El-e-va-tion
// September 14th, 2009 // No Comments » // Concerts
U2 was amazing last night. It was the first time I’ve seen them and also the first time I had really experienced a ‘stadium concert’. I’ve seen Plant/Page, Mc Cartney, No Doubt, and the Purple Midget but those shows have mostly been within the confines of a concert venue or inside an arena. Nothing short of maybe a Pink Floyd concert would have prepared me for what we saw last night.
The concert was set up in a typical theatre-in-the round with the stage slightly off-center from mid-field. Above the stage: a giant canopy of speakers, lights and video screens. If you think Soldier Field looks like a space ship from the outside, the stage made it look as if the aliens had come home to roost.
One thing that was very clear is that Bono loves Chicago. U2 chose Chicago as the opening act of their new tour, they referenced the city and locations within several times in the songs, and even had Chicago-themed merchandise at the concessions (in Bears colors, of course). The most expensive item being a customized Bears-looking football jacket clocking in at $200.
The set list was a mix of classics and a number of new songs from ‘No Line on the Horizon’. The show lasted over 2 hours and left me wanting more. I was disappointed that Pride didn’t make an appearance. You can’t have everything, though. Would I go again? Definitely! Would I break down and get that jacket the next time? Ummm… probably not.
