What a show. I feel so blessed to have been there. What a great set and relaxed band. Even the wheather was fine for most part of the show, only light rain from time to time, I didn't even notice.
Before the show I went up to the platform of the Olympic Tower - it was horribly windy and a little scary up there, but I managed to take some amazing pictures of the Olympic park with the stadium and the claw in it.
At the show, I had the best spot you can have, directly at the catwalk. I actually saw more of the band than at any other show when I was in the front of stage area. I'm so glad I decided not to go into the circle this time. Entrance was as expected, they didn't open all the gates at the same time, possibly to avoid chaos on the stairs, but we got in quite quickly, even though it was a little scary because people who had to wait were really starting to get annoyed. Running down the many steps was tough, but I got the spot I wanted and I enjoyed the show so much.
There was a strike in public transport that day in Munich, just as I expected, because with the U2 concert and the Champions League game there were two major events in the city that evening and of course a strike actually takes place when it hurts the most. There were about 150.000 people expected at both events so the media was full with horrible stories about the total chaos they expected in the evening. However, it wasn't as bad since most trains were actually operating, and I was lucky to have a hotel nearby, I walked to the stadium and back again, I quite enjoyed the little walk at night and used it to reflect the concert and just cool down a little.
The concert was officially sold out, the circle was quite packed and there was a second GA area behind the catwalk, I had already seen it from above when I was up on the tower. The area was also quite full and tight, at least where I was standing. People were in good mood and I met some guys from my home country, we had a great time together and talked about U2 and our various concert experiences. They were casual fans and didn't know much about the band and the tour - I had to tell them the names of Dallas and the other techs who were on stage before the show started - but they were so much in awe at the show and couldn't believe how great it was. That was just very nice to see
One Republic were great, again, but I think it's a shame they rely on playing cover versions to get the audience going instead of their own material. I still feel "Stop and stand" sounds very U2-ish, that's the song I like most. Bono gave some very nice shout-outs to the band later on in the show.
Hearing the new stuff and MOTD was so amazing, it was more than I had hoped for. Also, we got a full set, unlike Zurich, and Bono was singing beautifully, his voice being in great shape.
I am still very much excited about the concert, spent a couple of days in Munich and Salzburg afterwards and can't wait to download the bootleg. Now I'm off to bed since I got so little sleep last week, but I'll post more impressions and some of my photos next week, if I find the time. I'll never forget that show in Munich