I had a mini-battle to get into the gig last night. I got to the stadium, ticketless, at 4:00pm. There were loads of aspiring ticket touts prowling the area outside the metro station, and loads more outside the gates used to enter the field. I decided to play the touts at the great ticket reselling game, but I decided kickoff would be around 8:00 pm.
At 8:15 pm I made a sign saying “Necesito 1 boleto por favor!
” As soon as I had dotted the exclamation mark, I was pounced on by a tout offering me a 450 pesos ticket for 700. I offered him 500 pesos, he said 600; I insisted 500. Then a U2 fan approached me saying he had a spare ticket with a face value of 1500 pesos, but would be happy to accept 500. This seemed like a better offer to me, so I agreed to buy his ticket instead.
The tout didn’t like this intrusion into our negotiations. He shoved the U2 fan away, and tried to lead me off to the side to close our deal. I was stunned. I tried to follow the U2 fan, but the tout, who was a burly middle-aged chap, blocked my path, and instantly lowered his price to 500 pesos. He was desperate to get the sale. I actually felt a bit sorry for him, but I called after the fan to tell him I’d like to buy his spare ticket.
The U2 fan waved back to me, and walked up to and through the initial police check to enter the stadium. I walked towards the police line, but the tout started to gently shove me back, whilst still saying “Ok, 500” and throwing deadly looks at the U2 fan. The tout then blocked the gap in the police line that fans walked through, and refused to move, still pushing me back when I tried to get past him. It was a curious sales tactic, to try to force someone to buy something from you. I think it’s called intimidation. I appealed to the police for their help to stop the guy hassling me, but they just stood and watched. Then one policeman stepped to the side and I was able to pass their line. The ticket tout refused to follow, and angrily walked off casting a full range of delightful Mexican insults in our direction.
So I managed to get a good seat in the middle tier for a third of the price. Fans had ignored the seat numbers printed on their tickets, so an usher found me a seat at about the 7 o’clock position facing the stage on Edge’s side. The stadium looked full, so there would have been a crowd of around 110,000. And they were as loud as the two previous shows.
I had a tired, end-of-the-festival feeling all day, and was a little bit gloomy cos Celtic hadn’t won the Scottish Premier League on Sunday morning. These affected my appreciation of the start of the show. I found that I had to concentrate to keep my attention from wandering during the early part of the gig. Boots, Mysterious Ways. Elevation, UTEOTW mostly passed me by. I knew this was an overindulgent travesty. At the show on Saturday I kept thinking that I needed to pinch myself to remind myself that I was on the field seeing U2 play a storming concert with 110,000 screaming loonies in the massive Aztec Stadium in Mexico City. On Sunday I kept thinking I needed to punch myself for the same reason, and not appreciating it.
I initially thought that U2 looked tired and didn’t seem to be playing with as much verve as Saturday. It was nonsense; it was just me transposing my own state onto the band. I finally woke up to the gig with All I Want Is You, and then Love Rescue Me. Both were quite majestic, and dragged me right back inside the gig.
Bono is more like a world statesman these days, working the political lobbying system and indulging the attendant schmoozing to further his causes, than the rebellious firebrand of yore. There was an attention-grabbing hark back to tours when ye olde Bono often tub-thumped during tunes, when he let loose a passionate mini-rant during Pride about how there only seems to be news about drugs being smuggled from Mexico to the USA, and no news about guns being smuggled from the USA to Mexico.
I don’t remember seeing that side of Bono on any other show on this tour. It’s usually just thanks, compliments, ramping up the party atmosphere, piss-taking the band, or routine speeches about Aung San Suu Kyi at shows these days. The firebrand still breathes fire, and it was great to see. And it created the peak moment in last night’s show during Pride, when the response from the audience was staggeringly raucous, both in cheering Bono’s point, and in singing the end of the song.
Other highlights last night were With Or Without You and Moment Of Surrender, when the huge Aztec Stadium looked gorgeous with the swirling lights, and then the Milky Way effect.
Bono asked the crowd if U2 could be considered Irish- Mexicans. I totally agree. I’ve been the lucky recipient of many spontaneous demonstrations of Mexican generosity, mostly alcoholic. At Saturday’s show I was plied with beers by people I met on the field. On Sunday I was given whiskey outside, and then beer inside, all by people who approached me cos they could spot that I didn’t look like a typical Mexican. They like to meet foreigners, make an effort to make them feel welcome, and especially to share booze. Many others just approached me to say hello and welcome to Mexico. It’s impossible to not feel welcome here.
Bono closed the show by telling the crowd that they’d broken all previous records for U2 gigs. The band left the stage after Bono had started a noisy Mexican chant, which continued as U2 exited the arena. I suddenly didn’t want the Mexican U2 festival to end.
So there have been three spectacular shows here, in front of what I think are the noisiest crowds on the planet. I may have calculated incorrectly, but I think U2 played 31 different songs across the three shows. And after the seven preceding shows in South America, I suspect the shows in the US and Canada may feel quite civilised in comparison, with less of that expressive Latin fervour.
Random observations:
- Bono gave each band member a Mexican name during the band intros. Larry laughed and flexed his muscles after Bono said he was a macho man.
- Every U2 album had a song or snippet except Boy
- Bono has developed an effective escape note during his operatic solo in Miss Sarajevo which he uses when he doesn’t quite hold the glory note
- There was a little mix-up during One (but it wasn’t quite on the same level as Barcelona 1)
- Adam’s bass sounded different during COBL, dunno if he’s changed it or if it was just sound probs
- Walk On also sounded odd at the start
- I thought (wished!) I heard Bono dedicate Walk On to Neil Lennon, but I think I misheard him
- Security had to react quickly to throw someone off the stage during Crazy Tonight (I think)
- Viva Mexico!
when I click on the link it says: This content is currently unavailable..thanks for the videos.. U2 rules my world too! 
