've managed to get into the pit at 7:50pm at Boston 2, 8:15pm at NY1
and 7:35pm at DC.
The security were trying to wave people
into the pit at DC yesterday on Edge's side, although Adam's side was
full.
...
I'm quite tall and even though I've got into the pit quite late I
always find a space where there are guys taller than me behind me,
and then I'll quickly check that they have no huge objection to me
standing in front of em. A considerate late arrival hopefully
Charlottesville
Scott Stadium
01st
October 2009
I thought it was a strange choice of town for a
concert until I saw all the female students running around in shorts
and vests. I'll never doubt U2's tour manager again
Raleigh
Carter-Finley Stadium
03rd
October 2009
I watched both Muse and U2 from the grassy knoll outside the stadium
which had a clear view to the stage. There were quite a few people
sitting up there too, until they played Streets when everyone stood
up and danced.
A massive thank you thank you thank you to
Lisa (BlueRoomGirl) and Kelly for giving me a door-to-door lift from
Charlottesville to Raleigh on Friday. Sorry I didn't catch up with
youse again on Saturday as I got there a bit later than hoped for
from the conference in Durham, the next show you're at beers are on
me!
...
Hey, well done man, that (singing People Get Ready) was far
and away the highlight of the concert! Get ye into a band at once!
Atlanta
Georgia Dome
06th
October 2009
Nothing!
Tampa
Raymond James Center
09th
October 2009
I was collected by ramblinrose and her cousin from my hotel at
lunchtime who not only gave me a lift to the stadium, but also gave
me a GA ticket! So big big muchos gracias Rosa!
It was a
furnace of a day, unbearably hot for me. When we got around to the GA
line around 2pm, security had unbelievably made everyone stand up
squashed together in small pens. I saw one person vomiting, and
another being treated by paramedics. Just what were security
thinking?
We waited to see the band drive into the stadium a
bit after 4pm, Bono put his window down to wave and shout at the
fans, but he didn't come out to say hello, apparently cos they didn't
have enough time.
I got into the gig just at the end of
Breathe cos I had to meet an ol chum Kelly and her mate to pass on
two tickets. The crowd was quite thick at the back of the field where
the GA entrance was, so I thought it would be a really busy field,
but it was only a bottleneck as there was a lot more space further
in. I actually got into the pit on Edge's side during Boots, so it's
still not filling up. But I went back out to the centre of the field
after ISHFWILF, as I prefer that spot with a full view of the stage
to standing at the side of the pit (I could have squeezed through to
the centre of the pit but didn't bother trying).
Some random
observations:
- very hot gig, so the band were drinking lots
of water, and Bono removed his jacket after SBS, I'm sure Mala was
happy
-
new video intro before Ultraviolet, this one has the cartoon baby
face from Achtung Baby morphing into an image of the steering wheel
mic; I thought it might be an intro to Zoo Station as they did on the
Vertigo tour, but alas no
- the video link-up chat with the
first clown in space is a very nice idea but just seemed to be a bit
of an ostentatious show n tell - "hey! look! we can talk to
people in space during our concert!" So there was the usual
"Earth looks very beautiful but very fragile" chat
-
they followed the video space station chat with Elevation which was
better than In A Little While for restoring the atmosphere, although
personally I think it's slipped into the "Overplayed"
category, along with Mysterious Ways
- bring back Unknown
Caller!
- I liked Bono's little joke that "we bought
this space ship ... actually YOU bought it, we built it"
-
Bono saluted the Stars n Stripes flying on the stadium after praising
Florida and the US before ISHFWILF (I think), and the fluttering flag
was shown on the video screen at the start of Streets too, as well as
Bono dedicating Stand By Me to anyone in the audience with relatives
in the American forces;
- there was a small plane with an LED
display on the underside of its wings flying around during the
concert with adverts, although it also had messages in Irish like
"Failte Go Tampa U2" (Welcome to Tampa), and "Pog Mo
Thoin" (kiss my arse - an Irish swearie word) which was a nice
touch
- there was a girl on someone's shoulders in the pit
during One who ignored all the security's flashlight waving to tell
her to get down, you go girl!
- my mates arrived very late but
managed to get a parking space at the front of the lot, we were the
first out of the lot and onto the main road, so I was back at my
hotel by 11:30pm, hope everyone else had no probs getting out!
-
can anybody explain what Bono is on about when he brings a boy
onstage for CoBL and says he's looking for the face he had before the
world was made? He's giving his shades to the lucky wee chap to keep
Dallas
New Cowboys Stadium
12th
October 2009
Nothing!
Houston
Reliant Stadium
14th
October 2009
Very, very few of the people down in the pit around me knew the words
to ANY of the songs. Most people just stood watching the stage like
they were watching a play. The really weird thing, and I was almost a
bit angry, was that they weren't even applauding after songs!
Seriously. I looked around during and after songs and most people
were merely standing there mute. I think they were all rich Red Zone
auction winners out to see the big show but who decided to come into
the pit instead.
The atmosphere seemed to be great in the
stands though, and in the centre of the pit. The volume was certainly
coming down from the stands. Bono had everyone in the stands waving
their arms during Mysterious Ways, and clapping during ISHFWILF. He
gave each band member a Star Trek type job title, I forget them but
Edge was something like Chief Engineer.
Bono brought a girl
up on the outer stage at the end of Mysterious Ways, I think she (or
someone near her) had a large sign saying "Bono you fill the
hole in my heart". She stayed up there with him too during
Beautiful Day, it took him a while to get her off the stage.
Another odd thing is how parents will take quite small
children into the pit and offer them up to Bono like sacrificial
lambs. (You should have offered your son up Kassandra
)
Edge
was strumming the first verse of Streets during the intro part, I
think he played the short intro version whilst the band played the
long intro version. He went for a run around the outer stage during
the second verse, and then came back and joined the rest of the band
on Larry's drum podium for the end of the song. He actually kicked
one of Larry's cymbals at the end of the song and Larry turned and
gave him a big laugh.
There was another new video intro to the
encore, I think that's the fourth one now.
Kassandra, her
chums and I all ended up about five rows from the rail at the end of
the show on Edge's side of the pit. And Bono came right over to sing
Moment of Surrender to us at the end which was amazing.
And
all on an insanely humid day in Houston. They had the air-con on in
the stadium, with the roof open!
Am I allowed to mention
meeting Bono briefly before the show and passing him a certain object
...?
Norman
Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
18th
October 2009
I got a
GA ticket outside for $20 around 7pm which was a bargain. A great
gig, with a slightly extended setlist, and despite a few probs.
The
sound was fairly patchy. I started off in the left stand (facing the
stage) and the sound for Breathe and Boots was very flakey. The
drums, guitar and bass would all intermittently fade, possibly cos of
the wind.
After Beautiful Day I moved around to the front
stand, which was really close to the stage cos the stage was turned
sideways along the length of the pitch. (There were no stewards
checking tickets so changing spots was easy.) The sound there was
much better, although still very crackly for quite a few songs, like
there was a cable loose somewhere.
Edge had quite a few probs,
including a weird noise right from the very start when he was under
the stage before Breathe. He also had some probs with the sounds
coming from his orchestra in a few other songs like Unknown Caller,
Unforgettable Fire, CoBL.
The audience only really came alive
during the big hit singles, I don't think very many there had even
heard Magnificent. And what is this thing about people sitting and
watching concerts in absolute silence, and not even applauding after
songs? Very odd.
Unknown Caller was really great, with a new
video clip of Terry Lawless in the Underworld during his solo, when
the camera slowly moving down from Bono's face to his feet and then
smoothly segueing into footage of the area beneath the stage. Until
The End of The World was fab, as was In a Little While.
There
was some new video imagery of a map of the world with a radar-like
line moving across it before Magnificent ("what time is it in
the world?")
I watched the Black Eyed Peas from the pit
(which was very packed), and they really got the college crowd
jumping and singing with their show, although it's not my type of
music - I don't like people with microphones shouting at me.
It
was a cold old night by the end of the show. Before Moment of
Surrender Bono got everyone on the field to sit down in a warm huddle
before standing up together as part of some international world
record stand-up-athon or something.
Why have they cut a few
lines from Moment of Surrender? Bring it back!
Phoenix
University of Phoenix Stadium
20th
October 2009
This
should be a two word review: Bono's voice.
Incredible x (pick
a very high number)
I said in a review when he first sang
Amazing Grace how he dodged the really high note. Man, he nailed it
with lots of interest in Phoenix.
And Shane MacGowan was in
the audience. I tried to see if he was in the celeb area below the
sound desk but he wasn't there. Spotted Goldie (UK drum n bass
artist) there though.
Las Vegas
Sam Boyd Stadium
23rd
October 2009
GA Joe,
the Thomas Jefferson of the U2 GA line, the man who wrote the
constitution
And a sounder guy you will never meet. Is he on Interference?
Los Angeles
Pasadena Rose Bowl
25th October 2009
I
remember the efforts you and Carlos went to to try to explain this to
all the people charging forward and trying to jump the queue, with
not a single steward in sight. I went to try to find someone from
security from the front of the queue but they were all behind the
barriers for the ticket checks and there wasn't a single other one
around.
It was all a bit of a shambles, especially compared
to other cities like Chicago where the entire line was marshalled and
supervised the whole way to the back once the gates had opened.
Vancouver
BC Place
28th October
2009
No review. Lazy bastard.