2 Days:Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium

THE sun is shining at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium -- and U2's futuristic new stage, above and right, is taking shape.

The band kick off their '360' tour in the Spanish city on Tuesday and will take in 14 European cities over the summer.

The spectacular stage will allow Bono and the boys to perform in the middle of the stadium, so that fans will surround the band on all sides.

2 days before U2 play their first date, technicians were still putting the final touches to the canopied structure that hovers over the stage.

Lights and lasers are expected to play an important role in the show, and rumours abound that the circular stage may revolve, giving every fan a bird's eye view of the proceedings.

Costing more than €100m to stage and running for the next 18 months, the band has already sold some 2.5 million tickets for its dates throughout Europe and North America as they showcase their latest album, 'No Line on the Horizon'.

U2 Encourage Mask-Wearing Protest


U2 are on the cusp of their 360 Tour, and are asking fans to remember Burmese democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi by wearing a mask featuring her face.

"U2 believe the world must not be allowed to forget Aung San Suu Kyi and every night on the 360 Tour fans are being invited to wear the mask when the band play 'Walk On,' which was written for her," the band's website said today. "Put it on with thousands of others when Larry [Mullen, Jr., drums] and Edge [guitar] strike up the opening bars of 'Walk On.'"

A downloadable mask is on the site with directions, but you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to print the file.

"Wear it to work or college," the post on the website reads. "Wear it on the bus or the train. Wear it in the pub or at the shops. And don't forget. Bring it to a U2 show."

Suu Kyi is a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and won elections in Burma in 1990, but the military junta refused to accept the results. She has spent most of the last 19 years under house arrest.

Suu Kyi was recently tried for violating the terms of her house arrest after an uninvited visitor swam across Inya Lake in Yangon, Burma to visit her house twice. The trial was widely condemned as a sham by the United Nations and western nations.

U2 start their world tour in Barcelona on Tuesday. The tour, which is in support of the recently released No Line On The Horizon, hits Toronto in mid-Septem

Mega Summer Show ! What you can expect

U2's 360 Tour: Big Stage, Big Energy

Band also mixing up set list, keeping prices low

Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone

U2
Openers On Select Dates: Snow Patrol,
Muse, Black Eyed Peas
Tickets $30-$253

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Other artists may be scaling down for the recession, but not U2: Their first U.S. stadium tour since 1997's PopMart will be dominated by the largest set ever built for a rock concert, a monstrous stage nicknamed the Claw that will allow them to play in the round. "The crowd will be all around us," says the Edge, on a break from tour planning. "That energy will just make the performances fly." The band is selling some seats for as cheap as $30, as a nod to tough times and to make the shows accessible to young fans.

"We're talking about resurrecting songs we haven't played in a long time," Edge says. "I have a list of every U2 song -- some I can't remember anymore -- even some of the B sides that we've never played live. We were thinking how much fun it would be to play something like [Joshua Tree outtake] 'Luminous Times.' Certain songs from the last couple of tours, we may not play again. We want to find songs that feel fresh and valid."

Top five stories from the week

  1. With the opening night of U2’s world tour, “U2 360”, fast approaching (only five days left of waiting), the impressive stage design the band has created for the tour is getting everyone excited.
  2. Associated Press But U2's Larry Mullen had some choice words recently about the rich and the recent surge in populist resentment. “Love them or loathe them
  3. About to embark on a tour that will span five months and more than 30 cities in a third as many countries, Irish rock titans U2 recently got in a quick
  4. The fact that we're using the same mixing desk as U2 is pretty inspiring too!" The students will be showcasing tracks from their album at the Latest Music ...
  5. Firstly, I wanna know why Coldplay always has to be referred to as “the Next U2”. Do you media folks get paid every time one of you utters the phrase? ...

LA Times Reports MJ has passed -

We are U2 Fans, however we are music fans too. Today's the music world has lost one of the greatest artists of all time. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and music fans around the world. We will fade to black for 24 hours to honor Michael Jackson the king of pop.

Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors. (LA TIMES wide release report)

Thursday News from Nou Camp in Barcelona

Looks like the band is getting an early start on rehearsals today. A couple of photos have been taken and posted. Not really much else. We are just counting down to Tuesday. We may elect to chill for 24hrs and come back around on the weekend. Or we may post some thoughts about some re-mix stuff we heard. Comments always welcome.


Stop picking on the rich said Larry


U2 drummer Larry Mullen believes rich and successful people are being unnecessarily humiliated when coming in and out of Ireland, describing this as "part of a new resentment of rich people in this country".

"We have experienced [a situation] where coming in and out of the country at certain times is made more difficult than it should be - not only for us, but for a lot of wealthy people," he said. "So it wasn't personal. It was to do with the better-off being sort of humiliated."

Mullen was speaking in Howth the day before the Irish Sunday Independent exclusively joined U2 in Barcelona last week as they convened for final rehearsals for their world tour and to see for the first time the phenomenal 360-degree stage they have built.

There are exclusive interviews with all four of U2 in this week's Irish Independent.