rplace Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Hey all, have not been around much lately been pretty busy but had to stop in an throw in my $0.02 on my latest concert experience. If you don't like U2 or have a beef with their off stage antics take your hating elsewhere.[] I am here to tell you all that if you have a chance to see them this time around do yourself a favor and scrounge up a ticket. If you care about great sound and an equally great show check them out. Due to the crazy ticket prices and ticket master fees I was expecting a lot....I was already gearing up to be disappointed but they did not falter. I saw them in FedEx field just outside of D.C. along with 80K others. Not a huge fan of big stadium shows so another reason I was expecting to be let down. Man did they deliver. To start off we arrived in the parking lot over 5 hours early and there was a fantastic, easy going, friendly vibe all over. Smoked some chicken on the grill and had a couple of really nice beers while we hung out and talked to all around us. Lucky for us we had a beautiful fall day. Come concert time the crowd around us was just as cool, very friendly and no overdose of testosterone to be found. I saw pre-teens with their parents and a woman that was at least 65...very cool. Nobody sat down for the entire show and the crowd was electric. The sound was absolutely killer, the set list full of favorites and new cuts from No Line on the Horizon and two encores, with two and three songs each. The stage, lights and video screen was out of this world. I can't even begin to describe it. It has to be seen to be believed. I am still amazed how good it sounded for such a large venue. I did read that the cheap seats way up top had a lot of echoes and distortion. I feel bad for those people, truly I do because from where I was sitting it was great. I managed to get some decent pix considering it was just a point and shoot pocket digi-cam. I'll throw up a few at the end of this post. I know there are several forum members in driving distance. Did anyone else catch the FedEx show on 9/29? I'd be interested to read what you thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 What a crazy elaborate stage set up . I saw the Zoo Tour many years ago and was impressed by the band . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Our daughter drove to Chicago with her girlfriends and saw them last month, She's 30 and said it was the best concert she's ever been to. - Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 ...said it was the best concert she's ever been to. - Glenn I totally agree. Knowing what I know now I would have taken the week off and gone down the east coast seeing them in NJ, DC, CVille Va, and NC. I am shocked at how few dates they are playing in the US. Just 14 cities and 17 nights. Granted they are big statiums, but I just read today that they have not made any money on the tour. From article:With tickets selling for as much as $250 (plus surcharges) on ticketmaster you might think U2 made enough money to last a lifetime, but that is far from true. The concert has yet to turn a profit. With $300 million in ticket sales to date the tour has yet to break even according to the band's manager Paul McGuinness. Even when the band has a night off the production still costs $750,000 per day. Here is the breakdown: 200 trucks for crew, equipment, merchandise, catering etc. 500 staff members on payroll 3 stages (each shaped like a giant claw) each requiring 37 trucks 70,000 miles over 2 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 One of my favorite bands. They have a couple great sounding DVD concerts out also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I have PDH as a friend on facebook. He has some really cool 360 tour pics in his photo albums. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28997&id=1388541555 JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Thanks for the report and photos Rich! Yeah, that outfit is ginormous. Reminds me of some of the old Yes rigs (Relayer tour and that era) but far larger and even more menacing. I suppose one of the design ideas was to make everything freestanding so they didn't have to count on any outside support or rigging. The sound system is mammoth and is said to deliver the same high quality sound to every seat in the house 'in the round' no less. U2 have always been masters of staging and production and this is certainly their coup de grace in that department. Ticket price worth every buck in my book. Wish I were closer or I'd have seen one (how did I miss Chicago?). Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted October 8, 2009 Author Share Posted October 8, 2009 JM, pardon my ignorance but who is PDH. I am sort of anit-facebook...not really sure why but I am. I can't see the pix with out logging in. Any chance you can sang a few and share them? Michael, you would have loved the show. Too bad you missed the Chicago gig. I saw an amazing photo form there...let me see if I can find it. Pretty cool no? Looks like the forum cuts it off. Much better here http://media.u2.com/non_secure/images/splash/US360_3.jpg So no one from MD, PA, VA, DC on the forum made the FedEx field gig? I thought for sure one of you would have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Paul David Hewson.... or better known as Bono. Here are a few pics from behind the scenes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 picture of the base Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 traveling in style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 truck fleet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 convoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 vid production truck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 led breakout screen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 led closeup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 serious rigging / engineering [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 on with the sho. Way cool [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 JM, thanks so much. Great pix! I really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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