tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36454108848005927602024-02-19T12:00:35.804+00:00Luminous TimesI've been a U2 fan for over 30 years, it's hard to believe I'd been a fan for a generation. I decided then to write about my years of being a fan - the music, concerts, meetings with the band, friends I've made and places visited. Everything is true, but some names have been changed. Naturally there was a lot more in my life than U2, but for this blog I am concentrating only on things associated in some way with the band. Enjoy!Sue Fellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06951812428294589815noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-31673218876705591712015-06-17T22:51:00.001+01:002015-06-17T22:56:12.620+01:00U2 Magic in Montreal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A bit of U2 magic in Montreal last night, I've never seen so many fans on stage what an experience, great to see the band literally getting up close to fans, I missed that on the last tour. Can't wait for October when I'll be seeing them live!<br />
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Sue Fellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06951812428294589815noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-59936370670530307512015-03-10T15:41:00.001+00:002015-03-10T15:41:58.429+00:00Songs of Innocence - My Thoughts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well I've finally made myself sit down and write about U2's latest album, just six months after it's release lol! Not sure why I haven't written properly about it until now - it's certainly not because I don't like it. I'm not going to do a song by song review, there's no point now and I will not be writing a deep analysis either. I'm just going to write about what the album means to me.<br />
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Firstly, Songs of Innocence was a long time coming, over five years, which, even for the slow working U2, was a record. I must admit, though I've been a fan for over thirty years I didn't hold out much hope for this album. The band's last few albums, though good, were nothing outstanding, nothing that excited or surprised me and I honestly thought, that's it, they're in their 50's now and they have had an amazing career but they have lost that spark, that creativity. I hated to admit it to myself, but after all these years of being a fan, I was drifting away and not over-excited at the thought of a new album, I needed a U2 injection, a boost to bring me back to the fold.<br />
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The first surprise was the way it was released, we knew that we would see an album soon, but there it was, at the launch of the iPhone 6, free in your Cloud waiting to be downloaded, Songs of Innocence! Of course there were a lot of people who were "outraged" at this intrusion of their phones, But people didn't have to download it did they? I got a new HTC not that long ago and in my music there were various songs I didn't put there, I just deleted them, no big deal. But of course, the U2/Bono haters had to jump up and down about it.<br />
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Now I'm not into the corporate side of U2 that's developed over the last fifteen or so years, in fact I really dislike that side of them. I admired them when they were not into all that. But, like it or not U2 is a business as well as a great band, that's the reality and this PR stunt really got them and Songs of Innocence into the headlines, something they probably needed as they had been absent from the scene for so long. I think in some ways it may have backfired a little as many people were talking more about the so-called phone intrusion rather than the actual music on the album. But that aside U2 were back in the spotlight.<br />
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So this surprise release got me all excited, and, once I'd figured out how to download it, I listened to it. And I listened again. For me it wasn't instantly an amazing album, but, for the first time in many years, here was a U2 album where the music surprised and excited me, it was not safe or predictable, it was, different, very different and had me both questioning and feeling a buzz inside which is always a good sign!<br />
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I quickly realised this was the album I'd wanted U2 to make for a very long time, it's an album about their own roots and influences in Ireland. They've explored other influences in their career but never the things that from their early pre-fame days formed them in who they are as people and a band. I've always felt that, besides their talent, two things make U2 special, the fact that they the best of friends and that they are Irish (or in the case of Adam and Edge grew up in Ireland) being Irish is a big part of what makes this band great. So for me it was only natural that they would one day explore that in their music.<br />
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The albums looks at both musical influences <i>The Miracle of Joey Ramone </i>(The Ramones) and <i>This is Where You Can Reach Me Now </i>(The Clash) and more personal songs such as <i>Iris </i>about Bono's mother who died when he was 14, and <i>Cedarwood Road, </i>the street where Bono grew up, and the beautiful, melodic <i>Song for Someone </i>about Bono's childhood sweetheart Ali who he is still married to now. <i>Iris</i> especially is heart-breakingly personal and incredibly moving. I have always admired artists are able to open their heart and soul to the audience like this.<br />
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The lyrics (credited to both Bono and Edge) are some of the most honest and soul-baring I've seen from U2 and are some of the best written for many years. I've always been a fan for whom the lyrics are as important as the music and over the last few releases I felt that the lyrics were often lacking, but with this album they are up to the best U2 standard once more.<br />
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As a fan of 32 years, I feel Songs of Innocence is very much an album for longtime fans like myself. We are of a similar age, and really understand where the songs are coming from, many of us have lived through similar experiences. And we used to buy our U2 albums as 12 inch LPs, (as per SOI cover) no Internet or downloads then! There is a tour starting a a couple of months and these songs will change and develop as always on tour, so looking forward to hearing them live.<br />
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Finally, there is a rumoured follow-up album called Songs of Experience which will be a look at their experiences later in their career. To me, and many others, it feels like these two albums are a lead up to the end of U2. It's telling their story in music, and, to me, it would be a good way to say goodbye. The band are in their mid-50's now and you have to be realistic about how much longer they can go on. They will have been together for 40 years next year, and still producing good music, what an achievement - and it also would be a good time to bow out. But who knows!<br />
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Is Songs of Innocence a great U2 album on a par with The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby? I don't think so, but it is a great creative, honest piece of music from a band that still has something to say. It is also the album that brought me back into the U2 fold, even now U2 can surprise me!</div>
Sue Fellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06951812428294589815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-90351303566995474792014-11-07T00:25:00.001+00:002014-11-07T00:51:15.496+00:00Songs of Innocence is Here!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Well there is a new U2 album out! In fact it's been out for two months and I still haven't got round to doing a review. I don't really know why, well yes, maybe I do know why. I love this album and its content took me by surprise, it's a step back to the early days of the band member's lives, or more specifically Bono's life. There are wonderful songs and the lyrics are back to some of the best ever written. It is a deep and very personal album.<br />
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The album is also a grower and that's another reason I haven't done a review yet. It has changed and developed over the weeks in my mind. Now I feel I'm almost at a point to do a review, so expect a post here soon!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-68445571724729262992014-05-22T16:13:00.000+01:002014-05-22T16:13:15.244+01:00Is the New Album Out Yet - No!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
More long time no write. There was a little spurt in the New Year when it looked like the PR engine was revving up nicely, a (good) single, Invisible, was released, there were an appearances on TV and radio, even a performance at the Grammys. Then it all went quiet again and we heard the band was working with new producers etc. It all felt very deja vu, how often have we been here before?<br />
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So now the questions and answers are:<br />
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Is the new album out yet? No.<br />
Is there a date for an album release? No.<br />
Is there any reliable info about the situation? No.<br />
Am I getting sick of all this? Yes.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-56726090368274061292013-12-18T00:36:00.004+00:002013-12-18T00:36:58.228+00:00Long Time No Write<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've not updated this blog for a long time purely because U2 has been in hibernation from public view. There was a big bit of news recently though, the band's fifth member, manager Paul McGuinness, stepped down from managing the band and sold Principle Management to Live Nation. Guy Oseary takes over as manager. I can see why Paul, in his mid-60's now wants to step back. It is a major change for a band that is a creature of habit, I'm not sure what it will mean for the future. It could mean that U2 gets revitalised, more in sync with its fans (it's a long time since they were!) and take some risks. Or, equally, it could be the beginning of the end if they band can't adapt to the changes. Time will tell, but my feeling is that it will be the latter, the band seems to have lost it's fire and creativity over the last few years and I'm not sure they can retrieve that.<br />
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Meanwhile, fans are patiently waiting for the next album that has been the usual stop-go-stop-go palaver re release. It'll come - eventually.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-44678816021112197572013-04-02T20:29:00.001+01:002013-04-02T20:29:53.995+01:002011 Canada - Toronto, Memories, Heat and the Last 360 Show<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">11 July 2011</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">We had arrived in Toronto the previous day from Montreal. It felt very strange for me being there again. I had worked near Toronto as a mothers help for a year when I was young. And in the thirty years since then this was the first time I'd been back. Of course lots had changed since then, but there was still lots still there that I remembered too. And at times I felt like I was that young girl for whom it was all such an adventure again, though also I did not really recognise her.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; line-height: 18px;" /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">We felt refreshed and ready for anything when we got up on show day. We decided to go to the nearby St Lawrence Market and have some breakfast there. However, it was closed on Mondays so we found a Starbucks around the corner and had coffee and cake. While we were sitting outside a man tied his gorgeous little dog beside us while he went in to buy something. The dog was so sweet, chilled and loved a tickle. When the man came out I asked him what type of dog it was and he said it was a Maltese cross and that she was a lovely dog, she was called Poops (hopefully a nickname!) It was so sweet to see how much he loved his little dog and vice versa. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">At lunch time Debbi, Julie and I walked to the Radisson Harbourfront Hotel where we were meeting Dianne and her husband Dan (who had flown in for the show) for lunch. It was nice to see Dan again, he's such a lovely man. I had a delicious salad with goats cheese and strawberries, a perfect combination, just the thing in the hot weather.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">We walked the short distance to the Rogers Centre which was beside the still elegant (after 35 years) CN Tower that dominates the city. We waited for the band's arrival, we only saw Bono smiling and waving from his car. It was an extremely hot day, and Toronto was the hottest place in Canada - at one point the mercury hit 33 degrees centigrade! Add to that the humidity created by the Great Lakes and it was unbelievably hot, for me, an English rose from northern England that was very, very hot, I thought I'd melt, but somehow I survived it!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">We didn't want to go into the stadium until the as late as possible so we ended up back at the Radisson and had something to eat outside on the patio overlooking Lake Ontario, there was a nice breeze coming off the lake so it was pleasant there. Even with the heat I was loving Toronto, it's such a handsome city, fabulous location, lovely vistas, great new and old architecture, for me it beats Montreal any day.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Then it was off back to the Rogers Centre. It was all well organised, no Fan Jams, easy to find seats, toilets, food etc, in other words, how it should be! We had cheaper seated tickets this time so were quite high up, but each row of seats had a metal bar in front of them so it felt safe and helped my vertigo! The stadium was round rather than rectangular and very high,earlier in the day the retractable roof (it was the first in the world) was closed as a storm had been forecast, but it was now open as the storm hit further south. This was one of the few stadiums the Claw didn't peek out of. Opposite us stood the CN Tower soaring into the sky. It was still very hot and humid and sweat stood on my brow the entire evening.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">U2 started at the usual time and we were up out of our seats and bopping away only to realise most of the people around us had their arses firmly planted on their seats! Though a U2 audience is always very mixed age-wise around us it was mainly young people and I just could not believe they were so boring! As the seats were so steep we didn't block people's view so we just stayed stood up. Even in the pit around the Claw people seemed not that into it. Bono worked really hard to get the crowd going and they did improve but were not a patch on the two Montreal crowds. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">For the Toronto band intros Bono apologised for the year's delay caused by his back injury last year referred to the changes in the members during the tour. Adam "became a father for the first time." Larry was in a movie with Donald Sutherland; and Edge wanted to write a musical about a "superhero? scientist? - being bitten by a spider and becoming a nerd." He rambled on, "</span>Who can fathom the workings of this man's mind? A genius on guitars and everything else... very good at train sets."<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> To which Edge mumbled something about modesty LOL! </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During City of Blinding Lights Bono got a boy up on stage and walked an entire circuit of the walkway with him, the lad imitating Bono's stance etc. prompting him to say, "you're not a shy boy are you?"</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All through the show the Claw had a rival unique to Toronto for special effects - the lights of the CN Tower. Lights of varying colours pulsed and rippled around and up and down the tower, often in time to the music, it looked great! The lighting on the CN tour is controlled by a computer we heard later.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At one point Bono said he had "breaking news" and the stadium became amazingly quiet and he continued to say that over the last two years two million more Africans had been saved from AIDs-related illness in the last two years.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;">A one point Bono was on one of the bridges and someone threw a Canadian flag at him. He picked it up and put it in a back pocket of his trousers, "Canada shining out of my backside" he laughed. He</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"> briefly mentioned the moon, saying we couldn't see it, but that it was, "smiling down on us." Strangely Bono didn't mention the tower, maybe he couldn't see it from the stage.</span></span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The set was the same as the first night in Montreal, I was hoping for Bad but it wasn't to be. It was a good show, but not a great show. I think part of that for me was due to the lacklustre crowd around us, don't know why they pay good money to sit in their seats for a rock concert! </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was also my last 360 Tour show and I felt a bit sad as I watched the band leave the stage. 360 had been a part of my summer for the last three years and it was now finally over for me. Lots of travel, fun, highs and lows, sun, rain, wind, magic U2 moments, good friends - what wonderful times we have on these escapades. Now I'll have to start saving for the next tour!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-1194866303995484702013-04-02T19:57:00.000+01:002013-04-02T20:32:02.372+01:002011 Canada - Montreal 2 Magic Moments<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">9th July 2011</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-UWeihPNY_sQmT8IbCwU_WdGatojGj2dZdWOlJH_sgOt3zTmqfEEyrzAqiHgEoit4QvBNLjuctYXcgzzBvzpVeT5BIS2a0Ldf9RE9iP2Id2sRBkk7ztFfhtdGMv075Mwpp2TooODDrXH3/s1600/Edge+Montreal+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #01aa98; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-UWeihPNY_sQmT8IbCwU_WdGatojGj2dZdWOlJH_sgOt3zTmqfEEyrzAqiHgEoit4QvBNLjuctYXcgzzBvzpVeT5BIS2a0Ldf9RE9iP2Id2sRBkk7ztFfhtdGMv075Mwpp2TooODDrXH3/s320/Edge+Montreal+%25283%2529.JPG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(206, 206, 206); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Edge in Montreal</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Due to our very late night last night we had a lie in today. After breakfast Debbi and I went into the city centre and met up with Michelle. We saw Edge leave for the stadium, he signed autographs and chatted, as lovely as he always is. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I think he's taken over form Larry as the most youthful looking band member nowadays.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Michelle shouted out "Play Out of Control tonight" I was amazed quietly spoken Michelle could shout like that LOL! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">We didn't have time to go back to the apartment before we needed to head for the stadium ourselves so we decided to have something to eat in Chinatown which wasn't far form where we were. We found a place called The Jasmine Garden that did a buffet meal for $14.95, sounded perfect for us. It was very nice, so much to choose from, some was unlabelled so some of it was a surprise, I nearly put a chicken foot on my plate but realised what it was in time!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">We went back to the Metro and got the train to Namur ready for our second gig. It had been another hot day but as we arrived quite late the worst of the heat was gone. We walked to the stadium only to be stuck in another Fan Jam of people this time trying to get through the entry points! I couldn't believe it, there was an ocean of people inching it's way forward. It took an hour to get to gain entry and by now Interpol were nearing the end of their set, not that I minded missing them. We all really needed the spend a penny so we joined yet another long queue for the portaloos. As we got nearer we had a laugh with the people around us, saying we could only have five seconds in the loo, but then we decided fifteen was a little better! I could hear people counting out loud when I was inside! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQcrSXKlusfOH-z8ceBTgrAPQG8oD9tzUxRMYuQYeim8QXKAzGf96REA_9USRslbU3bRTsh8848bb-9ngGJ2ko9-yPdXxZY3uvJPu-SmNBX1XyiQTYqDVZut-mHjWa7gZyRashyZgrWDs/s1600/The+Claw+in+Montreal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #01aa98; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQcrSXKlusfOH-z8ceBTgrAPQG8oD9tzUxRMYuQYeim8QXKAzGf96REA_9USRslbU3bRTsh8848bb-9ngGJ2ko9-yPdXxZY3uvJPu-SmNBX1XyiQTYqDVZut-mHjWa7gZyRashyZgrWDs/s320/The+Claw+in+Montreal.JPG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(206, 206, 206); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">U2's Claw Stage in Montreal</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Deb and I parted company with Michelle as she was sitting in another block of seats. We gingerly made our way up the steps of the temporary stands which were held up by thousands of scaffold poles, it didn't look as if it could hold all theses people! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">We met Dianne and Julie at our seats, they too had be stuck in the Fan Jam and hadn't been in their seats very long. It wasn't long until U2 came on, and the crowd was even more receptive than the previous night, they went crazy, it created a fabulous atmosphere. This gig was being broadcast live on U2.com and Bono explained that because of that he would be mostly speaking in English - </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">"This has one extra benefit,' he added, 'you don't have to listen to me mangle your beautiful language. " LOL!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The first few songs were from Achtung Baby once more and the crowd sang along and jumped up and down (no one sat of course). The structure holding the seats rocked and rolled too, it swayed to and fro, side to side and up and down, we were constantly re-balancing ourselves until we learned to rock n roll with it lol!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The first surprise of the gig was Out of Control - Michelle would be one happy woman, maybe Edge did hear her! It rocked and didn't sound over 30 years old. During Get On Your Boots Bono got a guy wearing turban up on stage to sing with him and boy was he into it and knew every word!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">This was followed by a full version of All I Want Is You, such a treat. They had tweaked it a little, especially at the end, which included a bit of harmonica from Bono. Beautiful. This was followed by another welcome surprise, Stuck in a Moment.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prior to his band intro Bono said.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">"We've taken our space station around the world, we're nearly home, we're going to have to find something else to do. When we were kids joining U2 was like running away with the circus, maybe we need to find another circus...'</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just get down to recording another album lads! Montreal is the home of the world famous Cirque du Soleil so Bono's intro continued the circus theme.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">" Larry is a 'fire-eater, a sword-swallower, the world's strongest man." Adam? 'The bearded lady...' Edge? "Trapeze artist, high-wire act..." </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Knife thrower," added Edge, pretending to aim at Bono.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Thanks very much," said Bono, throwing a look at Edge, before adding, "And I will play the clown."</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Again Zooropa was a highlight for me. From our position we had a perfect view of the claw (something you don't appreciate as much when you are closer on the field). Lights shone out through the Claw into the crowd as the static flickered, and vague words ran across the screen. It was stunningly effective and went perfectly with the song, just as the undulating reds had when they did The Unforgettable Fire in the early legs of the tour.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During Elevation Bono got a young boy out of the crowd and carried him onto one of the bridges as he sang. He asked the boy his name first in English, then in French he replied Paco.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the encore Bono sang a spine-tinglingly beautiful snippet of Hallelujah which segued into Where the Streets Have No Name and the whole stadium went crazy, and I was hoping the structure holding us up would be able to cope with all these people jumping up and down!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ultraviolet had been changed slightly and we all liked this version. I love how many U2 songs develop over the years and something new is found within them. With Or Without You had "Shining like stars in the summer night......" ending, the one soooo many fans love so popular it was trending on Twitter!) and it's been a long time since Bono had used it. It was so appropriate for this night too, it was one of those magical intimate U2 moments, when the huge stadium felt like a small club. Wonderful, touching and why I love this band so much.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I read the following in a review and I thought I'd add it in here as it conveys something of what that is all about so well:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; line-height: 16px;"><i>I’ll remember helping to hold up the metal posts of the media tent as the rain blew horizontal Friday night. But perhaps the most enduring memory I’ll take from this weekend comes from the first night, when I turned to my left and saw the girl next to me had two perfect tear streams coursing down her face during With Or Without You. Going in, I’d thought the song should have long since been retired from the live show. Perhaps I was wrong. Connection, intimacy. You just have to pull focus back from the Spidercrab immensity of the stage. Which may be exactly what U2 intended. Build it up to the sky, work that much harder to reach back down and in</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; line-height: 16px;">." (<i>Mark Lepage , Montreal Gazette)</i></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The show finished with Moment of Surrender at the end of which Bono shouted out.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Vive la difference, vie le Quebec." Which went down very well with the audience.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">This was one of those exceptional gigs, the band was on fire and the audience was amazing. We felt elated afterwards and for a while didn't talk, each taking in what we'd witnessed. Eventually we returned to the reality of the trial of getting back to our apartment. We decided to hang back a little to see if the Metro would be less clogged up. We could see the huge mass of people flowing out as we sat in our seats as long as we could before we were asked to leave. We then sat on the grass outside for a while until the crowd grew thinner before heading to the Metro station. And it was nowhere near as bad as the previous night, it maybe took us ten minutes or so to get into the station and soon we were on the train home.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We were home a lot sooner and that night we had McDonalds for our post-U2 supper and only a little wine and were in bed by 3.30am as we had a five hour train journey to Toronto the next day so were sensible for a change.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-41967767242524671752013-04-02T19:43:00.001+01:002013-04-02T20:31:37.693+01:002011 Canada - Montreal 1, Scintillating Show and Super Storm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sorry for the long gap in posting on the blog, time flies. I'm going to finish writing up about the last few shows I saw in Canada on the 360 tour over the next few days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 8 2011</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">So for us the everlasting 360 tour rolled into its third summer, and for this leg we decided to see three shows in Canada and combine it with a holiday. That's how Deb, Dianne, Julie and I ended up in in a lovely apartment in the Rue St Andre in the Petite-Patrie area of Montreal for five days. We toured the city and had some lovely meals in local restaurants and did a bit of shopping. I vaguely remembered some things from many, many years previously when I had gone on holiday with the family from Ontario that I worked and lived with for a year when I was a young girl.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had standing tickets for the U2 360 gig today and Debbi and Julie left early to get a good position in the pit area. Dianne and I couldn't be bothered to stand in the heat for so long and left a few hours later. Luckily our Metro Stop, Beaubien, was on the orange line which went directly to the venue so it was a simple trip.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hippodrome, was just a ten minute walk from the Metro, used to be a racing track but it was demolished a couple of years ago and it was just open ground. A special stadium was built just for the two U2 concerts. The seats looked a bit scary, open, high and supported by thousands of metal poles. The signage was abysmal, little to tell you which was to go and once inside nothing pointing to toilets, concessions or merchandise. There was also a distinct lack of security staff organising things. There were lots of pointy tents that reminded me of Glastonbury and a music event called the Fan Jam going on.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dianne and I found a really good place on the outer rail of the red zone on Adam's side of the stage. We could see the catwalk and the main stage and the screens from there so it worked out well. It was still very hot and I was really glad I'd bought the pink floral hat lol! It didn't do much for me but it kept my head cool. There was a good concert vibe around.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The support band was Interpol and they were as boring for me as they were years ago when they supported U2 in Glasgow on some tour (can't remember which.)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">U2 took the stage at 9.15pm to the strains of Space Oddity by David Bowie and launched into the Achtung Baby songs that they opened with at Glastonbury - I was hoping for this. It took me back to those glorious, heady Zoo days when we were even madder than we are now lol! Great songs and an amazing vibe in the crowd.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bono was in one of his funny moods evident when he did the band introductions after a quip, "I need another two minutes" as he tried to catch his breath. He introduced Larry as Bonnie Prince William (a nod to the recent tour of Canada by William and Catherine). Adam was Kate Winslet, not sure why! Edge was "Our own Prince of Wales" and he referred to himself as a, "Chien royal" which the French speaking crowd received with bemusement, "Corgis, you know, royal dogs?" The crowd didn't get it, not the best place for that kind of joke Bono, but we found it hilarious! He talked a lot in what sounded like a poor French and the translation in English of his words that appeared on the screens was very amusing, it seemed like another language at times.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I Still Haven't Found What I'm looking for was magical, with the crowd singing a verse themselves, all the more amazing seeing it wasn't their mother tongue. A snippet of Springsteen's Promised Land was added at the end.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beautiful Day had an intro by astronaut Mark Kelly in a recorded piece from the International Space Station, where he let cards with the words on float off in the gravity free environment. The song was dedicated to Gabby Gifford, Kelly's wife, who was shot and seriously wounded at a political meeting in Arizona a few months ago. Everyone rocked and sang along, it was certainly a beautiful night!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favourite section of the show began with Miss Sarajevo. The operatic part was very emotional and Bono hit all the notes perfectly, it still amazes me that he can sing like that! Beautiful. Next up was Zooropa which I'd been waiting for not having seen it played live since 1993. The Claw screen stretched down until it was right on the stage with the band behind it, and like that they played the song. It was a brave thing to do as the song is one many of the audience wouldn't know and the band was out of sight, but it was fabulous! What a brilliant off the wall song it is and i loved the version they played as static and blue light played over the Claw screens. What a treat!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Claw during City of Blinding Lights was beautifully coloured. Vertigo rocked and I like when the screen whizzes round at high speed at the end of the song. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good also to hear a little of Scarlet prior to Walk On which had the One/Amnesty International supporters coming onto the catwalk with white lanterns. Bono acknowledged Aung San Suu Kyi's release but said he was singing the song for the other 2000+ political prisoners in Burma.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was the usual encore, with a very powerful and emotional With Or Without You that had me transfixed. I've tired of songs such as Pride and Sunday Bloody Sunday which are played at almost every gig, but With Or Without You is played as much yet I love it every time. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The band closed with Moment of Surrender, and I still think it does not work well as an ending. There was such a fantastic vibe at the end of With Or Without You, that should have been the point to end</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Moment of Surrender was finishing raindrops started falling (a storm had been predicted) and Bono started singing The Beatle's Rain. Then, suddenly, it was as if a dam had broken and a monsoon like rain fell, followed by a swirling, gale force wind came equally out of the blue. Talk of timing, right at the end of the show the heavens opened. I glanced up at the screen to see the band disappearing down the steps, a big smile on his face, it was ok for them!!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dianne first put her umbrella up, it blew out one way, then the other way, no way could it cope with the wind. We had our ponchos with us but getting them on was another matter, the wind kept whipping mine off, I couldn't find where to get my head and arms through as it flapped in the wind. Then I got hysterical with laughter underneath the blue plastic, already well soaked. It took ages but in the end managed to help each other into our ponchos still giddy with laughter. All around us people were scattering, laughing, yelling, struggling with various items of rainwear, it was hilarious.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a sea of fans as far as the eye could see, we had arranged to meet up with Debbi and Julie , but in this mass of people being </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">buffeted by wind and rain we knew we would never find them. I could hear my mobile text alert going but couldn't take out the phone because it was so wet. We peeped in a tent, it was crammed full of people sardine style and it was lovely and warm and dry! We squeezed in and I read the text which was from Deb, we agreed to make our own way home. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we braved the elements again, it was no better, huge puddles and mini rivers forming. It was hard to know which was to go to the Namur Metro station as there were no signs, no security to guide us and neither of us could see well because our glasses were waterlogged! Wide masses of people stretched off in four different directions so we just took pot luck and went with the nearest one. About half way to the Metro station the crowd of people came to a halt and for the next one and a half hours we moved forward a step at a time. It was truly a Fan Jam! It was still raining and thunder rumbled above. Being in the midst of a sea of people I didn't feel the wind anymore. It was now quite cold but the plastic ponchos helped keep us a bit warm, others were not so lucky and some and literally shivering with the cold. It was total chaos, I've been to many, many big concerts like this over the years and have never experienced such badly organised security outside a venue.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we finally got into the station I felt like getting on my knees and kissing the ground! The Metro staff were well organised, people telling you where to go and which carriage to get in. We sank into our seats with a sigh of relief, good to get off our feet after all the standing and it was lovely and warm in there too.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we got off at Beaubien the rain and wind had stopped, it was 1.45am when we got to our apartment, Debbi and Julie arrived five minutes after us looking as bedraggled and wet as us! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have a tradition of having champagne, pizza and a U2 quiz after the last gig we see. It was a bit different this time, we had two gigs to go but, for various reasons we were having our celebration that night. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Due to the ridiculous price of the Veuve Clicquot in Montreal ($68!!!) we had good prosecco instead and it was delicious! Dianne won the quiz and we were up until 5am, we can still hack it as rock chicks LOL!</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">A little clip of the last moments of the gig below, gives a little impression of the rain and wind (By Cara)</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-65178569580980977962012-06-12T21:29:00.002+01:002012-06-12T21:29:30.410+01:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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2010 <a href="http://the-crystal-gazer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/germany-4-hannover-aliens-have-landed.html" style="color: #28a8e1; text-decoration: none;">Germany</a> -<a href="http://the-crystal-gazer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/germany-4-hannover-aliens-have-landed.html" style="color: #28a8e1; text-decoration: none;"> Hannover, The Aliens Have Landed</a></h3>
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All photos in this post are (c) Christine Moeller. Thanks again Chris for letting me use them.<br />
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August 12th 2010<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjm9D3AxrtZ1cB8YijMWQYTUBiW8sNUmDv0xb3fx6Ghc2kI2YUWwbA9Bw-QLuh1pC46iRH5jYXd3vNaKRcdHdtoYo9YnQt7Kq4AGvQ4Wr-7b4dx_BDWOmLOQyPsaetamffXvlIYf5sgNGO/s1600/IMG_0996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #01aa98; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjm9D3AxrtZ1cB8YijMWQYTUBiW8sNUmDv0xb3fx6Ghc2kI2YUWwbA9Bw-QLuh1pC46iRH5jYXd3vNaKRcdHdtoYo9YnQt7Kq4AGvQ4Wr-7b4dx_BDWOmLOQyPsaetamffXvlIYf5sgNGO/s320/IMG_0996.JPG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(206, 206, 206); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" /></a></div>
We treated ourselves to a taxi to get to the stadium, it actually turned out to be cheaper than if we had gone on the train and it was so much easier.<br />
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We waited where we thought the band would enter the stadium once more. Again they arrived with a police escort, this time with sirens blasting! I counted the luxury car convoy and got 14, but I'm sure I missed a few as I was also trying to see through the blacked out windows. So no meetings again, during the 360 Tour U2 have definitely been<br />
more distant which is a shame, but then again a meeting is a bonus, they don't have to meet and greet fans.<br />
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We had good seats 11 rows up the lower tier on Edge's side (we always seem to end up on his side). We got talking to a girl who was sitting beside us, she had come by herself from Berlin and this was her first U2 concert.<br />
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They opened the same way with <em>Stingray </em>and Bono doing a circuit of the catwalk doing his funny, clumsy "dance". I just love it, such fun! Still don't know what Bono shouts out every now and then, but he did finish with, "Achtung baby!" though. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIY3itAyHpso3_a75_CAzl_YyzYcfuJP4wF6ndHbLNPlVUVtJqm2QHhO7-4YdAcD4TH0pJ3jhmmWmBXe6WJLe6iUsRkUWDigv-vxdfDUCl-kcFI9jpBOxGInSIIuRsJVfHNQFjsUj4OqH8/s1600/IMG_0875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #01aa98; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIY3itAyHpso3_a75_CAzl_YyzYcfuJP4wF6ndHbLNPlVUVtJqm2QHhO7-4YdAcD4TH0pJ3jhmmWmBXe6WJLe6iUsRkUWDigv-vxdfDUCl-kcFI9jpBOxGInSIIuRsJVfHNQFjsUj4OqH8/s320/IMG_0875.JPG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(206, 206, 206); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" /></a></div>
The show followed the same set as Frankfurt, but the atmosphere was very up, Bono was in one of his jokey, fun moods. At one point he started talking in an alien-like voice saying that they come from a "Little green planet called Ireland". Then went on saying they had crash landed their space ship and needed to be re-built by German doctors and nurses. He kept laughing and saying sorry but he couldn't stop himself, still speaking in alien tones he told us one of the nurses was at the concert and it was her who stamped made in Germany on his arse. He introduced Edge as R2D2, Adam as Princess Leia and Larry as Darth Vader. I've never seen Larry laugh so much as when he heard that! Bono introduced himself as "The big hairy one". <span style="background-color: white;">It was just so funny, I've never laughed so much at a U2 concert. Some of the general concert goers there must have thought what a strange accent he has! Maybe he's on too many painkillers?? </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBP540qgBe_AKJMo-tAlSDS0Hu_d97gWQbmgb9YpvMP6AeKw9brVM0YxC7jStMPRAIvx_UbMGbFaXJpfDeNUtfxZ3D8SQfB6ZXlp-iAM-UrxQgJNgGh0o2ebVqeqnw4aoMRBmbFimGr0f/s1600/IMG_0745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #01aa98; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBP540qgBe_AKJMo-tAlSDS0Hu_d97gWQbmgb9YpvMP6AeKw9brVM0YxC7jStMPRAIvx_UbMGbFaXJpfDeNUtfxZ3D8SQfB6ZXlp-iAM-UrxQgJNgGh0o2ebVqeqnw4aoMRBmbFimGr0f/s320/IMG_0745.JPG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(206, 206, 206); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" /></a><em>Glastonbury </em>seemed more defined and it was easier to hear the lyrics as the sound was clearer than at Frankfurt. The ending to me sounded rather Vertigo-like. "It's getting better," Bono said, "You don't mind us experimenting on you?" By now he'd dropped the alien accent <g>. The</g><span style="background-color: white;"> song didn't get as good a reception here as it had in Frankfurt.</span></div>
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The original video to <em>The Unforgettable Fire </em>was there again I was pleased to see, it just works so well. What an amazing song that is and the band were just very young men when they created it. Bono said something in German before the song, and even to me it sounded<br />
terrible - my German friends confirmed that Bono's German is lousy<br />
and they found it very hard to understand<g>.</g></div>
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At the end of <em>City of Blinding Lights </em>Bono got a girl out of the<span style="background-color: white;"> audience and they walked, arms around each other, along the catwalk. He took so long about it that he was late getting ready for </span><em style="background-color: white;">Vertigo</em><span style="background-color: white;">! The band kept repeating the opening music and eventually Bono got in place saying, "Sorry, I was just giving her Spanish lessons - uno, dos, tres, catorce!" This is the first 360 show that I have been at wher he hs got someone out of the audience. I'd missed that because for me and most fans it is part of a U2 show, when Bono gets someone on stage we all feel like we are up there.</span></div>
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<em>Crazy </em>was more "evil" in Hannover, I think that was what I was missing in Frankfurt, the menace and rawness and that was there tonight. Loved him yelling out "RRRRRRRiot!"</div>
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We had bought cheap binoculars at the stadium and they were great. Now I can't remember the song but there's a point where Bono is on the bridge on our side and turns to walk back to the stage, well in complete unison Debbi and I raised our binoculars to view a tasty back view of Bono. We looked at each other and laughed out loud! Great minds.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh89cwxAvCxIOwIsCM-mPksy7mJx-Yz8f-3nT0k0CTOcs_4VFWhbAxgZ0SCNmbJ3zZKnERCB6K7FqCSJ15mtsFy5dTQD_eI7UaLreCLzIQ6aRx2P4hjk-_pP0wFILqsY5exmytvbdh4WN0/s1600/IMG_0823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #01aa98; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh89cwxAvCxIOwIsCM-mPksy7mJx-Yz8f-3nT0k0CTOcs_4VFWhbAxgZ0SCNmbJ3zZKnERCB6K7FqCSJ15mtsFy5dTQD_eI7UaLreCLzIQ6aRx2P4hjk-_pP0wFILqsY5exmytvbdh4WN0/s320/IMG_0823.JPG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(206, 206, 206); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" /></a><em>Streets </em>was a uplifting as ever it's always mind-blowing to look round the crowd when this song is being performed, so many people singing, clapping, dancing in unison, it's certainly a special tune. At the end of the song when they were preparing to leave the stage before the encore, Edge playfully threw a punch at Bono, who jumped back and laughed.</div>
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After the encore Bono mentioned that Paul McGuinness was born in Hannover "About 125 years ago." He then went on to lead the audience in a rendition of<em> Happy Birthday</em> for the band's "Friend and mentor" Wim Wenders who was going to turn 55 in a couple of days.</div>
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Then Bono continued, "I would like to...to" we could tell that he was distracted by something, he continued, "Just fix that speaker." He then gave the speaker three hefty kicks before saying, "There it is!" with some satisfaction.</div>
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He then went on to dedicate <em>Moment of Surrender </em>to Robert Enke, a Hannover footballer who committed suicide last year. The lights went onto Larry, he stood up and was wearing the local football team's jersey, this really seemed to strike a chord with the crowd and I actually found the song very moving that night. </div>
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So that marked the end of 360 2010 for my friends and me. The girl from Berlin was radiant, smiling from ear to ear, she'd loved her first U2 concert. I thought I'd be feeling sad that it was all over, but it had been such a fun, uplifting concert that we all left feeling animated and happy!</div>
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During the Frankfurt gig I kept thinking Bono's even smaller than usual and couldn't work out why he looked different. Then at Hannover I noticed that he had relatively normal shoes on, quite high heels, but fairly normal soles. Maybe he had to wear those very thick soled shoes for his back problems rather than vanity.<br />
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Bono seemed back to his old self fitness wise, though Deb and I both noticed that once he winced and froze for a second when he was taking a big step up. He also didn't run at all or get his leg over the bridge as he used to do. He must have worked very hard to get well enough to do the tour, bless him.<br />
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We got the train back to the centre of Hannover and once back at our hotel opened the wine and nibbles and chatted about the gig. We had our now traditional after the last show U2 quiz, it was close but Julie won. It took us ages to come back down too earth after the gig and it was getting light by time we went to bed!</div>
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Now we are already tentatively planning our next leg of U2 360, 2011 in Canada. I think that we will see a very different show next year (but I hope Bono keep wearing those trousers!<g>)</g></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-29776015639659090542012-06-01T13:50:00.000+01:002012-06-01T13:50:00.116+01:00More SoonIt's a while since I've updated my blog, life's been busy! Just wanted to pop in to say I'm still around and will be updating very soon, watch this space!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-86276856596345107722012-02-09T20:14:00.000+00:002012-02-09T20:14:26.625+00:002010 August - Frankfurt, He's Back and it's Showtime!<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-1890721629557489178" style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; position: relative; width: 696px;">
All photos in this post are (c) Christine Moeller. Thanks Chris or letting me use some of your amazing photos!<br />
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10th August<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVirRH5yRmcN6fpEhNxBmilDUkrTyvT9l67M0hPGTpLCB6Q3-Rkg-95i2h2LKiyazS2XRhQHKm1-8K4lMkRstUskksYviybw8vmx6J0QbMF3ILw8MAD3xdjZp02_t8KBw93Idw_37Y4pq/s1600/IMG_0889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #01aa98; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVirRH5yRmcN6fpEhNxBmilDUkrTyvT9l67M0hPGTpLCB6Q3-Rkg-95i2h2LKiyazS2XRhQHKm1-8K4lMkRstUskksYviybw8vmx6J0QbMF3ILw8MAD3xdjZp02_t8KBw93Idw_37Y4pq/s320/IMG_0889.JPG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(206, 206, 206); border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px; position: relative;" /></a>Show day, we were all excited and headed off to the stadium in the afternoon. The Commerzbank Arena is situated beside a forest and you have to walk through it to get to the stadium, it really is a lovely setting. We waited for the band to arrive, it was a very hot day but luckily where we were in the shade of the forest and even had log seats to rest on. We got talking to other fans which helped pass the time. One of the security people told one of the German fans that U2 would arrive at the airport at 4.30pm and then come to the stadium. That seemed to be true as at around 5.40pm security was increased, we were told to stay where we were and if Bono wound down the car window we could go across. A convoy of cars headed by two police outriders arrived, and sped into the stadium. I've never seen U2 arrive in such a convoy, it was impossible to see into the cars and no one wound down a window and anyway it would have been difficult to stop a the convoy would have been backed up the road. Of course it was too soon to have a band sound check which was a shame, I always enjoy listening to them. Ahh well, c'est la vie!</div>
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We went into the stadium and had something to eat sitting in the lovely sunshine. We went to our seats, great ones at the front on a small tier inbetween the upper and power tiers on Edge's side. Kasabian were the support, they were ok.<br />
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The Claw and stage all looked the same to me, though I've heard some people saying they thought the catwalk was smaller. It must have been difficult to erect as there was a kind of capsule suspended high up in the middle of the stadium which was held in place by horizontal cables. One of the Claw legs was very close to the capsule and the "spike" had to be placed between the cables, it must have been a logistic nightmare, no wonder it was already nearly built on the Saturday that we arrived in Frankfurt.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">I'm not going to review the concert song by song, I'll just write about aspects of it that stood out for me.</span><br />
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As before, Space Oddity opened the gig, but the band's entry was different, they all walked on together from behind the stage and then went straight into <em>Return of the Stingray Guitar </em>(typical long-winded U2 song title LOL!) I really liked the tune, which was mainly instrumental. Bono was doing a circuit of the catwalk during it, throwing funny Zoo-like poses. It was humourous and yet also very touching as it was almost like Bono was showing us he was all better after his operation and we, the audience, were celebrating that with him and sending him our love. It felt very powerful and I felt very emotional myself, we nearly lost him as a performer and I was so glad to see Bono cavorting around the catwalk in his own clumsy, inimitable way <g>.<br />
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The next song was <em>Beautiful Day, </em>followed by a generally very "up" rockin' set. I really missed <em>No Line on the Horizon, </em>don't know why they dropped it, it was well received live last year. I had purposely not listened to <em>Glastonbury </em>on the Net so this was my first experience of it, and boy did I like it, a real rocker! I'm so glad U2 were brave enough to play new music live, it was a new U2 experience for me and a very good one. It was very well received by the crowd too.<br />
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<em>Miss Sarajevo </em>was brilliant, I am still stunned by how Bono can sing opera like that! The audience clapped and cheered as he gave everything he had, a spine tingling moment.</div>
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The video for <em>The Unforgettable Fire </em>had been changed. It was more colourful and very pretty, but it didn't have the same link with the music. The <em>Crazy </em>remix seemed a bit different, the chorus was more upfront, it seemed more refined, and though I liked it, I preferred last year's rawer version.</div>
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<em>Walk On </em>and the masks are gone! Yay! Instead the people carried lanterns with the Amnesty International symbol on the front to highlight their Free Burma Campaign. In my opinion this worked well and it touched me much more than the creepy masks.</div>
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<em>Hold Me, Touch Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me </em>replaced <em>Ultraviolet </em>in the encore. The steering wheel was now lit up in red, which was much better. Now I'd been disappointed to hear <em>Ultraviolet </em>had been dropped, but I <em>loved HMTMKMKM! </em>It was performed in a very theatrical way, Bono looked menacing, the red of the steering wheel reflected in his glasses added to the overall effect. I'd forgotten that I really liked this song live much more than on CD. Loved when Bono sat on the wheel and swung on it, he'll be on a trapeze next!</div>
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<em>With Or Without You </em>was simply stunning. The show finished, as last year, with <em>Moment of Surrender, </em>(dedicated to those who lot their lives in the terrible crush at the recent Love Parade in Germany) and I still feel it doesn't work well as a closing song. I felt that night if the show had finished with <em>With or Without You </em>it would have been perfect.</div>
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General comments - Frankfurt had a great audience, very responsive, there were times when the whole field and much of the stands was leaping about, wonderful atmosphere. There were a couple of minor technical hitches and the sound wasn't the best I've heard. And finally, I must say that those tight leather trousers of Bono's make me glad that I'm a woman and can appreciate how they cling to his delightful arse, thighs and other bits, fabulous!</div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-44083898155480656932011-09-23T20:58:00.000+01:002011-09-23T20:58:21.567+01:002010 June - U2 360 at the Rose Bowl DVD Review<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #fb5e53; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-8322659032150920197" style="line-height: 1.4; width: 530px;"><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;">I had pre-ordered the Deluxe version of the 360 at the Rose Bowl DVD and was surprised to see it pop through my letter box yesterday! So last night I sat down with a glass of red wine and watched disc one. I was a bit worried what I would think about it as I had not been that impressed by the hour long highlights shown on Sky TV earlier in the week. I haven't mentioned every song and my review is my initial impressions, I haven't sat and thought about it, it's just the impressions and feelings I got while watching.</div><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOe9Iw8EE83e7MfuK-uFrnt5FnbKAtoSaGtPsqsp_PaagRx2v9J2eK7LTJ9lTr2EGJJzZCHVbJq03cnuz1ETJEyRVxsT2kUqcTvYwyfERwbNJHbvjxHbv5Y32wqC48S82FUsbm6VNDz-qe/s1600/360+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #59b4ff; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOe9Iw8EE83e7MfuK-uFrnt5FnbKAtoSaGtPsqsp_PaagRx2v9J2eK7LTJ9lTr2EGJJzZCHVbJq03cnuz1ETJEyRVxsT2kUqcTvYwyfERwbNJHbvjxHbv5Y32wqC48S82FUsbm6VNDz-qe/s200/360+front.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></div></div><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><em>Get On Your Boots </em>starts the show, I realise that I really don't like this song very much now, it seems kind of clumsy. <em>Magnificent</em> was next - this is a song that definitely should start the show, it's perfect for that. The audience was a bit subdued to say the least and Bono worked hard to motivate them and shouted, "Get off your fat asses." LOL! </div></div><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><em>Beautiful Day </em>was well received and Bono added at bit of <em>God's Country </em>at the end which was a nice touch. Again Bono worked hard to get the audience going in <em>Mysterious Ways. </em>He introduced the band, Larry was U2's James Dean, Adam, Rhett Butler - "Suave, sophisticated, frequently gone with the wind", a reference to Adam's problem with wind <g>. Edge was a "Visitor from outer space" who boldly goes where no other guitar player goes, "Mr Spock to us, the Edge to you." He described himself as a mixture between Arnie Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, which besides the lack of height I didn't really get.</g></div></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><em>Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For </em>was a special moment, as often happens the audience took over the singing, I think that was the point the crowd finally got into the concert. I got that warm, fuzzy feeling I often get a U2 concerts when something special is happening that is beyond the music. Why does this song affect people so? I think it's because it touches a nerve deep within, across all borders, we are all searching for something, we are all striving, so can relate to this song. </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;">Bono called out "Buzz Aldrin's in the house, the second man to walk on the moon." 2009 was the 40th anniversary of the first men on the moon. </div><br />
<em>Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of</em> was lovely, a quiet acoustic version - there was a funny interchange between Bono and Edge at the beginning.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: medium; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: medium; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: medium; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefM0FGBt4XCy5nu9ratJZpbY4TF04GQSzICAY3TUvw65kUSEAJHrUdqv5KTG29Jvq_EepcbGrsH-zmDpFqpCC1vBjA4UGpzbMpgku3BobALEW9cZY-Yl3SjgG5PXaC-18n6wkVBDiqC3-/s1600/360+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #59b4ff; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" gu="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiefM0FGBt4XCy5nu9ratJZpbY4TF04GQSzICAY3TUvw65kUSEAJHrUdqv5KTG29Jvq_EepcbGrsH-zmDpFqpCC1vBjA4UGpzbMpgku3BobALEW9cZY-Yl3SjgG5PXaC-18n6wkVBDiqC3-/s200/360+back.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px; position: relative;" width="200" /></a>Next was <em>No Line on the Horizon</em> and seeing this confirmed it is definitely my favourite song from the last album. energetic, a bit raw round the edges, I love when Bono just blasts out a song like that. Love the bit where the band come crashing in again at "Traffic cop...." fab.</div><br />
Elevation was another the audience liked, but it is not one of my favourite U2 songs. Liked the bit Bono put on the end, females fans will enjoy it LOL!<br />
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I really enjoyed <em>In a Little While</em> though it is not a favourite song of mine. There were views of the earth from space and the International Space Station on the claw screens which worked really well with the song. At the end Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne recited some lines of the song, which again was very appropriate with lyrics such as "A man takes a rocket ship into the skies.<em>" Nice.</em><br />
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<em>The Unforgettable Fire </em>was wonderful. The claw lit up beautifully, complimenting the music well. Once more I marvelled at the talent of such young men in the early 1980's writing such a fabulous, complicated and mature song, Bono mentioned Stephen Gateley, who had recently died, as "A beautiful spirit, a bright shining spark."<br />
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There were some great aerial shots of the claw and stadium during<em> City of Blinding Lights</em><strong>, </strong>again it worked really well with the song. <br />
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<em>Vertigo </em>rocked, the screen "spinning" manically at the end. <em>Crazy </em>(I can't bothered to write out the full title of the song, it's too long!) came across well, the sound cranked up on my headphones was much better than on the TV programme the other day. I still love this version of the song, in fact I like it better than the album version. Bono gave some clapping lessons - and said they had a "Cuban beat going."<br />
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<em>One </em>was another of those moments, it's a song that brings people together, performed wonderfully, throughout the concert I thought Bono's voice was excellent.<br />
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<em>Streets </em>was dramatic, the stadium was lit up and all you could see was a mass of people having ball. One camera shot was from behind the band members who had gathered together- Bono standing astride two monitors - it gave the viewer an idea of what it was like for the band to look out over that sea of people, amazing.<br />
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<em>Ultraviolet </em>was slightly different to the European version, the screen intro differed, though it was still orange, no poem, just the Zoo baby speaking. The "steering wheel" was illuminated with red lights with a white light at the centre that shone onto Bono's face. I found that much better, as sometimes UV was too dark at shows I saw last year. His laser suit sent of beams of red light for ages, he must have been plugged in for along time! <br />
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<em>With or Without You, </em>what can I say? Arguably the best song U2 have ever written, again at a very young age. The steering wheel was now lit up blue. I love how Bono works with this song, he always seems to bring something new to it. At the end he took off his "suit of lights" (fame?) put it on a clothes hanger and hung it from the wheel and it was lifted up and disappeared into the claw.<br />
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The closing song was <em>Moment of Surrender. </em>I still feel this song is not a good finale to a show. I know U2 nearly always have a lowkey ending to their gigs, but they are also uplifting. I find <em>Moment of Surrender </em>quite depressing, almost dirge-like and not the best way to end a show.<br />
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All in all I enjoyed the DVD, the band played and sang well and seemed to be enjoying themselves. The sound was good via my headphones. The whole show flowed well and there was some good use of the claw to compliment the songs. It brought back great memories for me of the shows I saw last year, I found I often had that smile on my face that I get when watching U2. I haven't watched the other disc yet, I hope to do that soon.<br />
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I must admit I was also very aware of Bono and what he does physically in a show, and I will be very surprised if he will be recovered enough to be able to do the European leg of this year's tour. He has to heal, stregthen his muscles, then get fit for a tour, I doubt it can be done. Though I suppose it might be possible to move the dates back a few weeks. I might be wrong, I hope I am, but I wouldn't want Bono to injure himself further for the sake of a tour.<br />
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Over the past few months my relationship with U2 has been a bit strained at times for various reasons. But I think the rocky patch is passing. I was surprised by how concerned I was by Bono's health problems, it was almost like a friend was unwell. And watching the DVD made me realise how good U2 are at their job too. All they have to do now is bring out a special album, and the present circumstances give them a good opportunity to do just that.<div style="clear: both;"></div></div><div><br />
</div><div class="post-footer" style="line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5em;"></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-47194327512701024382011-05-22T19:58:00.001+01:002011-05-22T20:01:20.156+01:002009 - November, Berlin, Brandenburg and U2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;">I'd heard about U2 playing in at the Brandenburg Gate Berlin on the radio and tried to get tickets, but was disappointed not to get lucky (as usual, I never win anything). Then, out of the blue I heard from my German friend Chris, who had a spare ticket and said I could have it if I wanted! I jumped at the chance.</span></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;">Berlin was a city I'd always wanted to visit. My mother was German and when we used to go to visit my grandparents in Germany we got the ferry from the UK to Hook of Holland and there got the train to her home town in Westphalia in the then Western Germany. It always felt like an exciting adventure to me, I watched the station names pass by, Gouda - Utrecht – Amersfoort – Hengelo – Rheine – Osnabruck are some I remember, everything was so different. That train’s destination was often Berlin, to me a place way behind the Iron Curtain, isolated and divided by the Wall - in those days the Cold War was in full swing. Berlin, in my young mind was a far off, dangerous, mysterious, yet fascinating place, and in reality it was all those things. I've ended up in many places all over the world because of U2, but this was one that was really special to me.</span></div><br />
I arrived in a grey and very cold Berlin after a rather convoluted trip from Schonefeld airport. But hey I was here, in Berlin, and so excited! It was trying to snow but that didn't dampen the thrill at all.<br />
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After settling in at my hotel, I wrapped myself up in a warm jacket, scarf and gloves for a walk. Potsdammer Platz, with it’s glimmering new buildings was ten minutes walk away. It was lively, with shops, swanky hotels, cinemas, a little Christmas market area with stalls selling food, Christmas decorations, hats and scarves, sweets, there was even a carousel for kids. I walked another five minutes and there I was on the famous Unten den Linden (under the lindens, apparently the only trees that would grow on the street) And there on one side of the Pariser Platz was the famous Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German reunification. Normally it stands there in the square in all it’s glory, but now all the preparations for the U2 concert filled part of the square, yet the Gate was still awe-inspiring even with the work going on around it. <br />
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I heard lots of English spoken with Irish accents around and a few fans stood by the hotel adjacent to the square, so U2 were probably staying there. It was too cold for me to hang around for them and I left and walked back to my hotel.<br />
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The next day I woke to very welcome blue skies and sunshine! After breakfast I walked to Potsdammer Platz once more to catch the sightseeing bus. I wasn’t going to be in Berlin long so I wanted to see what I could and I thought the best way to do that was to go on a tour.<br />
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One of the first things we saw was part of the Wall that remains, there are bits of it still around, there was also a small piece in situ in Potsdammer Platz. It looked really forbidding and to think there was twenty eight miles of that wall! Nearby was the well-known Checkpoint Charlie with tourists posing for photos with a “guard”.<br />
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We passed an area with lots of colourful Trabants, a reminder for me of U2's Achtung Baby and Zoo days. Berlin Cathedral was magnificent, strangely surrounded by a lot of open ground where building work was going on. This kind of thing was evident in many areas in the city, they are probably areas in the east that had decayed buildings now demolished and new ones will take their place. We passed the famous satellite-like<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVwMS0o3sIl352YIJYk7GhTdI-g8mgO5ZseBH-r8B8MFNxKNxAN0BCeFkB1lz1hXAWY-_ZvqdqW9fNAUltMXy3stCXfM_m_qZEqvfMwuOJC2lxesCbkcPRr8awv-uWmssYMVIhZHnrAs/s1600/223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVwMS0o3sIl352YIJYk7GhTdI-g8mgO5ZseBH-r8B8MFNxKNxAN0BCeFkB1lz1hXAWY-_ZvqdqW9fNAUltMXy3stCXfM_m_qZEqvfMwuOJC2lxesCbkcPRr8awv-uWmssYMVIhZHnrAs/s320/223.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div>TV tower, another symbol visible from many parts of the city.<br />
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We drove down Friedrich Strasse and the guide told us one of the U-bahn (underground) lines ran under the street, it stayed open after the division of the city and guards on the East side made sure no one got onto the trains. It was hard to imagine that this city so divided until just twenty years ago.<br />
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Then we turned into Unten den Linden, the guide mentioned the U2 concert and I could hear music, so I think the band were sound checking at that lime. I did consider jumping off the bus at this point but sense prevailed<br />
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!We went on past the Reichstag, impressive with its glass dome representing the original cupola (the building was severely damaged by a fire in the 1930‘s and also during the war, and was not fully restored until after reunification).<br />
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We passed by the Tiergarten, a very large park. On a traffic island on a busy roundabout within the park was the column on top of which was the Siegessaule, the golden angel of victory, she glistened in the sunshine. Of course I was taken back to U2 again for U2’s video for Stay which featured the statue.<br />
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We went on to a main shopping area of the city and I saw the famous KaDeWe store. Then shortly afterwards we were back at Potsdammer Platz where I’d joined the tour and I got off the bus. I really enjoyed the tour and it gave me a good snapshot of the city.<br />
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For my lunch I got a bratwurst at one of the market stalls, it was delicious, I love bratwurst. A strange fact about Berlin is that it has a currywurst museum! Only in Germany.....</div><div>At 2.30 I set off for the meeting point I’d arranged with Chris. On the way I passed the Holocaust Memorial, dozens and dozens of coffin-shaped black granite blocks of different sizes. It was moving in it’s simplicity and a beautiful memorial.<br />
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I met up with Chris at the hotel beside the Brandenburg Gate. It was lovely to see her again, we hadn’t managed to meet up during the tour earlier this year, so this unexpected opportunity to meet up was lovely. She introduced me to her friends, a lively bunch of people who were very friendly and kind to me. We all went to an outdoor café near the Gate for something to eat and drink. Tiny bottles of vodka shots appeared from everyone’s pockets and they generously shared then with me, they warmed me up! It was starting to get dark by now and the temperature was dropping rapidly.<br />
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At 5pm some of us went into the concert site leaving the other still hitting the shots and beer. My ticket was for a different area, so after arranging a meeting point for after the show, Chris and I went our separate ways.<br />
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I could have got fairly near the front but because I’m not very tall it was pointless staying there as I couldn’t see over people in front. So I went much further back and I could see the stage pretty well from there. Time dragged and the cold started to bite. The crowd was easy going and I heard quite a few languages around me, there was a tangible excitement in the air. Floodights shone into the sky their beams hitting the very low cloud peppering it with discs of light, giving the impression that there was a grey canopy overhead.<br />
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The gig was supposed to start at 6.30pm, but that came and went. I paced about to try to warm up, no U2, it started to rain, the drops sparkled like diamonds as they were illuminated in the beams of light.<br />
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The rain didn’t last long thank heavens. Quarter to seven no U2. More pacing, I cursed Irish Time, I was so cold. At last at 7pm U2 came came onstage to massive applause and cheers from the crowd. They went straight into One, was so apt as it was created in this city. As the music swept over me I suddenly felt really emotional, tears came to my eyes and I had a lump in my throat. I think it was a combination of seeing U2 again, being in Berlin, the significance of the event and the general emotional atmosphere within the crowd. I was so moved. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavc68xYGxsG5O2hFWCoZKxAN2GdHOVyrojeA2dAWWG3WqIIOeTjqawFiVXziATv_2JYknF_VOMoD_3YBSa7JoT6Xv6HToNE_nfl2rzNS7KEpavE3SfyFzBHoJSyTrllEQZHU2YibnpXs/s1600/235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavc68xYGxsG5O2hFWCoZKxAN2GdHOVyrojeA2dAWWG3WqIIOeTjqawFiVXziATv_2JYknF_VOMoD_3YBSa7JoT6Xv6HToNE_nfl2rzNS7KEpavE3SfyFzBHoJSyTrllEQZHU2YibnpXs/s320/235.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><br />
Colourful graphics relating to the Wall were beamed onto the Brandenburg Gate during the song and it worked really well. Next was Magnificent which was wonderful, what a brilliant song that is! The third song was Sunday Bloody Sunday, a song I am really tired of in live shows, but for this occasion it was appropriate, Bono changed the lyrics too. Jay-Z joined the band on stage and rapped for a while, something I could have done without, but the crowd seemed to enjoy it.<br />
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Bono talked a little about Berlin and recalled the time the band spent there whilst recording Achtung Baby saying they “wrote some tunes, met some beautiful spirits". Another time he said - in a strong southern US drawl - “swayin’ like a field of golden corn” (or something very similar) I’ve no idea what he was talking about!<br />
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Next was Beautiful Day another very appropriate song for the occasion, again I felt very emotional and I never normally feel like that during that song. I think it again was the atmosphere and the crowd singing on top of their voices, I could only imagine how special this occasion felt for native Berliners.<br />
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Vertigo rocked, and they closed with Moment of Surrender. Short but wonderful, U2 never disappoint live. For those who have read about U2 erecting a “wall” around the gig site that’s rubbish. There was a security fence around the site which I fully expected. There were rumours of up to 100,000 people coming to listen and they needed to have some safety measures in place. Also anything that was done at that gig was nothing to do with U2 anyway as it was an MTV production.<br />
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The crowd dispersed and I met up with Chris and we went back to the café to meet up with her friends. During the gig I hadn’t felt or thought of the cold, but now sitting in this outside café it really got to me. After a while I said I’d have to go as I was so cold. So I said my goodbyes to Chris and her friends and walked back. I passed the back entrance of the hotel and a handful of (hardy!) fans were waiting for the band. I walked past, no way was I going to join them, all I could think of was to get out of the cold!<br />
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At the hotel I had a hot coffee in the restaurant before going to my room. I was still cold, had a hot shower, slightly warmer, turned the heating up as high as it would go and after about twenty minutes I felt better (I am very cold-blooded!). How I suffer for U2!<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Looking back almost two years now on the trip I almost find it hard to believe it happened! It was all so quick. Berlin is one of the most unusual cities I’ve visited and I find it hard to sum up how it felt for me. Berlin is a city that has risen up from the ashes twice in 65 years, it has been ripped apart and is trying to heal itself. Much of the city I saw has re-grown into a vibrant, modern place, but there are still scars of the past, both physical and psychological. Maybe the Fall of the Wall 20th anniversary celebrations and time will help it heal.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-3807456077523821052011-02-13T22:27:00.000+00:002011-02-13T22:27:15.745+00:002009 - July, 360 in NiceGoing to the South of France had been on my wish list for a very long time. When my friends and I saw U2 were playing a gig in Nice we decided to combine seeing our first U2 360 Tour gig with a holiday in the Riviera. We stayed in a truly French apartment close to Nice's Old Town and Port. We quickly fell in love with this gorgeous area, the views, food, joie de vivre, no wonder this area has been a favourite of the rich for decades.<br />
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The stadium U2 were playing was quite a distance from our apartment so we treated ourselves to a taxi. Our taxi driver, Jean Marc, (who we got to know quite well over the week as he ferried us about the city) said, "Good luck" when he dropped us off at the Charles Ehrmann Stade des Sports as it was an extra hot day in Nice. Being from the far north of England I'm not very good in very hot weather so I had been careful to drink lots of water and had my can of Magicool in my bag - thank heavens for that stuff, it really makes a difference .<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE_baO8X3ebDlVTcL0YhTg2c_k5Z7PC6icivoxutePwcxhSAYieid-fwMlVnXNmzM9vLcvpjNNJE-vLNbmXeAvIU0Oez5mSMCmACBZv4b3zZIwOpvOeExmzyrua2f5svQcLuLLDytzoA/s1600/099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGE_baO8X3ebDlVTcL0YhTg2c_k5Z7PC6icivoxutePwcxhSAYieid-fwMlVnXNmzM9vLcvpjNNJE-vLNbmXeAvIU0Oez5mSMCmACBZv4b3zZIwOpvOeExmzyrua2f5svQcLuLLDytzoA/s320/099.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>It was 3.30pm and it was still very warm and l was worried I wouldn't be able to cope with the 30 degree heat. But fate was on our side and a few clouds started drifting across the sky cooling the temperatures just enough to make them bearable.<br />
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We could see The Claw, (or La Griffe as it was called in French), towering above the stadium, it looked a strange creation indeed. The stadium is situated in the north west of the city and flanked to the north by mountains and impressive cliffs, such a beautiful backdrop for the gig. <br />
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At 5.30pm the doors opened, and to my despair (but not surprise) the Magicool was taken off us - the security woman laughed as we had one last spray before discarding the tin. We were in the very cheap non-reserved seating, which really was only large concrete steps, you sat on one step and put your feet on the next. We chose seats that soon would be in shadow and were to the right of the stage. It was quite a good position and we had unobstructed views, except for a leg of The Claw. It certainly is a massive structure and on first sight in real life and daylight isn't exactly pleasing on the eye.<br />
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Time passed and gradually our bums got numb from sitting on the hard concrete. We got up shuffled about, sat down, got up again..... no wonder these seats had been cheap! The music being played was rather boring, a lot of it I didn't know which would not have gone amiss playing in a lift.<br />
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At 8pm Snow Patrol came on and instantly we realised what a great sound system lay within The Claw, it was crystal clear. I love Snow Patrol, I really like Gary Lightbody's voice and think they have written some fantastic songs including the classic Chasing Cars. They played a wonderful set of mainly their most well-known songs. Run gets to me every time, I could feel the emotion build up in me, I simply love that song. The band went down well with the audience too which was good to see.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9YQxsz4KpiRNgX_jth-h8PjqDP1KLTfX67SoXx_DShMLht48I6RTZtl-UqEBwcavXcq-VmNAgWRJ3JMzYGGHUCbCMLRMfrqEUzZDzKIVCOdUFenmpTyTH80tM_l5ktBRO51Yk4E5-kE/s1600/104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-9YQxsz4KpiRNgX_jth-h8PjqDP1KLTfX67SoXx_DShMLht48I6RTZtl-UqEBwcavXcq-VmNAgWRJ3JMzYGGHUCbCMLRMfrqEUzZDzKIVCOdUFenmpTyTH80tM_l5ktBRO51Yk4E5-kE/s320/104.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>9pm came and went, bums got number, but the rest of our bodies cooled down a little as the sun dipped lower in the sky. We speculated on what U2's entrance would be like. A helicopter was flying very low overhead and we joked that maybe they would parachute down and each slide down a leg of The Claw! <br />
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Finally at 9.30pm David Bowie's Space Oddity boomed out (one of the few decent songs played) and we knew this just had to be the start, and it was. Larry came out and played the drums and the band exploded into Breathe. It worked well live and was an ok starter, though I think Magnificent would have been much better to start the show. The sound was the best I'd heard at a U2 concert and Bono was in good voice. He also looked very slim, where were those thighs and bum??!<br />
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Next was my favourite from the album No Line On The Horizon. I dialled my friend Dawn's number on my mobile and she was able to listen and enjoy it many hundreds of miles away in Scotland, the wonders of the modern world! The performance was stunning. The Claw almost seemed to come alive during the performances, puffing smoke, lights creating different effects, 360 video screen had very clear pictures of the band and videos and even stretched out at times. The Claw is definitely more impressive at night with all the lighting effects. <br />
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Loved Magnificent, those opening notes are so distinctive and it went down extremely well with the crowd.<br />
Desire was followed by snippets of two Michael Jackson songs in tribute, the last of which was Don't Stop Until You Get Enough. Bono repeated the last line over and over his voice getting softer each time until it was a whisper. I thought that was very effective, signifying how Michael slipped away from this life.<br />
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Stuck In A Moment.... was next dedicated to, "Another Michael". It was really good to hear this song again and it was performed so well.<br />
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Next was Unknown Caller complete with karaoke-like lyrics on the screen. I didn't like that and I don't like that song any better now I've heard it live either. <br />
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The screen then had a metamorphosis and lengthened downwards until it was just above the bands' heads, it was like The Claw was coming alive, I almost expected it to start kicking out its legs to the beat next! Impressive.<br />
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A real treat came next, The Unforgettable Fire. And it was excellent, the video screens echoed the song with swirling reds and Bono remembered all the words (which can't be said of some other songs at this gig!). It made me realise just what a complicated, mature song that is both musically and lyrically, such an achievement for the then (1984) very young band. <br />
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A more recent tune was next in the set, City Of Blinding Lights, and the expanded screen created beautiful effects to go with this song and everyone was singing along to the "ooooohs". Great fun.<br />
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At first I didn't recognise I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight as it was so different from the album version, much more dancey. I'm not sure whether I liked it or not. Part of me was disappointed because I really like the album version, but part of me liked the risk the band were taking by doing this version. I needed time for this one.<br />
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Zzzzzz for me next, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Pride. "I'm so sick of it!" But having said that the crowd erupted when both were played, they are crowd pleasers and U2 are almost trapped into playing them. But I do wish they would be brave enough to drop more of these songs they play at almost ever concert.<br />
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There wasn't a lot of talking from Bono but he did talk at this point about Aung Sang Suu Kyi. Oh no, I thought, please don't say put on the masks..... He didn't, instead people who obviously had been picked form the crowd came out onto the walkway with masks on sticks in front of their faces and stood there as Bono sang Walk On. All the sticks were the same so they had obviously been given the masks to use by crew members. It worked quite well, better than the other idea, (maybe U2 had seen the opinions on the Net?) though sometimes you could see where Aung Sang Suu Kyi's eyes had been removed so the person could see to walk and that looked a bit weird. I didn't see anyone in the crowd put on a mask. <br />
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A heartfelt speech from Desmond Tutu about Africa was a prelude to One after which the band left the stage.<br />
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The encore started with fabulous Ultraviolet sung by Bono using a microphone that looked like a small steering wheel suspended from high within The Claw. He used the mic as a prop almost swinging on it and swinging it back and fore and catching it. I can see him missing one day and getting hit in the face! It was absolutely wonderful to hear that song again, very, very underplayed over the years. It is very strong live.<br />
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With Or Without You (Bono got no one on stage) followed by Moment Of Surrender close. It is a powerful song but I really think it is not the best song to finish a concert with.<br />
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And so that was the end of our first 360 show. The show is a barrage of music and vision, and we felt a bit over-awed at first and didn't say much. I had been very skeptical about The Claw, I really feel shows are about the music, emotion and communication not "effects". The Claw's "effects" are spectacular, stellar and even beautiful at times, most bands would be drowned by it. Though at times it was close, I think the band by their sheer power, pulled it off. It was lovely to hear some rarely played songs again, though I would have been happy for there to be more rather than some of the over-played regulars. Maybe that will happen in time.<br />
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So we walked out into the balmy night of Nice, cicadas "singing" in the early hours (the show finished at 11.45pm). We risked the portaloos which were scary but not as scary as some I've been in! We now had sore feet from all the standing, the arses had improved a little, dust and grit stuck to our sweaty, sunscreen covered bodies, we were hungry and thirsty, but happy, U2 had delivered.<br />
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Already battalions of cleaning trucks and men with witches broom-like brushes were starting the big clean up. Dozens and dozens of coaches had whisked away the people from right beside the venue into the city centre, excellent organisation. The crowd had been great, good mannered, enthusiastic and we didn't see one person drunk, the Brits could learn a thing or two on that last point! We walked up the road to the police station where we had arranged to meet Jean-Marc to take us home. As reliable as ever he soon arrived and whisked us off across the city, we hoped we didn't smell too rank in the confines of the taxi after our strenuous day. We arrived at our apartment at 2am. Jean-Marc joked Bono was waiting for us inside - he'd brought him in his taxi earlier.<br />
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Showers, then we had a pizza, followed by meringues Chantilly from a fab patisserie up the road (the best meringues I've <em>ever</em> had!) washed down by Moet champagne. We felt human again and the concert adrenalin was still flowing, we chatted until 5am when we thought that maybe we should go to bed.......Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-727731675067330432011-01-07T23:28:00.001+00:002011-01-07T23:30:35.427+00:002009 - January, Get On Your BootsWell it was the video that never was premiered that most of us got to see! The official premiere was cancelled, an official statement on the Irish Independent website saying the video wasn't quite finished. Then a friend sends me a copy of the video, huh? And I look online and it's all over the place, as fast as it gets pulled from one site it appears on another.<br />
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The eagle eyed fans amongst us noticed that on a few clips there are Getty Images watermarks, was that why it wasn't released, copyright restrictions? Who messed up there? Then other people noticed, shock, horror, an uncovered nipple, maybe that was why it bit the dust? Of course it could also be one of their now famous "leaks," just that this time it was video instead of music. We'll probably never know, but whatever the reason it was a big mess. You don't expect something like this to happen with a band like U2.<br />
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Having said that I LOVE the video! You could watch it a hundred times and still see something new. I love the colours, the Hubble-like images at the beginning, it's artsy, clever, without being pretentious and celebrates women in all their guises (which is what Bono said the song is about though I'd never have guessed!). The band look great, especially Bono without his shirt!!<br />
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When it first came out I quite liked the song, but looking back now it certainly wasn't the best song for a first release from the upcoming album, <em>Magnificent </em>was the one that would have worked best. Now <em>Boots </em>is not amongst my faves from the album.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyZVB5k5q_09rbV2PVK1rzHKXU2TeGwzuHSBJgvJwRdOf028bx0c4NLFK0uLKV94g4ksj6xvF2D3O0SeqKH13wYbFhh3j7abmv1O93dmZP0kiDI4KG8dYWo5OLoaTYB2MvPMJI92O0O4/s1600/goyb1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyZVB5k5q_09rbV2PVK1rzHKXU2TeGwzuHSBJgvJwRdOf028bx0c4NLFK0uLKV94g4ksj6xvF2D3O0SeqKH13wYbFhh3j7abmv1O93dmZP0kiDI4KG8dYWo5OLoaTYB2MvPMJI92O0O4/s400/goyb1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-78602025616370476562010-10-16T19:31:00.001+01:002010-10-16T19:33:28.383+01:002008 - February, U23DFriday February 22nd started as usual for me, up early for work, headed to the clinic, saw my patients and did the necessary paperwork. But come lunchtime I left work and moved into another world for a weekend, and boy was I ready for that!<br />
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I picked up my friend Dawn from the station and we went for mine for a quick lunch before heading back into the city centre to catch our train to Manchester. Once there we quickly met up with Debbi and that was it, we were all together - let the party begin!<br />
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We checked in at the Travelodge in Blackfriars Street, it's seen better days and in need refurbishment, but it was clean, central and cheap so that suited us for our short stay.<br />
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Soon afterwards we headed off to Chaophraya, a Thai restaurant I knew which serves fantastic food. It was only ten minutes walk from our hotel and soon we were in our seats. The food was lovely and the service perfect and the bill reasonable, I would recommend the restaurant to anyone visiting Manchester.<br />
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I'd checked on the map where the IMAX where we were seeing U23D was and we headed in that direction. We had to travel to Manchester to see the film as the film wasn't playing where we lived. We passed the great Manchester Wheel looking very impressive all lit up in blue and white, it must have been quite a job to erect it as it's not in open ground, there are streets and buildings all around it. Dawn, who is from a small town in Scotland, was marvelling at all the people, shops and lights of the big city, I loved it too, I've always liked the vibe of Manchester.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8KTW8ilLs5usdGlXgmWR24TxlQOgBpbqi_czjZsFjH0-Gwq_4eHipYBB-C-clHIT3kCH2JCgUSyJXJAf4w53X1mtg2M_dpEMBnHWre3baVJHqhBakROpQAW_s5vHkIb9lhLAnU18ZJK0/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="[007.JPG]" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8KTW8ilLs5usdGlXgmWR24TxlQOgBpbqi_czjZsFjH0-Gwq_4eHipYBB-C-clHIT3kCH2JCgUSyJXJAf4w53X1mtg2M_dpEMBnHWre3baVJHqhBakROpQAW_s5vHkIb9lhLAnU18ZJK0/s320/007.JPG" width="240" /></a>After a much shorter walk than expected we saw the Printworks ahead, we went in and one of the first things we saw was a stunning photo of Bono in the window of the Hard Rock Cafe, wowee!!! Here's a photo and Debbi and me (doing my Bono impression) beside it, I'm sure female readers especially will appreciate it!</div><br />
Further into the Printworks there was a U2 tribute band called Rattle and Hum playing. They were ok, but I think that the Scottish tribute band NU2 are much better. Also it was a bit disconcerting to see "Bono" rather overweight and "Larry" looking more Italian than Irish! But their playing added to the U2 atmosphere and our excitement. We couldn't stay long as we had to be a the IMAX so we walked on and in. <br />
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The IMAX complex was a confusing place to get around, but we eventually found our way into the right theatre. We sat near the centre two rows from the back. It was quite a large theatre with a huge screen from floor to ceiling, the largest I have ever seen! The seats were very comfortable and there was lots of legroom. The cinema was not that full, maybe a third full I'd say and of course we had those awful goofy 3D glasses to wear!<br />
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By now we were really excited and dead on 9pm the lights went down and U23D started. I'd never been to either an IMAX or a 3D film before so had no idea what to expect. When U2 blasted into Vertigo and on screen it took my breath away. I was on stage with the band, then I was in the audience dodging heads that blocked my view, then I was near enough to Bono to see individual hairs in his stubble..... I've never been that up close and personal to Bono! Being so much part of the concert was a very intense experience I was totally immersed me in the show. I would like to be able to write a balanced, objective review, but it was such an amazing experience! <br />
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There was a lot to take in. I loved the aerial shots, especially those above Larry, you got a little glimpse into his hidden world behind the drums, saw his drink, paper hankies and just how hard he works. Watching Edge at work, clearly concentrating deeply. Often we almost moved to dodge Adam's guitar as he swung round and it seemed to loom into your face. I loved seeing the communication between the band , the touches, hugs, even Bono kissing Adam, the bands close friendship is so obvious and I'm sure it plays a big part in their longevity.<br />
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Highlights, wow, there were so many, but the top one has to be during Sunday Bloody Sunday when Bono looks into the camera and reaches out with his hand to "wipe your tears away", it was like he was reaching to touch me and I had the urge to reach out and touch his hand. A very personal moment in the film for everyone watching. <br />
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Sometimes was lovely, with Bono getting totally lost in it as usual. One of my few complaints about the film was here. This is a very moving and personal song for Bono and there should have been more close ups on his face so the passion and raw emotion he expresses was conveyed to the viewers more strongly.<br />
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Love and Peace is very powerful live and this came across perfectly in the film. The thumping drum beats thudding round the theatre, I felt like I was standing beside Bono at times as he beat the drum on the b-stage.<br />
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It was good to see the band left in the mistake at the beginning of The Fly, though I'm pretty sure Bono's "What the....." had been somewhat edited!<br />
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I found the whole bandana/blindfold part as cringeworthy on film as I did live. Sometimes Bono takes it too far, and, for me, this was one of those times. But that was all I found wrong with the show, otherwise it was brilliant.<br />
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All during the film the audience was amazing, I can see why they filmed this in South America you couldn't have wished for a more enthusiastic crowd and this added something very special to the film. As I watched it struck me that U2 are another generation to most of the audience (they were a young crowd), they come from a country thousands of miles away and speak another language. But none of that was a barrier, it really shows how U2's music can speak to everyone. <br />
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Finally, as the titles rolled and hundreds of names drifted past at the end of the film I noticed the dedication from U2 was really nice - and much appreciated! Good to know they value us longtime fans.<br />
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"<em>U2 would like to thank the fans, touring personnel and staff, whose long term loyalty, Commitment and support have helped shape who we are today. This film is for you</em>."<br />
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It had been very hard not to sing or get up and dance or even just clap during the film and the silence as the lights came up was weird! All in all, it was a fantastic film and will keep us going until we can see U2 live on stage again - hopefully next year.<br />
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We were all a bit gobsmacked when we left, (as we often are after seeing a live gig), but by time we got to our hotel we'd found our voices and chatted, laughed and drank champagne for hours.<br />
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February 23rd <br />
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Unfortunately Dawn was only staying the one night so Debbi and I saw her off home in the morning. We decided to do a little shopping before going on the Manchester wheel. I wasn't sure about it as I'm not very good with heights if I don't feel safe, but not one to not try something I decided to give it a go. I'm afraid once the wheel got higher than the rooftops of the surrounding buildings my stomach churned and I was hit with vertigo and I spent the rest of the ride with my eyes closed, I was ok then! Deb took photos so I could see what I missed !! <br />
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Once safely back on terra firma where did we go? Back to see U23D in the Printworks! Second time round I had the chance to notice other things that I'd missed before and this time and didn't find it as frustrating not to be able to dance and sing! The main thing I noticed this time was that at the very end when the audience were singing and Bono, clearly overcome by their response, he stopped singing and turned the microphone towards the crowd and let them finish the show, it was the perfect thing to do and very fitting. Bono has an inate instinct for things like that.<br />
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Later that evening Debbi and I had a meal and seat booked at the Comedy Store. We started on the wine as soon as we got there and were quite merry by time we were taken downstairs for our meal. We were very impressed with the meal, it was excellent, starters and then we both had delicious tender lamb for our main. Afterwards we got a plate of petit fours which rounded it all off very nicely as we waited for the show to start.<br />
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Later we were taken into the auditorium and had seats comfortably away from the front - we didin't want to be picked on by the comedians. The compare Richard Monkhouse was funny but the first two comedians (can't remember their names)were mediocre to tell the truth. At the interval we went for a wine and decided to leave slightly early and go see U2 3D again! That turned into not going back into the comedy show, finishing our wine and relaxing in the bar, then getting a taxi up to the Printworks. Madness I know, but we were both of the same mind and our preference at that time was to see U23D again rather than go back into the Comedy Store. A bit of spontaneity does you good so off we went into the lively Manchester Saturday night!<br />
<br />
We could find our way easily round the IMAX now seeing we'd visited it quite a lot in the past couple of days! We settled into our seats and were blown away for the third time and again picked up new things, it really is a film you need to see more than once. At the end I felt kind of sad, at bit like I do at the end of the last gig I'll see on a tour. This was it for me, not more U23D, but I'm lucky to have been able to see it in an IMAX - three times, so I'm very happy with that. Debbi ended up going to see it once more the next day with her husband!<br />
<br />
It was certainly worth the journey and expense, and I'm glad I could share it all with my dear friends Debbi and Dawn, who I know were as impressed as me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-21631678550238607262010-07-10T21:11:00.004+01:002010-07-10T22:04:25.898+01:002007 - November, "Bleedin' rock stars"<div dir="ltr" id="main"><div dir="ltr" id="Blog1"><p align="justify"><a name="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136902529895869714"></a>Debbi and I had a short break in Dublin in November. We treated ourselves to a one night stay in the Garden Terrace Suite at the Clarence, much cheaper than the Penthouse but nowhere near as grand! The other two days we stayed at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bewley's</span></span> which was as nice as usual, it's always a good place to stay.<br /><br />We went down to Hanover Quay on our last full day in Dublin, and luckily we managed to get parked right opposite the studio. There were a couple of girls and two young men already waiting at the studio. The second stroke of luck was that all the signs that the band were there or coming were there so we waited.<br /><br />Shortly after we got there Adam arrived and stopped to talk, both Debbi and I got good photos taken with him and were able to have a little chat. Debbi told him she wasn't too well and he asked why and she said about overdoing it the previous night, he asked where she'd been and she replied the Clarence. I then asked how the recording of the album was going, and after a short pause he said, with a hint of frustration. "Well, we haven't really started on it yet!" Not what we were wanting to hear! At this point a young man came and asked for an autograph and shortly afterwards Adam went into the studio. The men left after that.<br /><br />Edge and Larry arrived shortly afterwards but didn't stop, three down one to go, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bono</span></span>. It was dry and not cold so it wasn't unpleasant waiting and there is always something to watch at HQ. The area has changed beyond recognition, each time we come there are new blocks of offices or apartments, shops and restaurants. Grimy Misery Hill, noisy, dusty <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Kilsaran</span></span> Concrete, the garage with the German Shepherd guard dog up the road all gone. And soon HQ will be gone too and it will be the end of an era for us, I feel a little sad about that.<br /><br />A courier van drew up outside the studio and the driver asked us what we were waiting for and Debbi said "a bus", he laughed and said that this was a very "odd street". Around this time the two girls left, so now it was just Debbi and I left waiting.<br /><br />I had my usually very reliable "feeling" that we'd meet <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bono</span></span> but time was passing and there was no sign of him. Then luck smiled on us for the third time - at about 3.30pm <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bono</span></span> arrived in a taxi, he waved to us as it pulled up outside the studio. He got out and after saying goodbye to someone who was in the taxi with him he came across to us. At this point I got that familiar, surreal feeling, as I watched him walking towards us. Unusually he wasn't wearing his glasses which was nice, he stopped in front of us and greeted us in his usual way,</p><p align="justify">"Hi how are you?" </p><p align="justify">We said we were <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">ok</span></span> and Debbi said, </p><p align="justify">"Fancy meeting you here", </p><p align="justify"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bono</span></span> smiled and then he leaned forward and kissed Debbi and said he liked her hair (she's had part of it dyed dark pink), then he leaned over to me and kissed me. We both noticed he had no aftershave on. He was just about to say something when Debbi jumped in and said.</p><p align="justify">"Can we just say something to you," immediately she had his attention, he looked at her intently, waiting for what was coming next. She continued to thank him for what he did for us when we were in the penthouse in May. I added that it made our stay there just perfect. </p><p align="justify">"Did you stay up really late?" he asked.</p><p align="justify">"We stayed up all night!" I replied, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bono</span></span> was very impressed with that and with a gesture said,</p><p align="justify">"YES, great stuff!" </p><p align="justify">He obviously approved! Debbi continued saying that we'd really enjoyed every minute there, going in the hot tub, drinking champagne..... <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bono</span></span> smiled as he listened. Then she said,</p><p align="justify">"Actually we were at the Clarence last night, but not in the penthouse". </p><p align="justify">"I should think not," he said emphatically, "what do you think you are, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">bleedin</span></span>' rock stars?!" </p><p align="justify">We all laughed, he is so funny. Then <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bono</span></span> said he would have to go as he was an hour late, so we said our goodbyes and then he disappeared into the studio. It had been a very short but sweet meeting. We had so wanted to be able to thank him personally on behalf of ourselves and our friends Dianne and Julie, for his kindness in May. We had left a thank you note at the studio in May but we never knew if he got it of course. So we were so pleased to be able to thank him in person and we were lucky to have been the only fans there when he arrived. It was great to have a kiss from him too! He really is so sweet. I'd like to say he looked well, but he looked very tired and drawn. Later we found out that he had already been to a meeting of Irish Hunger <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Taskforce</span></span> in Cork earlier that day. He really needs to slow down a bit.<br /><br />We went to our car and were sitting getting ourselves sorted when four young and very beautiful Italian girls appeared from nowhere and came over to us. They asked if <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bono</span></span> was in the studio we told them he was and that he had arrived just a few minutes earlier. The girls were ecstatic, apparently <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bono</span></span> had told them yesterday that he would see them for autographs and photos at 6pm today. The girls were so excited, shouting repeated thanks yous and blowing kisses to us over and over as they walked away. I'd have loved to have been there when they met <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">Bono</span></span>!<br /></p><p align="justify">That meeting was a lovely ending to our short Dublin trip and it felt like we had been able to make a perfect ending also for our May Penthouse trip by giving our thanks to the B-man.</p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-83192029116049338272010-06-13T16:21:00.008+01:002010-06-13T17:05:12.657+01:002007 - May, Bono at HQ and the Clarence Penthouse<div align="justify">Sorry for the long gap since my last post, I just seem to have been so busy with other writing and life in general. But now I'm determined to continue updating this blog regularly until I'm up to the present day, then I'll update it when there are any U2 happenings in my life. Below is one of the most marvellous U2 experiences I've had!</div><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">All our trips to Dublin are special, but this week long 2007 trip was more special than usual, we were staying in a rented apartment – but for one night we were going to stay in the Penthouse at the Clarence Hotel – we’d saved for two and a half years for it! Debbi, Dianne, Julie and I were at last back in Dublin for this holiday of a lifetime. It was good to meet up with my friends again; we always just seem to pick up from where we left off when we get back together.<br /><br />On Tuesday lunchtime we went down to U2’s studio in the docklands. How it is changing there, the gritty griminess and character being replaced by large, anonymous glass and steel buildings. Even the Kilsaran concrete yard was now closed and the famous bench gone. I’m not sure about all the changes in Dublin, so many wonderful old buildings have gone, I feel they should have done more renovation and so kept some of the city’s unique character alive within the new.<br /><br />We had no idea whether U2 were at the studio, but not long after we got there Adam arrived. We had a short chat and took photos; as usual he was a real gentleman. About an hour later Bono arrived too and not long after parking his car in the garage appeared at the studio door. He made no attempt to come across the road and was clearly waiting for us to come to him so we did. He looked really well and suits the short hair; also its more natural colour is much better for his pale Irish complexion.<br /><br />He was chatty and asked us various questions including what we had been doing so far on our holiday, we told him about our trip to Brittas Bay the previous day and he said he loved it there. We all got autographs and photos taken with him. We hadn't been sure whether to tell him about our stay the penthouse at the Clarence later that week. Debbi quietly asked me. "Shall we tell him?" H heard and said. "Tell me what?" His eyes going back and for between our faces. Don't know why but I quietly said to Deb ."Ok." (As if he wouldn't hear me!) Debbi then shared our plans with him. Bono asked what we were celebrating and we told him it was a special birthday for Dianne. He was too much of a gentleman to ask how old she w<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz8tRKVG7BX1N39N-CFeWXQnLr66YJBRStyKguCQW-bWLJzEsslCx2MJufzy2Vc9FbG0lzrondZZwbMYepgVk0NWv4GfSf1jc0mVIp7yecEZoYhLNsQqWf7HQ3vKQjt6oXPWe4cFva_CmW/s1600-h/Dublin+May+2007+016.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; FLOAT: right; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138354249378700946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz8tRKVG7BX1N39N-CFeWXQnLr66YJBRStyKguCQW-bWLJzEsslCx2MJufzy2Vc9FbG0lzrondZZwbMYepgVk0NWv4GfSf1jc0mVIp7yecEZoYhLNsQqWf7HQ3vKQjt6oXPWe4cFva_CmW/s320/Dublin+May+2007+016.JPG" /></a>ould be, I jokingly told him she was 30! To which Diann said. "It's a long time since I've been 30!" I added that we'd be saving to do this for ages as I didn't want him to think we were rich fans who could do something like that whenever we wanted. He said we'd love it in the penthouse, and after wishing Dianne a happy birthday and saying goodbye he went back into the studio. It’s always so good to meet Bono, he has the ability to make everyone around him feel special and important and we were certainly full of smiles as we left Hanover Quay that day!<br /><br />A couple of days later and it was our big day at penthouse at the Clarence Hotel; I was wide at 6.30am, very unusual for me! We spent the morning getting ready, we looked like different people in our lovely clothes, we felt like different people too.<br /><br />The limo was a bit late, the chauffeur couldn’t find us! After I gave directions over the phone he was soon there. It was a white stretch limo, black leather seats, yet let down by plastic glasses for the “champagne” which tasted more like Cava to me. It was all rather over the top for my liking, but still, it was special and that was what this day was all about. We sat inside watching a U2 DVD and drinking champagne as the driver took us on a tour of the city. I really just wanted to get to the Clarence!<br /><br />When we did get to the hotel we were treated like royalty and shown round the ground floor of the hotel (as if we'd never been there before) before getting into the lift up to the penthouse. We were so excited it was hard to remain calm! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnh_B9_qXCWQ5u6D6PSWE46__uuBAEP_Zc1i2z6DLpmnif7NB79307904d4QCyR8kdyYNOuaLtGcr3uuH1qSIGbRRQQJHR4JdV7WcHK_s2DtQEOz28xPgKEFx39b9cl97RGdAdf4v4F5-/s1600-h/Dublin+May+2007+042.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136899682332552450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnh_B9_qXCWQ5u6D6PSWE46__uuBAEP_Zc1i2z6DLpmnif7NB79307904d4QCyR8kdyYNOuaLtGcr3uuH1qSIGbRRQQJHR4JdV7WcHK_s2DtQEOz28xPgKEFx39b9cl97RGdAdf4v4F5-/s320/Dublin+May+2007+042.JPG" /></a>The staff member showed us around the two floors of the duplex penthouse before leaving us on our own. It was then we could let go and just explore.<br /><br />The penthouse was fantastic, much bigger than it looks on photos and everything of the highest quality. We had welcome cocktails waiting for us as arranged, but there was also a bottle of champagne in a very expensive looking Alessi cooler on ice with 4 glasses which wasn't part of the deal. We checked with reception and were told it was complimentary, so we popped the cork, the champagne was wonderful!<br /><br />We spent the after just enjoying the penthouse. On the lower level was a sitting room, dining room, two bathrooms, a kitchen and two bedrooms. Along the entire front of this was a balcony overlooking the River Liffey and Dublin. The upper level was reached by a stylish oak and stainless steel spiral staircase. This level was open plan at one end a seated area the other end had a baby grand piano and a very well stocked (and expensive) bar. There was a balcony at the back where the hot tub was. There was also a small balcony at the other end of the loft that gave you a lovely view onto the city.<br /><br />We relaxed in the hot tub with our champagne, we chatted as we watched DVDs on the huge TV. We could hardly believe that after over two and a half years of saving we were finally in the penthouse.<br /><br />In the early evening we started getting ready to go down to the Tea Room for our meal. We had bought special outfits and I must say we looked so glamorous – we barely recognised each other!<br /><br />At 8pm we went down for dinner, we were greeted by a lady who said, “You are looking very beautiful tonight ladies” and we were shown to our table. There was an envelope on the table that the waiter handed to Debbi. She opened it and for a few seconds just stared at it. We all guessed what it was even before she read it out and then passed it round it said "Happy Birthday, love Bono”. Before we had a chance to say anything the sommelier was there pouring champagne. Debbi asked if it was from Bono and we were told yes. We were so surprised and touched that he'd done this we were nearly crying! For a while we were speechless (which doesn't happen often) and it was a while before we got ourselves together and were able to look at the menu and order (which also doesn't often happen!!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4kOI3iVNJjm6wUAYHrKLQg2qxprgMxqpkBy21TYcEtvSwqg4h0sE7GHVSygfOs9q71F80p1W1-K3V-8DZy18w5fhNZUI_vPcw91tYqzoi2pYzqzXjl1TbG7qP291xocxNzFpMOdwFmD8/s1600-h/Dublin+May+2007+066.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136898299353083090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4kOI3iVNJjm6wUAYHrKLQg2qxprgMxqpkBy21TYcEtvSwqg4h0sE7GHVSygfOs9q71F80p1W1-K3V-8DZy18w5fhNZUI_vPcw91tYqzoi2pYzqzXjl1TbG7qP291xocxNzFpMOdwFmD8/s320/Dublin+May+2007+066.JPG" /></a><br />The meal was wonderful, excellent quality and service. We'd planned to have a very special expensive bottle of wine with our meal so we still had that too. It turned out that we didn't have to pay for that either, all our drinks that night (including the champagne that had been waiting for us on our arrival at the penthouse) were on Bono. Even now I can hardly believe he did this for us, going to the penthouse was exciting enough, but for Bono to do this made it perfect, it was so thoughtful and kind of him.<br /><br />After finishing the wine in the Study we went back up to the penthouse. We stayed up all night chatting, drinking wine, having a laugh, making a video and watching DVDs, we didn't want to miss a minute of our stay by sleeping. Sometimes we went out onto one of the balconies to look at the lovely view of the lights of Dublin at night. It felt like we were in another world high above those lights and, really, we were. We were in the rarified world of the rich and famous, sampling their lifestyle for 24 hours and we were loving it!<br /><br />We watched a beautiful dawn break over the city from the balcony which signalled that our stay in the penthouse was nearly over. I felt sad that it was coming to an end, yet I also felt lucky. Lucky that I could afford to do something like this - even if it meant a lot of saving. Lucky to have three special friends in Debbi, Dianne and Julie to share this with. And lucky to be a fan of Bono, whose thoughtful kindness made our stay at the penthouse at the Clarence Hotel absolutely perfect.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-78466355104965668202009-10-16T16:13:00.010+01:002009-10-16T17:20:40.701+01:002005 October - Vertigo Tour Boston 2Another beautiful warm and sunny day in Boston, apparently the weather was much warmer than usual for the time of year. We went to Banknorth Gardens and waited by the back entrance, there were about 40 fans in all I would say. We saw Larry arrive, h<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgkbu_u56TBdCjP4Q2EOr2SHOuLluKzRBDBmt8VIRmJZwx4-g8orYzFhFXsJAim6-Y7YSIVJ3E7PVBugoQ0Sx14fbTSqpEmvi5a00mWQW1CUIoQ5M0neiMPiY5qk5gDJA9YB7beY1b2Q/s1600-h/IMG_0003.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 228px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393229884602781138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgkbu_u56TBdCjP4Q2EOr2SHOuLluKzRBDBmt8VIRmJZwx4-g8orYzFhFXsJAim6-Y7YSIVJ3E7PVBugoQ0Sx14fbTSqpEmvi5a00mWQW1CUIoQ5M0neiMPiY5qk5gDJA9YB7beY1b2Q/s320/IMG_0003.jpg" /></a>e waved. Then Adam whose car went up the ramp and then came back down again backwards! LOL! He got out of the car and signed for fans, he was charming.<br /><br />Then before we knew here was Edge sauntering down the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZKOmGCt5pC4BNiRiREXfwCAIROiXMviieaYLBWd9MUzwz84SwlGhqx3vX93RY9gxos2VdZkodpaJD_-8qJkvCe5VABHpNQdGYdKSZC6a4Z4qorle1mdWmaOstsXBXTn-renwdZ6rjtY/s1600-h/IMG_0002.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 211px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 355px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393229708750759634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZKOmGCt5pC4BNiRiREXfwCAIROiXMviieaYLBWd9MUzwz84SwlGhqx3vX93RY9gxos2VdZkodpaJD_-8qJkvCe5VABHpNQdGYdKSZC6a4Z4qorle1mdWmaOstsXBXTn-renwdZ6rjtY/s320/IMG_0002.jpg" /></a>ramp and he too was so friendly and signed lots of articles for fans, who were by this time quite excited.<br /><br /><br />Finally Bono arrived. His car stopped at the bottom of the ramp and his minder asked everyone to stand back on the kerb which they did. Bono methodically worked his way along the line of fans on the other side of the road first, chatting, signing, posing for photos - one with a fans young son (ages about 4 or 5) who couldn't wait to get out of Bono's arms back to his father's! As he got to the end of that side a Duck Tour came past , it was funny to see the recognition dawning on people's faces when they realised it was Bono there in the street, he gave them a wave.<br /><br />He then came across to our side of the road, he glanced up at us as he was signing our stuff, recognised us and kind of doubled back giving a wink, he asked Julie. "How is everyone?" Then to me he smiled and said. "You've picked the good weather!" I replied. "Yes it's lovely." And that was my interaction with Bono, you meet a world famous rock star and you talk about the weather! But then in Ireland and the UK we talk about the weather a lot as it's so changeable! Dianne asked whether they would be playing <em>Bad</em> and Bono replied that he didn't know, they hadn't decided yet.<br /><br />We went to a nearby bar called The Ruby Room and had cocktails and something to eat before returnin<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtpz4rlz4O4MCmbx3p3tluBUraw7nXHNcQEZthGsq2IiCiQHDvy2PubQVG7gb9hn6Lznx_Qpb76acSV6qvcYcTSk5ZfYhX9ipakUhzqTJLwORnNIMmzYUcC1PeGb0YkiIdICWCRO39kQ/s1600-h/IMG_0001.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 290px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393232119185030850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtpz4rlz4O4MCmbx3p3tluBUraw7nXHNcQEZthGsq2IiCiQHDvy2PubQVG7gb9hn6Lznx_Qpb76acSV6qvcYcTSk5ZfYhX9ipakUhzqTJLwORnNIMmzYUcC1PeGb0YkiIdICWCRO39kQ/s400/IMG_0001.jpg" /></a>g to the arena for the gig. Our seats were very good, in the first block on Edge's side.<br /><br />The set was very similar to last night's, except that they did C<em>rumbs </em>and an acoustic <em>Stuck.</em> We were close enough to see that Bono was reading the lyrics to <em>Stuck </em>from a sheet of paper on the floor! It was a good show and we couldn't have asked for better seats.<br /><br /><br />So that was it, our last Vertigo Tour show, it had been a great tour once more, I loved all the travelling, places, people, shows we saw. Roll on the next tour!<br /><br /><br />We only had one more full day in lovely Boston. We went to Boston Common which was lovely and then onto the <em>Cheers </em>bar (really called the Bull and Finch). The entrance was just like on the TV but inside it was different, still it was nice to see as I loved that TV series. We had the obligatory photo taken outside of course!<br /><br /><br />We went to the Prudential Tour and took the lift up to the 50th floor to see the amazing views over the city. It was still warm and sunny and visibility was fabulous. The river meandering to the sea, the city spread out before us, it was noticeable there was lots of green in the city and that the downtown area was compact.<br /><br />That evening we went back to the Prudential to have a meal at the Top of the Hub restaurant on the 52nd floor and had a fabulous meal with that gorgeous view. It was our farewell to Boston treat to ourselves and was worth every penny. I love Boston, and hope I will be able to come back one day.<br /><br /><br /><br />(Edge and Adam photos by Dianne Beeaff)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-46122336979242896162009-09-09T22:02:00.004+01:002009-09-09T22:55:12.933+01:002005 October - Vertigo Tour Boston 1At the end of September Julie and I flew over to Boston for a week's holiday combined with two U2 shows. This was to be my first visit to Boston and I didn't really know what to expect, most of my visits to the US so far had been to the West. We had a relatively short flight (compared to the longer haul ones to the west of the country). The approach to Boston was lovely very green and lots of little islands in a blue sea.<br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 226px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379587817024615762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWkyCpMsKcH76KxSpUq_Cj0wEhH22rn2_0l-CuNsERr-rZgIQsQ002SgaT8TLUdRt-WW_l821ChAT1xuXT_TiVpzkLDL_iCaOP9tcC0b0LDFlMqj5uRQl26p9jgADo8lvWOUswe1Aynk/s320/Boston_0005.jpg" /></p><p align="center">New and old in Boston</p>We stepped out of the plane into warm sunshine and luckily that's how it stayed for us for the entire week! Our hotel was lovely though the room was very small. I quickly decided I really liked Boston. It had a leisurely pace and for the first time on a visit to America I felt it had a history in the city. Most American cities are so new (to a European anyway!) that for me they don't have a sense of a past, but Boston did have that and I liked that.<br /><br />We spent the first few days sightseeing and went on the famous "Duck" tour, our duck was called Molly Molasses and our guides proper job was a doctor and she called herself Dr Quack! LOL! The city was lovely, old and new mixed together, lots of green areas and parks and of course the ocean. The ducks are amphibious vehicles and Molly slipped into the Charles River and from there we got fabulous views of the city. The duck trip was very informative (did you know there are 81 Dunkin Donut outlets in Boston?!) and also fun.<br /><br />We visited Quincy Market, Fanieul Hall, lots of shops, Boston Common and lots more, there is so much to see in the city that we did not get anywhere near to seeing it all.<br /><br />On 2nd October Dianne joined us, it was good to see her again. Next day was our first U2 gig. It was at Banknorth Garden just a short walk from our hotel. I had to pick up the tickets, no problem there and we were also given wristbands and told to come back at 5pm and get into line according to our numbers. Very organised, and it meant we were free to go off and do our own thing. We decided to have a meal at a nearby restaurant before going back to the arena to wait for the band arriving. They arrived very late and did not stop - later we found out that they were late because their plane had been delayed.<br /><br />Once in the arena we couldn't find any space on the barrier, and as we are both quite short we decided to stand at the sound desk where there was a little platform. It turned out to be a great place. Keane were the support band and I really enjoyed their set and they went down very well with the crowd.<br /><br />U2 came on just before 9pm, the stage looked small compared with the European stadium gigs but I much prefer arenas. They started with <em>City of Blinding Lights </em>with the "curtain" of glistening lights around them, it looked very beautiful. The set was much like the shows we'd seen already. <em>Miss Sarajevo </em>was stunning when Bono sang the operatic Pavarotti part, his voice just filled the place, I could hardly believe it was him! The audience clapped and cheered. It's kind of like Bono is still trying to prove himself to his now deceased father by singing the opera he loved so much. There was a really lovely acoustic encore of <em>The First Time </em>and <em>Wild Horses. </em>They finished with <em>40 </em>which was a much better ending than the high energy repeated <em>Vertigo </em>they did in the European shows we saw, U2 should always finish gigs low-key, that's their way and it works.<br /><br />We hung around at the back for a while afterwards, the only band member we met was Larry who was very pleasant, he shook hands with people, signed autographs and even posed for photos!<br /><br />I really enjoyed the show, though I always find American shows are not as exciting as European ones, or maybe it's just me. We walked the short way to our hotel and drank wine, ate nibbles and discussed the show before going to bed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-14456341767241737502009-08-30T17:40:00.003+01:002009-08-30T17:45:47.798+01:00I'll Be Back!Sorry for the long gap in my posting on this blog, U2's 360 Tour and holidays have taken up my time over the last few weeks. But I hope to be updating this site within a week or two. So don't give up on it - come back in about two weeks and there will be more for you to read here. See you then!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-70262974716163100332009-07-05T11:51:00.005+01:002009-07-05T12:22:44.680+01:002005 June - Dublin 2 Vertigo, Smiles and ExhilarationAnother day another gig. This one started well, our seats were a lot better, lower tier about halfway down the pitch. As soon as U2 came on we realised the sound was great too, after the previous gig that was a relief.<br /><br />Bono talked a lot at this concert, he said they were the worst wedding band in the world but the best rock 'n' roll band. He said it was going to be a "party night" and that's certainly what this night turned out to be. Then he said about the Irish stealing Edge from Wales and delivering him to the GAA (Gaelic Athletics Association). More seriously he talked about the "fragility of life" and how it had affected them personally recently, then he dedicated <em>Miracle Drug </em>to "all the doctors and nurses that keep us alive."<br /><br />The set was pretty much the standard one, the only surprise in the set was the inclusion of <em>Party Girl. </em>Bono got a lad called Brad from Canada up on stage to play the guitar. He's held up a sign saying "I can play guitar", Bono said, "It pays to advertise!" During the song he changed some of the lyrics singing, "I don't give a shite", a reference to the 11pm curfew which they passed by around ten minutes.<br /><br />The energy of the gig was brilliant, exhilarating. I felt proud of U2 and along with the rest of the crowd sang along and enjoyed every moment. The feeling of being part of something special was very strong and the love of the Irish was so apparent for their band. I felt part of that too, because I'd just discovered I had Irish ancestors, so was one of them as well, a great feeling!<br /><br />Getting back to our hotel afterwards was a bit of a nightmare. We waited in a chaotic taxi queue for ages. In the end we gave up on that and got the night bus back, arriving at 4am, ahh the touring life!<br /><br />This gig was a wonderful way to end our European leg of the Vertigo tour. We were going to see two shows later in the year in Boston so the Vertigo Tour wasn't quite finished for us yet.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354933830174879490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhExHwis_kkRiWAaNpe6iuWwtfYVrx-KkhCLi4Zh2XV-zb_kPp1sEbJPso1Uw5P3eMn5fRJ1rUBUy-T32guVfLZnrVPPS_BPlVhsqXfwYapbu4jxMSUqspFpPvTI6mOXYJFqeepKJVmc/s320/IMG.jpg" border="0" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-29483947299659436122009-06-25T15:41:00.001+01:002009-06-25T16:34:13.164+01:002005 June - Dublin Vertigo, Up In The Gods and DisappointmentThe day after the Glasgow show saw Debbi, Julie and I suffering from varying degrees of sunburn. It had been cloudy when we set off for Hampden so we didn't think we needed any sunscreen, but it got out really hot and sunny and there was no shade and now our pale English complexions were bright red! We went to a pharmacy and got some great aloe vera lotion that calmed our redness down a little.<br /><br />We flew to Dublin for our last two Vertigo tour shows in the British Isles. We were staying at Bewley's Hotel in Ballsbridge, always a good place to make your base in Dublin.<br /><br />Before the U2 part of the trip we visited our friends in Dun Laoghaire and also had a meal with my German friend Chris who was also in Dublin for U2 gigs. It was good to catch up with them all. That's one of the lovely things about going to U2 gigs, you get to see so many old friends again.<br /><br />On the day of the gig we all had to kind of split up a bit as we had tickets in different areas of the stadium and were also meeting various friends. So Julie and I headed into town to meet Rosie, our friend from Northern Ireland. We had a meal with her before heading towards Croke Park. Once there we said bye to Rosie too as she was sitting elsewhere.<br /><br />Our seats were abysmal! And yes, they were fan club seats, shame on you U2! We were at the far end of teh pitch, top tier, four rows from the back. Dreadful seats. I must say I got vertigo at Vertigo we were so high up. Plus there was a hell of a wind blowing up there as well.<br /><br />I was really looking forward to seeing Snow Patrol, but was really disappointed because the sound was so bad, very muddy.<br /><br />U2 took to the stage to a raptuous reception, but as soon as they started to play we realised the sound was just as bad for them. When Bono spoke it was impossible to understand what he was saying. The set was a pretty standard one, and for me the show was completely spoiled by the sound. Friends who were in other areas of the stadium said the sound was fine where they were, so we had the bad luck to be stuck almost as far away as you can get from the stage and to have the worst sound I've ever heard at a U2 concert. Shame and very disappointing.<br /><br />We met up with our other friends once more and hung around after the show, only Larry stopped to speak with fans. He was very friendly and charming, obviously happy to be back on home ground.<br /><br />We headed off back to our hotel feeling a bit deflated and hoped that tomorrows show would turn out to be a lot better for us.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-17575140962937312002009-05-23T16:11:00.009+01:002009-05-25T16:26:11.622+01:002005 June - Glasgow Vertigo, Magic and Fun<div>We flew from London to Glasgow where we were seeing the next gig, nowadays it's cheaper to travel long distances and also save time that way. We got the airport bus into the city centre and after a walk up one of Glasgow's hills checked in at the Travel Inn.<br /><br />We dined in the hotel restaurant and later met our friend Alan from the Scottish U2 tribute band NU2 in the hotel bar later that evening, it was nice to see him again.<br /><br />Next day Debbi and Julie left early for the stadium, they wanted to get in the queue so they would be sure to get close to the barrier as we had GA tickets. Dianne and I didn't want to do that so we took it easy and left about two hours later. When we got to Hampden we found that the queues were not long and our friends were only about three yards in front of us! Things are never as manic in Scotland as at other venues which is really nice.<br /><br />As we waited the weather got hotter and hotter as the day progressed, there was nowhere to get any shade and Debbi got badly sunburned. Julie and I also got burned but not quite as badly. the suffering we go through in the name of U2!<br /><br />The gates opened at 4.30pm and everyone streamed in, up loads of steps and then down loads of steps into the stadium. We got a great position right on the catwalk barrier, almost the same as in Manchester. And, one of those weird coincidences once more, our friend Dawn was right near us!<br /><br />The support was Black Rebel Motorcycle Gang and Interpol, both pretty boring for me. Then it was U2, and right from the start it was clear Bono was in high spirits and full of energy. During <em>Elevation </em>he lay on the stage and kissed a fem<img class="gl_italic" alt="Italic" src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" border="0" />ale photographer. At the beginning of <em>Miracle Drug </em>Bono counted on his fingers and said. "Three notes...." then he looked at Edge who shook his head and mouthed "Four", everyone including Bono laughed.<br /><br />Later Bono talked about Make Poverty History before singing <em>One </em>and said the band were very proud of their fans for supporting the cause. Then he said. "We're coming back to Scotland for the G8!" He was referring to a concert that was going to take place when the next G8 meeting was in Edinburgh in a few weeks time. It got a huge cheer from the crowd.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSvtDTUHurtGyePNVmcRm5Cgml_NSeXgSpcOnpqGtLQg6d0eaqJUSHzIIGy8bawdD9DFWzybJ-F4vvrOv3MyfaSA9Q8ztFWv77IbANEqsyP-5B8CPqTYhJAL3FPhLCmsHhP6xWNTX8Fs/s1600-h/Manchester+Vertigo_0004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339783083538175266" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 267px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSvtDTUHurtGyePNVmcRm5Cgml_NSeXgSpcOnpqGtLQg6d0eaqJUSHzIIGy8bawdD9DFWzybJ-F4vvrOv3MyfaSA9Q8ztFWv77IbANEqsyP-5B8CPqTYhJAL3FPhLCmsHhP6xWNTX8Fs/s400/Manchester+Vertigo_0004.jpg" border="0" /></a>At one point he got a pretty young girl out to dance with, she looked a bit like a very young Ali. After the show we bumped into the girl who was still very hyped up. She was called Maria and very sweet. I asked her if Bono had said anything to her and she replied that all he said was. "Shhh," and put his finger to his lips when she first got on the stage, I remember seeing that. At one point she burst into tears and that was when he pulled her close and cradled her head and rested his head against hers. I told her I'd got some photos of her and Bono, she was so pleased, we swapped email addresses and I later sent her copies.<br /><br />The encore started <em>with Zoo </em>Station followed by a really <em>rocking The </em>Fly<em>. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your </em>Own was sung very close to us and brought a lump to my throat, Bono was lost in the music. That song could have also been written for my mother and me, I really relate to a lot of those lyrics.<br /><br />Bono added a bit of<em> Walk On </em>and<em> Happy Birthday </em>to<em> One </em>in honour of Aung San Suu Kyi's recent 60th birthday.<br /><br />During <em>City Of Blinding Lights </em>Bono got a helium balloon from someone in the audience and let it go and we all watched it float up into the darkness and drift away. It was a simple thing but it felt special and drew the crowd together, Bono is a natural at those kind of things.<br /><br />This Glasgow show was one of <em>those </em>shows, where U2 seized the moment and a huge stadium felt small and intimate, that's the genius this band can reach at times. We left feeling uplifted and elated, pure magic!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3645410884800592760.post-85357098880237869872009-05-10T12:53:00.009+01:002009-05-10T14:45:22.456+01:002005 June - Hot Days, Hot Gig, London Vertigo Tour<div><div><div><div><div>A few days after returning home from Manchester I was travelling again, this time on a train to London. When I stepped off the train in London I thought I'd come abroad it was so hot! Got to our hotel in Kingston where my old schoolfriend Marian joined and Julie and Debbi. Our hotel was basic but fine. That evening we went to a lovely Italian restaurant close by. The "sculpture below was just by our hotel, I like an artist with a sense of humour!</div><div></div><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334163984444387058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 244px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNH1vPhkrLQwA4PGkjOy2kwpkuyAuaOq-Yb9Fbjm3xHqAWqvTIo_iZQUBYZ_gcCyPWdCZ07Ar0JmIiok3IKS6XDGoVoywBSRHIW960sNVUulOSagk31TOfIWIGOoWQVrbSrbtsMDhtoM/s320/London+Vertigo_0001_NEW.jpg" border="0" /></div></div><br /><p></p><p>We got a taxi to the stadium at Twickenham, it was three miles away, further than I thought, everywhere is further than you think in London! </p><p>The stadium was huge and we were right at the back in the middle tier, wonderful. But at least from that position you could really appreciate the huge screen across the back of the stage. I liked it especially during <em>Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own </em>and <em>Miracle Drug. </em>In the latter it started with an ECG trace in green, very effective. Bono dedicated the song to. "Doctors, nurses and scientists who keep us alive.... especially the nurses!"</p><p>The set was very similar to Manchester with the addition of <em>All I Want Is You </em>and <em>Running To Stand Still </em>both songs I love. Bono was in much better form with a lot of smiles and interaction with the crowd. </p><p>Bono got a girl up on stage at one point and filmed her, but he was holding the camera on its side. He gave the girl the camera and she continued to film sideways. When the girl gave Bono the camera back Edge walked up to him, took the camera, turned it the right way up and gave it back to him. All the while Edge had a kind of "he's hopeless" look on his face. Bono laughed and shrugged his shoulders. A funny moment.</p><p>I really enjoyed the show, despite being a million miles away from the stage. It had a lovely atmosphere and<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PtCuuYuMfDSyAdsrX9yamHSMRKapKW_j27WWsi5fqajiu8tMw6YxM6ZHkUADkLF7qr90d71QVqehmjQCGB4sasvRrMU-5KFoURkOHNu2CdoOztHAqPNzgWnK5fBvoz9LIh7lannrGQc/s1600-h/London+Vertigo_0004_NEW.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334169023729613170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 239px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PtCuuYuMfDSyAdsrX9yamHSMRKapKW_j27WWsi5fqajiu8tMw6YxM6ZHkUADkLF7qr90d71QVqehmjQCGB4sasvRrMU-5KFoURkOHNu2CdoOztHAqPNzgWnK5fBvoz9LIh7lannrGQc/s320/London+Vertigo_0004_NEW.jpg" border="0" /></a> the balmy evening was pleasant too.</p><p>Afterwards we went round to the backstage entrance to see if we could catch the band leaving. After a long wait Adam came out and was his usual gentlemanly, polite self. Then Larry came out, he looked very thin, but he was pleasant and signed lots of autographs for peop<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5Kq0PXZ7pJGHdG3vKokFNSd59hibW9McXgEpoS3HaO-1FSivqmrEXF8jTEuREiS9JkILsJ9AxoNj11qnwkO7_zc0KAo5hzJAMft_gOw7MsEZZYHkw134unU3mWAlyLNzzI1g7752ly4/s1600-h/London+Vertigo_0003_NEW.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334169140550335682" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 307px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5Kq0PXZ7pJGHdG3vKokFNSd59hibW9McXgEpoS3HaO-1FSivqmrEXF8jTEuREiS9JkILsJ9AxoNj11qnwkO7_zc0KAo5hzJAMft_gOw7MsEZZYHkw134unU3mWAlyLNzzI1g7752ly4/s320/London+Vertigo_0003_NEW.jpg" border="0" /></a>le. A car with tinted windows came out and people thought Bono was in it, which was probably right as we did not see him that evening. Edge was the last to leave and he spent a while with the fans.</p></div></div></div><p>It took us ages to get back to Kingston. It was late and we didn't know the area and no taxis passed by. We eventually saw a bus stop for all night buses that stopped close to our hotel and we didn't have to wait long for a bus. The next night we realised we could have got a bus from right outside the backstage entrance of the stadium!</p><p>That night it was difficult to sleep as it was so hot, there was no air conditioning (not usually needed in the UK!), our window was open but no cool air came in, it was like being in the Mediterranean!</p><p>Next day it was 33 degrees centigrade and the highest humidity for 30 years in London! We had planned to go to Hampton Court Palace today as it was not that far from wher<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlOi5_a-DOdi68Mf9yB_Kr0btuQ34dfMLOUpGLHF4Yhf9V51X2xq3nSX8X-IgLhaw8pZ07_O7CT-y_0Jd7vMpjbYFQTiKFMiX40pBgYwB7TOCz0kWxGfei4hWHESPQ5Vvl0KLUNwNaR0/s1600-h/London+Vertigo_0002_NEW.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334187172187169202" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 203px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIlOi5_a-DOdi68Mf9yB_Kr0btuQ34dfMLOUpGLHF4Yhf9V51X2xq3nSX8X-IgLhaw8pZ07_O7CT-y_0Jd7vMpjbYFQTiKFMiX40pBgYwB7TOCz0kWxGfei4hWHESPQ5Vvl0KLUNwNaR0/s320/London+Vertigo_0002_NEW.jpg" border="0" /></a>e we were staying. But the heat was draining and instead we found an air conditioned bar, cooled off and had cocktails - mine an appropriately named Alligator Cooler which was delicious!</p><p>We didn't have tickets for the second show, but, as it was a lovely day, we decided to go to the stadium and sit outside and listen to the show. When we arrived we could hear Beautiful Day drifting through the sunshine from the stadium up the road, very apt.</p><p>Quite a few people had decided to do what we did and it was really pleasant sitting in the sunshine at the backstage entrance with other fans listening to the music. No one told us to move on though there were plenty of police around. At one point a nearby blackbird on a roof sang its own beautiful song competing again Bono!</p><p>The show finished and people streamed out of the stadium. A couple of girls with an Irish flag asked a policeman to pose for a photo with them which he did. There was a really lovely laidback fun atmosphere.</p><p>The band left early, not long after the end of the show, Edge first, he didn't stop. Bono came out not long after him and stopped. The crowd was bigger than last night and a bit rowdy (as they often seem to be in London). I caught a glimpse of him, he was shaking hands with fans. But the crowd gathered round him and he disappeared from sight and I got pushed back, I didn't want to be part of that melee anyway, it's so disrespectful and potentially dangerous. I was told later that a woman had asked Bono to kiss her young daughter who was asleep by the gate, he did this and ended up pushed against the gate by the crowd. He left after that and I don't blame him.</p><p>So that was our London leg of The Vertigo Tour, which I'll always remember for its hot days and balmy nights.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0