2015-10-25 - London
Tour: Innocence and Experience tour
Songs played: 26
Audio recordings: 1
  1. Third night will come soon too, multiple sources confirmed already.
  2. Can't wait to relive it!! Thanks to the tapers in advance, however you may be
  3. Third night might even have an IEM recording...
  4. Another great night at The O2. Managed to get a spot on the e-stage on Adam's side. Second row but plenty of space to see (and be seen). Met Joe before the show, a very nice chap. Also met the fans around me who spotted the U2start flag. One girl (I forget her name now), from Italy, was making a 'Shine Like Stars' sign and I said to her that it's about time we heard it and that I hope he sees the sign.

    As things filled up I started to realise that my view of the main stage was becoming increasingly more restricted. Once the show started I didn't see much of the first four songs apart from a lot of hands and bright flashing lights. It's still a lot of fun though. Bono's introduction to the band as a circus was fun, they really do seem to be enjoying London at the moment. Until The End Of The World was the highlight of the first half. As Tim pointed out above, Bono brought back the horns for the fans on the other side and then crouched down right in front of us for his routine with The Edge. For the second time now I've been splashed by Bono, such fun!


    The Real Thing got everyone pumped again in the second half, and then it's time for a full band e-stage. I enjoyed hearing desire again and was fully expecting Angel of Harlem to appear. But no, another first for me with All I Want Is You. I loved it. Nice to see Bono take his glasses off too! Every Breaking Wave is best enjoyed when on the e-stage where you can feel the intimacy of the performance. Bono was again on top form last night, delivering the long notes with power. October was a fantastic example, the transition to Bullet one of the best I've heard. I am so glad that they have put Bullet back in the sets and that it made its way from the North American shows to Europe. Such a powerful song and now part of a great little set.

    Pride again had everyone on their feet, and while it's not one I look forward to every night, it does somehow manage to drag me in. I turned around at the end of Pride to see a girl crying her eyes out, wow. I turned around again during the intro to With Or Without You and realised it was the Italian girl that I met at the start. I was really hoping for Shine Like Stars now. On it went, building up to the moment and then "Yeeeaaah we'll shine like stars in the summer night..."! Amazing! Almost wanted to cry myself. I had to turn around and celebrate that one.


    The encore was fairly standard. It struck me early on in City Of Blinding Lights that not many seemed too interested in it, including myself. However, when The Edge and Adam came up to the e-stage during the song I soon perked up. Adam can around to our side and stood right in front of us, looked down and I really do think he spotted my t-shirt that read 'AUG. 14, 2009' as he smiled down into my direction. Beautiful Day was great, the snippets were about as good as I could ask for. Always loved Blackbird (snippet). One was fine, I don't mind a singalong. Really liked the end though with the band walking off and leaving Bono to orchestrate a snippet of Hold Me Close and then leaving the stage as the crowd tried to sing it themselves.


    As Waterloo Sunset was playing over the PA, I found my Shine Like Stars buddy and gave her a high-five. I don't know if Bono saw her sign or if she held it up, but he sang it! The energy around me was excellent again. It made for a really enjoyable night. Such a shame that there's only two left, I don't want this experience to end.
  5. Originally posted by BigGiRL:I L O V E D the periscope!

    Just to see that mega-happy face of Welsh Edge is just such a good way to start the day!
    And Tim's t-shirt!!! W O U W I'm so proud of you... and jealous with Adam giving you the 100 % smile! Ah well... it feels like smiling to me as well!

    Guys... you have made my day!


    Big girl with a BIG smile

    #socantwaitforlondon6

    Thanks Joyce, looking forward to having you on as a guest! I'll be wearing my Adam t-shirt again for London 6 I think. Forgot to thank you in the Periscope for the design. So: Thank you!

  6. Just one of the hundered or so pics I took last night....Great gig my first of the tour loved the first half all the new songs are great live..
  7. My Night 3 on U2T will put it on DIME later, night 4 will go up tomorrow.

    Cheers

    Chatts99
  8. Originally posted by iTim:Another great night at The O2. Managed to get a spot on the e-stage on Adam's side. Second row but plenty of space to see (and be seen). Met Joe before the show, a very nice chap. Also met the fans around me who spotted the U2start flag. One girl (I forget her name now), from Italy, was making a 'Shine Like Stars' sign and I said to her that it's about time we heard it and that I hope he sees the sign.

    As things filled up I started to realise that my view of the main stage was becoming increasingly more restricted. Once the show started I didn't see much of the first four songs apart from a lot of hands and bright flashing lights. It's still a lot of fun though. Bono's introduction to the band as a circus was fun, they really do seem to be enjoying London at the moment. Until The End Of The World was the highlight of the first half. As Tim pointed out above, Bono brought back the horns for the fans on the other side and then crouched down right in front of us for his routine with The Edge. For the second time now I've been splashed by Bono, such fun!

    [image]
    The Real Thing got everyone pumped again in the second half, and then it's time for a full band e-stage. I enjoyed hearing desire again and was fully expecting Angel of Harlem to appear. But no, another first for me with All I Want Is You. I loved it. Nice to see Bono take his glasses off too! Every Breaking Wave is best enjoyed when on the e-stage where you can feel the intimacy of the performance. Bono was again on top form last night, delivering the long notes with power. October was a fantastic example, the transition to Bullet one of the best I've heard. I am so glad that they have put Bullet back in the sets and that it made its way from the North American shows to Europe. Such a powerful song and now part of a great little set.

    Pride again had everyone on their feet, and while it's not one I look forward to every night, it does somehow manage to drag me in. I turned around at the end of Pride to see a girl crying her eyes out, wow. I turned around again during the intro to With Or Without You and realised it was the Italian girl that I met at the start. I was really hoping for Shine Like Stars now. On it went, building up to the moment and then "Yeeeaaah we'll shine like stars in the summer night..."! Amazing! Almost wanted to cry myself. I had to turn around and celebrate that one.

    [image]
    The encore was fairly standard. It struck me early on in City Of Blinding Lights that not many seemed too interested in it, including myself. However, when The Edge and Adam came up to the e-stage during the song I soon perked up. Adam can around to our side and stood right in front of us, looked down and I really do think he spotted my t-shirt that read 'AUG. 14, 2009' as he smiled down into my direction. Beautiful Day was great, the snippets were about as good as I could ask for. Always loved Blackbird (snippet). One was fine, I don't mind a singalong. Really liked the end though with the band walking off and leaving Bono to orchestrate a snippet of Hold Me Close and then leaving the stage as the crowd tried to sing it themselves.

    [image]
    As Waterloo Sunset was playing over the PA, I found my Shine Like Stars buddy and gave her a high-five. I don't know if Bono saw her sign or if she held it up, but he sang it! The energy around me was excellent again. It made for a really enjoyable night. Such a shame that there's only two left, I don't want this experience to end.
    Thanks for the review Tim. Nice to meet you last night, great to sew the flag. My highlight was being closer to the band than even my first gigs in 1984...amazing. What a show close up...and you had to be of a certain age to get those David Essex and Gilbert O'Sullivan snippets which I am !
  9. Thanks for coming to say hi, Edi. It was good to meet you! That's what I love about this setup, the close proximity to the band. There's no need to stand in a line for 12 hours to get the front row. And with the band playing fairly evenly across the whole stage, you rarely miss out on the action. Good to read you enjoyed it!
  10. Just wanted to post my thoughts on the two shows I went to.

    Wow, that was something else. I really enjoyed Glasgow in 2009 but London 1 and 2 completely blew it out of the water, those two nights last week were among the best gigs I've ever witnessed. I couldn't believe the energy of the first four songs, incredible that they still have that fire after all these years. The new songs, whilst admittedly getting a much more tame reaction from the crowd, were performed really well (Iris really connected with me) and the screen is even more impressive in person. The second half of the show is just so much FUN; I finally got to hear Mysterious Ways (after bringing a 'will play bass' sign in 2009 and it not even being played) and was chuffed to hear Sweetest Thing, AoH and Desire...despite the issues with static setlists everything is forgotten when you're actually there. EBW and October felt so intimate and the new iteration of Bullet is one of the best things they've ever done IMO.

    Now then...Streets has been my favourite song ever since I first really started getting in to music (I'm 26 now) and I consider myself a much bigger fan than was I first saw U2. I'm not normally one for mush at gigs but I'll happily admit to getting misty eyed when that intro kicked in, completely overwhelming in the best way possible! Hearing One (another very meaningful song for me) and Noel on ISHFWILF was a top way to end both nights, I don't think I stopped smiling all night.

    Best of all, I took a friend who was previously nowhere near what you'd consider even a casual fan, he was so impressed and is now well and truly converted. Now if only they'd come back to the UK for a second leg!