I spent the evening with almost 90,000 others in Wembley Stadium seeing U2 on its 360° Tour. I was positioned just to the side of the stage, one level up, with a good view of "the Claw"--the immense staging above and around the band. Of course there is a tremendous history involving Wembley Stadium--at least the older version of this venue--and the band: U2's performance here at the "Live Aid" show 24 summers ago is what really vaulted the group into the rock stratosphere.
Musically, the highlights of tonight's show for me included two of my favorites from Achtung Baby: "Until The End Of The World" and "Ultraviolet." I also heard "The Unforgettable Fire" performed live for the first time since my very first U2 show in April 1985. (Three other songs from The Unforgettable Fire album--"Pride," "MLK," and "Bad" made the set list as well.) It was good to hear the tunes from the new album, too. I'm not sure I liked the dance remix of "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" as much as the original version, but the song that is sticking in my head after the concert is "Unknown Caller," which I hadn't paid much attention to before. That's one nice element of seeing a band live: getting to appreciate songs that I hadn't previously.
The set list:
Breathe
No Line On The Horizon
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Beautiful Day
Until The End Of The World
New Year's Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stay
Unknown Caller
Unforgettable Fire
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (Remix)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride (In The Name of Love)
MLK
Walk On
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
(Bad)encores:
Ultraviolet
With Or Without You
Moment Of Surrender
