October 28, 2009 BC Place Stadium Vancouver - CANADA

[Thora]

Last night was awesome. Despite seeing the exact same set in Vegas just a few nights before, I had a blast. My section was absolutely CRAZY loud - we had seats on Edge's side, just a few rows up. Fantastic view! Loved seeing the crowd do the wave for a few minutes before the band came onstage. We were obviously bored!

The sound wasn't that bad for BC Place standards. There was some crackling during one of the songs, and during many of the snippets, I couldn't understand which song he was singing, but otherwise it sounded great. The crowd was insanely loud, but the echo in the building probably magnified that.

The only frustration I have with the setlist is that after Elevation, which is crazy fun to see live, and very high energy, comes the insanely slow In a Little While. It's a great song, but it just drastically changes the mood. They should have moved that song elsewhere, and followed up Elevation with Vertigo or one of the other faster paced songs.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and my voice is totally cracking today.

 

[boosterjuice]

hey guys. the wife and i loved the show. This time around, we sprung for the $260 seats as my wife didn't enjoy our GA tix from the vertigo tour. the sound bc place was terrible for th black peas. So bad, in fact, that we could hardly understand them when they spoke. when U2 made the stage, the crowd went wild. But it didn't last long. the new songs fell flat on the audience and it wasn't until BD played until they got into it. The acoustics in the building improved as well. the bc place echo seemed to diminish. one thing that impressed me was Bono's voice. amazing. couldn't believe how good he sounded hitting all the high notes with ease. Edge sounded great too. my favourite parts of the concert were amazing grace into streets. the place was rockin for that. i also loved ultraviolet. I missed being down in GA. there wasn't too much energy where i was sitting. Too many casual fans. i miss the crazies of GA.

 

[corianderstem]

My comments, copied from one of the chat threads:

Concert was fun. I was thrown off by the size of the place, since it was weird seeing a roof over the Claw, and the soundboard wasn't all the way in the back. Standing by the soundboard, I was noticably closer to the stage than even in Vegas.

Unfortunately, it got really packed in, so it was a tight crowd where we were. For the most part, I had space to jump and dance, and even had some occasional really nice views of the band when they were on the outer stage and bridges.

The sound was fine there, but when I ventured to the back (which is when I realized how close the soundboard was to the stage), the sound got muddy and distorted. I guess BC Place is notorious for bad sound. Although the roof did make the crowd incredibly loud, which was really cool.

It was fun seeing it with two of my friends from Seattle, who hadn't seen any of the shows yet, so her excitement was fun. And I ended up being near the guy I bought my GA ticket from, so that was kind of neat.

I got a little overheated after dancing my fool ass off to Crazy Tonight, so I moved to the back for the rest of the show, enjoying the space, the view, and my bottle of water.

This was the fastest I'd gotten out of any of the stadiums. It helped that I was close to the GA exit, so as soon as they started their goodbyes, I took off, but the only jam-up was right by the doors outside, and then it was smooth sailing, and a 10 minute walk to my hotel.

It was cold and drizzly all day, so I'm very glad I wasn't lined up. I knew a few people who were supposed to be in line, but by the time I got to the venue, they were all prepped to go inside, so I wasn't able to wander through and look for people.

I had a moment at the end of Streets, just feeling so happy and so fortunate to have seen so many great concerts with so many great people these past few months. I just want to meet the band sometime to give them a heartfelt thank you for everything they've given me as a fan.

As much as I gripe and roll my eyes, it's really freaking awesome, right?

 

[corianderstem]

Oh! I loved that they changed the encore intro back to the colorblock thing with the Auden poem. That was neat to see that again.

I heard people comment (including Bono himself) that he was hoarse, but I couldn't tell at all.

 

[erin4618]

I missed being down in GA. there wasn't too much energy where i was sitting. Too many casual fans. i miss the crazies of GA.

Yeah, that about sums it up for me. I was in section 210, directly across from the soundboard on Edge's side, three rows back. I had a really good time, but I missed the intense energy of GA. (I'm definitely doing GA in Seattle.) The people behind me and across the isle from me sat the whole time.

Otherwise, the music was great although the sound wasn't so hot, but I felt like I was too far away to really get the intimate feel I did from GA in Boston during the Vertigo tour.

Bono's voice was cracking up a bit--false start on MLK, and he sounded hoarse. He got the crowd to sing for him more than I remember him doing normally. I would also have like to see some changes to the setlist from the last date that was on youtube.

But it was good. Not the best U2 concert I've ever been to, probably dependent on the crowd around me, but better than most of the non-U2 ones.

 

[sonichka]

WOW!!! Fucking amazing. I've seen them twice before, Popmart and Elevation. I never thought anything would top Popmart for me, but this definitly did. I agree with a lot of what Hallucination said. I thought the crowd was totally pumped and into it, singing along with every song, so loud at times i couldn't even hear Bono (maybe that had to do with the fact we were on the back side of the stage). The sound didn't bother me, i was too wrapped up in the moment. And the visuals and lighting of the stage blew me away significantly more with each song. It was like you'd think they packed in every trick in the book and then they'd pull something else out and blow your mind all over again!!!! I'm still so wound up!!!!!!!! Unknown Caller was a HUGE highlight for me. It was my fav off the album going in, and the lyrics on the screen to sing along with were amazing!! And for once i will get to see them twice in one tour, Edmonton being my next show, hopefully!!!

Also Black Eyed Peas REALLY impressed me. I have never seen an opening band wind the crowd up that much and have almost everyone on their feet dancing!! And Fergie can actually sing VERY VERY well!!! I guess next time i'll trust u2's management and know that the opener is gonna kill!

lol i'm going to keep editing this thing every time i have another thought...

I have to mention Ultraviolet too. That was beyond words. Amazing!!! and i have a new found appreciation for the new songs. I never got into the new cd, but after hearing the new Crazy remix and then Moment of Surrender at the end i am so hooked! I left singing the OH OH Oooooohohohoh...'s

 

[Pop Artist]

Fabulous show last night! I ended up on the outside rail, Adam-side, and had a clear and still close view. And I'd been no. 644 in line (got there at 11AM), by some miracle I saw just enough space for one, asked the person next to it if it was taken...and they said no!

I also must give kudos to BC Place security for 1) honoring the numbering, 2)ensuring it was honored and getting the line into the stadium in a very calm, non-overbearing and unstressful manner. Combined with the very friendly fans in line, it was the best line ever, despite the cold and gloom.

 

[poppedtart]

Couldn't agree more. Saw them in Toronto and they were great. Just the crowd was lame in the seats. Funny. it was mainly the younger aged that sat.

Muchly agree... Older crowd, some in their 40's now.. Popmart were in their 30's and Zoo were in their 20's... I'm in the middle crew there so I was still going nuts... Please don't take that as a shot those in your 40's... S'pecially on this site... You guys rock out...

Lots of people around me were more subdued... and as much as I am a soulfilled Canadian... I really enjoyed Pasadena alot... Yet my Gf sitting next to me thought Van had more energy... Maybe it was the summer like atmosphere in LA and just the pure numbers I felt even if they weren't all nuts...

Black Eyed Peas seemed to get better and better to me, but having Slash in LA really added to setting the tone...

I never really got the setlister blues before, but this one I kinda did for the first time... I saw Vegas, LA and Van and literally, as mentioned, saw the same setlist 3x but for Viva Las Vegas, and Happy Birthday Billy Boy...

Couldn't they have busted into "Life is a highway" for like 15 seconds... That would have changed the entire show IMO...

But really... It was still awesome of course. Esp knowing it's the last one in 9 months... Those who saw just Van did see a phenominal performance

 

[corianderstem]

Couldn't they have busted into "Life is a highway" for like 15 seconds... That would have changed the entire show IMO...

Please excuse me for making this face, but I know Tom Cochrane is a Canadian and all, but that's so random!

The GA crowd near me was interesting - a few people with fists in the air for the new stuff, rocking out along with me, but people were mostly subdued unless it was one of the older anthems. I was a little disappointed, but didn't let it stop me from doing my usual jumping, dancing, yelling concert activities.

I definitely enjoyed this Vancouver show much more than the one I saw on Vertigo - I seemed to hit all the "bad apple" concert goers at that show back in '05, and it made for a bad concert experience.

 

[Mr. BAW]

I'm only guessing that there were very few interferencers here...very little action, how depressing from the "last" show of this leg...I expected more..."sorry" .

 

[corianderstem]

That surprised me, too. Maybe it's just so far away from the rest of big Canadian cities, and major US cities (other than Seattle)?

The PNW sometimes seems pretty isolated from the rest of North America - I've had multiple people from back home (midwest) say that they haven't been out here because it's hard to find cheaper flights. I can only imagine it's pretty prohibitive for people to come out this way. Not sure if it's the same way for Vancouver and the rest of Canada.

That's kind of my impression of why it wasn't such a "big event" for the online folk. I could be wrong.

Edit: Although Portland seemed to be a big deal for the end of that Vertigo leg, so who knows.

 

[beershack]

Took these last night from RZ2 (and the pit) with a little shit $99 digital joint

Tired as hell now after flying all day back to DC

 

[Pop Artist]

I'm only guessing that there were very few interferencers here...very little action, how depressing from the "last" show of this leg...I expected more..."sorry" .

Well Vancouver came right after LA and Las Vegas this time, which have traditionally been big shows among Interferencers since many core Interferencers are in Southern California. Hence why the bigger buzz for those two shows compared to Vancouver. Also, many of the traveling fans I know front-loaded their shows so by this time they were low on cash/vacation days and thus gave it pass...they need to learn to pace themselves like I do...

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I'm home!

First off, thanks for the kind thoughts in the other thread. My daughter is so much better today. Pretty much through the woods now.

For my 4th U2 show ever (my first 360 gig), I got 11 songs that I hadn't seen live before. I was fairly happy with the setlist. (I think these last three or 4 dates gave us the best setlist for the NA leg). I ended up in the pit on Adam's side. 2nd from the rail of the catwalk. Had a great view of Larry drumming too! All this and I lined up at 4:45pm! I was standing in the pit next to people numbered in the low 300s who got in the GA line at 8am. So, it can be done. Easily. The bad news, however, is that you really are a sardine in the pit. It was packed! Very hard to cut loose, but I did that anyways a few time and bumped some people by accident. HEY! I was getting elevated! It can't be helped. I stayed in the same spot until the end of UV. I had to see this whole "Bono swinging" deal up close. For the last two songs, I checked it out near the soundboard area to "take it all in" so to speak. Wow! It was louder there than in the pit. The sightlines were just fanstastic too. It is not all that far back from the stage when you consider the size of the whole place.

For me, the highlights were all the songs that begin with the letter "U." This is like a Sesame Street review.

UC, UTEOTW, UF, and UV.

Also, No Line kicks so much live!

At one moment, the bridge stopped next to me. Bono walked up, stopped and sang the first third of the UF right there in front of me. Spitting and all.
Edge did a brilliant job nailing that solo on UC too!

The moment that gave me the biggest chuckle was the intro to Crazy. Bono's mic was dead and no replacement was found for what seemed like minutes. Where did you go mic guy?

I think Seattle might be a whole family trip. That back area GA was really spacious and offered great sound and sights.

I can't say if I liked this gig better than my Elevation or Vertigo shows. I love U2 in GM place and I would like to see them there again. The spectacle of 360 is truly killer and, no doubt, did what it was supposed to do for a stadium show, but I think I am more of an "arena U2 rocker" even if it means losing the spectacle aspect that 360 offered. Just some thoughts.

Can't wait for summer!

 

[EdgeFest]

I went to the show, I'm dead tired but I'll come back tomorrow and post some pics and some opinion. It was a great show!

 

[maskedrolla]

My First U2 Show.....

I went and saw U2 at BC Place in Vancouver, and I was blown away. They are now my favourite live band. WOW!!!! Insane!!!!! I took some alright pics and wrote a review about the show. Check it out if you want....

Review

Pictures

 

[poppedtart]

Please excuse me for making this face, but I know Tom Cochrane is a Canadian and all, but that's so random! .

Ok my bad... How about "If I had a Million $".. "The Good ol Hockey game"... "O Canada"... "Sk8terboi"...

My point in the reference was that one rift of basically anything Canadian would have brought the house down.. literally...

In Vegas he played Viva Las Vegas... Was that random?

"From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights"

Done.. The Crowd is OWNED!

 

[corianderstem]

Ok my bad... How about "If I had a Million $".. "The Good ol Hockey game"... "O Canada"... "Sk8terboi"...

My point in the reference was that one rift of basically anything Canadian would have brought the house down.. literally...

I know - it just struck me as funny. But I'm weird.

I would pay money to hear U2 do a snippet of Sk8terboi! That would be hilarious.

 

[Hallucination]

Ok my bad... How about "If I had a Million $".. "The Good ol Hockey game"... "O Canada"... "Sk8terboi"...

My point in the reference was that one rift of basically anything Canadian would have brought the house down.. literally...

In Vegas he played Viva Las Vegas... Was that random?

"From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights"

Done.. The Crowd is OWNED!

Well if they really wanted to bring the house down in that manner the Edge could've started playing Summer of 69 acoustically. Bono could've started the lyrics and I 100% guarantee you the crowd would've taking over and it would've been louder than the crowd singing Stand By Me.

 

[ramblin rose]

Well Vancouver came right after LA and Las Vegas this time, which have traditionally been big shows among Interferencers since many core Interferencers are in Southern California. Hence why the bigger buzz for those two shows compared to Vancouver. Also, many of the traveling fans I know front-loaded their shows so by this time they were low on cash/vacation days and thus gave it pass...they need to learn to pace themselves like I do...

Yeah, I ran out of vacation time.

 

[corianderstem]

Luckily, I get a new lump of vacation on October 1, so Vancouver ended up working out well! I would have been in the same boat, otherwise.

 

[ladywithspinninghead]

I went and saw U2 at BC Place in Vancouver, and I was blown away. They are now my favourite live band. WOW!!!! Insane!!!!! I took some alright pics and wrote a review about the show. Check it out if you want....

Review

Pictures

Great review and I'm glad one concert singlehandedly catapulted them to the top

Bono should have snippeted Matthew Good

 

[konakitty]

I just got back to California from Vancouver. I loved the show. It was the only show this year I went too and my 8th overall U2 show. Got in line about 4 pm and was able to get into the pit on Adam's side. Where I had room to move and dance. I'm not sure if people just didn't know about the inner circle or they assumed it was full, because I almost thought I was going the wrong way because nobody else was going over to that entrance area. The people around us seemed pretty cool too. Finally being able to see the spectacle live, after spending the past few months reading about it, was just awesome. And hearing Ultraviolet Light took me back to the first time I saw them in 1992. I've got tickets for the Oakland show and will possibly try for Seattle but, can't believe I have to wait 8 months.

 

[sonichka]

Ok my bad... How about "If I had a Million $".. "The Good ol Hockey game"... "O Canada"... "Sk8terboi"...

My point in the reference was that one rift of basically anything Canadian would have brought the house down.. literally...

In Vegas he played Viva Las Vegas... Was that random?

"From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights"

Done.. The Crowd is OWNED!

Agreed!!!!! Life is a Highway would have rocked!! lol

 

[sonichka]

YouTube - U2 vancouver 360 tour AUDIENCE WAVE

Audience wave!!!!!!

 

[Rosebud]

For me the shows are as great as they've ever been so it's the crowd who's mellowed out. not the band.

I'm far too lazy to post a FULL review, but I just wanted to pop by and say I agree with this 100%. I had an awesome time at this show, right on the outside rail, on the "front" Edge side of the floor. The band was amazing, Bono's voice was (I thought) in great shape, especially after rocking it at the Rose Bowl. Hey, I'm still hoarse just from singing along at the show! However, I was a bit disappointed by how "cool" people were acting. Yes, there were older people (actually, there was a woman in her 60s or 70s right next to us on the floor, which I thought was adorable), but there were also tons of young folks, and even they were pretty conservative.

I noticed it in the GA line, everyone looked so polished...people wearing nice pea coats, heels, etc...not exactly like they were planning to rock out, eh? I was going pretty apeshit (at least by my standards ) during the show, but I felt like I was sort of alone. There were people getting excited for sure, but waaay too many seemed to just be either standing there, or fiddling with their fucking cameras. What's the deal people? Did you come for a rock and roll show or what?

 

[Rosebud]

^^Haha, yes the wave was really cute.

Actually, the band did tons of cute stuff that night, and quite a bit right in front of us. There were oodles of hugs for sure. Oh, and near the end of UTEOTW, Edge's bridge started moving away from Bono, instead of towards him, and Bono was totally freaking out. They did manage to reverse him and get him back to Bono in time for the "almost touching" though, which made Bono happy.

Also, he put his sunglasses on the little girl after, their run in COBL, right in front of us, which was adorable. If someone finds a decent video of that, it's definitely worth watching.

Hey, maybe I'm not lazy after all!

 

[sonichka]

rosebud i noticed the nicely dressed people too! What's up with that? lol I was trying my hardest to rock out! and Hallucination was dead on, The band were on top of their game, giving it their all as ALWAYS!

 

[Outsider]

I noticed they're wearing the same clothes as in vegas and L.A too. I wonder how much of the DVD will actually be of the Rose bowl footage

 

[sonichka]

Did anyone catch the band going into the arena? I know there were 2 gates and it seems most people were just hoping to have the luck of being at the right gate. Did the band show?