Tour questions

Originally posted by djrlewis:[..]

bump

anyone?

Originally posted by germcevoy:[..]

all the fees and charges for anything in the world should be included in ticketmasters insane fees

Originally posted by djrlewis:[..]

hahaha....lol

I decided that the news people had mixed up the price variances due to sponsorship/extra seats and the Hot Press interview where Edge says that the fans probably generate as much CO2 attending the shows as they do putting them on.

Radio hocum....

Originally posted by TheAre U2 the last great rock'n'roll idealists?
They have always polarised opinion, but their position at the top of rock'n'roll has been pretty unassailable

The Observer, August 09, 2009
By: Luke Bainbridge



The huge 360-degree tour rolls into Wembley this Friday, boasting the biggest stadium stage set ever; twice the height of the previous largest, the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Band tour. But beneath the 164ft-high claw, questions hang over the future of this breed of stadium rock and its practitioners. It's not just from their legions of detractors; even the band seem to be reconsidering their position.

U2 have always polarised opinion, but their position at the top of rock'n'roll has been pretty unassailable. They have been together for 33 years and the biggest band in the world for nearly quarter of a century. It was at Wembley, 24 years ago, that they cemented their pre-eminence as true stadium superstars with a scene-stealing performance at Live Aid. Since then, they have seen off contenders. Throughout, they have strived to remain relevant, desperate not to become a heritage act.

There has also always been contradiction at the heart of U2. Rock'n'roll, convention has it, should be nonconformist. U2's rebellion was not to conform to that convention, eschewing angst for joy; unashamedly god fearing rather than expressing sympathy for the devil. But other contradictions have increasingly weighed heavier. "There are probably more annoying things than being hectored about African development by a wealthy Irish rock star in a cowboy hat," said Paul Theroux, "but I can't think of one at the moment." Those contradictions weren't helped by U2 moving part of their business to the Netherlands to reduce their tax burden.

In recent interviews, Bono has openly admitted how annoying he can be; it seems even he may have got a little tired of Bono. On their latest album, he has stepped away from the first person, shifting to writing in character. He still sings: "The right to be ridiculous is a right I hold dear", but acknowledges: "Beware of small men with big ideas."

The repositioning has sometimes been brazen. On Jonathan Ross, Bono explained how he "dodged" a hug from President Bush on stage at the National Prayer Breakfast, then sat down next to Barack Obama. "I was sitting beside Senator Obama, soon to be president, and he just said, 'Nice work with the hug dodge'."

A U2 gig is hard to surpass. But watching the show in Amsterdam last month, complete with a live link to the International Space Station, video message from Desmond Tutu and dedication to Aung San Suu Kyi, it felt like the most ambitious rock show ever and the last of a dying breed. It takes 120 trucks to transport the 390 ton stage and Carbonfootprint.com calculates the footprint of the tour would be equivalent to flying them to Mars and back. U2 are now planning to ask each American fan for an extra 50 cents , to help offset pollution, but it's clear such stadium tours are unsustainable or will become increasingly unacceptable.

Beneath it all, there seems to be a band still in thrall to the idea of rock'n'roll, still working out for themselves what it is, or can be, and how they may continue to exist within it. No Line on the Horizon entered the charts at No 1 in 30 countries but has sold less than any U2 album since 1997's disappointing Pop, the last time they were so publicly searching for their place in the ever-changing musical landscape.

For some, they are the last great band to insist rock music has some greater meaning. But how many people believe rock stars have all the answers any more?

(c) The Observer, 2009

Originally posted by iTim:How are the posters packaged at the stalls? And are stalls avaliable after the show or not?

Originally posted by iTim:How are the posters packaged at the stalls? And are stalls avaliable after the show or not?