A breezy and breathless night in the Cape Town last night, and a show to match. There were powerful winds tearing through the Mother City on Thursday, like two ocean gales having a scrap. (I was almost blown over backwards crossing a road whilst wearing my rucksacks.) Whilst the wind eased up on Friday, U2 created their own stadium-sized tornado. There were even a few inflated condoms comically billowing around the stadium during the show.
The second show was as intense and as enjoyable as the first, with Bono clearly revelling in performing to an African audience. All of the great African touches from the Joburg show were there.
Still Haven't Found got the biggest crowd reactions at the two African shows, where it's become even more of a mass invitation-participation party piece. Bono's themed band intro speeches set the happy tone, then by inviting the audience to sing the first verse he draws everyone into the party. For the second verse at the second show, U2 again invited a local musician onto the stage. Last week was a trumpeter, this week was a singer, Yvonne Chaka Chaka. Bono and Yvonne shared a microphone for the first few lines, I thought Bono was guiding her through the song as if he wasn't confident that she knew the words. She did know the words though, and she blasted through the last verse with incredibly tonsil-tearing gusto.
At the end of ISHFWILF Bono instantly launched into Stand By Me (there was a full moon over the stadium). Edge followed Bono's lead and started strumming, and Yvonne happily joined in the vocals. Adam and Larry watched the jam as usual. When Bono started the second verse, Adam turned to Larry, and they counted themselves in to join the party. The atmosphere cranked up yet another notch. It was a fabulous, fun, stadium singalong. U2 were just playing, jamming outside their restrictive, predictable set. It was a rare reminder of the incredible extra energy that U2 can bring to their music when they break the routine of an elaborate production to change it into a fresh, raw gig. (I haven't heard if Stand By Me was on the printed setlist, but it all looked spontaneous to me.)
Green Point stadium was hyperventilating after Stand By Me. Bono was pumped up by it and looked like he was going to call for another spontaneous song. Larry sat at his kit waiting to see what Bono would do. Then Edge started North Star, Bono said “ok”, and Larry got up from his drum stool. Curses! North Star is a lovely song, but it did bring everyone right back down again. If only Edge had given Bono a moment or two more then there could have been a second big spontaneous surprise.
Pride would have kept the breathless pace going. As it was, it wasn't their best version. Like at Wembley 1 in 2009, Larry inadvertently cut Pride short early, perhaps he forgot about the Mandela speech that had been cued on the video screen. Bono gestured to Edge to keep on playing and the whole band managed to almost seamlessly restart it to include the Mandela speech. (There was a curious moment during Pride when Edge looked quite concerned that one of the guitar amps behind him wasn't working. He climbed up to look at something on top of the amp and gestured urgently to Dallas. Dallas went below and returned quickly indicated that the problem could be with Edge's in-ear monitor.)
The gorgeous 'Questions' segue between Miss Sarajevo and City Of Blinding Lights is evolving into a medley of ambient intros from obscure U2 songs. The intro to Fez has now joined the intro to Zooropa. The video screen itself opened fully, and was only about two foot off the stage at full length (trapping U2 inside their own video screen) before closing a fraction at the start of COBL.
My one gripe about the show was during Scarlet. As in Johannesburg, Bono talked his way through the song without singing at all. It was stunning in Auckland when Bono sang it so powerfully; too much talking and no singing is spoiling its impact.
Bono made a short speech before Moment Of Surrender praising someone who has been involved in distributing retroviral drugs in South Africa. (I didn't catch the person's name.) When they heard the name, four people in front of me started screaming and bouncing excitedly as if they'd just won the National Lottery, Pop Idol and South Africa's Next Top Model rolled into one. They looked like they were teenagers, but 'old' teenagers. Perhaps it's inappropriate to speculate, but I couldn't help wonder if they had been recipients of the drugs. It was quite a humbling wakeup to consider that after hearing Bono thank the people in the Red Zones in America and Europe “for buying drugs for people with HIV in faraway places”, to perhaps be standing behind some of the people that the drugs had been bought for. The money, drugs and people Bono mentions before MoS at shows has always seemed abstract, elsewhere. Those four kids' joy at hearing someone's name last night was a clear reminder that the people involved are real - really real. (Actually, the girl that Bono brought onstage during IALW was holding a large yellow sign saying “HIV+ Music” or something which I couldn't quite fully read.)
After that little train of thought, Moment Of Surrender was far and away my favourite song of the night.
Oops, internet time is almost up. So two huge performances, and two huge successes in South Africa. Roll on South America!
Such a diva. 
