July 30, 2011 - Magnetic Hill, Moncton, New Brunswick, CA

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We stood up, but I think the people directly in front of us thought that they could see fine while sitting, so good for them, good for us.

One of the problems was the amount of sway the actual grandstands had during the concert. Didn't really notice it during Carney or Arcade Fire but once U2 took the stage, it was sort of like being on a ship during rough seas. My fiance and I stood up for the whole show (just a few parts where I had to sit because my feet were sore) but our friends sat for most of the show because they didn't like the way the grandstands were swaying. They still enjoyed the show tenfold, but for the most part.. I think people were sitting because of that dizzy feeling the movement of the grandstands gave us.
 
One of the problems was the amount of sway the actual grandstands had during the concert. Didn't really notice it during Carney or Arcade Fire but once U2 took the stage, it was sort of like being on a ship during rough seas. My fiance and I stood up for the whole show (just a few parts where I had to sit because my feet were sore) but our friends sat for most of the show because they didn't like the way the grandstands were swaying. They still enjoyed the show tenfold, but for the most part.. I think people were sitting because of that dizzy feeling the movement of the grandstands gave us.

Our whole section was standing (mostly), but not swaying too badly. We were bouncing a bit, which is why my videos are a little shaky.
 
It’s a well-known feature of human psychology that we want what we don’t have, and don’t fully appreciate what we do. Moncton was the 88th U2 360[FONT=&quot]°[/FONT] show I attended. And the last. Knowing you’re going to do something again may detract from your enjoyment. Knowing you're not, adds to it. How much more would you enjoy a sherry, a shrimp or a sh ... whatever, if you knew it was the last one you would ever have? I’d sometimes found it easy to opt out of fully relishing a 360 show cos I knew I’d be seeing a few more later. Moncton wasn’t a place for such (or any) luxuries. Every song had to be picked up, sniffed slowly, and then delicately nibbled on and savoured as a delectable, final treat. It could be the last time that I would see some of these songs performed. It could be the last time some of the songs will be performed. And it was the last time U2, crew, and fans would see the Claw (in its U2 360[FONT=&quot]°[/FONT] outfit at least).

Whereas farewells can often be difficult, and weepy, it was a muddy goodbye to U2 360 in Moncton on Saturday. It had rained all day from early morning. When the gates opened, the ground got churned over by thousands of fans hithering and thithering.

Sean, Nikki and I sat in a cafe in downtown Moncton until 3:00 pm, watching the torrential rain outside. I wondered how the hardy fans in the GA line were faring, as they had to sit or stand for around ten hours in the rain.

I got into the arena around 5:00 pm, just as the rain was easing off. I had a ticket for the cheap seats behind the stage. Strangely, there weren’t any separate ticket checks or wristbands for fans with GA tickets, so anybody could walk from the seats onto the field. I walked into the pit on Adam’s side, then wiggled through the surprisingly thin crowd, and left the pit on Edge’s side, collecting the blue paper wristband which replaced the usual stamp for pit access.

I met three refined Brits (Brendan, Kevin and Martin) in the bar field at the top of the hill. We had a few beers during Carney, then moved down into the pit for the tour’s second best support act, Arcade Fire.

Dutch Paul was bouncing around at the back of the pit on Edge’s side.

“Look, Bono’s in the tunnel behind you,” he told me.

I turned around and there he was. Bono, standing on his own, in full stage clobber, was watching Arcade Fire from the front of the tunnel that passed underneath the stand behind the stage. Around ten fans had noticed him, and were dancing or standing around, casting occasionally glances back to see if he was still there. I sneaked a peak back during ‘Rebellion’ and Bono was having a little bop to what he later called Arcade Fire’s “miraculous event, chaos” warming up his audience. Larry was also watching, leaning back against a stack of tour storage boxes.

After Arcade Fire, Brendan, Kevin and I filtered through the crowd towards the centre back of the pit. We found space about three rows in from the back rail around the 7 o’clock position, which is my favourite spot to see the show from, as I can see the whole band and screen, there’s some Edge and Bono action on the bridge overhead, and there's plenty of action on the nearby outer stage too.

My criteria for enjoying a show are to see it with friends, to have a few beers first, to have a great spot in the pit, and to see Bono dancing during the support band. All criteria were fully met. I even ticked off a spontaneous new criteria: to have two fighter jets roar past a few times. It looked like it was going to a tippety top show. And it was.

Even Better, The Fly, Until The End Of The World, Zooropa, Vertigo, Out Of Control were all propane-fuelled blasters. Stay was quite gorgeous, with Bono freestyling an extra verse at the end about the end of the tour. I even loved Sunday Bloody Sunday, when U2 played it like it was one of the the first times in 1983, and not the thousandth time in 2011.

Some favourite moments of the show were when Larry played an extended drum outro to Elevation, with Bono egging him on; when Bono sang a lovely surprise snippet of Springhill Mining Disaster after Still Haven’t Found (Maria, Joanne, Suzie and I stopped off briefly at the Springhill Music Festival, just fifty miles from Moncton, on Sunday evening after a fun day-trip and scrumptious lobster dinner in Nova Scotia); when Larry burst out laughing when he noticed the new U2 crew version of the ‘nodding heads’ video during Crazy Tonight and pointed it out to Adam.

The show and the tour closed with an emotive, introspection-inducing version of 40. As Edge’s bass warbled and Adam’s guitar wahed, I closed my eyes let my thoughts drift back to 30th June 2009, opening night in the Nou Camp in Barcelona. Larry had opened the 360 tour, as he had been the first member of U2 onstage in Barcelona, before hammering the intro to Breathe. So it was fitting that Larry closed the 360 tour with his short drum solo at the end of 40, and then said thanks and farewell on behalf of the band, before U2 left the stage together. U2 360 was over.
 
Great review Cathal. It seemed you did everything one could do on the Moncton experience, Lobster, mud, Springhill, Beer, rain etc. made for a full, well rounded event.

I also thought it was fitting that Larry ended the tour. He speaks so rarely that his words are measured and people listen. Though I thought, MOS might have been displaced by ending slot glory, 40 was probably the one many fans wanted to her. It will be forever, the closer. The image of the band waiting for Larry to finish was very powerful as well.
 
It’s a well-known feature of human psychology that we want what we don’t have, and don’t fully appreciate what we do. Moncton was the 88th U2 360[FONT=&quot]°[/FONT] show I attended. And the last. Knowing you’re going to do something again may detract from your enjoyment. Knowing you're not, adds to it. How much more would you enjoy a sherry, a shrimp or a sh ... whatever, if you knew it was the last one you would ever have? I’d sometimes found it easy to opt out of fully relishing a 360 show cos I knew I’d be seeing a few more later. Moncton wasn’t a place for such (or any) luxuries. Every song had to be picked up, sniffed slowly, and then delicately nibbled on and savoured as a delectable, final treat. It could be the last time that I would see some of these songs performed. It could be the last time some of the songs will be performed. And it was the last time U2, crew, and fans would see the Claw (in its U2 360[FONT=&quot]°[/FONT] outfit at least).

Whereas farewells can often be difficult, and weepy, it was a muddy goodbye to U2 360 in Moncton on Saturday. It had rained all day from early morning. When the gates opened, the ground got churned over by thousands of fans hithering and thithering.

Sean, Nikki and I sat in a cafe in downtown Moncton until 3:00 pm, watching the torrential rain outside. I wondered how the hardy fans in the GA line were faring, as they had to sit or stand for around ten hours in the rain.

I got into the arena around 5:00 pm, just as the rain was easing off. I had a ticket for the cheap seats behind the stage. Strangely, there weren’t any separate ticket checks or wristbands for fans with GA tickets, so anybody could walk from the seats onto the field. I walked into the pit on Adam’s side, then wiggled through the surprisingly thin crowd, and left the pit on Edge’s side, collecting the blue paper wristband which replaced the usual stamp for pit access.

I met three refined Brits (Brendan, Kevin and Martin) in the bar field at the top of the hill. We had a few beers during Carney, then moved down into the pit for the tour’s second best support act, Arcade Fire.

Dutch Paul was bouncing around at the back of the pit on Edge’s side.

“Look, Bono’s in the tunnel behind you,” he told me.

I turned around and there he was. Bono, standing on his own, in full stage clobber, was watching Arcade Fire from the front of the tunnel that passed underneath the stand behind the stage. Around ten fans had noticed him, and were dancing or standing around, casting occasionally glances back to see if he was still there. I sneaked a peak back during ‘Rebellion’ and Bono was having a little bop to what he later called Arcade Fire’s “miraculous event, chaos” warming up his audience. Larry was also watching, leaning back against a stack of tour storage boxes.

After Arcade Fire, Brendan, Kevin and I filtered through the crowd towards the centre back of the pit. We found space about three rows in from the back rail around the 7 o’clock position, which is my favourite spot to see the show from, as I can see the whole band and screen, there’s some Edge and Bono action on the bridge overhead, and there's plenty of action on the nearby outer stage too.

My criteria for enjoying a show are to see it with friends, to have a few beers first, to have a great spot in the pit, and to see Bono dancing during the support band. All criteria were fully met. I even ticked off a spontaneous new criteria: to have two fighter jets roar past a few times. It looked like it was going to a tippety top show. And it was.

Even Better, The Fly, Until The End Of The World, Zooropa, Vertigo, Out Of Control were all propane-fuelled blasters. Stay was quite gorgeous, with Bono freestyling an extra verse at the end about the end of the tour. I even loved Sunday Bloody Sunday, when U2 played it like it was one of the the first times in 1983, and not the thousandth time in 2011.

Some favourite moments of the show were when Larry played an extended drum outro to Elevation, with Bono egging him on; when Bono sang a lovely surprise snippet of Springhill Mining Disaster after Still Haven’t Found (Maria, Joanne, Suzie and I stopped off briefly at the Springhill Music Festival, just fifty miles from Moncton, on Sunday evening after a fun day-trip and scrumptious lobster dinner in Nova Scotia); when Larry burst out laughing when he noticed the new U2 crew version of the ‘nodding heads’ video during Crazy Tonight and pointed it out to Adam.

The show and the tour closed with an emotive, introspection-inducing version of 40. As Edge’s bass warbled and Adam’s guitar wahed, I closed my eyes let my thoughts drift back to 30th June 2009, opening night in the Nou Camp in Barcelona. Larry had opened the 360 tour, as he had been the first member of U2 onstage in Barcelona, before hammering the intro to Breathe. So it was fitting that Larry closed the 360 tour with his short drum solo at the end of 40, and then said thanks and farewell on behalf of the band, before U2 left the stage together. U2 360 was over.

:up:

:ohmy: 88 shows. Wow! It was a great end of the tour yes. :)

It was nice meeting up with you again these last few shows, and one last :wave: on the muddy hill after the show. See you next tour!
 
Great reviews / pics / videos! :rockon:

Four days later, and I'm still smiling and thinking about the show! And remarkably, post-concert depression hasn't hit, either...just a lingering appreciation for an absolutely amazing event.

A few washed-out stills from my video camera:

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The morning of the show. I had originally planned on camping, but totally chickened out in the bad weather. Not even the poshest hotel room can protect you from the realities of early morning GA, however...

The poncho was apparently "heat sealed." That sounded impressive. But by the time the concert rolled around, I had absorbed so much moisture that every inch of my clothing was soaked...


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We lost ourselves in the summer rain...


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And mud.

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Dedicated ONE campaigners. They were everywhere!


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Bono, after Arcade Fire's set: "They're not like a band, more like a miraculous event, a carnival of chaos..." So true. Absolutely amazing performance. To see them live is to realize that no YouTube link -- or album -- can truly capture their full force.




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CRAZZZY.

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Beautiful Day...looking to Larry before the end snippet.

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Mysterious Ways.


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Three o'clock in the morning...


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For the archives: Concert Shoe. I'm trying to figure out how to preserve it...plexiglass enclosure? A good shellac?

The image of the band waiting for Larry to finish was very powerful as well.

:up:


To me, this was THE definitive moment of the concert. On my right were the three friends from Iceland I'd met in GA. To my left, a young family -- the oldest of which was probably 16 or 17. Her little sister was maybe 10 or 11, and reminded me so much of the girl from Little Miss Sunshine; she wore a pink headband and completely rocked out with the rest of us the entire time.

Towards the end of the show, however, you could see the fatigue and eye-droopiness settling in with her. But then 40 was played. She looked completely mesmerized by the haunting image of Larry up there on the stage, by himself, pounding away on his drum kit...

As the crowd chanted "How long to sing this song / How long to sing this song," she joined in, her eyes now wide open as she pointed her red glow stick toward the clear night sky. My immediate sense was that she'd never seen 40 performed -- and perhaps hadn't even heard that particular song before Moncton. I could imagine how, in that moment, a greater appreciation was sparked for her...and maybe a journey deeper into U2's catalogue.

Those final minutes summed up absolutely everything that I love about U2: a band whose music crosses continents, generations, and leaves you feeling that even the worst and muddiest of days -- and lousiest of ponchos -- can be overcome with a fantastic song and human connection.
 
Great reviews / pics / videos! :rockon:




:up:


To me, this was THE definitive moment of the concert. On my right were the three friends from Iceland I'd met in GA. To my left, a young family -- the oldest of which was probably 16 or 17. Her little sister was maybe 10 or 11, and reminded me so much of the girl from Little Miss Sunshine; she wore a pink headband and completely rocked out with the rest of us the entire time.

Towards the end of the show, however, you could see the fatigue and eye-droopiness settling in with her. But then 40 was played. She looked completely mesmerized by the haunting image of Larry up there on the stage, by himself, pounding away on his drum kit...

As the crowd chanted "How long to sing this song / How long to sing this song," she joined in, her eyes now wide open as she pointed her red glow stick toward the clear night sky. My immediate sense was that she'd never seen 40 performed -- and perhaps hadn't even heard that particular song before Moncton. I could imagine how, in that moment, a greater appreciation was sparked for her...and maybe a journey deeper into U2's catalogue.

Those final minutes summed up absolutely everything that I love about U2: a band whose music crosses continents, generations, and leaves you feeling that even the worst and muddiest of days -- and lousiest of ponchos -- can be overcome with a fantastic song and human connection.

That was so beautiful, I cried a little. Thanks for sharing that. This makes me miss them more. :sad::sad:

But so happy that in my 29th year of loving this band that I finally reached out the U2 community and met some great folks.
 
Our generous friends bought ponchos for all of us. By the time we reached our seats, my fiance used his to sit on.. I sat on my jacket and saved mine for my camera or phone.. but never needed it.

The friends we had with us have a young family and this was their time to get out and enjoy themselves. One was a huge U2 fan and he hasn't stopped talking about it. I am so happy that U2 decided to play here, let alone finish the tour here. There are so many people who thought they would never hear them live, and this tour just opened it up to everyone. Long live the 360 tour. :bow: For lifting our hearts in our own Moments of Surrender (I totally cried through that Saturday night)

The amount of energy you feel during and after a U2 show.. so amazing. I've said it once, but I'll say it again and again... Thank you, U2.. you could've ended the tour somewhere bigger, somewhere you know.. but you chose to finish it here in New Brunswick and we'll be forever grateful. Never ever thought I'd be an hour and a half drive away from a U2 concert. I know it was middle of the woods, but I found that added to it... I hope they will return to NB again someday

We had a couple sitting the row below us and before the show they were asking questions and really were quite friendly. I wish I would've got their names.. we had a lot of conversations before the concert started it was great. These shows are more than music, they bring people together. I am a very shy person, but at a U2 show, I feel at home.

I guess my big dream now is to see them in Dublin. Next tour I guess, in a circle of Interferencers ;) I think I'd have to try GA for that one
 
I agree Canedge. I would be happy with them if they just played the Itsy Bitsy Spider for two and a half hours, but to get the setlist that we did, truly a blessing. I also heard about how kind they were to folks who met them at the airport. They are truly a class act. I was thinking of going to the airport, but I would've missed Carney and part of Arcade Fire. Another time perhaps.
 
I agree Canedge. I would be happy with them if they just played the Itsy Bitsy Spider for two and a half hours, but to get the setlist that we did, truly a blessing. I also heard about how kind they were to folks who met them at the airport. They are truly a class act. I was thinking of going to the airport, but I would've missed Carney and part of Arcade Fire. Another time perhaps.

Too bad Interpol didn't open. You could have missed them without a second thought. But I'm very happy to have Carney and Arcade Fire.
 
Yea, that was the thing. I probably could've gotten by without Carney.. but Arcade Fire.. no. It's great to see the videos from the airport and that Bono and Edge both were very kind in signing and saying hello and such. The airport is a ways from the concert site.. poor lads probably had a drive through the middle of the woods to get to the site and never saw the Bay of Fundy at all. I had been hoping they'd come in a day early and Edge would take a visit to Hopewell Rocks, but I realize they are busy. I feel blessed enough that they came here, let alone ended the tour here. It was a special moment and I'm getting weepy eyed just talking about it.
 
But so happy that in my 29th year of loving this band that I finally reached out the U2 community and met some great folks.

U2 fans are the best! :up:

We had a couple sitting the row below us and before the show they were asking questions and really were quite friendly. I wish I would've got their names.. we had a lot of conversations before the concert started it was great. These shows are more than music, they bring people together. I am a very shy person, but at a U2 show, I feel at home.

I guess my big dream now is to see them in Dublin. Next tour I guess, in a circle of Interferencers ;) I think I'd have to try GA for that one

:hug: You know, after seeing this show, I feel like I can take on absolutely anything -- such an incredible feeling. See you in Dublin! :)


I took a pic at exactly the same time!!!
Not as good as yours though.
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Just a great moment! For a second, I thought that might have been my hand in your shot! Just looked at my cam...looks a little different. Super close, though.
 
Hey Moncton Campers!

Check your equipment and air it out. I just unrolled one of our sleeping pads and a decent-sized spider ran out. :eek:
(slightly bigger than a quarter)

Weird, because I think I saw 2, maybe 3 spiders the entire time I was there.
 
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