June 27th, 2015 - Chicago, IL, United Center

[Sicy]

PLEASE post your pictures, stories and experiences here.

 

[Super Yo]

http://youtu.be/JBmrPlSUZUs


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Moser]

GA line was organized and cordial. I arrived about quarter after 5 PM, and they started letting us in at 6 PM. My girlfriend and I got great spots. About 1/3 of the way between the main stage and e-stage on Edge's side, and only 3rd row from the railing/catwalk. Fantastic view view of the band, and within just feet of the band when they came by and parked it on the catwalk. I've never been so close to any of these guys before. Some guy had the #139 on his hand. I was right behind him. He must have been there early, but I got in late and didn't seem to matter.

I was surprised to see people my age (I'm 26) and younger on the floor with me, while the older folks (older than 40) seemed to be in the minority. "This is good" I thought. The show started at 8:15 PM on the dot. The Miracle opened and everyone was singing "ooh OOOOH oooh OOOhh" and sounded great as intro song. Props for U2 going with this song as the opener. It's a really great song and belongs here.

Gloria was unexpected. I heard the drums start, and everyone started to nerdgasm. "2,3,4" I yelled as the band kicked off a great performance of this 1981 single. The floor was active and wild. There was even an "Up, up, up" chant going on like we were back in '83 or something.

The band was pumped up last tonight. IDK if this is a Chicago thing, but the Bono's face seemed like it wants to pop all it's blood vessels or something. When he is not singing the microphone, he is feeding off the crowd's energy and vice versa. Vertigo was powerful, and everyone was just into it. I Will Follow was a mirror image. Bono started yelling about this song was first a suicide note. There was a cool narrative going on.

The floor was a steaming hot, smelly stew of deodorant, sweat, body odor, perfume and spilled beer. It was a wild place where I was at. It felt almost like a club setting at times. The cheering, screaming, the yelling, the OMFGs; it was a great place to be.

Iris, CedarWood Road, and Song for Someone workout live. Iris was pretty emotional, and you really feel for Bono during this song. CedarWood Road and Song for Someone were kind of funny because the crowd around me would be looking for him, and they didn't seem to know he would be in the screen. It was pretty great. The rest of the band was just killing Cedarwood Road. What a performance! The Edge was just feet from me and strumming those power chords, and the earth seemed to shake beneath my feet.

Sunday Bloody Sunday, Raised by Wolves, Until the End of the World. This trio works and hits hard. The subdued Sunday Bloody Sunday didn't seem to steal any of the crowd's energy away. We just fucking rolled with it. I could see clear across the catwalk and they were just loving it with the band so close and personal. The sequence from Raised by Wolves into the End of World . Best performance of UTEOTW I've heard live. Beats the 2011 performance hands down.

The intermission started and I digged it. The Wanderer is a personal favorite, although the Chicago crowd seemed to have forgotten this is an actual U2 song or something. I understood this was the beginning of the experience section when Cash sang the line "I came here in search of experience". Pretty cool. Invisible was cooler. I don't think the crowd realized the band was inside the screen, and then POP "Hey look there inside!", and the crowd resumed it's energy-blaze.

They seemed to have cleaned up and enhanced this new version of Even Better Than the Real Thing. Edge has thrown in some cooler guitar hooks, and Bono's voice was incredibly strong. "TAKE ME HIIIIGHHHH-YAAAR". He and we sung it like mad men/women.

What I thought would be the weak point of the show turned out to be one of it's strongest points. Mysterious Ways went off with a bang, and then as I expected he pulled a girl my age (I think?) named Julia. She was pretty good on stage. She danced, we danced. Bono seemed to dig her. They had met in the GA line earlier that day. It apparently was not her first time on stage; she was up once before on the Vertigo Tour in Cleveland. Bono seemed to what seemed like a sexually charged comment, or what could be conceived as a fat joke. "My how've you grown" he quotes from In A Little While.

Desire was fucking mad. It wasn't some lame acoustic version. Bono yelled "Desire" and they kicked off the full band version. I don't know how we still had energy in the tank, but the crowd was a mob. I can still hear everyone yelling "AND THE FEVER WHEN I'M INSIDE HER! DESIRE!". Next think you know, two guys are up on stage, with the band with Julia, who was actually filming pretty well with the cell phone thing (moving around, going from one band member to the next), and one of them is playing an acoustic. Bono seemed to really like the guy's guitar playing, because he mentioned several times how he says it's a great feel and different. He did La Bamba for a short snippet. They continued Desire and they other guy was singing lead, and he was pretty good. On key with energy, I was thoroughly impressed. The United Center became even more of a madhouse as Bono then skillfully whipped out the harmonica and does what he does best. Best Desire I've seen live.

Lucifer's Hands was a surprise, and it was well-received but it seemed less known. Not surprising, it is a B-side.

I wanted the Every Breaking Wave full band version, but I knew what I was going to get. I would have enjoyed the subdued version more, but these fucking drunk broads were chatting up loudly about SnapChat? in their ugly dresses and lip gloss. LIP FUCKING GLOSS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'm sorry, but Bono is not going to pull you up just because you dress up like a $20 whore. Someone politely asked them to be quiet. Seriously, what's with this shit? Every Chicago show, there are always a group of girls that don't belong in the GA, who don't know the new songs, and are just there to socialize and drink. GTFO and go to fucking bar. Fucking dumb broads. My girlfriend was more pissed than me. She hates those kind of girls more than anything.

Anyways, Bullet the Blue Sky was an absolute hit. My girlfriend despises this song. A lot. She has said it's their worse song multiple times. When we left the show, she said it was her favorite performance of the night by far. I guess live music can change anything. She said Bono was at his best during that song, and the whole megaphone rant into the Hands That Built America was the hallmark of the show. I can see why. It was iconic.

Just when you thought it couldn't even get any louder, they hit up the Chicago favorite of Gay Pride in the Name of Love, and we officially hit the ceiling of the United Center. It was a special performance/celebration for obvious reasons. I am very happy for all Americans as people who have deserved marriage equality are now getting it! Although it wasn't the most Constitutional way, I'm glad in this case SCOTUS overstepped their bounds and did right for all Americans.

Beautiful Day is a crowd favorite. I enjoyed it but I would have rather seen Two Hearts Beat as One instead of a snippet.

All I Want is You. Wow! I mean seriously, WOW. Another personal high for the night. Everyone knew the words. Everyone sung the verse, screamed the chorus, and the band, especially Bono, were just lost in the song. It was a chilling rendition. Bono left everything out there at the end of the song.

With or Without You was the climax of the night. The lights were on. Everyone was completely consumed. A really special night. It could have ended on that note, and I would've still gone home completely satisfied.

Encore:
Not much to say here. City of Blinding Lights started with Bono's voice a little shot to his surprise. I wasn't surprised. The man threw his heart and voice out in all the previous songs. He quickly recovered, and it's a good crowd pleaser.

Streets is streets. Everyone loves it. The band loves it. It's also a rally song for the Chicago Blackhawks.

One. People here don't like the sing along. But it works. It really works as a closer. No one was shy about singing it. We were with U2 100% the entire show.

Fucking unbelievable night. Very special. It needed to be filmed professionally. You just can't ask for a better energy level/crowd involvement.

 

[ultravioletluvv]

Great review! Thank you!


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[LadySpinHead]

I agree, Moser- I was at Thursday's show and Sunday's show, and although I loved getting Bad on Thursday, last night's show was more energetic, and the crowd was wild. Gloria and AIWIY were amazing surprises. Glad you had a great time!

 

[Lotus_Om]

GA line was organized and cordial. I arrived about quarter after 5 PM, and they started letting us in at 6 PM. My girlfriend and I got great spots. About 1/3 of the way between the main stage and e-stage on Edge's side, and only 3rd row from the railing/catwalk. Fantastic view view of the band, and within just feet of the band when they came by and parked it on the catwalk. I've never been so close to any of these guys before. Some guy had the #139 on his hand. I was right behind him. He must have been there early, but I got in late and didn't seem to matter.

I was surprised to see people my age (I'm 26) and younger on the floor with me, while the older folks (older than 40) seemed to be in the minority. "This is good" I thought. The show started at 8:15 PM on the dot. The Miracle opened and everyone was singing "ooh OOOOH oooh OOOhh" and sounded great as intro song. Props for U2 going with this song as the opener. It's a really great song and belongs here.

Gloria was unexpected. I heard the drums start, and everyone started to nerdgasm. "2,3,4" I yelled as the band kicked off a great performance of this 1981 single. The floor was active and wild. There was even an "Up, up, up" chant going on like we were back in '83 or something.

The band was pumped up last tonight. IDK if this is a Chicago thing, but the Bono's face seemed like it wants to pop all it's blood vessels or something. When he is not singing the microphone, he is feeding off the crowd's energy and vice versa. Vertigo was powerful, and everyone was just into it. I Will Follow was a mirror image. Bono started yelling about this song was first a suicide note. There was a cool narrative going on.

The floor was a steaming hot, smelly stew of deodorant, sweat, body odor, perfume and spilled beer. It was a wild place where I was at. It felt almost like a club setting at times. The cheering, screaming, the yelling, the OMFGs; it was a great place to be.

Iris, CedarWood Road, and Song for Someone workout live. Iris was pretty emotional, and you really feel for Bono during this song. CedarWood Road and Song for Someone were kind of funny because the crowd around me would be looking for him, and they didn't seem to know he would be in the screen. It was pretty great. The rest of the band was just killing Cedarwood Road. What a performance! The Edge was just feet from me and strumming those power chords, and the earth seemed to shake beneath my feet.

Sunday Bloody Sunday, Raised by Wolves, Until the End of the World. This trio works and hits hard. The subdued Sunday Bloody Sunday didn't seem to steal any of the crowd's energy away. We just fucking rolled with it. I could see clear across the catwalk and they were just loving it with the band so close and personal. The sequence from Raised by Wolves into the End of World . Best performance of UTEOTW I've heard live. Beats the 2011 performance hands down.

The intermission started and I digged it. The Wanderer is a personal favorite, although the Chicago crowd seemed to have forgotten this is an actual U2 song or something. I understood this was the beginning of the experience section when Cash sang the line "I came here in search of experience". Pretty cool. Invisible was cooler. I don't think the crowd realized the band was inside the screen, and then POP "Hey look there inside!", and the crowd resumed it's energy-blaze.

They seemed to have cleaned up and enhanced this new version of Even Better Than the Real Thing. Edge has thrown in some cooler guitar hooks, and Bono's voice was incredibly strong. "TAKE ME HIIIIGHHHH-YAAAR". He and we sung it like mad men/women.

What I thought would be the weak point of the show turned out to be one of it's strongest points. Mysterious Ways went off with a bang, and then as I expected he pulled a girl my age (I think?) named Julia. She was pretty good on stage. She danced, we danced. Bono seemed to dig her. They had met in the GA line earlier that day. It apparently was not her first time on stage; she was up once before on the Vertigo Tour in Cleveland. Bono seemed to what seemed like a sexually charged comment, or what could be conceived as a fat joke. "My how've you grown" he quotes from In A Little While.

Desire was fucking mad. It wasn't some lame acoustic version. Bono yelled "Desire" and they kicked off the full band version. I don't know how we still had energy in the tank, but the crowd was a mob. I can still hear everyone yelling "AND THE FEVER WHEN I'M INSIDE HER! DESIRE!". Next think you know, two guys are up on stage, with the band with Julia, who was actually filming pretty well with the cell phone thing (moving around, going from one band member to the next), and one of them is playing an acoustic. Bono seemed to really like the guy's guitar playing, because he mentioned several times how he says it's a great feel and different. He did La Bamba for a short snippet. They continued Desire and they other guy was singing lead, and he was pretty good. On key with energy, I was thoroughly impressed. The United Center became even more of a madhouse as Bono then skillfully whipped out the harmonica and does what he does best. Best Desire I've seen live.

Lucifer's Hands was a surprise, and it was well-received but it seemed less known. Not surprising, it is a B-side.

I wanted the Every Breaking Wave full band version, but I knew what I was going to get. I would have enjoyed the subdued version more, but these fucking drunk broads were chatting up loudly about SnapChat? in their ugly dresses and lip gloss. LIP FUCKING GLOSS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'm sorry, but Bono is not going to pull you up just because you dress up like a $20 whore. Someone politely asked them to be quiet. Seriously, what's with this shit? Every Chicago show, there are always a group of girls that don't belong in the GA, who don't know the new songs, and are just there to socialize and drink. GTFO and go to fucking bar. Fucking dumb broads. My girlfriend was more pissed than me. She hates those kind of girls more than anything.

Anyways, Bullet the Blue Sky was an absolute hit. My girlfriend despises this song. A lot. She has said it's their worse song multiple times. When we left the show, she said it was her favorite performance of the night by far. I guess live music can change anything. She said Bono was at his best during that song, and the whole megaphone rant into the Hands That Built America was the hallmark of the show. I can see why. It was iconic.

Just when you thought it couldn't even get any louder, they hit up the Chicago favorite of Gay Pride in the Name of Love, and we officially hit the ceiling of the United Center. It was a special performance/celebration for obvious reasons. I am very happy for all Americans as people who have deserved marriage equality are now getting it! Although it wasn't the most Constitutional way, I'm glad in this case SCOTUS overstepped their bounds and did right for all Americans.

Beautiful Day is a crowd favorite. I enjoyed it but I would have rather seen Two Hearts Beat as One instead of a snippet.

All I Want is You. Wow! I mean seriously, WOW. Another personal high for the night. Everyone knew the words. Everyone sung the verse, screamed the chorus, and the band, especially Bono, were just lost in the song. It was a chilling rendition. Bono left everything out there at the end of the song.

With or Without You was the climax of the night. The lights were on. Everyone was completely consumed. A really special night. It could have ended on that note, and I would've still gone home completely satisfied.

Encore:
Not much to say here. City of Blinding Lights started with Bono's voice a little shot to his surprise. I wasn't surprised. The man threw his heart and voice out in all the previous songs. He quickly recovered, and it's a good crowd pleaser.

Streets is streets. Everyone loves it. The band loves it. It's also a rally song for the Chicago Blackhawks.

One. People here don't like the sing along. But it works. It really works as a closer. No one was shy about singing it. We were with U2 100% the entire show.

Fucking unbelievable night. Very special. It needed to be filmed professionally. You just can't ask for a better energy level/crowd involvement.

Goosebumps! The show was incredible!

 

[bjones]

Ditto to the previous reviews. My wife and I were lucky enough to be on rail in red zone on Adam's side. Band's and crowd's energy was the best I've seen in any show. This was my 15th show. If you have any doubt about the band's relevance in today's music scene go see a show and be amazed.