Police ready for U2 concert

For the first time in more than a decade, Spartan Stadium will be hosting a concert event, leading many local police to stress the differences between this event and a typical football Saturday.

This Sunday, U2 will be making their long-anticipated trip to East Lansing to perform, and MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor emphasized for concertgoers to be aware of the area.

“Football fans are familiar with the university, they’re familiar with the ordinances and policies,” McGlothian-Taylor said. “Most of the people that are coming to this area (on Sunday) are unfamiliar with the university. I think it will be very important for people to come early.”

Because of the tens of thousands of people expected to be in attendance, the MSU police has teamed up with the Meridian Township, Ingham County and East Lansing police departments to make sure there aren’t any problems, McGlothian-Taylor said.

East Lansing police Capt. Kim Johnson estimated the department will have 25 officers working at major intersections to improve the flow of traffic, as well as inside the stadium itself.

The construction on campus is expected to make things difficult for commuters, with the closure of Harrison Road requiring travelers to use Exit 76 on US-127, Kalamazoo Street, and Exit 110 on I-96, Okemos Road, instead of Exit 9 on US-127, Trowbridge Road, McGlothian-Taylor said.

Finding a spot to park for football Saturdays often is difficult, and Johnson said the expectation shouldn’t be any different this Sunday.

“Parking is at a premium sometimes, but people find their way around and find legal places to park,” Johnson said. “People do park illegally, so we’ll have staff on hand to answer any calls.”

One option for concertgoers is to park for free in Lot 89, the commuter lot, located on the corner of Farm Lane and Mount Hope Road, and pay $5 to ride a shuttle to the stadium, McGlothian-Taylor said.

Assisting the officers at the arena will be 110 Greencoats, security volunteers who will aid in crowd management, said David Oslund, an MSU police officer currently assigned to the special events unit.

The Greencoats are asked to work any concert with more than 1,000 people attending, so Oslund doesn’t expect this event to be markedly different from other events they’ve covered.

“All the concerts at Breslin (Center) over the last 15 years have had Greencoats at them,” Oslund said. “The biggest new policy we have is that there’s no bags allowed in the arena, and that’s from a security and safety standpoint.”

Though fans are allowed to bring water bottles to MSU football games, in compliance with Live Nation Entertainment Inc. policy, water bottles, or bottles of any sort, will not be allowed into the arena, McGlothian-Taylor said.

The East Lansing Police Department recognizes that, because of the nature of the event, it’s likely loud music and noise will be affecting people in the city. Instead of calling the police, Johnson asked citizens to exercise patience.

“We’re expecting some noise complaints, just from the concert itself, so we’re asking people to be patient,” he said. “Enjoy the opportunity we have for a concert to come to this community, which is good for us.”

Glastonbury Set List and Review

Last night U2 left their comfort zone of the highest-grossing tour in history to play to their toughest audience yet at the UK’s Glastonbury music festival.

In front of a crowd who are traditionally suspicious of ‘stadium rock’, it could have gone either way.

But U2’s debut performance at Worthy Farm turned into a triumph last night as the Bono & Co crew abandoned their 360 tour setlist to perform a ‘greatest hits’ package, which when you’re U2 is some songbook to draw on.

But with so much material to choose from, inevitably there were disagreements about how to approach their headlining slot.

“There were an awful lot of opinions,” said drummer Larry Mullen. “Everyone had a view about how it should go.

“There were the ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’ camp and the more subtle approach, the ‘Achtung Baby’ dynamic approach, where you build slowly.

“Then there were those who thought we should open with ‘40’ (from U2’s 1983 album ‘War’). We went through a number of combinations.”

Complete Setlist -

1. Even Better Than The Real Thing
2. The Fly
3. Mysterious Ways / Independent Women (snippet)
4. Until The End Of The World
5. One
6. Jerusalem (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name / All You Need Is Love (snippet)
7. I Will Follow
8. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / Movin’ On Up (snippet)
9. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
10. Beautiful Day / Rain (snippet)
11. Elevation
12. Get On Your Boots / She Loves You (snippet)
13. Vertigo / Garageland (snippet)
14. Sunday Bloody Sunday
15. Bad / Jerusalem (snippet)
16. Pride (In The Name Of Love)

Encore(s):

17. With Or Without You / Love Will Tear Us Apart (snippet)
18. Yellow (snippet) / Moment of Surrender
19. Pretty Vacant (snippet) / Out Of Control

Part of U2’s success is that Bono knows how to play the role of rock star with all the panache it demands.

And Glastonbury was no different, with the band’s singer breathing new life into some of U2’s best known hits as if he were singing them for the first time.

At his side, The Edge delivered the distinctive chiming guitar sound that has become the signature of U2’s music.

Although logistics meant the group couldn’t bring their now famous stage ‘The Claw’ to Glastonbury, they did have some strong visuals representing different parts of their career, from War to Zoo TV, to light up the vast stage at Worthy Farm.

However, violent scenes broke out in the crowd as a protest against the the band’s tax status was foiled by security guards.

As Bono and his bandmates took to the Pyramid Stage, activists from direct action group Art Uncut inflated a 20ft balloon emblazoned with the message “U Pay Your Tax 2”.

But as the campaigners tried to release it over the 50,000-strong crowd, a team of 10 burly security guards wrestled them to the ground before deflating the balloon and taking it away.

Campaigner Stephen Taylor said: “U2’s multi-million euro tax dodge is depriving the Irish people at a time when they desperately need income to offset the Irish government’s savage austerity programme. Tax nestling in the band’s bank account should be helping to keep open the hospitals, schools and libraries that are closing all over Ireland.”

aThere had been confusion the previous night when some protesters turned up to what they mistakenly thought was an anti-U2 gathering in Glastonbury’s Pilton Palais Cinema Tent.

However, ‘Killing Bono’ turned out to be a screening of the 2010 film comedy based on the memoirs of Bono’s schoolmate Neil McCormick rather than a meeting of plotters.

Watching U2 last night among the massive crowd were thousands of Irish music fans who had travelled over for the festival.

Some, like Bono’s old pal Gavin Friday, came to watch U2 but many others came to see the hundreds of other artists who are performing at Europe’s biggest music festival over the weekend.

* Snippets checked via U2gigs

Glastonbury Festival Welcomes U2 debut

U2 will make their first UK festival appearance since the early 1980s later when they headline Glastonbury.

The Irish stars had been due to play last year but were forced to cancel after singer Bono injured his back.

Coldplay will headline the Pyramid Stage on Saturday. Beyonce follows in husband Jay-Z’s footsteps on Sunday.

Emma Coupland, from Boston, Lincs, at a muddy Glastonbury with friend Holly Wilson, said: “As we’re under 30, we don’t really like U2.”

Ms Wilson added: “They may play some of the old classic songs but we’re not really excited about U2, and I haven’t heard from anyone that is to be honest.”

Rock veterans U2, who have interrupted a tour of the US to fly in for their performance, face protests during their set by a group who have accused the band of a “tax dodge” in Ireland.

Deluxe Editions of Achtung Baby, Zooropa Coming Soon

U2’s Achtung Baby marks its 20^th anniversary this year and the Irish rockers are planning to release a deluxe edition of the album to celebrate. The 1991 album also will be paired with U2’s 1993 release, Zooropa, in a special edition box set, according to Rolling Stone – via Slicing Up Eyeballs.

“There will be multiple formats,” said U2 manager Paul McGuinness. “If you pile a lot of extra material and packaging and design work into a super-duper box set, there are people who will pay quite a lot for it, so you can budget it at a very high level and pump up the value.”

The plan is for each album to be issued on its own and that the set will include bonus audio and video material from U2’s ZOO TV concerts.

Last month, it was reported that the band members were filming footage for an Achtung Baby documentary with It Might Get Loud’s Davis Guggenheim.

80,000 Welcome U2

The next time the Ravens win a game at M&T Bank Stadium, they should be so lucky to get the kind of response four 50-something Irish guys got there Wednesday night.

Thousands of fans - the stadium estimated some 80,000 - welcomed U2 for their first regional show in two years like Bono and company had just ended the N.F.L lockout.

Billed as the record-setting spectacular to beat all concert spectaculars, U2’s 360-degree tour employs the latest advancements in live entertainment, including a moving, four-legged stage that looked ripped from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

It’s been joked that for a band as bombastic as this one, a stage that big was needed to contain all of their egos, mostly Bono’s. But the spacious arena, as big as a small club, allowed for maximum showboating, and for the band members to pull off pyrotechnics that would have been difficult at 1st Mariner Arena, where they played the last time they were in Baltimore in 2001.

Over two hours, The Edge got to sing directly above fans, thanks to the moving stage; other band members strolled the circular stage within reaching distance of the spastic crowd, got the stadium to sing along several times - most memorably on “I Will Follow” - and Bono got to show off some favorite Bono-isms, grunting, wearing a glow-in-the-dark jacket, and plugging his favorite political causes.

An ambitious show to say the least, it also featured cameos from, incongruously, Desmond Tutu and Gabrielle Giffords’ husband. Now on its second year, the 360-degree tour confirmed why U2 is still among the few headliners that can sell out stadiums.

The setlist stayed close to what the band’s been playing at other recent concerts, straying only at a few key moments. Over all they played some 24 songs, with all but a couple of their albums represented, going as far back as “Boy” and up to their most recent outing, “No Line on the Horizon.” “Achtung Baby,” “The Joshua Tree,” and “No Line” had the most numbers in the show. The British band Florence and the Machine opened the show.

The band walked on stage at 8:56 p.m. to David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” strutting out from underneath the stadium like a bunch of gladiators in tight jeans. Though they looked huge on the video screens, from where I was sitting on row 11, section 151, they looked like bendable action figures. At least one woman near me brought binoculars.

As everyone pulled out their phones to take pictures, a clad-in-black Bono barreled through “Even Better than the Real Thing,” from 1991’s “Achtung Baby.” He kept going with six more songs that were each over 20 years old. Undercutting the solemnity of the first few songs was a helicopter flying overhead advertising strip club Scores.

Bono strapped on a guitar on a muscularly remade “The Fly,” which also featured some of The Edge’s shredding and vocal accompaniment. At that point, it was hard not to be envious of the crowd directly in front of the the stage, who looked ecstatic.

The rest of the stadium only nodded along politely, but they started to move on “Mysterious Ways,” a love song that was blown up here into a stadium anthem, and where Bono and The Edge took their first stroll around the circular stage and walked over the moving bridges.

By fifth song “I Will Follow,” it was already nightfall and the enormous stage was the only source of light in the stadium, surrounded like a supernova by the thousands of flickers of light from peoples’ cell phones. On “Get Your Boots On,” Bono showed how, despite his self-serious star-with-a-conscience public persona, he knows how to play the role of rock star with all the panache it demands. He never did take off his tinted sunglasses at all.

Bono introduced the next song by saying The Edge would be channeling Frank Sinatra, which suggested perhaps they’d do Bono’s remake of “That’s Life.” But instead they sang “Stay” as a slow, almost acoustic song.  The band got Mark E. Kelly to introduce “Beautiful Day,” which, tailor-made for this kind of setting, sounded excellent.

“Elevation” had the crowd near the front practically moshing. “Miss Sarajevo” showed off another genre where U2 is unassailable, the heartfelt power ballad.

The concert hit its stride around 10 p.m., when the band played “Vertigo,” maybe because it’s one of their most recognizable recent songs and maybe because the alcohol from the afternoon tailgaiting was finally making a difference. “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” was certainly the night’s emotional peak, milked here for all its possible relevance by being played over news images of the Arab Spring.

The Bono-isms started to rear their ugly head by then. He dedicated “Scarlet” to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese political dissident, a gesture that was only politely applauded for the crowd. Maybe they didn’t know who she was? Not to worry. U2 helpfully provided an introductory blurb. “One” was introduced by Desmond Tutu. During the encore Bono both sang “Amazing Grace” and later thanked another kind of god, Live Nation, for organizing the show.  Fifty-year-old Bono also sprayed the audience with water and wore a jacket that shot off lasers on “Ultraviolet.”

But there were great moments to compensate for those that were cringe-worthy.  “Moment of Surrender,” dedicated to Clarence Clemons, was moving and “Where the Streets Have No Name” was undeniably beautiful; without a doubt, the concert’s highlight.

Bono’s stated goal was to shrink the stadium and turn it into a little club, a difficult rask when your singing from a metal, 200-ton arachnid. But for the Baltimore crowd, a majority of whom had likely not seen them in years, a stadium packed with thousands of like-minded fan did just fine.

Nashville Fans Pre Concert Notice

U2 arrives in Nashville on Saturday, July 2nd. The last time they were in the area was 1987, so there is a good amount of buzz in the air as the date nears. And when U2/Nashville rumors started flying, I began plotting and scheming to create a party where our U2 tribute band could play for U2 fans.

My name is Chris Simeone. I love U2 and I love playing guitar, so in November 2008 I decided to put together a U2 tribute band. First were the craigslist ads trying to entice local Bono, Adam and Larry wannabees. There was a lot of interest, more than I expected.

After several months of phone interviews and many demos I met with Davin McLaird at a local Starbucks. After talking with him for a couple of hours, I knew we could be friends and that I wanted him to portray Larry in the band. At our first practice I realized not only is he a great guy, but he’s a monster drummer too!

It took us a while to find Adam. We had two bass players join, and then leave the band. Finally an amazing player named Eric Martens told us he wanted to be Adam. He was so determined to be a part of our band and has genuine love for the music of U2 and Adam’s playing style, that he worked his tail off and learned 30 songs in just three weeks.

Early 2009 I was contacted by a singer from New York interested in the Bono spot. We tried to make it work, but the 900 miles between was too much. Around the same time Brian Desveaux contacted me through our website (www.u2act.com). He explained to me that he had portrayed Bono for a couple of years in another U2 tribute band. I went to an Irish pub to see Brian perform an acoustic set of original songs. He threw in a U2 song and that’s when I knew I found our Bono.

Our first official practice was early May of 2009. We set up in a local church and the first songs we played were Beautiful Day, Vertigo, Streets and Kite. The practice went well and we were all encouraged. However, our second practice was not so smooth. On the way there my new VOX AC30 guitar amp did a face plant in the car when I stopped short. At practice I plugged it in and found it was very dead. Fortunately I had a backup amp with me.

Our first show was a four-song set at my church’s Christmas party. It wasn’t until May, 2010 that we finally got our first paying gig; exactly one year after our first rehearsal. Since then we have had many great shows, traveled to several states and have developed a set list of over 40 U2 songs. And the set list is still growing.

July 1st is right around the corner and we are so excited to play for local and visiting U2 fans - the best audience in the world. If you’re going to U2’s Nashville show in July, please be a part of our U2 PRE concert party the night before the U2 hits the stage. It’s going to be a fun night and a great weekend.

For more information about UZoo please visit our website: www.u2act.com.

U2 Stage arrives at Spartan Stadium

(Media-Newswire.com) - EAST LANSING, Mich. — On Sunday, June 26, U2 will bring its U2 360° tour to Michigan State University’s Spartan Stadium for one night only. The concert begins at 7 p.m.

The concert had been postponed last year due to lead singer Bono’s emergency back surgery. Tickets purchased for the June 30, 2010, Spartan Stadium performance will be honored at the door.

“We’re very pleased to host Bono and U2 at Spartan Stadium,” said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. “He’s been a tremendous global activist, especially in Africa. MSU’s engagement in Africa began in 1960 with a partnership to build Africa’s first land-grant university. We’ve been there ever since focused on critical issues including food security, health, environmental sustainability and education, so it’s a natural fit for him to include a stop here at Michigan State.”

This summer U2 360° will play 18 cities across the United States and Canada before finishing up in Moncton, New Brunswick, on July 30. The North American tour dates feature a variety of supporting artists. Florence and the Machine will open the show in East Lansing.

The tour, presented by Live Nation Global Touring, showcases a cylindrical video system of interlocking LED panels, and a steel structure rising 150 feet from the floor over a massive stage with rotating bridges, creating an intimate 360º experience for concert goers.

U2 360° has already set the record for the most successful tour of all time, having played to more than 5 million people around the globe. By the tour end on July 30, more than 7 million people will have seen production with 110 shows in 30 countries across five continents.

The band, formed in Dublin, consists of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen. U2 has released 12 studio albums, with worldwide sales totaling more than 145 million records, and it has won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band. In 2005, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone magazine listed U2 at No. 22 in its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

Following is information regarding access and entry to Spartan Stadium the day of the concert:

Public parking will be available beginning at 3 p.m. the day of the concert at a variety of locations on campus. Most parking fees are $20. RVs will be charged $40 and free parking with a $5 shuttle ( beginning at 5 p.m. ) will be offered in the commuter lot.
Gates to the stadium will open at 5:30 p.m.
Guests holding field tickets can only enter/exit through north tunnel and have no access to the rest of the stadium. They will not be permitted to line up outside the stadium entrance prior to 7 a.m. the day of the concert.
There is no re-entry to the stadium at any time.
No tailgating with alcohol is allowed and will be enforced.
Bags and purses of any size are prohibited. Special exceptions for bags that contain necessary medical equipment determined secure by MSU police will be made at Gates C and K only.
No camping will be allowed.
All gates except gate H ( at the northwest corner of the stadium ) will be open.
Additional information about stadium policies, ( including a complete list of prohibited items ), parking, visitor information, accommodations, maps, construction detours and ticket information can be found at http://special.news.msu.edu/u2.

Information regarding city of East Lansing parking, accommodations and activities can be found at http://www.cityofeastlansing.com/u2.

It is expected that noise levels during the U2 concert may be high, especially for those living around campus. Community members can log complaints by e-mailing u2feedback@ur.msu.edu and refrain from calling 911.

Select tickets are still available at ticketmaster.com.

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Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges

Angels Smiling on Anaheim

By BEN WENER: We can split hairs over whether U2’s first show at Angel Stadium this past weekend was fully awesome — a perfectly paced concert as moving and meaningful as their Rose Bowl blast just before Halloween 2009 — or whether it was simply as impeccable as the Irishmen’s performances always are. I’m apparently a cynical, narcissistic, arrogant jerk for suggesting in my admittedly overlong first review that some indefinable spark — some touch of magic — was missing.

I rambled through 2,300 words trying to make up my mind if it really ranked with the inspired and inspiring encounters I’ve had with this band over the years. Days later it still doesn’t feel like a truly marvelous one — only a warm-up to the fiercer, fleeter, far more galvanizing set that seemed to seize the 50,000-plus fans on hand in Anaheim Saturday night, zapping them full of infectious excitement and deep emotional resonance, and never allowing either feeling to let up.

This much is indisputable: The second show was better. Way better. Dare I say: magical.

“I know this is Angels territory and miracles abound,” Bono said after four songs, including terrific takes on “Even Better Than the Real Thing” and “Until the End of the World” that were much more torrential than the night before, plus a funkier “Mysterious Ways” that had the singer shouting out “James Brown!” (like in the Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love”) as well as the explosive tour debut of “The Fly.” From further up Katella Avenue Friday afternoon I heard them sound-check that last one, along with another welcome Achtung Baby tune that snuck into Saturday’s show, “Ultra Violet (Light My Way).” (That one replaced “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” as the encore-launching piece that Bono vocalizes into a red-glowing ring as big as his head.)

It was already a bold opening, the band attacking the material, the frontman in his trademark leather and shades lurching at the audience. But that wasn’t enough: “There’s a magic trick we’d like to do tonight. We’re gonna try to shrink the stadium. We want to feel right up close to you in the top tier.” I’d never dream they noticed my earlier review, let alone took any of it to heart — why should they care? And still it felt as though they were trying to disprove my notion, that the enormous scope of such shows makes it immensely difficult to leave everyone within earshot feeling overwhelmed.

Rather than rely on the often jaw-dropping sight of this 360 Tour production — which inside the Big A looked less like a giant claw than some strange interstellar craft that had touched down around second base — U2 instead used two of its mightiest weapons of love and hope and peace to achieve that seemingly impossible intimacy. Stunningly, the group yanked forward the back-to-back wow of what until now had been its opening encore: the universal anthem “One” and the ever-thrilling rush of “Where the Streets Have No Name,” here joined together by a verse of “Amazing Grace,” the lights turned stark on Bono and the screens faded to black.