A Tribute to Sheehan, Band Goes On

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The show went on. As reported earlier Dennis Sheehan long time tour manager passed away May 26th. Paster Rick Warren was invited in to counsel the band. Dennis was very kind Christian man. Paster Rick shared some scripture, words of comfort, and pray with them right before they walked on stage tonight.

After sharing the ‪#‎ChooseJoy‬ story from my son's death, I asked "So how do you go out and do a concert when your heart is hurting?" Bono said "We choose joy!" Right. Pray for Pam who lost the love of her life. 

The show went on as scheduled. We reported earlier that the band has selected "40" as the closing song for the evening and confirmed with the set-list that "40" would be the closing song. We elected not to publish the set-list to allow fans to experience the show. Some in the social media expressed their disappointment in our choice. However we did the right thing for the greater good.

The audience started singing the lengthy refrain of "how long to sing this song?" long after the band left the stage.

This was an emotional evening for everyone and the band stepped up and performed one of their best shows.  The spirit was in the house, and The Lord provided the comfort the band and crew needed to carry them on.  

Set List LA2  May 27, 2015

1. The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
2. Out Of Control
3. Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (snippet) / Vertigo
4. I Will Follow
5. Iris (Hold Me Close)
6. Cedarwood Road
7. Song For Someone
8. Sunday Bloody Sunday
9. Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
10. Until The End Of The World

(Intermission)

1. Invisible
2. Even Better Than The Real Thing
3. Mysterious Ways / My Sweet Lord (snippet) / Young Americans (snippet)
4. Desire / Not Fade Away (snippet)
5. Angel Of Harlem
6. Every Breaking Wave
7. Bullet The Blue Sky / 19 (snippet)
8. The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love)
9. Beautiful Day / I Remember You (snippet)
10. Bad / Moment of Surrender (snippet)
11. With Or Without You

encore(s):

1. City Of Blinding Lights / Transmission (snippet)
2. Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
3. 40

Forum Show Will Not Be Impacted

Following news that U2's longtime tour manager, Dennis Sheehan, was found dead Wednesday morning (May 27), sources confirmed to Billboard that his tragic death will not have an impact on the band's current Innocence + Experience tour.

Most immediately, Wednesday night's show at The Forum in Los Angeles will proceed without postponement or delay -- but not without a nod to Sheehan's impact on the band. U2 is planning a tribute to Sheehan at the show, according to a source: "Dennis was the heart and soul of the organization." 

Tour personnel changes are currently being sorted out in the midst of Sheehan's unexpected death.

Dennis Sheehan Passes Away

TMZ reported that Dennis Sheehan has passed away in his hotel room in LA. Some reports have been floating around by other U2 blog sites that the bands past manager Paul McGuinness was the one that was found die. No Paul has not travel LA and as far as we know he is enjoying retirement just fine.

Dennis Sheehan was found unconscious in his room at the Sunset Marquis Hotel. We're told paramedics were called to Sheehan's hotel room around 5:30 AM for a reported cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Just six hours earlier, U2 had finished their sell-out concert at the Forum venue in Los Angeles.

Sheehan, who says on his Twitter profile he “loves travel, food, music, company and chatting,” began working with U2 in 1982 when they were about to release their War album. 33 years later and he, Bono, and the rest of the band have become close friends, as well as colleagues.

U2 has updated their official statement

- "We've lost a family member, we're still taking it in. He wasn't just a legend in the music business, he was a legend in our band. He is irreplaceable." Bono

- "With profound sadness we confirm that Dennis Sheehan, U2's longstanding tour manager and dear friend to us all, has passed away overnight. Our heartfelt sympathy is with his wonderful family." Arthur Fogel

U2's Opening Night Cali Style

Wahlig/U2TOURFANS/2015

INGLEWOOD, CA -  U2 arrived ! LA fans had a bit of a wait as crowds continued to pour in around the official start time. Fans around the world ripping up social media with comments about how LA fans never arrive on time and that the venue had a lot of empty seats due to possible resellers holding tickets. This is not uncommon for any show in or around the LA area.  Most music fans go out late and stay out late. The city really does not get started before 9PM. U2's show does not have an opening act and no matter how many times you tell fans NO OPENING act arrive early on time, its going to happen that a few fans will arrive late.

Some of the Hollywood crowd was spotted the forum settled in for an evening of music just over two hours.  We can expect to see Hollywood listers around the venue all week.

During sound check Electric Co was introduced as part of the nights possible tune to join the set list.

The band has been introducing songs to the fluid set list over the past few nights. 

This arena tour fans will all agree that the sound is very tight, clear and crisp. The band is very on point. 

Bono sounds even better. Opening the night with "The Miracle( of Joey Ramone) had fans on their feet, arms in the air leaving no doubt that U2 has come to play. 

As we said a few set list changes. California made an appearance, City of Blinding Lights, Electric Co and Sweetest Thing. Bono's impersonator, Joseph Hier performed a couple of tunes ( U2 tribute band: Hollywood U2) The show ended with "One"

We have updated the city page to provide more images, videos and of course the set list.  Download our new app for updates, chats and more news.

Forum U2 – General Admission Policy

Forum U2 – General Admission Policy

May 26, 27, 30, 31 & June, 3

The GA line will be formed in the North quadrant of the Forum Parking Lot, near Parking Lot B. Ticket holders will enter the venue via the “Floor Seats Entrance” located on the North side of the building between Ramp 4 and Ramp 5.
GA paperless ticket holders may begin lining up at 9:00am on the day of the show only.

No lines for future date shows will be permitted.

 Entering the Forum parking lot and GA line indicates the guest’s agreement to abide by all Forum policies and procedures.

Upon arrival, each guest who indicates he or she has a GA floor ticket will have a sequentially numbered wristband placed on their left wrist. Wristband distribution will begin at 12:00pm (subject to change).
All guests in a party must be present at the same time to enter the GA line and receive a GA wristband.
GA wristbands are provided on a first come first serve basis. Once a GA ticket holder receives a wristband, they may either wait in line or leave the area. If a guest chooses to leave the area, they must return to their place in line before 5:00pm. Beginning at 5:00pm, the order of the line will be set. All guests arriving after 5:00pm will be asked to go to the back of the line, regardless of the wristband number.
The Forum encourages guests to remain in line. Terrace restrooms and concessions will be open for guests that wish to remain in the queue all day.
Guests are not permitted to hold places in line for other guests.
Loss, removal or tampering of the GA wristband will result in loss of place in the GA line. Guests may also be asked to surrender their paperless tickets and leave Forum property.
Guests with a paperless GA ticket must have in their possession of the credit card used to purchase the tickets. All guests in the party must be present to receive a wristband and redeem their tickets to enter the venue.
GA tickets and wristbands are non-­‐transferable.
Two parking lots will OPEN @ 9am: the Prairie Gate & Gate 8.
Prairie Gate is onsite parking / $25 for general / $40 for Preferred
Gate 8 is offsite / parking is $20
Guests who want to leave AFTER receiving their GA wristband may do so. They MUST present their parking ticket to the attendant BEFORE they leave for instructions.
Parking refunds will NOT be issued, but guests may return with the appropriately stamped ticket by 5:00pm.
Guests returning AFTER 5:00pm must pay the prevailing rate to park.
Please be respectful to other guests in line.
The following actions and items are prohibited; any person who violates these policies may be subject to ejection without refund.
o    No running, pushing or line jumping
o    No smoking, alcoholic beverages, drugs or glass containers
o    No horseplay, unsafe behavior or foul language
o    No camping, tailgating, open flames or barbecues
o    No vending
o    No weapons, laser pens, signs, banners, oversized bags, video cameras, laptops, computers, tablets, professional cameras, monopods, tripods and audio recording devices.

Forum management reserves the right to amend or make additions to these policies at any time.

Phoenix Second Night, Macbeth Act 5

Alisa Blackwood/ U2TOURFANS 2015

Fans exceptions continue to grow and U2 does not disappoint the second night crowd in Phoenix. Pretty much a solid evening of music. Phoenix will down with nothing major happening.

However one lucky fan ( on the first night )may have ended Bono's join us on stage when the fan would not leave the stage and seemed to hog Bono spotlight. The Edge was trying to remember the cords to a "Gods Country"  The fan jump around and continued to act a fool and some heard Bono say calm down and  Bono guided him back off the stage.

Set List

1. The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
2. Vertigo (snippet) / Out Of Control
3. Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (snippet) / Vertigo
4. I Will Follow
5. Iris (Hold Me Close)
6. Cedarwood Road
7. Song For Someone
8. Sunday Bloody Sunday
9. Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
10. Until The End Of The World / Macbeth Act 5 Scene 1 (snippet)

(Intermission)

1. Invisible
2. Even Better Than The Real Thing
3. Mysterious Ways / Young Americans (snippet)
4. Angel Of Harlem
5. When Love Comes To Town
6. Every Breaking Wave
7. Bullet The Blue Sky / Whole Lotta Love (snippet) / 19 (snippet)
8. The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love)
9. Beautiful Day / One (snippet)
10. With Or Without You

Encore(s):

1. Miracle Drug
2. Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
3. One

U2's Promising Tour Gives Fans More

Kevin Mazur /Wireline/ U2TOURFANS 2105

The iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour found U2 operating on a level few popular artists could even begin to aspire to Friday night at US Airways Center, where the sold-out crowd was treated to an elaborate pop-art spectacle that managed to push the theatrical boundaries of a rock show while advancing a social agenda or two with a sense of purpose and conviction.

It played to the back rows (and beyond) as much as any U2 concert. But for every bell and whistle, every grand attempt at making sure you understood that Bono still has something more important to convey than "Hello, Phoenix," Friday's concert also found them operating on a very human scale, letting their hair down in moments that thrived on spontaneity and self-effacing humor.

The look on Bono's face, as played out on a giant screen, when he sat at an upright piano and realized the part he was playing was horribly wrong was priceless. As was his reaction to the overly enthusiastic fan he brought on stage to strum along on acoustic guitar to "In God's Country."

"Ritalin is also good," Bono told him.

he staging spanned the length of US Airways Center, with a large rectangular i-shaped stage at one end of the venue, a smaller e-shaped stage at the other and a catwalk connecting the two, with a massive rectangular video cage suspended from the ceiling. A separate catwalk inside the cage allowed the members of U2 to immerse themselves in imaginative video projections — a visually stunning effect allowing Bono to walk the animated streets of his youth on "Iris (Hold Me Close)," a heartfelt tribute to his mother.

The screen was also used to powerful effect on an impassioned "Sunday Bloody Sunday," during which the faces of the victims of the Bloody Sunday incident in Northern Ireland were projected on the sides of animated houses as Bono poured his heart out on a chorus hook that sadly felt as relevant as ever: "How long must we sing this song?"

And that wasn't the only overtly political moment of the show. During "Pride (in the Name of Love)," a heartfelt tribute to the life and death of Martin Luther King, Jr., Bono said, "This is the moment where we get to talk about peace as an action" as part of a monologue that talked about "the courage to compromise in Ireland" before drawing a parallel between the violence there and the more recent strife in Baltimore and Ferguson.

Kevin Mazur /Wireline/ U2TOURFANS 2105

Setting the tone for their performance with the Patti Smith song "People Have the Power" blaring on the PA, U2 took the stage and launched into a track from last year's "Songs of Innocence" whose title references another CBGB legend, "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)." A tribute to that life-affirming moment when you hear "a song that made some sense out of the world," it proved a brilliant introduction to a performance that clearly had making some sense of the world on its list of things to do.

They weren't shy about delving into "Songs of Innocence," playing six of the 11 tracks. But by the second song, they were blowing the dust off their first album, "Boy," with the post-punk urgency of "The Electric Co.," the Edge's guitar mixed gloriously high and Bono, an energetic presence in excellent voice throughout the night, inserting a snippet of "Send in the Clowns."

"Anyone speak Spanish around here?" Bono asked coming out of that one. "'Cause clearly I don't." And with that, he counted off a raucous "Vertigo," swatting the lightbulb that hung from the ceiling just over his head. The rock vibe carried over into "I Will Follow," during which the singer brought an eight-year-old on stage and sang the lyrics at him as his bandmates brought the music to a climax.

The night's first monologue found Bono joking about the way Americans had ruined the word awesome. But "as overused as it is," he said, "it applies" to the "miracle of a landscape that is Arizona." He then informed us that over the course of the next few songs, they were going to try to transport us to where they'd grown up. This set up the show's most visually arresting suite, as "Iris (Take Me Home)" gave way to "Cedarwood Road" and "Song for Someone," all from "Songs of Innocence."

Kevin Mazur/Wireline/ U2TOURFANS 2015

The pacing and staging were flawless as they made their way from there through such obvious highlights as "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "Even Better Than the Real Thing," "Beautiful Day," "Bad" and a majestic, set-closing "With Or Without You."

Bono brought three sisters on stage to dance along to "Mysterious Ways" and "Desire" and had one of them live-stream the action on her cellphone, which was great fun. And they stripped things down to beautiful effect with the Edge on piano as Bono delivered a gorgeous, soulful "Every Breaking Wave" on the little e-shaped stage before the rhythm section — the ever-stylish Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. — kicked into the concert's most electrifying rocker, "Bullet the Blue Sky." Bono changed the words on that one to "Jazz man breathes into a saxophone while everyone stares into their cell phone," one of several playful touches that offset the moments that bordered on overly serious.

The encore began with a piped-in speech by Stephen Hawking about how "we must become global citizens" and live together "with tolerance and respect," effectively setting the stage for a powerful "City of Blinding Lights." Then, after a speech about conquering AIDS, Bono delivered a moving rendition of Paul Simon's "Mother and Child Reunion," slowing it down for dramatic effect, before bringing the night to a triumphant close with two songs from "The Joshua Tree," "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

It was everything a U2 fan could possibly have hoped for in 2015 and a testament to how much more these veteran rockers have to offer 35 years after "Boy" first suggested a promising future.

Phoenix Surprise

Last night was the first of two shows in Phoenix, AZ. A couple of changes, first the opening walk out song was changed to “People Have The Power” by Patti Smith. 

The rest of the evening set list was pretty much the same has the May19th show ( San Jose) with a few welcomed additions. “In Gods Country” (not printed on the set list) remember we said earlier changes could happen on the fly. We will do a complete wrap up of Phoenix and show special on Sunday.

Last Nights Setlist

1. The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
2. The Electric Co. / Send In The Clowns (snippet) / I Can See For Miles (snippet)
3. Vertigo / God Save The Queen (Sex Pistols) (snippet)
4. I Will Follow
5. Iris (Hold Me Close)
6. Cedarwood Road
7. Song For Someone
8. Sunday Bloody Sunday
9. Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
10. Until The End Of The World
11. (Intermission)
12. Invisible
13. Even Better Than The Real Thing
14. Mysterious Ways / Young Americans (snippet)
15. Desire
16. In God's Country
17. Sweetest Thing
18. Every Breaking Wave
19. Bullet The Blue Sky / America (snippet) / 19 (snippet)
20. The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love)
21. Beautiful Day / Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (snippet)
22. Bad / Moment of Surrender (snippet)
23. With Or Without You

Encore(s):

1. City Of Blinding Lights
2. Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
3. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For