5th July Katowice - Slaski Stadium

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U2 in Poland 05/07/2005

What a show!Last time i saw U2 it was during Popmart Tour eight years ago in Poland but this concert was far better.We had two supports befor U2 hit the stage: The Magic Numbers (i would describe them as folk band - they played really well) and The Killers (obviously a good band but it wasn't their best show - the sound was awful). U2 entered the stage at 21.15 while Arcade Fire was played on PA.Hello! Hello! and they started with Vertigo as usual on European leg and then I Will Follow and Electric Co.During New Year's Day all people at the stadium formed giant red and white polish flag which looked incredible.I think Bono was told that we were going to do this becouse he also changed his jacket and wore the red one to join us. It was a great moment. Bono's voice was strong throughout the whole concert. I think sometimes he got carried away by atmosphere created both by band and us and sang beautifully and the band also played with such a power.We sang as loud as we could sometimes even louder than Bono himself which I think he really liked.One lucky girl was picked to join him during All I Want Is You and the oher girl was asked to translate a story about the late Pope John Paul II he wanted to tell us but she failed. She admitted that she didn't know english and just wanted to get on stage. She was given Bono's sunglasses (lucky one!!!).There were so many highlights for me that it is hard for me to choose one. Especially moving was the moment they showed us articles of Human Rights Declaration during Running To Stand Still and right after that they exploded with Pride and everybody just gone mad.Zoo Station The Fly and With Or Without You were great as well as Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own dedicated to Bob Hewson - a really moving moment.I also liked the new version of Bullet with new Edge's solo - not so aggressive as on the previous tours but more gentle yet still very impressive.They played two encores ended with Yahweh and Vertigo and I have to tell you that I saw the smile on Larry's face as they were leaving.I drove 800 km to see taht gig and I would drive ten thousand more to see it again and hear again what Bono told us before One:'You are very special people and we are incredibly lucky to be in your company'.I don't have to tell you what was crowd's reaction to that.We ended singing Happy Birthday to God on Bono's request. Best concert in my life. Best band.Bono Larry Adam The Edge.The secret is yourself.
 
wow! it was a beautiful day or rather a beautiful night! though even an hour before the time when U2 were supposed to come out, i was not sure whether their concert would take place at all. it was raining so much and there was no roof over the stage. fortunately, about half an hour before the concert rain stopped to fall and when U2 started to play, the audience forgot very soon about their wet clothes :wink: .

i have to warn you that i can't be very objective in my review as it was my first U2 concert in life. my dream finally came true so i simply loved the show and was happy to listen any song that Bono & Co. were ready to play :). and of course i would love to hear for example 'Bad', 'Crumbs', something from 'Pop' and many more but i love U2 almost in their entirety so for me yesterday's setlist was as good as would be (almost) any other. and the band seemed to be on a very good form (Bono's voice as well). the only thing that sometimes bothered me was the fact that during some songs guitars were jamming Bono's vocal quite a lot.

but maybe the best thing on yesterday's concert was the atmosphere. the audience was awesome practically on the whole stadium - very spontaneous and in great interaction with the band. all the time people were singing, jumping, clapping and waving together. wow! i loved it. and i almost lost my voice ;).

probably the most memorable moment of the concert was during 'New Year's Day'. as you know, Bono wrote this song inspired by the things that were happing in the beginning of 1980s in Poland and especially by the Solidarity movement. so this song has a very special meaning for the Polish fans. couple of weeks before the concert Polish U2 fanclub made a spontaneous action in the internet asking all the people coming for the U2 concert to bring something red and white to wave when U2 will be playing 'New Year's Day'. People on the GA were supposed to wave with someting red and people on the grandstands were supposed to wave with something white so the stadium was to look as gigantic Polish flag. in this way we wanted to thank U2 for coming to play in Poland. i was sceptical if it would work but in fact it did! and the effect was stunning :drool: hope somebody took photo of that. it looked so amazing. when Bono noticed what was happening he was really surprised and moved. great moment!

it was an awesome night and you could tell that from the smiling eyes of the people leaving the stadium after the concert. mine were similing as well... Thank you U2!
 
I read about the flag thing during New year's day :up:

I wonder how it came about? How did you get involved and how did they get all the ppl to join in?

Something similar was tried here in Belgium (wearing white bands) and that was hard enough to get to the ppl in the front stage zone.

I saw the pic on u2.com and it sure looked great !
 
congrats on your firts post here Q!!

It must have been a very special moment,esp during New year's day.

There is a pic from the red & white audience up on u2.com (homepage)
 
It got around by word of mouth, so to say. I guess someone on a Polish U2 website came up with the idea, but they really thought it would be too late to organize it (it all started about 2 weeks before the show). But people began spreading the news - even here, on Interference - across the net, via mobiles etc. A few days before the concert the media began talking about it and encouraging people to bring red or white pieces of clothing or scarves. From what I know, some people from Interference (Croats and Brits) said they would join in. And so it happened, and it worked. Truly amazing. There were a few American next to us and I could see they were moved by the sight, though before we explained the whole thing to them they didn't quite understand what was going on.
 
bonos reaction was really spontaneous, he
didnt know about our plan, he was so moved on that he took off his jacket, turned it inside out and put it back on to show the red lining inside. he also bowed what you can see on u2.com,
about the show:brilliant, amazing, many suprising moments, seeing the band really enjoing the show(for example Adam smiled very often when he was on catwalk one meter from me:))
very touching moment before the miracle drug, before one with Solidarity sign, shown by Bono to te Audience, it was such a perfect show that i cant imagine better. about bonos voice it was so strong and soaring that i couldn believe. during zoo tv set i was going nuts like a mad.
one more time polish flag looked brilliant!!!you should see it, hope for dvd....
 
It was an incredible night! In some moments I had tears in my eyes. It was so emotional! Bono was really surprised by the red/white thing and it was really wonderful when he danced with that lucky girl! Bono was very surprised and moved by that polish flag that we did during New Year's Day. It was really amazing! What more I can say? I will never forget that night! And fans around me, Slovakians, Czech and Polish, we all thought and we still think that after Yahweh, as Bono ran to The Edge, he wanted the band to play not Vertigo for the second time but some other song. We thought it would be bad or 40, but then we saw Edge telling something to Bono, itlooked like there was some problem, that caused not change the plan and play something other. So the didn't change the plan and played Vertigo, but it was still great great great!! Magical night!!!
 
Re: U2 in Poland 05/07/2005

Porter said:
We ended singing Happy Birthday to God on Bono's request.

Really? It was to God?
Cause I was at the concert but didn't quite get what Bono said... I thought he sang some name starting with M...
And before that he said that one of his friends who is here today has a birthday...

Don't know...

It was a really great concert. When the Killers finished I was all wet, but as soon as Vertigo started I felt so much heat around, and by the end of the concert I was totally dry. No cold or anything either, Magic, I tell you! :wink:
 
Oh, and I must mention how I never saw The Edge so wild during his Electric Co. solo!! He was :rockon:

Maybe, but just maybe, in some songs the Edge's guitar was mixed to loud. On All I Want Is You, in example..
 
it was the most amazing concert i've ever been in my life! thanks for the poland audience, they were fantastic! I was happy to be there in the forth line front of the stage...

I made some short video again just like in dublin 1-2 and vin ienna. As soon as I can i upload them

I took some pix as well:

100_0825.jpg


100_0802.jpg


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katowice.jpg
 
sometmies you can't make it

there's one more thing I recall now. when Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own was finished Bono said something like: but I don't want you back, we would still fight, this is goodbye.He obviously said that to his father.I wonder if he always says those words at the end of this song.
 
Re: sometmies you can't make it

Porter said:
there's one more thing I recall now. when Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own was finished Bono said something like: but I don't want you back, we would still fight, this is goodbye.He obviously said that to his father.I wonder if he always says those words at the end of this song.

yes, he does sing those additional words just about every time. he is quoting another song "no regrets."

"there's no regrets. no tears goodbye. i don't want you back. we'd only cry again. say goodbye again."
 
Hellou Everybody,
we are looking for any videos of U2 show in Wien, Chorzow and Munchen, for our U2 DVD projects (especially for Wien and Chorzow), every video is welcome, we need any DV cam or foto-cam quality videos, so if you could help us , please let me know to my email. If somebody send me a video of u2 shows will finally glad for the multicam DVD of u2show (Wien, CHorzow..)
Many thanks for your help best regards.
sjoa@centrum.cz


PS: zsuzso - you wrote you own some videos, I'll be glad to have them, please email me, thanks a lo!!!
 
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