HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By Julie Rowe
2005.05
The Vertigo Tour blazed its way into Canada last Thursday with the first of two sold out Vancouver shows, and it may be a tough act to follow. The band was on fire from the first song to the ending, maybe due to the fact that the show was being filmed for the upcoming "City of Blinding Lights" video.
The set list didn't depart much from what was played in Seattle, but the delivery had more momentum and all the time spent rehearsing the tour at GM Place clearly resulted in improved sound quality. The band opened with upcoming single "City Of Blinding Lights," the video for which had been shot at GM Place the night before. "Stories For Boys," "Gloria," and "The Ocean," were the three older songs the band chose. I don't think there's a U2 fan out there whose pulse doesn't leap when they hear those first drumbeats of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" live, and combining it with "Love and Peace or Else" has been working out great. Bono's feverish drumming had the sticks flying into the air during this pair, so he must have been feeling it, too.
"Bad" was still in the set list before "Pride" and "Where the Streets Have No Name." During "One" Bono said, "We wanted to lead Canada and the world out of despair and poverty. This is our prayer and we are more powerful when we work together as one." As though to demonstrate this, five audience members wearing One.org T-shirts joined him onstage at the end of the song.
During the rest of the songs from "Achtung Baby," a sign was visible on the outside of the Ellipse, reading: "I Just Ditched My Wheelchair. Will You Dance With Me?" How could Bono resist that? Ramona Satar, 29, of Kelowna, B.C. joined Bono onstage minutes later for a quick dance and a big hug, and yes, a whole new kind of wardrobe malfunction, but Bono thought fast and saved the day by replacing the wayward clothing.
After "All Because Of You," Bono and Edge were seen whispering to each other. Bono then said, "This is dedicated to an extraordinary woman who is here tonight. Her family founded Greenpeace," and with that the band launched into "Original Of The Species." The capacity crowd was on it's feet the entire time, and apparently the band was as pleased with the show as it's fans were. Just before ending with "40," Bono said, "Thank you for this, a great night."
2005.05
The Vertigo Tour blazed its way into Canada last Thursday with the first of two sold out Vancouver shows, and it may be a tough act to follow. The band was on fire from the first song to the ending, maybe due to the fact that the show was being filmed for the upcoming "City of Blinding Lights" video.
The set list didn't depart much from what was played in Seattle, but the delivery had more momentum and all the time spent rehearsing the tour at GM Place clearly resulted in improved sound quality. The band opened with upcoming single "City Of Blinding Lights," the video for which had been shot at GM Place the night before. "Stories For Boys," "Gloria," and "The Ocean," were the three older songs the band chose. I don't think there's a U2 fan out there whose pulse doesn't leap when they hear those first drumbeats of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" live, and combining it with "Love and Peace or Else" has been working out great. Bono's feverish drumming had the sticks flying into the air during this pair, so he must have been feeling it, too.
"Bad" was still in the set list before "Pride" and "Where the Streets Have No Name." During "One" Bono said, "We wanted to lead Canada and the world out of despair and poverty. This is our prayer and we are more powerful when we work together as one." As though to demonstrate this, five audience members wearing One.org T-shirts joined him onstage at the end of the song.
During the rest of the songs from "Achtung Baby," a sign was visible on the outside of the Ellipse, reading: "I Just Ditched My Wheelchair. Will You Dance With Me?" How could Bono resist that? Ramona Satar, 29, of Kelowna, B.C. joined Bono onstage minutes later for a quick dance and a big hug, and yes, a whole new kind of wardrobe malfunction, but Bono thought fast and saved the day by replacing the wayward clothing.
After "All Because Of You," Bono and Edge were seen whispering to each other. Bono then said, "This is dedicated to an extraordinary woman who is here tonight. Her family founded Greenpeace," and with that the band launched into "Original Of The Species." The capacity crowd was on it's feet the entire time, and apparently the band was as pleased with the show as it's fans were. Just before ending with "40," Bono said, "Thank you for this, a great night."
