It started with the CLAW.
“Ground Control to Major Tom… Commencing countdown, engines on”
Blackout. 90,000 odd people on their feet at the Holy Ground of football, the legendary and smashing new Wembley Stadium. There’s a laser show, some smoke, lights and
5-4-3-2-1…
click, click, click, click…someone walks on stage. The crowd erupts, almost collectively, we scream out the names...
“Larry! Adam! EDGE! OH MY GOD, THAT’S BONO”
Yep, this is EXACTLY how the greatest band in the world, U2, took off for a spellbinding display of music, emotions, technology and spectacle. On August 15th, 2009, the Wembley Stadium was a place to be seen, a place to be at in person as its very hard to describe what we call “the experience”. Just like that. They walked on the stage and captured our hearts and imagination and left us with memories of a lifetime.
But our journey did not start off with the (now-known-to-al) CLAW lighting up. In London for work, we couldn’t have been luckier to have our travel dates coincide with the concert! Or maybe, we’d planned it that way.
With tickets booked over three months ago, we still reached the Wembley Stadium early- at 11AM when the show was due to start at 6PM- and witnessed it all. From Bono’s mad dash to shake hands with fans and making everyone sign on to One.Org; to the band sound checking “New Year’s Day” and “Until the End of the world”; It was a carnival like experience on a very hot day in London.
They had played the night before, and had set the record for maximum turnout, with approx 100k people, edging out “Foo Fighters” from the top spot for the number of people for a single concert. That would’ve made it close to 200k people in two days in London
After buying souvenirs, consuming ample food & beverages and experiencing the Wembley Stadium (could talk days on about the stadium… alas!), we made it inside around 4PM, and surprisingly saw that the U2 Heart has been completely replaced by the magnificent claw, moving bridges, giant screens, strobes and other such complicated equipment. It took us sometime to actually digest the grandeur of the stage. There were people who had travelled all the way just for the concert from Italy, Spain, Belgium, Malaysia, Australia… it was chic and fancy for us to claim that we too had travelled all the way from India, specifically for the show. J
To say these Irishmen are still VERY cool would be an understatement.
The support act started with a good set from ‘The Hours’ which was well received. They engaged well with the audience who were starting to fill up the pitch at that point. “so you guys here to see the boys from Dublin, eh?” was all that was required to get the crowd hearing their songs. Might add, they’re a band to lookout for in the future. The second act, ‘Glasvegas’ was a disaster. The lead singer gave us the band’s name and then they played on for an hour, primarily songs of hate and disgust. The audience didn't care, and the band didn't care for us either. Phssst.
With Bowie’s voice and the legendary “take your protein pills and put your helmets on” the Claw lit up like a spaceship. Before you knew it, the crowd was on their feet, in earnest anticipation. The band walked in one-by-one, as always, and by the time Bono jumped on stage to belt out “Breathe” most around were dancing, jumping and crying.
The lighting, videos and the overall paraphernalia worked, and worked BIG time. The stage design was ingenious and the 360 degree video screen was very clear and amazing when extended. Do take the time to google search the U2 Claw; and imagine the most amazing laser display, with the screen opening up, the stage bringing them-Gods closer to us than ever before, the innovative animations, effects… in one word, BRILLIANT.
After playing four songs from the new album (Breathe, No Line on the Horizon, Get on your boots and the iconic Magnificent), mischievously, they started playing “London Bridge is falling down” before going for the big shots (Beautiful Day, Stay, etc) They didn’t get to sing “Still haven’t found what I’m looking for” because as the song started, the crowd took over. Larry and Edge went on playing, whilst Bono and Adam simply clapped on with the crowd. There was a twist tribute at the end of the song “Stand by me” on the same beats. And Bono returned wearing Amitabh Bachchan in Yaarana style-laser-light suit for the encore, which whilst looked cool, was stupidly funny for the Big B fans.
There were snippets ALL through (we’ve managed to get the list) but we were thoroughly disappointed that they dropped the MJ tribute which was the highlight at most of the earlier gigs this tour. (Yep, ‘Stranger in the Mirror’, ‘Don’t Stop till you get enough’, and ‘Beat It’ made it to Barcelona, Berlin and some other cities, but not London) Also, a relatively well known musician Paul, who incidentally has headlined ‘The Beatles’ was there in person, but the band chose not to honour the great man on stage.
Bono told us that Joe O’Herlihy buried one of The Edge’s plectrums in the stadium when it was being build hence ‘Edge is all around you, always be with you !’ which made the British particularly go mad with happiness. Thankfully, he didn’t get very preachy as he sometimes does, though he educated us about Women in Iraq, Amnesty International, Aung San Suu Kyi, and many, MANY other social causes that the group has championed. He also said “it feels great to perform in the greatest city of the world…London” and “we were really poor whilst growing up. YOU guys have given each of us a great life, full of fulfilled dreams, comforts and grandeur. Thank you”. Ahem. That’s great, Bono. So, where do I sign up for my refund? :D
Reality check. The boys have become old. We felt the energy lacked in some places. For example, ‘With or Without You’ was lackluster; as was ‘MLK’. But they more than made up for the energy with a truly badass “BAD”, “ULTRA VIOLET” and “I’LL GO CRAZRY IF I DON’T GO CRAZY TONIGHT”. Guess they like re-inventing themselves, hence the magnanimous techno display, but all in all, they promised entertainment and they delivered more than that.
We all knew it, that we had just seen the greatest show on earth. How we wish we could experience this evening again and again. When they took the final bow, and as the pictures of all those who had signed up for Bono’s charities popped up on the giant screen appeared, we were in a state of disbelief- as were most around us- that this magical evening had come to an end. As we walked out the aisles of the great Wembley Stadium, we turned back every ten steps to see if they’d return for an encore. But these were tears of joy, and straight from the heart. Once we reached the foyer area, reality sunk in that the concert had actually ended. We saw lots and lots of people hugging each other and crying. The concert only cemented their status in our hearts, and we know we’d love to see them again, soon. If we had to rate the show, we’d give it a 10/10. Even if you don’t enjoy their music, you’d come back happy, and starving for more!
Kudos to the London Police who got near 90,000 people out of the narrow Wembley passageway on to trains and away into the city. No commotion, no chaos, in spite of some very drunk and loud people around. Oh, and the bobs do have a sense of humor. Sample this- “Ladies and Gentlemen, keep on singing your songs while you wait. We will get you all out of here ‘in a little while’, definitely by tomorrow, that is, before ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday!’ What, it’s a ‘Beautiful Day’! “ Something for us to learn from!
And just like that, it was over. Yep, you guessed it, with the Claw. Thank you U2 for giving us such amazing music. Thank you for the memories! Walk on!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Playlist:
1. Breathe
2. No Line On The Horizon
3. Get On Your Boots
4. Magnificent
5. London Bridge Is Falling Down (snippet) / Beautiful Day / Here Comes The Sun (snippet) [The crowd was in SPLITS!]
6. Until The End Of The World / Break On Through (snippet)
7. New Year's Day
8. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Stand By Me (snippet) [very sweet, extended snippet. Though sounded like a drunk karaoke towards the end!]
9. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
10. Unknown Caller [take a bow, Edge!]
11. The Unforgettable Fire / A Day Without Me (snippet)
12. City Of Blinding Lights
13. London Calling (snippet) / Vertigo / Rock And Roll (snippet)
14. Reverend Black Grape (snippet) / I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight / Two Tribes (snippet)
15. Sunday Bloody Sunday / Get Up Stand Up (snippet)
16. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
17. MLK
18. Walk On / You'll Never Walk Alone (snippet)
19. Where The Streets Have No Name
20. One
21. Bad / Fool To Cry (snippet) / 40 (snippet)
Encore(s)
22. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
23. With Or Without You
24. Moment of Surrender
Best songs of the evening: 1. Magnificent 2. I’ll go crazy if I don’t go crazy 3. Bad. 4. One 5. Ultra Violet & Unknown caller.
Eye-moistening songs: 1. I still haven’t found what I’m looking for 2. One. 3. Where the streets have no name
If you haven’t seen the 360 Tour yet, book yourselves a flight to the US of A. Trust us, it would be worth the effort!
Priyanka (1st concert) and Kanak (2nd concert, following the Vertigo Tour in 2005) watched the U2 360 Degrees LIVE Concert in London, UK on August 15, 2009. Contact them for more pictures and videos.
“Ground Control to Major Tom… Commencing countdown, engines on”
Blackout. 90,000 odd people on their feet at the Holy Ground of football, the legendary and smashing new Wembley Stadium. There’s a laser show, some smoke, lights and
5-4-3-2-1…
click, click, click, click…someone walks on stage. The crowd erupts, almost collectively, we scream out the names...
“Larry! Adam! EDGE! OH MY GOD, THAT’S BONO”
Yep, this is EXACTLY how the greatest band in the world, U2, took off for a spellbinding display of music, emotions, technology and spectacle. On August 15th, 2009, the Wembley Stadium was a place to be seen, a place to be at in person as its very hard to describe what we call “the experience”. Just like that. They walked on the stage and captured our hearts and imagination and left us with memories of a lifetime.
But our journey did not start off with the (now-known-to-al) CLAW lighting up. In London for work, we couldn’t have been luckier to have our travel dates coincide with the concert! Or maybe, we’d planned it that way.
With tickets booked over three months ago, we still reached the Wembley Stadium early- at 11AM when the show was due to start at 6PM- and witnessed it all. From Bono’s mad dash to shake hands with fans and making everyone sign on to One.Org; to the band sound checking “New Year’s Day” and “Until the End of the world”; It was a carnival like experience on a very hot day in London.
They had played the night before, and had set the record for maximum turnout, with approx 100k people, edging out “Foo Fighters” from the top spot for the number of people for a single concert. That would’ve made it close to 200k people in two days in London
After buying souvenirs, consuming ample food & beverages and experiencing the Wembley Stadium (could talk days on about the stadium… alas!), we made it inside around 4PM, and surprisingly saw that the U2 Heart has been completely replaced by the magnificent claw, moving bridges, giant screens, strobes and other such complicated equipment. It took us sometime to actually digest the grandeur of the stage. There were people who had travelled all the way just for the concert from Italy, Spain, Belgium, Malaysia, Australia… it was chic and fancy for us to claim that we too had travelled all the way from India, specifically for the show. J
To say these Irishmen are still VERY cool would be an understatement.
The support act started with a good set from ‘The Hours’ which was well received. They engaged well with the audience who were starting to fill up the pitch at that point. “so you guys here to see the boys from Dublin, eh?” was all that was required to get the crowd hearing their songs. Might add, they’re a band to lookout for in the future. The second act, ‘Glasvegas’ was a disaster. The lead singer gave us the band’s name and then they played on for an hour, primarily songs of hate and disgust. The audience didn't care, and the band didn't care for us either. Phssst.
With Bowie’s voice and the legendary “take your protein pills and put your helmets on” the Claw lit up like a spaceship. Before you knew it, the crowd was on their feet, in earnest anticipation. The band walked in one-by-one, as always, and by the time Bono jumped on stage to belt out “Breathe” most around were dancing, jumping and crying.
The lighting, videos and the overall paraphernalia worked, and worked BIG time. The stage design was ingenious and the 360 degree video screen was very clear and amazing when extended. Do take the time to google search the U2 Claw; and imagine the most amazing laser display, with the screen opening up, the stage bringing them-Gods closer to us than ever before, the innovative animations, effects… in one word, BRILLIANT.
After playing four songs from the new album (Breathe, No Line on the Horizon, Get on your boots and the iconic Magnificent), mischievously, they started playing “London Bridge is falling down” before going for the big shots (Beautiful Day, Stay, etc) They didn’t get to sing “Still haven’t found what I’m looking for” because as the song started, the crowd took over. Larry and Edge went on playing, whilst Bono and Adam simply clapped on with the crowd. There was a twist tribute at the end of the song “Stand by me” on the same beats. And Bono returned wearing Amitabh Bachchan in Yaarana style-laser-light suit for the encore, which whilst looked cool, was stupidly funny for the Big B fans.
There were snippets ALL through (we’ve managed to get the list) but we were thoroughly disappointed that they dropped the MJ tribute which was the highlight at most of the earlier gigs this tour. (Yep, ‘Stranger in the Mirror’, ‘Don’t Stop till you get enough’, and ‘Beat It’ made it to Barcelona, Berlin and some other cities, but not London) Also, a relatively well known musician Paul, who incidentally has headlined ‘The Beatles’ was there in person, but the band chose not to honour the great man on stage.
Bono told us that Joe O’Herlihy buried one of The Edge’s plectrums in the stadium when it was being build hence ‘Edge is all around you, always be with you !’ which made the British particularly go mad with happiness. Thankfully, he didn’t get very preachy as he sometimes does, though he educated us about Women in Iraq, Amnesty International, Aung San Suu Kyi, and many, MANY other social causes that the group has championed. He also said “it feels great to perform in the greatest city of the world…London” and “we were really poor whilst growing up. YOU guys have given each of us a great life, full of fulfilled dreams, comforts and grandeur. Thank you”. Ahem. That’s great, Bono. So, where do I sign up for my refund? :D
Reality check. The boys have become old. We felt the energy lacked in some places. For example, ‘With or Without You’ was lackluster; as was ‘MLK’. But they more than made up for the energy with a truly badass “BAD”, “ULTRA VIOLET” and “I’LL GO CRAZRY IF I DON’T GO CRAZY TONIGHT”. Guess they like re-inventing themselves, hence the magnanimous techno display, but all in all, they promised entertainment and they delivered more than that.
We all knew it, that we had just seen the greatest show on earth. How we wish we could experience this evening again and again. When they took the final bow, and as the pictures of all those who had signed up for Bono’s charities popped up on the giant screen appeared, we were in a state of disbelief- as were most around us- that this magical evening had come to an end. As we walked out the aisles of the great Wembley Stadium, we turned back every ten steps to see if they’d return for an encore. But these were tears of joy, and straight from the heart. Once we reached the foyer area, reality sunk in that the concert had actually ended. We saw lots and lots of people hugging each other and crying. The concert only cemented their status in our hearts, and we know we’d love to see them again, soon. If we had to rate the show, we’d give it a 10/10. Even if you don’t enjoy their music, you’d come back happy, and starving for more!
Kudos to the London Police who got near 90,000 people out of the narrow Wembley passageway on to trains and away into the city. No commotion, no chaos, in spite of some very drunk and loud people around. Oh, and the bobs do have a sense of humor. Sample this- “Ladies and Gentlemen, keep on singing your songs while you wait. We will get you all out of here ‘in a little while’, definitely by tomorrow, that is, before ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday!’ What, it’s a ‘Beautiful Day’! “ Something for us to learn from!
And just like that, it was over. Yep, you guessed it, with the Claw. Thank you U2 for giving us such amazing music. Thank you for the memories! Walk on!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Playlist:
1. Breathe
2. No Line On The Horizon
3. Get On Your Boots
4. Magnificent
5. London Bridge Is Falling Down (snippet) / Beautiful Day / Here Comes The Sun (snippet) [The crowd was in SPLITS!]
6. Until The End Of The World / Break On Through (snippet)
7. New Year's Day
8. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Stand By Me (snippet) [very sweet, extended snippet. Though sounded like a drunk karaoke towards the end!]
9. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
10. Unknown Caller [take a bow, Edge!]
11. The Unforgettable Fire / A Day Without Me (snippet)
12. City Of Blinding Lights
13. London Calling (snippet) / Vertigo / Rock And Roll (snippet)
14. Reverend Black Grape (snippet) / I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight / Two Tribes (snippet)
15. Sunday Bloody Sunday / Get Up Stand Up (snippet)
16. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
17. MLK
18. Walk On / You'll Never Walk Alone (snippet)
19. Where The Streets Have No Name
20. One
21. Bad / Fool To Cry (snippet) / 40 (snippet)
Encore(s)
22. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
23. With Or Without You
24. Moment of Surrender
Best songs of the evening: 1. Magnificent 2. I’ll go crazy if I don’t go crazy 3. Bad. 4. One 5. Ultra Violet & Unknown caller.
Eye-moistening songs: 1. I still haven’t found what I’m looking for 2. One. 3. Where the streets have no name
If you haven’t seen the 360 Tour yet, book yourselves a flight to the US of A. Trust us, it would be worth the effort!
Priyanka (1st concert) and Kanak (2nd concert, following the Vertigo Tour in 2005) watched the U2 360 Degrees LIVE Concert in London, UK on August 15, 2009. Contact them for more pictures and videos.
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