2011 Canada - Montreal 2 Magic Moments

9th July 2011

Edge in Montreal

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.  I think he's taken over form Larry as the most youthful looking band member nowadays.Michelle shouted out "Play Out of Control tonight" I was amazed quietly spoken Michelle could shout like that LOL!   

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!

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!  

U2's Claw Stage in Montreal

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!  

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 - 

"This has one extra benefit,' he added, 'you don't have to listen to me mangle your beautiful language. "  LOL!

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!

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!

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.

Prior to his band intro Bono said.
"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...'

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.

" Larry is a 'fire-eater, a sword-swallower, the world's strongest man." Adam? 'The bearded lady...' Edge? "Trapeze artist, high-wire act..."  

"Knife thrower," added Edge, pretending to aim at Bono.

"Thanks very much," said Bono, throwing a look at Edge, before adding, "And I will play the clown."

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.

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.

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!

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.

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:
"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." (Mark Lepage , Montreal Gazette)

The show finished with Moment of Surrender at the end of which Bono shouted out.
"Vive la difference, vie le Quebec."  Which went down very well with the audience.

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.

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.

2011 Canada - Montreal 1, Scintillating Show and Super Storm

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.

July 8 2011

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

Poster in Montreal

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!

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!

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. 

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.

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. 

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.
  
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!!
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.

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 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. 

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.

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.

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!  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. 

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!

A little clip of the last moments of the gig below, gives a little impression of the rain and wind (By Cara)

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 - July, 360 in Nice

Going 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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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??!

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.

Loved Magnificent, those opening notes are so distinctive and it went down extremely well with the crowd.
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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A heartfelt speech from Desmond Tutu about Africa was a prelude to One after which the band left the stage.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Showers, then we had a pizza, followed by meringues Chantilly from a fab patisserie up the road (the best meringues I've ever 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.......

I'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!