October 3, 2009 - Raleigh - North Carolina

[gsohoppers]

I got there at 5 PM, and was front row rail in front of Adam. Exactly where I wanted to be. Could have been about 3 or 4 back if we went center. People behind me got there at 8 AM. People next to me 6 AM. It's all how fast you get scanned, get thru the line and book it to the front row. I don't know why people are lining up all day. If anyone has ramp pics please post them! Bono was out for a very long time.

Hey - you must have been right in front of us. I had on a "Hello, Hello" blue shirt, and my wife had on a green Elevation tour shirt. We got there at 4:30 pm. Totally agree with how fast we were scanned, stamped, got a braclet, and were there. There was a great group of folks standing around us, all very polite and cool.

 

[gvox]

What is that thing on the back of Larry's neck?

He mentioned that he wears a plaster neck brace now.. in his interview with the Toronto Sun a couple weeks back.

 

[gsohoppers]

Whoops. Sorry. Must have read that post of where to post wrong. Here are some pics!

 

[gvox]

So who all thinks Mark should have his Intername changed to "U2BROTHR"?

DOOOOITTT!!!!

 

[aldamon]

Here are some pics I took with my phone. It was my first attempt at panorama mode, so sorry for the blurry parts.

Streets:

Overall, I'd say this was a better stadium experience than Popmart in Foxboro, but I admit that was a long time ago.

 

[partygirl43]

So who all thinks Mark should have his Intername changed to "U2BROTHR"?

DOOOOITTT!!!!

HERE!!! HERE!!!! I second that!!!

 

[Notabene]

Many amazing photos in here. Love all the pics of the band, the panorama ones are awesome gives you a great view of everything, the pics of the lighting on the screen I just can't get enough.
Thanks for sharing your photos and stories!

 

[U2BROTHR]

Oh yeah. One more thing. The security guard who was in front of me in the gap where Adam was....he was by far the kindest security guard I've ever met on tour. The guy gave me gum....offered to take some our tour books and wife's purse and place it on the other side. We talked at length about shows he's worked at. During WOWOY he and his partner were singing away during the song. He wished me safe travels prior to leaving. When he was kicking everyone out, I explained to him that I needed to try and get the attention of Bono's tech.....he let me stay. We joked between acts. He attempted but was just a second late in getting the MUSE setlist for the girls behind me. He was truly a gentleman.

 

[cathalmc]

OK, that was me (same guy as C-Ville). That was clearly the most amazing moment of my life. I still haven't quite recovered!! I am off to head up to NY for the show tonight. When I get a chance I'll post a more in-depth story about the whole thing. Please post any pictures or clips you might have of People Get Ready!!!

Hey, well done man, that was far and away the highlight of the concert! Get ye into a band at once!

 

[cathalmc]

I watched both Muse and U2 from the grassy knoll outside the stadium which had a clear view to the stage. There were quite a few people sitting up there too, until they played Streets when everyone stood up and danced.

A massive thank you thank you thank you to Lisa (BlueRoomGirl) and Kelly for giving me a door-to-door lift from Charlottesville to Raleigh on Friday. Sorry I didn't catch up with youse again on Saturday as I got there a bit later than hoped for from the conference in Durham, the next show you're at beers are on me!

 

[Lila64]

I love reading all these stories

 

[U2BROTHR]

I forgot something important. I'm still floating on clouds. My wife and I looked at each other this morning and said, "was this all a dream?"

Anywhoo, upon arriving at the rail in front of Adam, I decided to get something to drink before Muse hit the stage. I had forgotten that there was no beer at the stadium. Apparently, college stadiums in the states forbid alcohol to be sold. This was what I was told.

As I left the pit, a man with important U2 tags came over to me. He laughed at me and pointed and said, "Oh my....that license plate is absolutely amazing. Do you have some time? Follow me..."

I of course I followed him, right to the back of the stadium where the sound booth/shed was. There was a security guard there and he said to the guard, "He's with me..."

So I walked with him and I was standing directly behind the soundboard. Yes....I saw first hand all the knobs and sliders of the mixing board. He proceeded to call out to the staff working there...."Hey so and so....check out THIS DUDE's license plate!" Many of them chuckled and laughed. I smiled told them I'm all the way from Toronto and how good the two shows were in Toronto. So I got a mini tour .

I didn't want to overstay my welcome so I bought a bunch of drinks near the back of the arena and left.

 

[zoocarolina]

Had a great time lastnight, the stadium is one of the smaller venues on the tour so having seats in the lower level was pretty close to the stage (say 150-200 ft) and the weather was perfect!!! First time I'd seen them outside and the claw looks like it could have taken off mid-show. Crowd didn't enjoy the deep cuts as much as I did (TUD, Ultraviolet, etc.) and was lukewarm to NLOTH songs, but WTSHNN, Elevation and Vertigo kicked ass!!!! My daughter's first show (9 yrs) and she said I can feel it my chest with her mouth wide open! Was over too quickly for me and I'll always want more unique stuff since I'm a blue crack baby, but the flow of the show worked great and was probably in my top 3 of the seven shows I've seen, can't wait for Tues. night in the ATL!!!

 

[waitinginvain]

GA line was a hot mess. People kept trying to hand out numbers and budge in line all day. I had sat in the sun since 10am and was not happy when I saw the line in front of me expanding outward and people trying to jump in at the sides. Anyways, I ended up getting about 4 rows back in front of Bono and it was awesome! Probably my favorite of the 4 shows I've seen. Because I went with the mad rush into the pit, I didn't get a chance to go to the merch stand. Does anyone know if they had specific Raleigh shirts and posters like they have other dates so far? I haven't seen anything in the u2 store yet, I was hoping they would put stuff in there after the show.

 

[hurricane]

Yes, they had Raleigh shirts and posters.

 

[hurricane]

Please post ramp pics, dying to see them!! We got a posed pic with Bono but the camera did not work.

 

[U2BROTHR]

Does anyone know if they had specific Raleigh shirts and posters like they have other dates so far? I haven't seen anything in the u2 store yet, I was hoping they would put stuff in there after the show.

The merch will show up on u2.com. You gotta give it a couple weeks.

 

[vjacqb]

Does anyone know if they had specific Raleigh shirts and posters like they have other dates so far? I haven't seen anything in the u2 store yet, I was hoping they would put stuff in there after the show.

Yep, they had the shirt and poster. They even had a varsity jacket with the Wolfpack colors, the U2360 Tour Claw emblem on it, with the embroidered 'Raleigh 2009' on it! Very beautiful, and if I had been a NCS student, AND had $75 to spare, I would have bought it.

 

[vjacqb]

Please post ramp pics, dying to see them!! We got a posed pic with Bono but the camera did not work.

Were you wearing a green shirt? If you were, I met you there. If not, there sure were a lot of cameras that did not work that day...

I will post my pics soon. I'll pm you the link of the site where I will post all my ramp pics, even the blurry ones or the ones with people's heads right in front of it so you can point out if any of them had you in it.

 

[hurricane]

Yes, that was me green shirt! Thanks!

 

[Chrisedge]

Some stills from my video

 

[Hodog16]

Great article from the local rag about some good ol' southern hospitality:

Linky

 

[bysshe]

Is there any video (HD prefered) of muses first song? Only missed the first minute or so. Muse setlist?

Uprising
Map of the Problematique + Who Knows Who
Supermassive Black Hole
Interlude + Hysteria
Undisclosed Desires
Unnatural Selection
Starlight
Time Is Running Out

[youtube]-rBkmDVQbJY[/youtube]

 

[Mr. BAW]

I forgot something important. I'm still floating on clouds. My wife and I looked at each other this morning and said, "was this all a dream?"

Anywhoo, upon arriving at the rail in front of Adam, I decided to get something to drink before Muse hit the stage. I had forgotten that there was no beer at the stadium. Apparently, college stadiums in the states forbid alcohol to be sold. This was what I was told.

As I left the pit, a man with important U2 tags came over to me. He laughed at me and pointed and said, "Oh my....that license plate is absolutely amazing. Do you have some time? Follow me..."

I of course I followed him, right to the back of the stadium where the sound booth/shed was. There was a security guard there and he said to the guard, "He's with me..."

So I walked with him and I was standing directly behind the soundboard. Yes....I saw first hand all the knobs and sliders of the mixing board. He proceeded to call out to the staff working there...."Hey so and so....check out THIS DUDE's license plate!" Many of them chuckled and laughed. I smiled told them I'm all the way from Toronto and how good the two shows were in Toronto. So I got a mini tour .

I didn't want to overstay my welcome so I bought a bunch of drinks near the back of the arena and left.

And on the way back, I grabbed you and asked if you were in trouble....and you, the kind man you are, gave Char and I a bottle of water and went back to the wife...you are a very nice guy; it was great having drinks and dinner with you on Friday and I hope we can see more of you in the future....

 

[Mr. BAW]

Some stills from my video

That's BluRmGrl holding up the Bono&Co license plate in the first photo!

 

[Mr. BAW]

Here are some pics I took with my phone. It was my first attempt at panorama mode, so sorry for the blurry parts.

BAW and I are directly behind the left-most claw at the outer rail on Adam's side....

 

[vjacqb]

So, did I tell you I had my picture taken with Bono on this beautiful day? All thanks to my lovely friend lovezeuser.

We were lucky because there were two Amnesty International volunteers in front of us. When Bono saw them, he stopped and said, "Amnesty International!! My kind of people!" and then he posed for a picture with them.

After that, lovezeuser asked Bono if she could take a picture with him, and he said, "Sure!". I was supposed to take the picture, and there was this other lady who went to Bono's other side to "hijack" the posed moment. On top of that, her friend basically told me to move because she needed to get the picture of them. She told me, "That is my friend, with Bono". And I was like, "But that ONE is MY friend, and she was the one who asked Bono if she could take a picture with him!!". Grrr...

Well, after I tried to take a picture as best as I could of lovezeuser and Bono, lovezeuser turned to him and said, "Bono, that's my friend Alma, she's from Indonesia". And Bono looked at me, and said, "Oh, hi Alma..." **flails**
I managed to put down my camera, and asked him, "Is it okay if I take a picture with you?". And he said, "Yeah, sure, come on in!" and motioned for me to get to his side. I gave my camera to lovezeuser, and she took these wonderful pictures of me and the B-man... That was a surreal moment, and I owe it all to lovezeuser

My Ramp Pics at Raleigh:
Well, hello, who is that walking up the ramp??


A bit of chestage...

Listening intently to the fans. *whispers* Psst, Bono, just two words: MOFO PLEASE!!!


Walking towards the people in front of us with yellow vests


Amnesty International volunteers!! Yay!! And there's that lady who kept hijacking other people's pictures!!!


See, there she is again, getting into the picture with lovezeuser and Bono!!
Yes, that's my buddy lovezeuser on the right!! It's a good thing BM didn't tackle her for manhandling Bono!

This is when lovezeuser was telling Bono about me, and he leaned towards me to say, "Oh, hi Alma!"

And I finally got a picture with Bono... what a humbling experience...

And just because we like shiny foreheads and reflective sunglasses, I might as well put up the picture the camera captured with a flash.

And then Bono had to go in for an overdue soundcheck of what turned out to be Gavin Friday's songs that I didn't recognize...

My story about our encounter with Dallas to follow...

 

[vjacqb]

By the way, MissVelvetDress_75 could have been there too if she hadn't opted to go GA....
Instead of groping Bono like the rest of us, she was busy being the line nazi...

Someone needs to photoshop a whip in her hand...

just kidding!! I wish you had been there with us, Iris!

 

[U2BROTHR]

Nothing but pure gold for you vjacqb.

I'm jealous and very, very happy for you.

Awesome.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

By the way, MissVelvetDress_75 could have been there too if she hadn't opted to go GA....
Instead of groping Bono like the rest of us, she was busy being the line nazi...

Someone needs to photoshop a whip in her hand...

just kidding!! I wish you had been there with us, Iris!

LMFAO!!!!!!!!

What in the hell was I doing with my arm!? Funny as hell photo. This is now my FB profile pic!