The Best Concert Ever: U2 360 (Part 1)

It is very difficult for me to describe the energy, emotions, the awe and the sheer exhilaration that I experienced yesterday, but I shall give it my best because after witnessing the best concert, wait spectacle I’ve ever seen I need to put this down in digital ink so that I can look back and be transported back to that place.

The show has been called many things, from one of the greatest live shows this decade to an over-the-top extravaganza. Let me tell you it was all that and much more. There were so many things about this night that made the show as special as it was, and it was the combination of all these things that came together so well which made the experience so brilliantly unique.

The main thing hype about this tour has been the stage, which is dubbed the “Claw” and Bono called it many different things through the night including “this monstrosity”, “our dream”, “our spaceship”. I remember watching the DVDs of the Zoo TV Tours wishing I could’ve seen those lavish setups, but this was pretty close if not better. I had seen the stage on the website before and a few of the videos from other cities but walking in to Rogers Centre and seeing it for yourself, you realize how gigantic the structure is. It was right there in the middle and towered really high above the circular stage. It has these 4 legs/arms which clamped down on the ground and it looked like a giant 4 legged spider.

U2's Monster

All over it were lights, more lights and speakers. The centre stage had three moving bridges which I didn’t notice until the show started but they connected to another circular riser in the middle of the crowd (which was right where our seats were!). Finally on top of the big structure were large screens which wrapped around the body. Upon taking a closer look the screens were made up of smaller screens which actually came apart to form a big cone upon which they could display all these awesome visuals. Although the show wasn’t slated to start until 7:30, I knew that we needed to get there early since we had floor tickets and its standing room only, so being late meant being stuck at the back of the crowd. We got there around 5:15 and the lines were so long already! I was panicking about not getting a good spot and when we finally did get a spot, I thought it was pretty decent as it was close to the barrier separating the GA areas from the Red Zone. Little did I know that the barrier was separating the GA from the riser where the band members could and did walk out to be in the middle of the crowd! As you can probably see from the pictures, they were pretty damn close and it felt awesome.

I’ve never been to an open stadium concert and this was the first time in around 10 years that U2 were playing an open air concert. I think Zoo TV was the last time they did it, so I lucked out there again. They had the Rogers Centre roof open, which also I heard was a rarity, in fact The Star says that the only other time it happened was for Bruce Springsteen. Through the roof you could see the CN tower looming over the stage and coupled with the futuristic looking stage, the CN tower actually seemed like it was a part of the show. I have good reason to believe that it’s partially true because I haven’t seen it light up the way it did that night. I tried to get some of it on video not sure how well that came out. The open dome not only gave the place a good atmosphere, it also helped the sound. This was the first concert where my ears weren’t ringing from the noise, it was loud but not crazy loud yet you could hear every instrument crystal clear.

Lastly, the crowd was so friggin’ great. I’m not sure what it’s about Toronto crowds, but I’ve heard many bands say that this is one of the best cities they play in because the crowds are really great. We met all these great random people. Biggest coincidence was that the person I purchased the tickets from was standing right next to me! I looked over and I asked him if he remembered selling tickets to me and we had a good laugh about it. There were these other girls whom I met and they were really great to talk to and I remember they were sobbing during Amazing Grace and With or Without You, (yes I did offer a shoulder ) When the entire crowd would sing in unison you could feel this rush of energy which was so damn satisfying.

The band was really good even though this was the 2^nd night they were playing. I was wondering how Bono’s voice would last throughout the concert and although there definitely was some fatigue in the end, it wasn’t really noticeable as the crowd were acting as backup singers. Bono is 49 and he obviously can’t sing like he used to but he kept up pretty well throughout the show, his energy was great and his voice was more or less pretty solid. He was running around the crowd, swinging on hanging microphones wearing laser equipped jackets (yes you read that right!) and talking with the crowd. He’s been doing this for 28 years now and you expect him to be a master at this. Edge played some great solos which I haven’t heard from him and that was a good surprise. Larry and Adam were really tight although that’s how they’ve always been, the new record has some really neat bass lines and being all the way up close you could feel the bass right in the middle of your chest, and it was so groovy. Adam is a really cool character on stage, he is just so chill doing his thing. He had a really great feel for the night and he kept adding these little things in between the regular bass lines which was like icing on the cake.

Song: Moment of Surrender

Snow Patrol were opening and they were alright.  I thought they should’ve opened with Open Your Eyes or Chasing Cars because that would’ve grabbed everyone’s attention but they chose some song I wasn’t sure of and they didn’t really sound pretty good until they played Run, which is one of my favourite songs from the band and that made me pay attention to them again. They did admit that they don’t remember much of last night and were a little rough around the edges, lol.

Chasing Cars

They went on to play Chasing Cars, Hands Open and some other song that I can’t remember to finish their set stronger. I think as an opening act they were alright, they did their job in warming up the crowd slightly (the lead singer tried to make everyone sing, but people only gave a half hearted effort). However during the 2^nd part of their set they seemed like they were having a lot of fun being out there and I enjoyed the selection of songs there.

I am splitting this post into two parts because it is getting really long and I don’t want you all to scroll forever! Look for Part 2 for a summary of the entire U2 setlist along with moments that I thought stood out in my memory along with a few more pictures! Here’s the setlist from yesterday:

Just look at that setlist? Freakin’ awesome. 2 encores with all major hits in the middle! Part 2 should be up by tonight!

Also, I am not able to put up the videos that I have, but here’s one from Youtube and this is pretty much the same spot that I had on that night. Just to show you some of the awesomeness from the show!

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~ by Azhar on September 19, 2009.