2010 Germany - Hannover, The Aliens Have Landed

2010 Germany - Hannover, The Aliens Have Landed

All photos in this post are (c) Christine Moeller.  Thanks again Chris for letting me use them.

August 12th 2010

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.

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
more distant which is a shame, but then again a meeting is a bonus, they don't have to meet and greet fans.

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.

They opened the same way with Stingray 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. 

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".  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?? 

Glastonbury 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 .  The song didn't get as good a reception here as it had in Frankfurt.

The original video to The Unforgettable Fire 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
terrible - my German friends confirmed that Bono's German is lousy
and they found it very hard to understand.

At the end of City of Blinding Lights Bono got a girl out of the audience and they walked, arms around each other, along the catwalk.   He took so long about it that he was late getting ready for Vertigo!  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.

Crazy 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!"

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.

Streets 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.

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 Happy Birthday  for the band's "Friend and mentor" Wim Wenders who was going to turn 55 in a couple of days.

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.

He then went on to dedicate Moment of Surrender 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. 

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!

Frankfurt and Hannover had exactly the same set lists yet the shows felt very different.  The crowd were more receptive and enthusiastic in Frankfurt.  Bono was more ebullient and downright funny in Hannover and his mood transferred onto the crowd it was a real party gig.

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.

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.

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!

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!)

2010 August - Frankfurt, He's Back and it's Showtime!

All photos in this post are (c) Christine Moeller.  Thanks Chris or letting me use some of your amazing photos!

10th August

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!

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.

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.


I'm not going to review the concert song by song, I'll just write about aspects of it that stood out for me.


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 Return of the Stingray Guitar (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 .

The next song was Beautiful Day, followed by a generally very "up" rockin' set.  I really missed No Line on the Horizon, don't know why they dropped it, it was well received live last year.  I had purposely not listened to Glastonbury 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.

Bono thanked the German doctors and nurses who treated him recently and said he now had "Made in Germany" stamped on his arse!  He likened U2 to German cars, Edge was a Mercedes Benz, Adam a BMW and Larry a Trabant.

Miss Sarajevo 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.

The video for The Unforgettable Fire had been changed.  It was more colourful and very pretty, but it didn't have the same link with the music.  The Crazy 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.

Walk On 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.

Hold Me, Touch Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me replaced Ultraviolet in the encore.  The steering wheel was now lit up in red, which was much better.  Now I'd been disappointed to hear Ultraviolet had been dropped, but I loved HMTMKMKM!   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!

With Or Without You was simply stunning.  The show finished, as last year, with Moment of Surrender, (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 With or Without You it would have been perfect.

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!

2009 - November, Berlin, Brandenburg and U2

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

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

TV tower, another symbol visible from many parts of the city.

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.

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

!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).

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.

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.

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.....

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

1993 June - Cologne, Danger and Old Devils of Zooropa!

In full U2 tour madness we - Jane, Sharon and me - booked another trip to see the band abroad, this time it was in Cologne, Germany. This time there was a bit of luxury - we had an overnight stay before the concert so it wasn't as tiring a trip as Rotterdam had been.

Unfortunately behind us on the coach was a bunch of lager louts who got drunk during the journey. It was hellish and considering there was supposed to be no drinking on the coach not on! If we complained we just got a load of abuse, not a good situation.

When we arrived at our hotel in Cologne we were put on the same floor as the lads. We spoke with the driver and asked if we could be on another floor because they had been abusive and we knew they'd bother us all night. We were moved to the floor below and good job we were. We heard from other people that the lads had kept people on their floor awake by playing music loudly, and running up and down the corridors knocking on doors all night. They managed to disturb the whole hotel at 2am by setting off the fire alarm too. Typical lager louts who give the British a bad name abroad. They got a severe warning from our driver and were better behaved afterwards.

Anyway, our room was nice and the hotel had a nice bar so we went in there and had a few drinks and had a lovely evening.

Next morning we went into the centre of Cologne for a few hours, did some shopping and looked at the awe inspiring cathedral there, those spires really did seem to be reaching up into heaven, it is a beautiful building. I felt a link with the city too as I have ancestors from there, so it was perhaps more special for me than the others.

We went back to the coach and headed for the Meungersdorfer Stadium where the gig was being held. Almost the first people we saw there were our friends Karen and Jackie - it's a small world. There were no instructions on the tickets what entrance to go to and no staff around to ask so we just joined a mass of people waiting to get in, no one queues in Germany!

The gates opened at 4pm and everyone just went crazy and ran and pushed and jostled. A barrier gave way and I tripped over it's foot and fell to the ground. Jane nearly fell too but was able to grab a fence nearby to stop her falling. I lay on the ground absolutely terrified, I could not get up because people were jumping over me! I was just waiting for people to start falling on top of me and crush me to death! I could hear Sharon Screaming, "Stop, stop" at the top of her voice. Then I heard an man shouting, "Vorsicht!" (caution, careful). Then I felt strong arms lifting me up. and relief swept over me, two young men had lifted me up. They were very sweet and caring and made sure I was ok before leaving. I really don't know how that situation would have turned out had it not been for them.

By now the worst rush was over and we tried to get ourselves together, we were very shaken. Sharon was ok, but Jane had a nasty gash on her leg from the fence she'd hung onto. I had a couple of cuts to my leg and my ankle and wrist were sore, bruises were already appearing on my leg. We went to the toilets to sort ourselves out before heading to our seats.

We had good seats on the right lower balcony near the front. Support was Die Toten Hosen and Stereo MCs, neither of which I enjoyed (for me the support bands on this tour were dreadful). U2 were really on form that night, lots of energy and fun. During Sunday Bloody Sunday Bono got an Irish flag from the crowd and tore off the green and orange parts discarded them and hung the white part over the microphone. Bono sang a lovely version of Bob Marley's Redemption Song which he dedicated to the weak.

Mr MacPhisto was there again in the encore. After Desire MacPhisto said he was going to ring, "Chancellor Mr Kohl," we thought he was going to get through he was treated very cordially, but no he didn't get to the Chancellor. The audience loved it.

As Ultraviolet began Bono took off the horns and physically shook Mr MacPhisto out of his body and there was Bono again to sing With or Without You. It was a very moving performance sung entirely into the boom camera, his face expressive, pleading on the huge screens. To me it felt like he was singing literally to the media and the cameras, fame, adulation, fans "Can't live with or without you." Underneath all that there is a human being, and watching the performance on those screens he seemed very vulnerable. One of the things I've always so admired about Bono is his willingness to be so open and bear his soul to us, it's so very brave.

After the show we got back to our coach and immediately headed off home. My ankle and leg, which I'd not felt during the show, really hurt. By time I got home my entire left leg was bruised and I needed two days off work! The things you go through for U2!

1989 December - The First U2 Concert - Lovetown

By now I really wanted to see U2 live and was waiting for the band to announce the dates of their Lovetown Tour. When they did I was dismayed to discover there were no dates in the UK! I was very disappointed, and thought I would have to wait years until the next tour to see them play live. Then, I saw an advertisement in my local paper for a concert trip by bus to see U2 in Dortmund, Germany on 15th December. I jumped at the chance to see a Lovetown gig and immediately booked my place. I was travelling by myself but I wasn't fazed by that, Germany was a very familiar to me as my mother came from there and I'd often visited the country when I was younger.

On December the 14th I travelled to Newcastle to join the coach. I got it ok and so began a seemingly endless journey south. We stopped at York and Leeds to pick up other people, the coach was nearly full.

We arrived in a Dover at 1am, a storm was blowing and it was so severe that waves were crashing over the sea barriers onto the street! I was a bit worried when I saw this because I knew we wouldn't be able to set sail in a storm of this magnitude. We found out that no ferries had sailed since 8pm and none would go until at least 5am, and only then if the storm had abated.

There is nothing worse than sitting for four hours on a bus being buffeted by storm-force winds on a dark quayside in the middle of December. Most people took the opportunity to get some sleep, but I can never sleep anywhere except in my bed, so the night turned out to be long for me.

Thankfully, the storm blew itself out and at 5.30am we drove on board the ferry and set sail at 6am. The crossing was surprisingly smooth, no problems with French customs and by 7am we were on the autoroute heading for Dortmund. As we were so behind schedule due to the ferry delay to make up time we didn't stop for refreshments enroute. The journey was quite boring be it France, Belgium, Holland or Germany the landscape looked the same - flat. So far there had been a lot of tedium on this trip!

Our hotel was in Dusseldorf (about an hour's drive from the gig venue) and we arrived there at 2pm, it was a much nicer place than I expected, very modern and clean. It was good to freshen up, change my clothes and get something to eat! Though I had no sleep the previous night the anticipation of seeing U2 play live kept me wide awake.

I went out to explore the area as I always do when I arrive somewhere new. It was a commercial area so there wasn't much to see - one supermarket and lots of banks and businesses. I was soon back in my hotel counting the minutes until we left for the concert.

We left for the Westfalenhalle at 5pm for what should have been an hour-long journey with our representative guiding our driver. Although the rep. had been to the concert the night before she did not seem to be very confident at finding the venue. When I saw the big blue Bayer sign pass by for the second time I knew we were going in circles and not that close to Dortmund. People on the coach, were getting agitated. Around 7pm we passed a taxi rank and someone suggested getting a taxi to guide us to the venue - the rep. went with that (think she would have been lynched if she hadn't!). We were all worried that after travelling this long and far we were not going to get to the arena in time! So there we were, a coach load of British U2 fans following a taxi through the industrial cities of the Ruhr looking for U2!

By 7.30pm we were stuck in a horrendous traffic jam within sight of the Westfalenhalle. The driver told us where to look for the coach after the concert and then let us get off and we walked the last couple of hundred yards.

At the entrance to the venue was a huge crush of people who all seemed to be trying to get through one door, no one seemed to be organising things. It was a nasty experience, cans underfoot made walking difficult and being small I could not see where I was being pushed to by this seething mass. Once we were inside I was relieved to see the mass fan out and the crush abate, I hoped all this effort to see U2 was going to be worthwhile.

There was no hope of getting near the front and I thought I'd see nothing due to my lack of height. But it turned out that the back part of the floor area was made up of stepped platforms, so I stood near the back and could see really well. I breathed a sigh of relief and the excitement mounted - after all the delays I was in the venue and would see U2 live shortly!

I'd barely found my spot when B B King came on stage. I do not like his type of music and i must admit that I found his set quite forgettable, all I wante was U2!

They came on the stage at 9pm and I felt I was going to burst with excitement! They opened with Bullet the Blue Sky and it was stunning, Edge's guitar solo was amazing. All I Want is You was beautiful, the audience was very responsive and sang along swaying and holding up lighters and sparklers. The audience went ballistic when they played I Will Follow, jumping up and down manically. They played the haunting One Tree Hill, a song I've always loved, it was to be the only time I would hear it live. The opening notes of Bad rang out and I got goosebumps as I always do when that song is played. It brought tears to my eyes, the intensity of Bono's delivery of the song was breathtaking, his stage presence like nothing I'd ever seen before.

I had my first spiritual experience at a U2 concert that night. I am not a religious person and don't relate to U2's personal Chrisitian beliefs very strongly, but something happened that night. I felt close to everyone in that building, we were joined together in this uplifting experience. It transcended being just a music concert , I was taken out of myself - this music touched my very soul. I've experienced that many times since at U2 concerts and each time it takes my breath away!

Bono had been having problems with his voice during the tour and at times that was clear at this gig. He encouraged the audience to sing with him and boy did they! It was a very enthusiastic and responsive crowd and they really helped Bono out that night. It turned out that Bono could not finish the show the following night because of his voice problems and then had to cancel a few shows - we were so lucky to get a full show.

BB King and his band joined U2 for a few songs towards the end including When Love Comes to Town and Love Rescue Me. I would have preferred less of B B really, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it.

40 closed the night, it was beautiful, but I felt sad as I knew the show was coming to the end. Most bands finish shows with high tempo hits, but not U2, they say goodbye in a low key but moving way - the music slowly winds down as they leave the stage one by one. Tears stung my eyes as I watched them walk off stage - Bono, Edge, Adam and finally Larry - and that was it, the end of my first U2 live experience.

I had worried that, after the build up, I might be disappointed in the band live, that they might not live up to my expectations. But they had lived up to my expectations and more, the concert had been a roller coaster of emotions, a spiritual experience, full of sheer joy and also fun. Now, looking back there have been better gigs and tours, but that first one is always special.

On the coach back to the hotel everyone was buzzing and talking about the gig. We'd had a bit of a nightmare just getting there, but that was all forgotten now. I saw the big blue Bayer sign shining in the night once more and smiled, the things you go through for U2! I kind of knew then that this was only the beginning......