U2 up close and personal

hey,

it's a busy day for emails!....it'd been a few weeks since i last wrote, and i've been a busy boy in more ways than one in that time.

U2 came to town a week or so ago. For those of you who don't know, when i was a teenager, i was THE BIGGEST U2 geek-obsessive around. My bedroom was a living, breathing shrine to Bono and the boys. And then, when I was living in Dublin and my house was around the corner from the High School where they all met, and just a stones throw from their childhood neighbourhood, my 15-year old U2 geek came back out in me again.

Now, in Vancouver, just a month into thier gargantuan world-tour, U2 reappear in my life. When tickets were announced back in Feb, and they were only C$50, I was ecstatic. Of course they sold out 2 shows of the 25000 capacity GM Place arena in 15 mnutes, and I missed out. Enter stage right into my life the world of e-bay, something I was aware of but never paid much attention to. U2 ticket auctions were wildfire, some going into the stratosphere price wise. Several hundred dollars U.S. and more. Nevertheless, I wanted a ticket.....bad. So, I put down bids on no less than 40 auctions, but put a personal limit of C$100 down. I wasn't going to pay too much over the odds, and I figure $100 is roughly the cost if they toured Melbourne. And, to be honest, my fan-dom had diminished quite a great deal over the years, and I wouldn't have been totally crushed if I missed out.

Anyways, I got lucky....very, very lucky. I got my ticket for C$62! Upper bowl, to the left and slightly behind the stage tho, but reasonably close to the stage in the general scheme of things. At least I wasn't way, way, way back at the rear of the arena. So, that was 2 months ago...2months of waiting before my beloved U2 came to town.

As it got closer, the vibe around town got increasingly excited. The band had set up shop for 3 weeks to rehearse the show before the tour officially started, and U2-spotting became a mini-sport amongst the cities citizens in that time. The city as a result fell in love with the band. So when, the day before the first gig, U2 publicly announced that they would be shooting a live concert video of their next single, City of Blinding Lights, and needed 4000 extras to make up the audience, there was palpable pandemonium. Be at GM Place, Gate 7, at 4pm was the word, spreading like wildfire.

I am ever so grateful for the email i recieved from a buddy as I would never have known otherwise. I knock off work at 3.30pm every day, and so I was out the door, in a flash, got the train up to Stadium station, ran up the stairs and sprinted around to make sure i got a coveted wristband that would garner me entry. In reality, there was no need for quite such a rush.....I spent the next 3 hours standing in the queue, in the blinding sun (with my newly shaved head copping a beating), before we were eventually let in at 7pm.

What happened next was truly quite awesome (for the 15-year old U2 fan in me anyways). We were seated to the right of stage in the section neaest the stage, virtually within touching distance. The band came out, and ran thru 4 versions of the new single, with us 4000 U2-freaks cheering and clapping and making sure the live vibe was as realistic as possible while the numerous cameras captured the moment. As you'd expect, there was a sizeable Irish contingent in the audience and several tri-colour flags adding to the colur and the spectacle. Next we were all moved down into the centre floor section and U2 performed 2 more renditions of the song. As a thank you to us, they then did a mini-concert, playing another 3 songs from the latest album. Heaven. On a stick. Truly. Without realising it, it was 11pm before we got out of their. 4 hours. where the hell did the time go!!??! time flies when yer having fun!

The gig the following night was pretty good, too, with the band putting in their usual professional performance, playing a LOT of really old tunes from the first 2 or 3 albums, which was really cool actually, and had the crowd in the palm of thier hand for 2 and a bit hours. But, to be honest, I think I had way more fun at the video shoot. Something out of the ordinary, unusual, a one-off, never to be repeated experience. this is what we live and travel for right? Damn right!

talk soon,

tony

p.s. below is a brief local paper article on the video shoot gig...i couldn't sum it up any better!

http://www.thetyee.ca/Entertainment/2005/04/28/UCU22/
TheTyee.ca
"This is like a club gig," says Bono during the shooting of the video for U2's upcoming single.
In many ways it did feel like a small show -- there weren't even 4,000 of us at GM Place last night. After a surprise lunchtime announcement that you could be in a U2 video just by lining up at the Garage, I jumped at the opportunity.
By turning Vancouver into a city of blinding lights, U2 treated their fans to an up close and personal show, and treated the band to thousands of unpaid extras.
Aside from my ancestors, I think U2 is the greatest thing to come out of Ireland. I didn't get tickets to any of their shows, but I did hear the announcement about being in their video.
So at one o'clock I headed to GM Place where some 60 people were already in line. Some came on bikes, others on skateboards, by car or on foot. We leaned against the building and talked about what could possibly happen at a music video shoot.
Hot show. Really hot.
Ontario native Carlene McGowan was on her way to Mount Seymour when she and her cousins heard the announcement on the radio.
"They turned to me and asked 'what would you rather do?'" says the 24-year-old.
Before even entering the building, the elementary school teacher had already declared the experience the highlight of her trip.
It wasn't the lure of being on camera that drew McGowan to the video shoot, she just wanted to see the quartet perform.
"I'm so impressed they're doing this," she says. "I can't believe you don't have to have a ticket."
Tour guide Kelsey Torok had never seen U2 perform, though he's been a fan for as long as he can remember.
"When my friend called to tell me about this, I dropped everything, threw on a change of clothes, hopped on the seabus and got over here," he says.
"I've never been a part of anything like this before," says the 26-year-old. "I like U2, I like their music -- I'm hoping this will be a good experience."
Several hours later people were not in as high spirits. The sun had turned many pink. I was dehydrated and hungry.
Play it again! And again?
It seemed we were stuck in a moment we couldn't get out of. We didn't know when we would be let inside -- we were being told three o'clock, then possibly four o'clock, then definitely five.
By six I still hadn't found what I was looking for -- a golden wristband that would earn me a spot on the floor.
It was nearly seven before my hours in the sun paid off. I clamoured over people trying to clamour over me and got a wristband.
Inside the Garage the atmosphere was very different from any other concert I'd seen there. The place felt nearly empty. Very calm. There were no food vendors, no music, no rush to get to your seats.
Once in our assigned sections, there was more waiting. Had I not been hungry and tired and thirsty and cranky, I would have been really excited.
I didn't realize how unique the situation was until guitarist The Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. came onstage.
Then I noticed Bono had snuck onto the ring-shaped outer stage.
U2 broke into the first of six renditions of "City of Blinding Lights." I won't be able to listen to that song for a very long time.
Beautiful day
Though he was wearing his shades and I couldn't quite tell where he was looking, I swear Bono flashed a peace sign right at me. It was the sweetest thing.
I was right up against the barricade as Bono began to sing "City of Blinding Lights" for the last time, while the audience was showered with confetti.
People seemed to forget about the cameras in their face as they stretched their hands out to the frontman.
As a thank you set, U2 broke into "Vertigo," followed by "All Because of You," and finished with "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," which Bono dedicated to his father.
Afterwards a few people were chatting, but the rest of us seemed a little stunned. Or maybe just tired. At 11 o'clock, I was ready to go home.
"That was awesome," Torok says. And it really was.
Huge band. Huge venue. Small show feel.
I doubt I'll be in any shots, but when the video is released, rest assured I'll pause every single frame and play Where's Kelso?
Sure it was a mock concert, but it just might have been even better than the real thing.

And here's some more links to check out...

http://atu2.blogspot.com/2005_04_01_atu2_archive.html

http://www.u2tours.com/detail.src?ID=20050427
http://www.u2tours.com/detail.src?ID=20050428
http://www.u2tours.com/detail.src?ID=20050428

April 27, 2005posted by: m2

@U2 staff were on hand tonight for the "City of Blinding Lights" video shoot at General Motors Place and will soon file a report about a long and difficult day to the @U2 Blog.

For now, here's the setlist as we've posted it on U2tours.com:

City of Blinding Lights

City of Blinding Lights

Hokey Pokey

City of Blinding Lights

City of Blinding Lights

City of Blinding Lights

City of Blinding Lights

Vertigo

All Because of You

Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own (encore)