Funny happened to me on the way to the show.
Meadowlands Clogged
Editor note from Dre: We saw this story had to laugh a bit. First main stream media once again looking for drama, any kind of drama, how can we create it, find it, make it happen. Give us a break if your going to a sold out concert you can expect to wait a bit for a train. Hell do you not remember he Madoma Concert, Prince Concert or the Police Concert at the square ( New Yorkers know the place) Its just common expectations. So why focus on it. So how was the show ? Did you get what you came for ?
After U2 concert, Meadowlands train service clogged for hours, fans say
U2 guitarist the Edge, left, singer Bono, drummer Larry Mullen Jr., and bassist Adam Clayton performing during their 360(degrees) Tour at Giants Stadium. EAST RUTHERFORD — Forty minutes into his wait for a train to take him to the sold-out U2 concert at Giants Stadium on Wednesday night, Steve Brauntuch still hadn’t found what he was looking for.
The Manhattan resident and Tenafly native hoped to hop on a train at NJ Transit’s Secaucus station at 7:30 p.m. to catch the Irish supergroup when it hit the stage at 9.
What he found next was chaos.
Hundreds of people were pressed together like cattle as they jostled for position to buy tickets or board trains.
“There was no instruction, there was no announcement, there was no security,” said Brauntuch, a veteran concert-goer of Giants Stadium shows. “It was a mess.”
He said he wasn’t able get the next train until 8:15.
NYC 2009
Metro to Keep Morgan Blvd. Station Open Late for U2 Show
The transit agency will also run additional trains after the show, which is expected to draw a large crowd. No other stations will stay open past their normal closing time.
U2 Spaceship Lands In Foxboro
Editor Note: This is a repost with permission. We read a ton of reviews and listen to a ton of interviews. We found this one to be refreshing. Please post your comments below I am sure Nikki would like to get your thoughts.
Now U2TOURFANS Presents:
Nikki Vanasse
https://seagirlx.wordpress.com
I tend to pride myself on being one of the diehard U2 fans that have seen the band since they landed in America back in the early 80s. I’ve seen 28 shows, mostly in Boston and Hartford because I’m not the kind of fan who can really up and leave and follow them around the world. I’m not a music critic, although I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot about the “scene” through my radio jobs and the current company I keep who all hail from New Jersey. I’ve dabbled in band management and seen many shows; I’ve seen shows from artists who I’ve not cared for, artists who had been unknown to me, and of course the heavy hitters of the world, because I LOVE music. I can be objective. I’m not blinded by my love for U2 to the point where I think they do no wrong. Quite the contrary; In fact, of the last few tours I’ve had many disappointing moments.
Many people hated this show. This is something I don’t understand. Maybe it was the horrendous traffic conditions that pissed people off. Perhaps fans have just come to expect 200% from this band and when they come with 150%, it just disappoints these people. Maybe the younger fans don’t understand what U2 is about and in this world of excesses, maybe it fell short for them. I think they were expecting the stage to actually lift off at the end of the show (which hasn’t been done YET). For me, it was everything U2 stands for.
My opinion of this show is not popular. Many felt the set list was flat, the stage was too expansive, the sound stunk, and the intimacy gone. On the contrary, I thought it was probably one of the best flowing set lists they’ve ever created. Sure there were flat spots, but remember: you can’t please everyone. We all have different favorites that we like to hear but the reality is, it just can’t be done. Some loved the stage; some thought it was annoying. I thought it was perfect. The jumbo screen and images projected on it, the color it projected was a beautiful aesthetic. I also made the remark that night to my boyfriend, who hadn’t seen U2 since The Joshua Tree tour in 1987, that I felt that even with all this fanfare, Bono can STILL make it feel intimate. I still felt connected to the entire band, which I thought was amazing. For a guy in the music business to look at me with this look of wonder and remark, “This is AMAZING”, confirmed that I wasn’t crazy.
I thought the show was the best show U2 ever performed. I would write about The Edge more, but I’m not a music writer and wouldn’t do him justice. Simply put, he’s a genius. I’m sure since this is the second leg, that they’ll work more things out and change up some elements and be back for another go. That’s how it is with U2. They keep tweaking until they dial in. I can agree with certain points the “nay-sayers” make about how bored they’ve become of certain songs (which I’ve addressed already), and the sound from the upper 300s sections. Some things just are the way they are. There’s no sense in getting so angry about it. I can understand a bit of animosity being felt on some of these points considering how hard it was to get tickets and the ridiculous PRICE of the tickets (lower level seating was either $100 or $250 which is ludicrous in this current state of economic distress). The one aspect of the show that really rubbed me the wrong way was the nod to corporate giants Live Nation and Blackberry, who I think have thrown a wrench in the U2 machine.
I’m still excited and looking forward to seeing them again on another leg which is sure to come back to Boston next summer! I enjoy seeing where the experience takes the band, and how they develop the show over time. It’s part of why I dig them so much.
Bono screams "Shake your big ass"
The Record & Herald News, September 24, 2009
By: Mike Kerwick
Sixteen minutes after the lights went dark, three songs into his set, Bono made his way to the front of the most colossal — and we’re guessing the most expensive — stage that Giants Stadium has ever seen.
“Try this,” he told the crowd.
He plucked the fourth song from Achtung Baby, an album U2 released 18 years ago. Eighteen years did little to numb the effect of this particular song. “Mysterious Ways” still connects, aging as comfortably as the band members who perform it. It took a polite-but-expectant crowd and turned it into a yes-we’re-on-board-now crowd during Wednesday night’s show at Giants Stadium.
The show kicked off at 8:59 p.m., with steady plumes of smoke spewing from the center of the giant space needle that was perched atop the roof of the stage. The smoke drifted sideways, floating toward Section 303.
By 9:02 p.m., it was U2’s turn to show that this elaborate stage was more than smoke and mirrors. Larry Mullen Jr. walked out first, waving to the crowd and taking a seat behind the drums. The Edge and Adam Clayton, the band’s two guitarists, followed Mullen’s lead.
Then came Bono, wearing his signature black jacket and inimitable pair of shades. The crowd came ready to scream.
U2 opened with three straight songs from No Line on the Horizon, an album that sold a bunch of copies but earned only mixed reviews from critics and fans. Bono kicked off the show with “Breathe,” then played “Magnificent” and “Get On Your Boots.”
Done with the obligatory new material, Bono launched into “Mysterious Ways.” Could he top that? He didn’t even need to sing the fifth song — “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” Bono moved the microphone away from his lips and let the crowd handle this one, tapping his heart in appreciation while the crowd filled in on lead vocals.
There were other sweet moments. He paid homage to The Boss, referencing Bruce Springsteen’s 60th birthday and then playing a cover of “She’s the One.”
“Excuse us, Bruce,” Bono joked afterward.
No song from the first half of the set was as touching as “Stuck in a Moment.” For all the stage’s bells and whistles, this song took a more minimalist approach. A few spotlights, a few microphones, and touching music.
No song from the second half of the set was as touching as the band’s 30-second cover of “Amazing Grace.”
“The second half of the show featured some of the band’s heart-pounding anthems and ballads, including “One,” “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “With or Without You” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” At the end of “Sunday,” Bono told the crowd, “We send a message of love from New Jersey” and called for freedom of speech in Iran.
Was the gigantic stage — with its cream-colored claw and orange buttons, with its radio tower-esque spire that stretched higher than the cheap seats — really necessary? Maybe not. But the band tried to at least take advantage of the elaborate set. Bono sat on a rotating bridge during the start of “Beautiful Day.” Clayton and The Edge took turns circling the outer ring of the 360-degree stage.
Its biggest drawback: Stadium shows make even the best performers look like ants. The size of the stage made these rockers appear even smaller.
Muse opened for the Irishmen on Wednesday night, playing a 47-minute set as most of the crowd filtered into the stadium.
© The Record & Herald, 2009.
Mayor Bloomberg landing at Meadowlands U2 concert
Helicopter flown by Mayor Bloomberg pilot makes unexpected landing at Meadowlands U2 concert
By James Queally
September 24, 2009, 11:18PM
EAST RUTHERFORD -Famed Irish rock band U2 certainly expected to draw a large crowd for its highly anticipated performance tonight at Giants Stadium, but the show had nothing to do with a helicopter that landed outside before Bono and crew took the stage.
Toby Wilson, a pilot who works for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, landed a chopper in the stadium’s parking lot around 7 p.m., according to State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones.
A New York City official familiar with the situation who requested anonymity said Wilson flew Bloomberg into New Jersey and the mayor was driven to the concert. The pilot, who had never flown to the Meadowlands before, was conducting a test landing, the official said, who added that the helicopter is privately owned by Bloomberg.
Wilson touched down in a shuttle bus parking lot at the sports and entertainment complex, Jones said. After Wilson was approached by several state troopers who were on the scene for the rock concert, he confirmed he was employed by Bloomberg.
No one was injured during the chopper landing, and Bloomberg was not on board.
Air traffic controllers from nearby Teterboro Airport monitored the chopper’s flight path, according to Jones.
Wilson soon left in his helicopter after telling troopers he would not return to the area last night.
The helicopter’s Meadowlands landing was the second unusual aircraft incident in the state this week. On Monday, a pair of F-15 fighter jets escorted a pilot away from Middlesex County airspace when the plane inadvertently entered restricted airspace. The F-15s were patrolling the skies for President Obama, who was making a guest appearance on “Late Show with David Letterman.”
U2 larger than life at Giants Stadium
By Jay Lustig/The Star-Ledger
September 24, 2009, 1:57AM
Editor Note: We removed the set list from this orginal story because we have it posted.
Fall officially began on Tuesday. But U2 kept the summer vibe going on Wednesday, with a stellar Giants Stadium concert on an unseasonably warm night.
It was the biggest concert in the stadium’s history. More than 82,000 tickets were sold, and though an attendance figure was not immediately available, it didn’t look like there were many empty seats.
It also had, probably, the tallest stage set: a towering structure with lights and video screens suspended over the band. The stage could be seen from all sides, which made it possible for tickets to be sold in every seated section of the venue, as well as much of the floor.
A second Giants Stadium show is scheduled for Thursday.
Wednesday’s setlist mixed classics like “New Year’s Day,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “With Or Without You” and “One” with newer hits, tracks from the band’s March album “No Line On the Horizon,” and occasional surprises.
In honor of Bruce Springsteen’s 60th birthday, which the Boss celebrated on Wednesday, the band performed a loose version of his “She’s the One” — with frontman Bono changing the title phrase to “he’s the one” — and segued from it to “Desire,” which has the same Bo Diddley beat. Bono also urged the crowd to sing along, during “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” by saying, “Sing it for the Boss.”
In honor of Quincy Jones, who was in attendance, Bono sang a portion of the Michael Jackson hit “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” (which Jones produced) during “Beautiful Day.”
While the stage was daunting and some of the special effects on the video screens were dazzling, musically it was a no-nonsense show — one great song after another, played with precision and power by four rock masters.
The always outspoken Bono occasionally spoke about political issues, and “Walk On” became a tribute to Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, who was elected prime minister in 1990, but was prevented from taking power by a military junta, and is currently living under house arrest. At the end of the song, approximately 70 volunteers walked onto the stage, holding photos of her over their faces.
U2 360° Tour: EUROPE 2010
Straight from U2.com
Following the success of the 2009 tour, U2 have confirmed that their acclaimed 360° Tour will continue in 
2010. European fans who missed out in 2009 will have a new opportunity to experience the U2 360° Tour extravaganza with stops confirmed in Germany, Denmark, Finland, Russia, Austria, Greece, Turkey, France, Brussels, Spain and Portugal. Having just introduced the U2 Mobile Album, ‘No Line On The Horizon’, the band’s 12th studio album, the 2010 tour will once again be sponsored by BlackBerry.
Additional dates and cities to be confirmed.
Lots of fan sites have been posting rumors of 3rd leg and possible 4th legs. While this could be possible its just to early to tell. We wil keep you posted. Also check out our tour list for details about the current tour.
Date: Location
10 August 2010: Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt, Germany
12 August 2010: AWD Arena, Hannover, Germany
15 August 2010: CASA Arena Horsens, Horsens, Denmark
20 August 2010: Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland
25 August 2010: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia
30 August 2010: Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna, Austria
3 September 2010: Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece
6 September 2010: Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
15 September 2010: Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany
18 September 2010: Stade de France, Paris, France
29 September 2010: Olympic Stadium, Seville, Spain
2 October 2010: Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal