U2TOURFANS 7/8/15 U2TOURFANS 7/8/15

U2's Toronto Tour Dream Stop

Toronto, Ontario: Toronto fans may change the name of this tour stop to the U2 Dreams Come True stop for a few fans U2 departed from the norm and changed a few peoples lives forever. U2 has always been about their fans. This tour happens to be a bit different.

This tour seems to be about making some dreams possible. The band may not even know that a few of their fans have a couple of U2 experiences that they would like to have in their life time. Or maybe they do? Either way the Toronto shows had a few dreams come true. As we reported earlier about Mark Baker A.K.A @U2BROTHR and his band Acrobat and their opening night performance.

To fans and the band amazement they killed it. Bono and The rest of the band can be spotted watching off stage with smiles. Well you would have thought that would have been the end of surprises. No a chance. U2 fans should not assume anything.

The band second night performance introduced Stephanie This fan played the guitar with the band for not one song but two. She played "Angel Of Harlem" and "All I Want Is You" Which she killed it ! It was a very emotional performance and you could tell that she knew this was a once in a life time experience. Maybe that's what this tour really is about. Experiences that take your breath away.

This was a departure from the original set list which we received earlier in the evening and our Editor squashed our attempt to share it via social media. "The one thing I know is that a printed setlist is and has been always subject to change without notice he said"

Well so true it was. "The Crystal Ballroom" did not make an appearance and the set continued as printed. U2 moves on to Boston and New York to close out this leg expectations are high. This North American leg has been full of surprises, heartache, tears, laughter and dreams coming true.

Venue: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON, CA July 7 2015

Setlist

The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
The Electric Co. / Send In The Clowns (snippet) / I Can See For Miles (snippet) / Smells Like Teen Spirit (snippet)
Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (snippet) / Vertigo / God Save The Queen (snippet)
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song For Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Raised By Wolves
Until The End Of The World

(Intermission)

Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
Angel Of Harlem
All I Want Is You / Into The Mystic (snippet)
Every Breaking Wave
Bullet The Blue Sky
The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Beautiful Day / Give Peace A Chance (snippet)
With Or Without You / Shine Like Stars (snippet)

Encore(s):

City Of Blinding Lights
Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
One / Invisible (snippet)

*Snippets U2GIGS

U2TOURFANS 7/7/15 U2TOURFANS 7/7/15

Dreams Do Come True in Toronto "Acrobat" and Mark Baker

Toronto, Ontario: U2 has always been dedicated to the fan experience. Mark Baker (@U2BROTHR) has been what some would deem a fan for many years. Even produced a movie of his experience which was entered into 2014 American Online Film Awards Festival.

Mark is a super fan, totally dedicated to the U2 experience to the point that is is a member of the tribute band known as "Acrobat" Mark is a 39 year old Toronto teacher that had the spot light turned on him last night at the show.

Bono welcomed the boys the the stage to perform Desire. We have reported on Mark a couple of times. To us Mark is the ultimate fan very dedicated and most of all very supportive of other fans. Mark proves that you have to believe in your dreams to achieve them , we tip our glass to him and the rest of the band "Acrobat' for a wonderful experience for rest of us.

U2 will be in Toronto for two shows. The show had a couple of surprises, "Out Of Control" jumped back into the 2nd position. "Stuck In A Moment" and "Bad" The show ending was a bit different with "Stand By Me" which could be considered a song and part of the set list or a snip.

Venue: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON, CA July 6 2015

Setlist

The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
Out Of Control
Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (snippet) / Vertigo / God Save The Queen (Sex Pistols) (snippet)
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song For Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
Until The End Of The World / Love And Peace Or Else (snippet)

(Intermission)

Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways / Burning Down The House (snippet)
Elevation
Desire
Stuck In A Moment
Every Breaking Wave
Bullet The Blue Sky / 19 (snippet)
The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love) / Give Peace A Chance (snippet)
Beautiful Day / Instant Karma! (snippet) / Give Peace A Chance (snippet)
Bad / Moment Of Surrender (snippet)
With Or Without You

Encore(s):

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

*snips provided by U2GIGS

U2TOURFANS 7/3/15 U2TOURFANS 7/3/15

Good Bye Chicago, We will Always Have Gloria !

United Center, Chicago: The crew all loaded up and on their way to Toronto. Chicago has been amazing from the point of U2 fans. Outstanding collective group of people gathering to intake the whole vibe.

Five days of U2 and Chicago has come out in mass. Most fans happen to be looking on to Boston and New York however before those massive cities we have Toronto.

The 5th show and the band had a few surprises on the set list California, Gloria and Ordinary Love appeared. The evening ended with "40"

Venue: United Center July 2 2015

Setlist

The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
Gloria / Van Morrison's Gloria (snippet)
Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (snippet) / Vertigo / God Save The Queen (Sex Pistols) (snippet)
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song For Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet)
Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
Until The End Of The World / Love And Peace Or Else (snippet)

(Intermission)

Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways / Young Americans (snippet)
California (There Is No End To Love)
Ordinary Love
Every Breaking Wave
Bullet The Blue Sky
The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Beautiful Day / My Kind Of Town (snippet)
Bad / Moment Of Surrender (snippet)
With Or Without You

Encore(s):

City Of Blinding Lights
Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
Adam Raised A Cain (snippet) / 40

* Snippets provided by U2gigs

U2TOURFANS 6/30/15 U2TOURFANS 6/30/15

Life Begins With "The Crystal Ballroom"

United Center, Chicago: Looks like Chicago has gotten the most treats of any city so far on this tour. The band continued their normal sound check and within hidden was "Two Hearts Beat As One" "Sweetest Thing" and "The Crystal Ballroom" one of the most requested songs on the tour so far. Last night "The Crystal Ballroom made its debut at number 14 and ended the song with "Only in Chicago" a reference to the band always throwing out the unexpected tune.

Venue: United Center June 28, 2015

Setlist

The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
The Electric Co. / Send In The Clowns (snippet) / I Can See For Miles (snippet) / Smells Like Teen Spirit (snippet)
Vertigo
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song For Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet)
Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
Until The End Of The World

(Intermission)

Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways / My Sweet Lord (snippet)
The Crystal Ballroom
Sweetest Thing
Every Breaking Wave
Bullet The Blue Sky / 19 (snippet)
The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Beautiful Day / I Remember You (snippet)
With Or Without You / My Kind Of Town (snippet)

Encore(s):

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

U2TOURFANS 6/29/15 U2TOURFANS 6/29/15

Gloria, Gloria She Arrives In Chicago

United Center, Chicago: Show number 3 gives fans a little extra treat. Sound check does not mean the song will make it to the set list. Last nights performance did have a new arrival that had social media a buzz. During sound check the boys played, "The Crystal Ballroom" "Gloria" "Two Hearts Beat As One" 3rd night with a few break days in between allowed the boys to throw in a couple of fresh tracks. Bono did make a nod to the Supreme's for a land mark decision on marriage equality ruling as well as to nod to June and Johnny Cash's son who attended the show.

A rainbow flag was thrown on stage during Pride and Bono shouted "gay pride in the name of love!", then in Beautiful Day he altered a line to "rainbow colors right in front of you" and sang a snippet of Two Hearts Beat As One at the end.

Three fans brought on stage Julia, Sean and Kevin. Julia had been on stage before about 10 years ago. Bono chipper self added a comment "My you have grown" Chicago fans have been pouring in videos and photos and we have been reviewing all of them. Over the next few days we will be uploading most if not all of them.

Venue: United Center June 28, 2015

Set list

The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
Gloria / Van Morrison's Gloria (snippet)
Vertigo
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song For Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet)
Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
Until The End Of The World / She's A Rainbow (snippet) / A Clockwork Orange (snippet)

(Intermission)

Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways / Young Americans (snippet)
Desire / La Bamba (snippet) / Julia (snippet)
Lucifer's Hands
Every Breaking Wave
Bullet The Blue Sky / 19 (snippet)
The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Beautiful Day / Two Hearts Beat As One (snippet)
All I Want Is You
With Or Without You / Love Will Tear Us Apart (snippet)

Encore(s):

City Of Blinding Lights
Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
One / Invisible (snippet)

* Snippets provided by U2GIGS

U2TOURFANS 6/26/15 U2TOURFANS 6/26/15

Paul In The House, Cyrstal Ballroom Sidelined

Once called the fifth member of U2, Paul McGuinness stopped in for the second night. Social media a buzz of a possible sighting of Mick ( Rolling Stones) however no truth to that. Bono still a bit under the weather, fans stepped up and sung most of "One" allowing Bono to pull back a bit.

Sound check seems to always be a testing ground for possible set list changes. "The Crystal Ballroom" was rehearsed twice and yet not added to the set list. Most of the rehearsal was a preview of the night ahead.

We have to thank all the U2 fans that have been sending in their videos and photos. We review all of them. We tag and watermark your items and once that has been completed we post them to our network.

Venue: United Center June 25, 2015

Set list

The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
Out Of Control
Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio? (snippet) / Vertigo
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song For Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet)
Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
Until The End Of The World / Love And Peace Or Else (snippet)

(Intermission)

Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways / Young Americans (snippet)
Angel Of Harlem
Volcano
Also Sprach Zarathustra (snippet) / Every Breaking Wave
Bullet The Blue Sky
The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Beautiful Day / Moment Of Surrender (snippet)
Bad / Into The Mystic (snippet) / Moment Of Surrender (snippet)
With Or Without You

Encore(s):

City Of Blinding Lights
Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
One / Invisible (snippet)

*snippet provided by U2GIGS

U2TOURFANS 6/25/15 U2TOURFANS 6/25/15

Chicago Opening Night "The Spirt Is in The House"

Chicago opening night and the fans are lined up ready to go into the United center. Some of those fans have been waiting in the GA line for hours and yet they are refreshed and ready to experience something totally different as the boys from Dublin take over.

U2 has played Chicago a few times to sell out crowds. Sound check a couple of new entries into the set list "Ordinary Love" and "Raised By Wolves" Bono may have been feeling under the weather however once the show started who could tell ?

Chicago was a buzz after winning the Stanley Cup and now the worlds greatest band was in town. Bono dedicated "Elevation" to the Blackhawks. Of course a couple of political comments and a nod to marriage equality.

The venue had a different feeling, a sense of a strong presence a feeling that was pretty over whelming and that was shared all over social media. Bono did speak of Charleston, South Carolina, yelling "Dr. King, we need you now more than ever in Ferguson, in Baltimore, IN CHARLESTON!" during Pride's bridge. For an opening night this was a pretty special show.

Venue: United Center June 24, 2015

Set list

The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
The Electric Co. / Send In The Clowns (snippet) / My Kind Of Town (snippet) / I Can See For Miles (snippet)
Out Of Control (snippet) / Vertigo / It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It) (snippet)
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song For Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
Until The End Of The World / Love And Peace Or Else (snippet)

(Intermission)

Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways / Young Americans (snippet)
Elevation
Ordinary Love
Every Breaking Wave
Bullet The Blue Sky / Anthem (snippet)
The Hands That Built America (snippet) / Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Beautiful Day / My Kind Of Town (snippet) / I Remember You (snippet)
With Or Without You

Encore(s):

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

*verification provided by U2GIGS

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Admin 6/21/15 Admin 6/21/15

U2 Remains Rock’s Hottest Ticket

By Miguel Gálvez

LOS ANGELES, CA The challenge is not to make it to the top, but to stay up there, and no other band in the planet has it any clearer than U2. Since the eighties, when they exceeded all the limits of global popularity with their iconic album The Joshua Tree, and their subsequent international tour earned them the title of “Rock’s Hottest Ticket” on the cover of Time magazine, far from merely enjoy the ephemeral intoxication that comes along with fame, they have dedicated themselves to reinvent their band again and again in an effort to remain a relevant group that by now has crossed musical, geographical, ideological, and even technological and chronological boundaries.

It happened during the first minutes of 1990 in a concert U2 offered in their native Dublin. At the dawn of the new decade, Bono surprised everyone when right from the stage said it was time to “Go away and dream it all over again… To forget about the past and celebrate the future.” After a couple of years of silence they returned with Achtung Baby, an album widely recognized as even better than their Joshua Tree, and they embarked on an extravagant and media-intoxicated world tour called ZOO TV, that unlike the simplicity of their shows in the eighties transformed the standard of rock and pop shows in something never seen before.

Thirty-six video screens combined images of the band playing live, satellite connections and flashing text phrases with ironic, almost subliminal, messages. Colorful Trabant cars -The sign of failed communism- hung from the stage to serve not only as an important décor element, but as the lighting system foundation, and a smaller stage placed right in the middle of the crowd allowed by the first time that intimate approach every artist seeks with the fans. The whole stage and show was designed to instill a sensory overload in its audience to show the scope and manipulation of mass media.

For their next tour, PopMart, U2 invested several million dollars to develop a new technology experiment that eventually became an article of common use: The LED screen. The result of this venture was not only one of the first screens of this type, but the largest at the time with 170 feet wide and 56 feet high. This colossal screen was placed behind the stage to project animations and footage of the band playing live. The next tour, Elevation, presented a fully minimalist stage design whose main intention was to put the audience in the middle of the show and as close as possible to the band. During the Vertigo Tour the essence of proximity to the public was preserved and the technological highlight consisted of seven retractable see-through LED based bead curtains that projected images and text without obstructing the view of the band playing live.

Between 2009 and 2011 their 360-degree Tour travelled around the globe with a massive structure 167 feet high holding the audio system and a cylindrical screen, the stage was surrounded by a circular ramp and bridges hovering over the crowd. The 360-degree design and placement of the stage towards the center of the stadium allowed to increase up to 25% the capacity, which helped make this tour the most watched show in history with 7.2 million tickets sold worldwide and the most commercially successful with $736 million in sales; figures that beat the historic Rolling Stones who were en route at the same time.

So after almost 40 years of career, nearly 1200 concerts throughout the world, but especially after that long reputation of best live rock band, for their new tour called Innocence + Experience which launched last May 14 in Vancouver and recently offered five shows in Los Angeles, of which I witnessed three, this time U2 decided to start their new show illuminated only by a single and simple light bulb. The intention according to Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry is to bring the audience to the late seventies Dublin, the city where their career began by playing in school gymnasiums and small clubs when they were just four teenagers unable to perform songs from famous bands, so they had to make their own. The town with loyal friends who have accompanied them for years, friends that in Bono’s words were already there when they found the first loves and the first fights in the playground. That old Dublin that contrasted the innocence of childhood and youth with the violence of an ancient conflict that used violent terrorist acts, in which innocent people lost their lives grotesquely by simply being in the wrong place and time.

And once again, technology that in the future will surely become so common and obsolete, as the LED TV's in our living rooms, helps U2 to bring the audience throughout this autobiographical journey in which they present their new album Songs of Innocence along with hits from their near and distant glorious past, and to prevent monotony they replace around five songs from one night to another, occasionally surprising the crowd with something they have not played in many years.

Regarding the new stage the first thing that stands out is that there is no better or worse place to appreciate the show, just a different view of it. And as the night goes on, the crowd is surprised to find out there are actually four stages that U2 uses throughout the nearly two and a half hours they play.

The first is a traditional stage they call "I" for "Innocence," the second is a small circular stage in the opposite end of the arena, which because of its lighting they called "E" for "Experience." Connecting these two stages there is a catwalk that Bono, Adam and The Edge use to perform just inches away from the fans, and that it turns into a third stage when the whole band performs an extraordinary new version of their hit Sunday Bloody Sunday. High above the catwalk a huge screen projects images to both sides of the venue, and it is on this screen where we can find the fourth stage and one of the greatest innovations that make this show spectacular, because it doesn’t just projects images, it also allows U2 to get inside and play live from the very middle. And combining their live presence with animations especially prepared for each song, the show takes the crowd to the places where Bono grew up and honors the memory of the people killed in the worst terrorist attack in Ireland’s history.

The second major innovation of this tour is found in the way they are managing the audio, because they have placed the speaker system on an elliptical framework hung from the venue’s roof. This ensures that every space in the arena receive the same quality and sound level. Historically, in every concert the audience near the stage was so close to the speakers that sound could be deafening, and those in the back rows were not close enough to receive the optimum audio. But with this new method, which is sure to become the standard, you can hear with great clarity and sharpness every instrument and voice regardless of the location and cost of the ticket.

Writing about the band and their quality of execution would be redundant. Fortunately that obsession with relevance continues to drive their search for new ways to reinvent themselves and to go where no one has gone before. And despite that early youth they seek to rediscover with this new album and tour was left behind many years ago, they still have the raw energy and vitality that turned them into “Rock’s Hottest Ticket” and not even the number of incidents that have accompanied the band in recent months... The door that was completely torn away in a private flight with Bono aboard last November, the catastrophic cycling accident four days later that left Bono with titanium plates and unable to play guitar, the overly criticized and controversial free launch of their new album via Apple, the dead of Larry’s father the same week of the start of this tour, The Edge accidentally falling off the stage at the end of the opening night in Vancouver, or the sudden death of their tour manager on May 27, have managed to overshadow what already is another great tour in U2’s history.