U2 may cancel more concert dates

As word of Bono’s emergency surgery spread around the U2 fan base one thing was clear, this was going to be a long weekend. As fans began to plan their North American follow U2 began the long process of logistics.

Most of the 400 plus crew as due to arrive in Utah this coming week. Where from you ask ? Well pretty much all parts of the world.

Some crew members finished up gigs months ago and have been cooling their gig bags at home, waiting for this week to come.  When your in the concert business large super tours are hard to find. Its long term work and when you have the chance to jump on a super tour like this one, you run to the bus. Run fast ! 

In the case of Bono and the boys this was going to be the pay off for many. Mortgages paid in advance, Child Support all caught up, as well as a couple of other details. This is the lottery tour.

Crew members die to be on this tour. Bon Jovi, Van Halen (early days), Rolling Stones, The Police all mega shows earn big dollars for lots of people.

So its no surprise that the news of Bono’s surgery has left many wondering will the band be forced to cancel the tour until fall ?

The singer was injured when he fell on stage while rehearsing in Munich and was rushed to hospital where he was operated on.

He is said to be making a good recovery but plans for the tour, set to open in Salt Lake City in June, are now on hold.

Manager Paul McGuinness stated that the band will “reinstate the dates” that they will be forced to miss. It has not been a happy 50th birthday aftermath for Bono, who was hyped up about the resumption of the tour when he spoke at the American Ireland Fund dinner in New York two weeks ago.

Given Bono’s need to be highly mobile while on stage, a back injury and surgery could be very tough for him to overcome.

The tour resumption was set to feature several changes in the band’s on stage act. The U2 360 Tour had just paid for itself last year and was set to capitalize on very positive advance bookings when the injury happened to Bono.

We thought about it. We have choosen not to create any guess work. We will inform you as we know rather than spread rumors, guess work and frankly just crap. Here is what we can tell you bags, packed, street team ready, cameras, videos and hotels all booked. Now its up to God which we think that Bono and God happen to be pretty tight. So God we call on you.

U2 Fans wait for tour news

As of midnight east coast no word has come back as to the status of the other tour stops. Once we can comfirm the start we will update you. Remember to hold on to your tickets. Until we get the final word from Live Nation. - Right now only one city has been “delayed”  Salt Lake City

Bono underwent emergency back surgery in Germany on Friday. Bono sustained an injury while preparing for the next leg of U2’s 360-Degree tour. The 50-year-old Grammy winner is expected to remain hospitalized for the new few days. U2 has postponed their June 3 concert in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s unknown whether more dates will be canceled.

“We hope to get things resolved as soon as possible,” said Paul McGuinness, U2 band manager.

Enjoy a video from last years show. Follow U2TOURFANS on Facebook. Fans we would like to hear from you. Post your comments. Tour Dates can be found here.

U2 postpones Utah show

U2 360 Stage 2009 U2 has postponed its June 3 concert at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium because of emergency back surgery lead singer Bono underwent Friday in Germany. The future date of the Utah concert hasn’t been set.

The June 3 Salt Lake City concert was to kick off the next tour leg of the band’s massive “360” tour, with band rehearsals scheduled to begin here on Tuesday, May 25.

Utah fans with tickets should wait for future announcements from concert promoter United Concerts.

Following the postponement, preparations that began earlier this week at the stadium had to be suspended and torn down. That includes the band’s 164-foot-tall “Claw,” the largest stadium set in rock music history, which requires 120 trucks to carry it from show to show.

Dave Long/U2TOURFANS 2009 - U2 TOUR 360 “The band were really looking forward to getting back out on the road until the emergency surgery on Bono’s back, which took place in Munich today,” U2 manager Paul McGuinness posted on the band’s website Friday morning. “We were due to start rehearsals on Tuesday in Salt Lake City and get the show ready for the next leg. There were gonna be some changes and some new material. It’s unfortunate that we’re inconveniencing fans. We will make plans to reinstate these dates as soon as possible.”

McGuinness added that more than 400 crew members had been in Utah or had been planning to come to Salt Lake City. Crew members who had not yet arrived in Utah were told to stay at home and await further news. Salt Lake City’s Oasis Stage Werks is one of the local companies helping with tour set-up.

After Salt Lake City, the band was scheduled to perform at Anaheim’s Angels Stadium on June 6, in a sold-out show. (The band’s June 3 tour date in Utah hasn’t sold out.) On Friday afternoon, Angels spokesman Adam Chodzko said they had’t been notified of any postponement of the Anaheim date.

The band’s website reported that Bono underwent back surgery for an injury he suffered during tour preparation training. He was admitted to a specialist in neurosurgery in a Munich hospital and was under the care of two neurosurgeons, and will spend several days recuperating.

U2’s North American tour leg was to end on July 19 in New York City, with the band set to begin European dates on Aug. 6 in Italy. The European tour doesn’t end until Oct. 8 in Rome.

Paul's Statement

Real Time Update: Paul makes an audio statement

Following Bono’s unexpected back surgery earlier today, Live Nation confirmed that the U2 U2360° tour launch previously scheduled for June 3rd in Salt Lake City has been postponed.

U2 fans with tickets to the June 3rd event are encouraged to retain tickets until updated show information can be provided.

Additional tour information will be forthcoming

Transscript of Pauls message

“The band were really looking forward to getting back out on the road until the emergency surgery on Bono’s back, which took place in Munich today.

We were due to start rehearsals on Tuesday in Salt Lake City and get the show ready for the next leg. There were gonna be some changes and some new material. It’s unfortunate that we’re inconveniencing fans. We will make plans to reinstate these dates as soon as possible.

Obviously, it’s been very disruptive for our crew, as well; we have over 400 people converging on Salt Lake City, and some of them have been turned around and told to stay at home until we make our new plan. We hope to get things resolved as soon as possible. Keep watching U2.com and you’ll get the information as soon as we can get it out to you. Signing off, this is Paul McGuinness.”

Salt Lake City Postponement

Just annouced following Bono’s unexpected back surgery earlier today, Live Nation confirmed that the U2 U2360° tour launch previously scheduled for June 3rd in Salt Lake City has been postponed.

U2 fans with tickets to the June 3rd event are encouraged to retain tickets until updated show information can be provided.

Additional tour information will be forthcoming.

Breaking News Bono undergoes surgery !

(Reuters) - U2 lead singer Bono has undergone emergency surgery on his back in a Munich hospital after being injured while preparing for the next leg of the band’s world tour, a spokesperson said Friday.

The 50-year-old from Ireland had been preparing for the North American leg of the “360 Degree” world tour which is due to kick off in Salt Lake City on June 3.

“Bono has today undergone emergency back surgery for an injury sustained during tour preparation training,” his spokesperson said.

“He was admitted to a specialist neuro surgery unit in a Munich hospital.

“Bono will spend the next few days there, before returning home to recuperate. Once his condition has been assessed further, a statement will be made regarding the impact on forthcoming tour dates.”

After North America, the tour was scheduled to travel to Turin in Italy on August 6. It was not immediately clear how badly the injury would disrupt the group’s tour.

The tour earned around $109 million (75.5 million pounds) in 2009, according to music journal Billboard, making it the world’s most lucrative, and the publication also predicted it would end up being the highest-grossing tour in history.

By some measures the band, with hits like “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Where the Streets Have No Name,” is the world’s most successful. They have sold more than 150 million records, according to unofficial estimates.

U2 360 Stage Update from Utah

U2 360 Tour 2009 - Load Out from 2009 U2 is about to begin their North American tour, the U2 360 tour. The giant four-legged Claw will be set in the middle of the venue, and in the center there will be a revolving stage. All the technical hardware is hidden inside the four legs of the structure, and at the top is a huge video screen which will offer simultaneous footage of the concert to the farther audiences at the show. 

Over 130 feet high, weighing 390 tons and requiring 180 trucks to transport it from venue to venue, U2 have three different Claws at their disposal. While they are playing on one of them, the second one is being set up at another venue and the third one is being transported somewhere else.

Long-time U2 associates Willie Williams and Mark Fisher will be working as show directors for the 18-month tour. “Everyone who sees it says that it looks like something different,” says Williams. “It does look as though it has escaped from a giant space aquarium.”

The Claw was inspired by the four-legged Theme Building at Los Angeles airport. “Our work is all to do with the logistics of building a very large piece of technical infrastructure in a very short time, and to make something interesting out of it,” says Fisher. “Why do people go to shows like this in the digital age? It’s for the huge collective experience, the social and spatial, and memories. This set will contribute by creating a massive sense of anticipation and delivering an amazing kinetic performance.”

The base goal of The Claw is to create a feeling of intimacy for crowds of up to 90,000 people - no easy feat by any standard.

Details

• U2 have three custom-built “claw” stages for their tour.
• While one is in use, another is being dismantled and a third is being constructed for the next concert venue.
• The stage designer is Willie Williams, who has been with U2 since 1982. Mark Fisher serves as architect.
• A total of 189 trucks transport the stages around. There are 380 drivers and 12 buses.
• The U2 entourage constitutes 550 people.
• The video screens weigh 56 tonnes.
• The claw-like edifice can take 165 tonnes of equipment freeing up more pitchside space for fans.

World Music Awards 2010 Winner

Just updated in Monaco on Tuesday night U2 picked up two awards. Worlds Best Rock Artist and Best Selling Artist from Ireland.That one we thought was a given. Currently we have not confirmed any members had attended the event. We know that Bono was in Seattle for part of the week. The U2 plane was spoted at the airport.  Rumors suggest that the band has been in New York gearing up for the tour. Our sources have spotted Bono a couple of times around town however that was last week during the Bono’s birthday dinner.