God is in the House with 65K Fans

Sunday, 65,000-plus U2 fans spilled into Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, faces aglow with anticipation, at last face to face with the gigantic stage setup tagged “The Claw.”

Perfectly assembled and poised to house the grandest stage spectacle to caravan the globe, “The Claw,” in person, did not disappoint. Among the bells and whistles of the Bono-envisioned stage: oversized ornaments that lit up the dark sky, a 360-degree ramp that extended into the audience and circled the inner stage and a brilliant LED video screen.

Such a platform might have overpowered a weaker band. But not U2. At 8:47 p.m., the mythical members of U2 slowly, confidently strutted on stage, one by one, until Bono finally walked to the middle of the round at 8:50 p.m., sporting a black leather jacket suited only for a rock star, black pants and his trademark Bono shades. The crowd exploded, almost in disbelief the day was finally here. Crying fans, beach ball-bouncing fans, fans who had road-tripped from Canada, fans who had jetted in from Europe, fans of every age — all united to experience the highest grossing tour of all time. It all happened one year after the originally scheduled concert date.

Three decades in, the men of U2 embraced the stage with the self-assurance of a cast of characters at the pinnacle of their sport. They stood energized and alive. They carried grace and style. Drummer Larry Mullen, guitarist The Edge and bass player Adam Clayton instantly created a wall of sound that nothing could conquer, working as one unified, mesmerizing whole. The Edge’s guitars were near-hypnotic: soaring, emoting, melodic. Carefully placed solos sang and seared through the cool air. Bono, of course, is the original rock ‘n’ roll frontman. He beckoned the crowd to join in and unite with U2’s swoons and sentiments.

At its finest moments — and there were countless — the concert brought back that thrilling, heartfelt post-punk of U2’s early days, whether it was the sweeping, inspiring “Elevation,” the yearning “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” the swirling, spiritual “One,” or the hair-raising “Vertigo.”

During the set, Bono devoted “Beautiful Day” to Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, victim of a shooting in January, and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. He sent out “Walk On” to Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi, and later in the song, Amnesty International volunteers circled the stage holding candles with the Amnesty symbol.

Though counter-intuitive, the massiveness of U2’s 360-degree stage successfully created an aura of intimacy, even in a giant football stadium. At times, it felt as if it was just the band and its music. After Sunday’s show, there is little uncertainty that U2 is truly able to bring people from every corner of the glove together for a moment of — in the words of Bono — “love and peace, peace and love.”

Record Attendance Expected

Helsinki Olympics Stadium 2010

A record audience turnout is expected at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium for concerts given by the U2 rock band as part of its “360” world tour. An estimated crowd of 104,000 fans are expected for the two concerts.

The concerts mark the reopening of Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium to the public after recent renovations. An audience of 52,000 people is expected on both nights, representing an all time record of attendance at the venue.

Previous audience records date from concerts given by the Rolling Stones and Tina Turner, each attended by 50,000 fans. Dual concerts given by Bruce Springsteen in 2003 attracted a precise total of 89,856 people.

Back in 1952, over 70,000 attended the Helsinki Olympics at the stadium.

The concerts-in-the-round feature the world’s biggest stage set for a pop tour. Some fans have been camping outside the venue since Wednesday, hoping to catch a glimpse of “the claw”, a steel construction at the heart of the band’s stage set.

About 600 extra tickets to the shows went on sale on Friday morning.

This is the band’s third visit to Finland since 1983, when they played at Turku’s Ruisrock festival.

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.

U2 Deluxe, Concerts, Fans and U

The marketing machines could not have packed a better punch. June starts the North American tour which we have been talking about since the end of the tour last year. We are ready ! Of course we have our street team attending all of the shows. We have room for a couple of more members if your interested. Sign up here .

We are focused on the fan experience and we look to bring you the best possible concert updates we can. You can always follow us via facebook. We have a complete collection of our 360 social media properties outlined on Facebook. Or choose to take us on the road with you using our Apple App - Best of all its FREE.

Just thinking about the start of the tour, we also found out this week that a possible set change could be in store for us. “Breathe” is classic with moments of old Jefferson Airplane harmonies in the chorus. Bono appeals, “Walk out into the street, sing your heart out, the people we meet will not be drowned out,” but what seems like yet another U2 call to arm-in-arms is more like the wearing of a brave face.

Then, that aforementioned journey of the soul ends in the luscious “Cedars Of Lebanon” that gets real personal through lines like, “I have your face here in an old Polaroid, tidying the children’s clothes and toys, you’re smiling back at me, I took the photo from the fridge.” We’re all in that kitchen, in that photo, and in the scenario that follows, as told by, presumably, a sad, lonely soldier who is far from home. Sporadically-introduced edgy synth sounds intentionally prevent the listener from ever settling-in with the surroundings, mildly simulating what our soldier is experiencing.

Then, the song—as well as No Line On The Horizon—leaves the listener with these wise, sobering words: “Choose your enemies carefully ‘cos they will define you…they’re not there in the beginning, but when your story ends, gonna last with you longer than your friend.” Regardless of what the album title suggests, this group still knows how to help us keep our bearings.

It seems everyone and their mother has told you about the DVD release. We really would like to ask you consider getting your DVD from our link. Yes it helps our non profit site. To come to think of it anything you buy from the link helps our social media experience.

The set will include: a 32 page hardback book; limited edition 2-disc DVD of U2360° At The Rose Bowl plus 2 hours of bonus material; 1 blue-ray of U2360° At The Rose Bowl plus 2 hours of bonus material; 1 vinyl 7inch; 3 U2360° guitar picks; the Tour Programme; a limited edition numbered drawing of final stage design; and 5 art prints in an embossed wallet.


U2360° At The Rose Bowl was the penultimate gig of last year’s U2360° Tour and the band’s biggest ever US show, with a live audience in excess of 97,000. The show was also streamed across seven continents via YouTube. The first ever live streaming of a full-length stadium concert, U2360° at the Rose Bowl had over 10 million views on the channel in one week.

Shot entirely in HD, the concert was filmed with 27 cameras and directed by Tom Krueger who had previously worked on U23D, the first live action 3D concert movie taken from U2’s Vertigo Tour.

Available in standard and 2-disc deluxe DVD formats (see below), U2360° At The Rose Bowl will also be U2’s first concert available in Blu-ray. The deluxe formats and the Blu-ray will feature a new documentary called Squaring the Circle: Creating U2360° with new interviews from U2, Paul McGuinness and the team behind the touring production.

U2360° At The Rose Bowl Set List:

• Get On Your Boots
• Magnificent
• Mysterious Ways
• Beautiful Day
• I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
• Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
• No Line On The Horizon
• Elevation
• In A Little While
• Unknown Caller
• Until the End of the World
• The Unforgettable Fire
• City of Blinding Lights
• Vertigo
• I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• MLK
• Walk On
• One
• Where The Streets Have No Name
• Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
• With Or Without You
• Moment Of Surrender

U2360° At The Rose Bowl is released in the following formats:
- Single Disc DVD, live concert only
- 2DVD Super Deluxe Box Set (see above)
- Two Disc DVD Deluxe edition
- Blu-Ray Single Disc edition each featuring the live concert plus:
Squaring The Circle: Creating U2360° Documentary
U2360° Tour Clips
Bonus Track ‘Breathe’ (Live At The Rose Bowl)
Berlin Timelapse Video
Videos:
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight (Animated)
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight (Live At Barcelona)
The Making Of ‘Get On Your Boots’ Video
The Making Of ‘Magnificent’ Video

The Theme Building Meets The Claw

An early inspiration was the Theme Building at LAX, a favorite of U2 frontman Bono’s. “My pitch to him was, ‘Imagine the Theme Building straddling a football field with a little stage underneath,’ ” Williams said. “From that moment on we knew what we were doing, and over two years of work the intent never changed.” (The Theme Building is a landmark structure at the Los Angeles International Airport within the Westchester neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. It opened in 1961, and is an example of the Mid-Century modern influenced design school known as “Googie” or “Populuxe.”)

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