“Welcome back! Fucking right!”
It took a wee while to get there, but Melbourne eventually shook off its inhibitions at what was a storming gig last night.
I was treated to a taste of pre-show pampering. My old housemate Aileen is currently living and working in Sydney for a year. Her company had organised a corporate event at the Etihad Stadium before the concert last night, and she generously invited me along. It was held in a plush, cosy executive box that overlooked the field, although thick black curtains had been drawn across the open window, probably for soundproofing against echoes. We were indulged with very snazzy hot and cold buffets, and a lot of booze. I could get used to quaffing oysters and champagne before a U2 concert.
My gig ticket was for the cheap seats behind the stage, but I was able to blag onto the field because the silver wristband for the corporate event looked very similar to the white wristband people on the field had. (Fans on the field had to go through the seats to access the loos.). The field for Aussie rules football is a massive circle, far bigger than other football fields (soccer, rugby, American or Gaelic) so there was acres of space around the sides. I saw the first hour of the show from a spot about two thirds back.
It was a slightly topsy-turvy start to the show as Adam took up position on Edge’s side of the stage, whilst Edge cruised the outer stage in the opposite direction to Bono during Stingray Guitar. Bono greeted the crowd with a simple “G’day” at the end of the song.
I’ve often wondered what the average ratio is of fanatical U2 fans to casual daytrippers at concerts. It’s the difference between fans who go to participate and those who go to observe. From my initial position it seemed like there were far more casual observers. Many people on the field stood and watched, those in the seats sat and watched. This meant that there were two cheers at the start of many songs: the first when the fanatics recognised the opening notes, and a secondary cheer when others spotted it. This was most noticeable at the start of Beautiful Day when the secondary cheer after Bono sang “Your heart is in bloom” was far louder.
The observers were also noticeable during Elevation and Mysterious Ways when many people didn’t bother joining in with the pogoing or hands-waving parts. The crowd seemed very reserved initially, almost quite, ahem, pommy (English) in their responses.
I actually felt a blast of frustration with the crowd around me during what was one of the most magical combos on the tour: Mercy then Bad. I was thinking of all the passionate U2 fans around the world and what they would give to see this magical pair at their show. It completely passed most of the audience by. “What a fucking waste” was my first reaction when the bleeps of Bad started to almost no response from the crowd on the field and in the seats near me. This is U2 playing Bad people! Don’t youse know this song?!
I also thought it was going to be a relatively shambolic version of Bad, in that Bono instantly cut Edge’s guitar solo short. But Bono had a plan: he just wanted to join in. He grabbed a guitar and played along with Edge, and drove the song into the solo with a new melody and new intensity. It sounded experimental, perhaps it was under rehearsed, but it still had that enchanting depth that we all dive into.
Random observation: In A Little While had new home video footage of a boy dreaming of space travel – was it a young Commander de Winn?
My knees and feet were suffering from not having sat down all day, and after a night of not enough sleep, so I lazily moved back up to my seat behind the stage after Miss Sarajevo.
The Mercy – Bad – In A Little While – Miss Sarajevo arrangement is really for big U2 fans, and probably killed momentum for more casual fans. So everyone in the block around me was seated except for a few girls who just had to dance.
However the next combination of songs was perfect to re-engage casual fans and remind them forcefully that they were at a U2 concert. It was fascinating to watch the increasing spread of response from fans on the field, and how the songs gradually overcame the reserve of people in the seats. (I must confess that whilst I was loving the show, it was in a drunk, knackered, detached, and prefer-to-stay-seated-myself manner.)
COBL had more people on the field waving during the chorus, but there wasn’t much waving from my section. Many people around me were dancing whilst seated during Vertigo, although the field now looked fully re-engaged. Crazy Tonight lifted more seaters to their feet. And then Sunday Bloody Sunday raised many others to rock out.
Random observation: it was funny to see Jay Z being driven to and from the stage in a little golf-cart.
After One, there was a gorgeous, spine-tingling, choir-like sing-a-long to Amazing Grace. And then Streets did what Streets does best and had the whole stadium unified into a collective peak. People were standing, singing, waving and roaring. Melbourne had shaken off its reserve and was finally jumping to U2 live.
“Welcome back! Fucking right!” roared Bono victoriously, seeing the triumphant response.
Champagne and oysters all round!
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great review cathalmc
But it was great to hear it live.
).
!! Cheers!
Why must they confiscate the lids?
