So we're off to the US and Canada.

 

Tour news here!

Only thing I can say is, I'm going to miss out on the 9 October show in Tampa, Florida......their only date in Florida...... :snif: :snif: :snif:

http://www.luminomagazine.com/mw/content/view/2835/1

 

U2’s 360 US Tour Opener

Written by KONSTANTIN BEZZUBOV / Photos by ROB GRABOWSKI

Tuesday, 15 September 2009

 

The huge crowd that came out this past Saturday to witness one of the biggest names in music in the last 20 years, U2, was treated to a show that was out of this world. Everything from the alien crab-like canopy over the stage, to The Edge’s expansive, magnetic guitars, to the flying saucer mothership confines of Soldier Field itself lent to a night brimming with otherworldly energy.

 

 

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Soldier Field

Chicago, IL

September 12, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

Fellow Irish lads Snow Patrol opened the show with an hour-long performance that set the stage for Bono and company. “Shut Your Eyes”, off Eyes Open pumped up the crowd with a sing-along led by guitarist/vocalist Gary Lightbody to a steady verse of, “Shut your eyes and sing to me.” The band opened for U2 on their Vertigo tour in 2005, so when they dedicated their hit, “Chasing Cars” in their countrymen’s honor, they knew it would elicit wails of joy.

 

U2 did what they do best: bring a sense of camaraderie to all those in attendance via a slew of 18 plus songs tailored for arena-size posturing and vocal expeditions on the opening concert of their North American tour.

 

“Breathe” was a fitting opener. Hearing “Ground control to Major Tom” and seeing pillars or smoke come up over the stage geared everyone up for the main part of the song, as the crowd’s screams provided the fuel for the launch. “No Line On the Horizon” was the second song from the recently-out album of the same name; both gave a throbbing start to the show. “Magnificent” sealed the three-song intro; a clean-cut Bono playing minstrel to the crowd, “I was born to sing for you.”

 

There was a buffer early on; “Beautiful Day” and “Elevation” separated the high-octane party-starting songs from the real meat. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” showcased Bono’s flair for dramatics, and a ray of light shot upward from the spire above the stage on “City of Blinding Lights.” With this mix of heart-pumping and meaningful songs, it was evident that Bono put his heart into singing at all times, independent of the emotions tagged to the song: aggressive, reflective, or even the occasional throw-away. While this sincerity may come off as cheesy to some, it does show that the group making music on the stage believes in their sound and message-and that confidence can really light up the atmosphere, even prompting non-fans (like me) to stand up, and merrily sing and clap along.

 

Of course, U2’s political ideals are a major factor in the band’s popularity, and there were multiple video bits featuring religious leaders and well-wisher’s speeches about the possibility of world peace and the end of suffering across the globe. One especially touching vignette highlighted Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest.

 

The technology-packed set up reached the apex of its bewildering power when Bono came out in a red neon dot-speckled suit, clutching a red neon pull-down mic in the form of a steering wheel. The wheel turned blue and bono swung over the stage while the giant screen above narrowed an expanded on itself. Heartstrings pulled him in many directions, the wheel leading the way, on the glam-rock experimentalism of “With or Without You”.

 

But the purest moment of the night came during the final song in the third and last encore. “Moment of Surrender”, off No Line, proved drop-dead gorgeous. The stadium seemed to sway as Bono transformed into a soulful singer channeling the blues’ best traditions here. After a crescendo that gave his voice a grimy, jagged edge, the song ended with a soft landing, ensuring a bittersweet finale and passage back into the real world.

Poor Biggie :cry:

 

 

Loads of photos of the Chicago concerts here

 

http://www.93xrt.com/xrt-u2-360-9-12-09/5207044

 

 

From

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...3362942480.html

 

U2 Lands in the Windy City

 

 

 

By JIM FUSILLI

 

Chicago

 

Spectacle is a necessary part of a show by a rock band as big as U2, but for its tour of the U.S. and Canada, which opened Saturday night at Soldier Field here, the Irish quartet may have refined the term. Its circular stage, in the center of the football field, was beneath something like a massive alien spaceship that had sprouted legs. It takes four days to construct it at each venue. A 90-foot-high steel structure hosts lights, the sound system and a 54-ton, expandable video screen. Silver bridges allow the band members to leave the main stage and step near the audience. "We built this spacecraft to get closer to you," Bono told the capacity crowd.

 

 

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Soldier Field, Chicago

 

 

At some point, though, it comes down to whether the band will seize the opportunity to create moments of musical transcendence. Secure in its place as the best arena rock band today, U2 did, early and often, leaning heavily on its new material.

 

On this gorgeous late-summer evening, the first four tunes came from "No Line on the Horizon," released in February, and by the time the quartet finished a thrilling "Magnificent," a motif had been established: Though by no means abandoning his characteristic chiming arpeggios, the Edge would build on the techniques he explored on the album, issuing roaring power chords that freed bassist Adam Clayton to exploit the midrange. In "Get on Your Boots," the Edge and Mr. Clayton played a riff in unison, the bassist flicking four fingers of his right hand on the strings, à la the Who's John Entwistle. Meanwhile, Larry Mullen Jr., a master of space in his percussion, alternated patterns on the toms and high hat, his kick drum locked in with Mr. Clayton. When the Edge completed a slide solo in "Magnificent," the guitarist returned to heavy chording and Mr. Clayton again filled the midrange. "The magnificent Adam Clayton," Bono said as the song ended, paying tribute to the most tastefully inventive bassist in rock.

 

U2 has become louder and more forceful in recent years. Coupled with the band's confidence, perhaps its most appealing trait, the aggression brought new authority to the back catalog. Mr. Clayton locked down the bottom of "City of Blinding Lights" so thoroughly that the Edge was freed to solo as if he had an orchestra supporting him. Similarly, "Elevation" was a blast of energy.

 

 

 

The band reinvented a few tunes. After powering "Vertigo," Mr. Mullen stepped from behind the kit to play a djembe for a terrific reading of "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight," giving the tune a different texture. Bono and the Edge offered an affecting acoustic version of "Stuck in a Moment." The Edge played plucky single notes that altered the underpinning to "Beautiful Day."

 

It wasn't a perfect show. Bono seemed to lose his steam late in the set and, on occasion, he'd add a verse or two from another song onto the end of the U2 tune he'd just sung: a bit of the Beatles to one, the Stones to another, a dab of Elvis Costello to a third. Sometimes it fit with the music—the crowd sang along to Bono's take on "Stand by Me" tagged to "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"—but more often than not such insertions seemed pointless. A ragged ending to a very fine "Unknown Caller" carried over to the next tune, "The Unforgettable Fire." "One" failed to coalesce as the first encore.

 

But the time-tested material, especially "Sunday Bloody Sunday," profited from the boldness. When a band of this caliber rips into its songs with renewed energy and a flexible approach, the possibilities are endless. Depending on how far Bono and the others want to push the concept, this tour—with or without alien landing craft—could be very ­interesting.

Edited September 16, 200915 yr by Jupiter9

Loads more photos of Chicago here

 

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/music/fe...t-Soldier-Field

Interesting reviews.....and pics..... :rolleyes:

 

A Chicago Montage

 

 

 

Stuck In A Moment :wub:

Toronto next :w00t:

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/article/696976

 

U2 blows roof off Rogers Centre

VINCE TALOTTA/TORONTO STAR

 

 

Sep 17, 2009 04:30 AM

 

 

The weather has been a sore spot for Torontonians in recent months, but last night Mother Nature gave a boost to the year's biggest concert.

 

A breezy, but clear evening allowed the Rogers Centre's retractable roof to be open as U2 kicked off its two-night stand – a sellout concert for only the second time in the venue's history. (The first was a Bruce Springsteen show in the SkyDome six years ago.)

 

With the CN Tower beckoning like a lighthouse, it was the ideal setting for the four-legged, 30-metre-high, teal-and-orange spaceship contraption hovering over the quartet's circular stage. It gave the appearance that they had really dropped in from another galaxy.

 

It's a generous piece of machinery that takes four days to build; as a result, the group's been hanging about, allowing lead singer Bono to pick up the TTC and Yonge St. references he dropped into songs and patter last night.

 

Stuck as they were in the middle of a football field, the mammoth stage, which includes an expandable cylindrical video screen, worked to bring what some call the Biggest Band in the World a little closer to the 58,000 people who shelled out from $30 to $225 for the privilege.

 

The otherworldly theme was enhanced by a recording of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" that welcomed the veteran Irish rockers to the stage.

 

Not resting on any 30-year laurels, they kicked off with four songs from their current and 12th album No Line on the Horizon – the title track, "Breathe," "Get on Your Boots" and "Magnificent." The latter hit home with the hope and realism that defines their best work – "Only love can leave such a mark/But only love can heal such a scar."

 

Then they delved into their bag of hits for "Beautiful Day" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" – for which the crowd sang the first two choruses as Bono mouthed words, resuming the singalong when he segued into Ben E. King's "Stand By Me."

 

"We got old songs, we got new songs, we got songs we can hardly play," the frontman had joked. Never saw any signs of the latter.

 

This was the second city in the North American edition of the 360 Degree Tour that debuted in Europe this summer. (Live Nation reps say it's on track to be the year's top-grossing tour.)

 

It's a satisfying spectacle, with enviable musicianship – Edge the most dominant, with his intense ringing sound on electric guitar (and a deft acoustic turn on "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" – fantastic sound and consistent energy and emotion. They made use of the stage, wandering its outer rim and running across the moving bridges. Even drummer Larry Mullen Jr. left his kit at one point to walk around playing portable congas.

 

Bono, as limber physically as he was vocally, was jumping, skipping, spinning with arms outstretched. And they made sure to hit the political marks – dedicating "Walk On" to Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi as fans walk the stage perimeter with paper masks, and running a video message of peace and unity from South Africa's Bishop Desmond Tutu.

 

Yeah, they're big, but still bold, brilliant and true to form.

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/t...re-toronto.aspx

 

Concert Review: U2, Rogers Centre, Toronto

Posted: September 17, 2009, 11:04 AM by Brad Frenette

 

 

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U2

Rogers Centre, Toronto

Wednesday, September 16

 

 

“It was the band’s call,” a representative from LiveNation confided, referring to who exactly was responsible for opening the retractable roof of the Rogers Centre for Wednesday’s U2 concert.

After all, they don’t open the roof for just anyone. The last time — the first time — was for Bruce Springsteen, back in 2003. Not for The Stones, nor AC/DC, nor U2 understudies Coldplay, who played the same venue just a month prior.

U2 is the world’s biggest rock ’n’ roll band, and they proved it once again on the first night of a two-night Toronto run.

Let’s begin with the stage, because, well, it’s impossible to ignore. The centrepiece of the Irish band’s 360 Tour, is so massive and interactive it has its own fact sheet, distributed to the various media covering the event. Nicknamed “The Claw,” the steel structure stands 90 feet tall and can support 180 tons of weight. It takes four days to build and 48 hours to tear down.

After an opening set by Irish band Snow Patrol, the audience got a sense of what that stage could do. However, it was clear that there would be more in store once U2 took over. After playing David Bowie’s Space Oddity — reinforcing the idea that stage was meant to be a spaceship — smoke escaped from the top, and the band — led by drummer Larry Mullens Jr., then his partner in rhythm Adam Clayton, and followed by the showmen, The Edge and, finally, Bono — opened the show with Breathe.

The Hogtown references began early, and in earnest, as Bono altered the line from the opening song “walk out into a sunburnt street” to “walk out into a Toronto street.” The name dropping continued: Yonge Street, Rogers Centre, the TTC and Union Station, followed by the band’s mission statement: “We’ve got old songs, new songs, songs we can barely play. We got a spaceship, but we’re not going to lift off without you.”

As impressive as the stage was, the world’s most popular crusader for the impoverished had to at least acknowledge its opulence. And that he did. As the band made its way through Magnificent, one of the strongest tracks from their most recent album, No Line on the Horizon, Bono smiled and belted out the line: “This foolishness can leave a heart black and blue,” emphasizing the words “this foolishness” with a ringmaster’s wave around The Claw.

New songs aside, the band got the greatest reaction from their classics. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For was followed by a soulful version of Ben E. King’s Stand By Me. While Until the End of the World featured Bono sprinting the entire radius of the stage, followed by the 49-year-old singer laying down (dramatic effect, or needed rest?) to start a stirring rendition of Stay (Faraway, So Close!).

The first encore featured a message from the charismatic Bishop Desmond Tutu, talking about the ONE Campaign, which was followed, of course, by the band’s One, then a cover of Amazing Grace and concluded with Where the Streets Have No Name, which would have raised the roof, had there been one.

The second encore featured a more measured light show, with disco ball lights, red laser beams and a hanging mic, from which Bono swung about singing With or Without You. With the roof open, the ongoing CN Tower light display seemed to be playing along with the band’s light show.

Before launching into the last song of the night, Bono made sure to thank the corporation that brought them to Toronto: RIM, or specifically its BlackBerry division, which helped with the costs of the tour.

Ever the campaigner, Bono acknowledged he was a “pain in the arse” to Stephen Harper, but thanked the Canadian Prime Minister “for increasing aid.”

“The world needs more Canadas,” he said, to cheers.

As Bono thanked the crowd for “giving us a great life,” he also made sure it was clear that the band was “just getting going now.”

And as they closed the night with a spot-on, soulful rendering of Moment of Surrender, it definitely seemed so.

- Check out Saturday’s Weekend Post for more on the scope and impact of U2’s 360 concert.

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/u...article1290767/

 

 

U2 raises the roof

 

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U2 lead singer Bono performs at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Peter Power/The Globe and Mail

 

 

Bono and company take Toronto by storm with a dazzling rock spectacle

 

Brad Wheeler

 

Globe and Mail Update Last updated on Thursday, Sep. 17, 2009 11:10AM EDT

 

U2

 

* At Rogers Centre

* Toronto on Wednesday

 

If stadium rock is the final frontier, U2 has boldly gone where no rock band has gone before. In front of a sold-out Rogers Centre crowd announced as a record 62,000, the sky-reaching singer Bono and his band dazzled – triumphing with a stage-show spectacle, logistical savvy and daring music.

 

On the first of two nights here, very early in the group's ambitious North American leg of the 360 Tour that began earlier this week in Chicago, sounds and songs were bold in their presentation, diamond-fine sonically and regularly spiritual in their message.

 

During the lurching, tough opening rocker Breathe (the first of four off the often outstanding new album No Line on the Horizon ), Bono twirled slowly in place at the back of the in-the-round stage, his arms raised justifiably in a gesture that said “get-a-load-of-this.”

 

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U2's The Edge, left, and Bono perform at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Chris Young/The Canadian Press

 

 

 

“We got old songs, we got new songs, we got songs we can hardly play,” said the all-in-black Irishman. “We got a spacecraft, but we're not going to lift off without you. Come with us on the ride,” he said, working a spaceship conceit that apparently referred to the four-legged sci-fi canopy which U2 worked under. The thing – inexplicably pale green in colour, and dotted with giant tangerine-like badges – stands 30-metres tall, with an added 20-metre centre pylon on top. The steel structure is equipped with formidable enough hydraulics to deal with a 54-ton cylindrical video screen which not only rose and dropped, but expanded vertically as well. A nice toy.

 

“Meet me in the sound,” proposed Bono during the erratic, propulsive single Get on Your Boots. Certainly U2 made that easy for its glazed-eye audience, particularly the fans in front who had lined up from as early as 4 a.m. for the chance to be corralled inside the 360-degree catwalk that circled the stage.

 

From the beginning – these winners of 22 Grammys have been making music since the time albums had “sides” – U2 has been overtly spiritual. “Because of the belief I have in God and music, some people see this as naivety, some stupidity,” Bono said, in 1984. His faith hasn't waned. On the sweeping, jangling-guitar grandeur of Magnificent, he sang of a joyful noise. The lifting of the soul was what was meant by Elevation (led by a grungy riff from guitarist The Edge). A sing-along snippet of Amazing Grace came at the end of the memorably pleading hit One, and the night's final encore was the gracefully cathartic gospel-soul of Moment of Surrender.

 

On that number and all the others, the highly listenable drumming of Larry Mullen Jr. was to be appreciated. Bassist Adam Clayton completes ones of the best rhythm sections in rock. And Bono introduced the guitarist to his right by allowing the unspoken truth “that without The Edge, none of us would be here.”

 

Non-music moments came in the form of a video address by Desmond Tutu and an appeal to consider the situation of Burmese political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi.

 

The audience knew the words to the gentle anthem I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, rendered initially with nothing but drums. Later came the familiar snare-drum march of Sunday Bloody Sunday, in which Bono asked how long must he sing that song. On a night where he and U2 did the audacious (making like mask-free bank bandits, brashly stealing the city's spotlight from the red-carpet set of the Toronto International Film Festival) and the unthinkable (elevating the art of stadium rock), there is no end to Bono's job to sing. Clearly, there is no line on the horizon for U2, only lines in the sand to be crossed.

 

Elvis is in the building

 

U2 has found who they’re looking for in Elvis Costello. One night after the Irish superstars’ unannounced taping at Toronto’s Masonic Temple of a segment for the CTV musical program Spectacle: Elvis Costello With ..., the bespectacled British pop musician and husband of Canadian jazz star Dianna Krall was in the audience at Rogers Centre to witness the first of a pair of U2 mega-concerts. The group’s singer, Bono, mentioned Costello’s presence, and the band squeezed in very small bits of his Alison and Pump it Up. On Tuesday, for an episode to be aired at an undetermined date, Bono and guitarist The Edge had played together and also with Costello and his band. Included was a medley of Pump it Up and U2’s Get on Your Boots.

 

 

 

 

Interesting clip from Canadian TV News

 

Good Toronto footage here :cheer:

 

 

Great reviews and vids Jup, really enjoyed watching them. Looked like another brilliant show :wub:

 

A Canadian friend of mine was at last nights show and said it was mindblowing. He is a huge Coldplay fan (more so than U2 - yes I know, I have had words with him about it :lol: ), he saw Coldplay in the same venue in July, and he said he just could not believe how much better U2 were. He said the Coldplay show was a good solid gig (minus Chris Martin being out of tune quite alot and his Bonoisims :lol:), but this was something truly special and on another level. I am definatly going to try get tickets to the next European leg :wub:

^ :lol: :lol: Love the story about Coldplay. I like them also, but much less then U2.

 

And I can't wait for some official news about Europe tour in 2010. :dance:

 

Btw, videos are great Jupsy. :D

One of best Larry's smiles, ever. :lol: Because he always seems serious. B)

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p95/robfan1/fff014.jpg

 

It's from American tour.

 

Source: u2.interference.com

Where are we now? I've lost track. :wacko:

We are now in point when we are waiting for them to announce more dates for Europe. :kink:

:P