WOW! What a sweet show. It was the first time I have seen U2 in concert, and I was not dissapointed! Man can they work the crowd!
The opening act wasn’t that great (Kings of Leon). But U2 was on!
They played a few tracks off their new album and lots of old stuff.
Bono only got a little political, he gave out the Prime Ministers phone number (to his office) on the jumbotrons (apparantly on the Thursday night show they had the wrong area code, but fixed it for the Friday night show).
A couple of questions, this was the first concert in Vancouver. Does anyone know how this concert compared to their earlier concerts (San Diego, Seattle)?
Also does U2 have any say on how much merchandise is sold for? Their regular tour shirts were $54, baby-T’s for $45, Key Chains for $15 but the real kicker were the classic tour shirts that were going for $100 a pop! Does U2 donate a percentage of their take to charity or 3rd World causes? If so I have no problem with what they are charging.
What did they open with? I saw the first four shows and they just got better and better, I thought. They were pretty under-rehearsed for Opening Night (which they admitted to VH1 )
They opened with City of Blinding Lights in San Diego and Love and Peace or Else in Anaheim–I thought Love and Peace was a better opener because it just fucking rocks. Just my 2 cents.
I’m seeing them again in New Jersey and Boston–can’t wait!
I was at the show on Thursday too, and it definitely rocked! This was my 5th U2 concert, and they’ve never disappointed. I had GA tickets, though unfortunately I didn’t manage to get inside the ellipse. I wound up about 5 or 6 back from the rail, behind some fairly tall guys, so my view of the main stage was intermittent at best (not to mention the fact that my personal space could best be measured in the number of molecules of air between me and the next person), but the show was good enough that I didn’t really care.
They opened with City of Blinding Lights, which was being filmed for the video. I’m still disappointed I wasn’t able to make it to the main video shoot on Wednesday, but life goes on. A number of other songs (but not the whole show) were also filmed, most likely for the upcoming Good Morning America appearance, and as a dress rehearsal for the DVD shoot that is supposed to be happening in Chicago.
I was really excited to get to hear Gloria, The Ocean, and Original of the Species. That last one was a last-minute set change - Bono spoke to some woman who appeared at the side of the stage, then went around to talk to the rest of the band before they started playing the song.
McDeath - if you want to know how the show compared with earlier ones on the tour in terms of the setlist, www.u2tours.com is a great resource, plus they have fan reviews of all the shows. @U2 also has a forum that is full of people dissecting every possible aspect of the tour to date. I also have just acquired a recording of the show, if you’re interested my email’s in my profile.
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