Tonight's gig will probably unfairly be remembered for the hiccups. Unfairly because the gig was very masssive, whilst the hiccups were either relatively small and unnoticeable (apparently there were some screen probs), or wildly appreciated by the audience and only ended up adding to the night instead of detracting from it (the restart of Vertigo).
U2 are human! U2 make mistakes! The errors only made the homage more personal and unique.
It was back to full-on 360 degrees after the 270 homecoming in Dublin and the windswept 350.5 in Gothenburg. The roof was closed but the crowd was open. Open to primal cheering, hearty singing and happy bopping.
It was a very familiar setlist by now, but the hyper crowd added their own unique twist. Elevation received a spontaneous additional accapela verse from Bono when the audience continued singing it after the band had finished. ISHFWILF had the German choir in full clappy flow.
Tonight easily ranks alongside Barca 1 and Dublin 1 in my personal favs from this tour. The band, and Bono especially, clearly feed off an up-for-it audience. Bono has the shaman's ability to create a frenzied atmosphere out of nothing on his own. But when he's handed one on a plate to work with ... Then he can work his real magic. Gelsenkirchen would have danced to his finger clicking. Tonight it danced to his vocal conducting.
The stage was a bit further out onto the pitch compared to other stadiums. When Bono was out on the edge of the walkway during City of Blinding Lights, he was almost right smack in the centre of the stadium. And right where he belongs. If you're going to orchestrate, do it in the middle of your maestros.
I naughtily changed block a couple of times during the show. The sound behind the stage was poor, only Bono and Edge's guitar really being discernible. But no-one else seemed to notice or care. The sound definitely improved after I moved, although the atmosphere was equally electric.
Today and yesterday I was wondering why U2 had chosen such a comparatively small place in Germany to play. I think I can see why now
U2 are human! U2 make mistakes! The errors only made the homage more personal and unique.
It was back to full-on 360 degrees after the 270 homecoming in Dublin and the windswept 350.5 in Gothenburg. The roof was closed but the crowd was open. Open to primal cheering, hearty singing and happy bopping.
It was a very familiar setlist by now, but the hyper crowd added their own unique twist. Elevation received a spontaneous additional accapela verse from Bono when the audience continued singing it after the band had finished. ISHFWILF had the German choir in full clappy flow.
Tonight easily ranks alongside Barca 1 and Dublin 1 in my personal favs from this tour. The band, and Bono especially, clearly feed off an up-for-it audience. Bono has the shaman's ability to create a frenzied atmosphere out of nothing on his own. But when he's handed one on a plate to work with ... Then he can work his real magic. Gelsenkirchen would have danced to his finger clicking. Tonight it danced to his vocal conducting.
The stage was a bit further out onto the pitch compared to other stadiums. When Bono was out on the edge of the walkway during City of Blinding Lights, he was almost right smack in the centre of the stadium. And right where he belongs. If you're going to orchestrate, do it in the middle of your maestros.
I naughtily changed block a couple of times during the show. The sound behind the stage was poor, only Bono and Edge's guitar really being discernible. But no-one else seemed to notice or care. The sound definitely improved after I moved, although the atmosphere was equally electric.
Today and yesterday I was wondering why U2 had chosen such a comparatively small place in Germany to play. I think I can see why now
Though it was the last time I brought my camera. Just don't want to be bothered with that stuff. 
OMG, Edge sucks, and so on. If you're there in person, it's actually just part of the show, nothing dramatic, in fact, it makes a live show even more "live", more vivid and dynamic. And it happend so fast and went over so fast, you don't even have time to think about it. You don't notice many details when you're actually there at the show because you're part of the atmosphere and the emotion. And I just think this is so much better than sitting at home bitching about little details that might have gone wrong during a show. I just like to make up my own mind and decide for myself whether a show was great FOR ME or not.
The setlist parties are just there to talk about the concert from the outside. But some people find it necessary to judge what's going on on the inside. Which is not possible, of course. So just like you, that frustrates me sometimes...
