blogtrot

We’re not going to disagree with the statement that BC Place might be the absolute worst venue for a music act. But, hot damn, if U2 didn’t try their hardest to prove BC wrong. They put on one helluva show, and BlogTrot was there. Let’s be perfectly clear, U2 is one of the biggest, if not the biggest act on the planet. Their opening act, The Black Eyed Peas, likely hold the distinction of most overrated irritating act of the modern day. So, don’t email and ask us how, ‘Boom, Boom, Pow’ was. How other cities get Muse, Elbow, or the Kaiser Chiefs and we get stuck with a couple of trolls is beyond me.

U2 as they have on this tour seemed set to play their new material to open the show. We’re not so familiar with the tracks from their latest, ‘No Line On The Horizon’, and the ones that we have heard, weren’t that cracking. We didn’t even recognize Get On Your Boots until well into the song. Things quickly got to normal with a splash of funk, with the band playing Mysterious Ways. That started a pretty solid group of songs, classics for at least the next 5 or 6 songs. An absolute highlight of the show was roughly 65, 000 fans singing the first verse of I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Bono transitioning to a snippet of Stand By Me kept the goose bumps going. During this whole thing, you can’t help but marvel at the absolute beauty of a stage and light setup. A screen, and spaceship looking stage, complete with a moat, moving bridges a wraparound walkway makes us yearn for the dvd special feature or the Discovery Channel special on the setup itself.

Bono then led the crowd into singing Happy Birthday to Bill Gates who was in attendance, kinda cool. Something tells Gates wasn’t in the nosebleeds. Two encores, a whole lot of sing alongs, the pleasant surprises of hearing Stuck in a Moment, In A Little While, and City of Blinding Lights seemed to make up for not hearing Desire or Stay.

The only disappointment we can say about this one was the quality of sound on With or Without You, and the opening act. Otherwise, all in all a very strong show, and a band that was in great form for their last show of the year.

Setlist

Breathe

Get On Your Boots

Magnificent

Mysterious Ways

Beautiful Day / Blackbird (snippet)

I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / Stand By Me (snippet)

Happy Birthday

Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of

No Line On The Horizon

Elevation

In A Little While

Unknown Caller

Until The End Of The World

The Unforgettable Fire

City Of Blinding Lights

Vertigo

I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight / Two Tribes (snippet)

Sunday Bloody Sunday

MLK

Walk On / You’ll Never Walk Alone (snippet)

Encores: One / Amazing Grace (snippet)

Where The Streets Have No Name

Ultra Violet (Light My Way)

With Or Without You

Moment of Surrender