June 29th, 2015 - Chicago, IL, United Center

[Sicy]

Post your photos, experiences and stories about this show here.

 

[Moser]

My body aches, and I don't have time to write a lengthy review or anything.

We arrived at the GA line at precisely the same time as we did in Chicago 3 at 5:15 and was let in around 6. Could pretty much pick any spot I wanted, with the exception of right at the railing near the main stage, or very very close to the main stage. Didn't really care because my girlfriend and I decided we would go to Adam's side and just hang out at the back near the Red Zone to take in everything. Turns out the view was fantastic of both stages and the screen, and I would pick this spot again.

Crowd was pretty good, but not as great as Chicago 3. However, my GA experience was better than Chicago 3 because I was around more girls and they seemed to be more enthusiastic than the boys I hung around at Chicago 3. And they were really into the new stuff like I was, and man I rocked out harder than ever before. We had an absolute blast. Kudos to those people around me. You really made the experience that much better by not being statues or drunk chatting socialites.

I didn't expect the setlist to change that much, and I'm glad it didn't because their static parts are fucking amazing. I wasn't sure how the experience would be because I watched YouTube which does no song any justice. The back to back nights are just everything they should be.

Crystal Ballroom was cool. The sound mix was nearly spot on. I can still hear Adam's bass grooving. No one except this group I was in actually knew what it was it. It's a b-side or something so I didn't expect the Chicago crowd to really know it. Great chorus to hop and cheer to.

I think U2 played one song less, and Bono cutoff a verse of WOWY which is fine by me. Chicago 3 was nuts, and I was really running on fumes energywise by the encore. Play the hits for the casual fans, and time to hit the road so I can begin my recovery.

The highlight for me had to be CedarWood Road/SBS/Raised by Wolves/UTEOTW. What a combo of powerful songs. Best part of the show.

 

[trevgreg]

I think U2 played one song less, and Bono cutoff a verse of WOWY which is fine by me.

Edge shot a look off at Bono when he didn't sing the other verse, which made me think that it was unintentional. But the band seemed to 'recover' okay and the videoscreen/lighting didn't appear any different, so who knows, I guess?

I had fun myself, but having some familiar faces from previous shows around me made the experience even better overall. I actually had the same two guys next to me that were with me in front of Edge in GA for Chicago 1, which was funny! But it all worked out pretty good... would've liked to have had Gloria on this night too, but Electric Co. was just fine again anyway. Didn't hurt that Bono and I had a bit of eye contact just before he threw out the water on our side and I was motioning for him to bring it on. That was pretty fun.

Enjoyed Crystal Ballroom, although I can see why they were stressing that they were still rehearsing it before playing it. Seems like it's an arrangement they're still working on (or maybe the song itself lends itself that way?), but I enjoyed it and it seemed like some in the GA crowd were as well. Maybe future performances can lend itself a better grip on the crowd as a whole...

 

[Miroslava]

Chicago 3 and 4 were incredible. Just incredible. Had a great time with my friend. We also ended up having a very similar rail line up for both nights. We were center catwalk on Edge's side. During our first show, we shared the rail with a very enthusiastic Brazilian and a brother and sister team that stood behind me during Phoenix 2. For our second Chicago show, the sister took a different rail spot, but the 4 of us were together again and our Brazilian friend, my friend and I jumped like crazies for most of the night.

These shows were so perfect that even if I could, I would not add another show to this leg. I would like to leave it as is. Didn't line up in the regular GA, I wasn't involved in any drama, and had wonderful spots for both nights. I took maybe 4 pictures with my phone for both nights, so not much to share, but here goes.

I do have some phone recordings from the concourse for Two Hearts and Sweetest Thing but people were taking and Bono sounds roooooooough. He wasn't going full out, so that is part of it, but his voice definitely was not in perfect shape. As I expected, he got it together for show time.








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[trevgreg]

Pictures from the meet and greets with Edge, Larry, and Adam...

 

[trevgreg]

Pictures from the show...

 

[Miroslava]

Awesome! How did you like the main stage?


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[trevgreg]

Thanks! Great pics yourself... the main stage was absolutely great, no question. I had a similar spot a little further to the left for Chicago 1, but that experience was enough to make me aim for the same spot this time around! Being 5-10 feet away from them is always fun, but being around people who I knew from other shows before and Chicago 1 definitely made the night a bit better as well.

 

[usceltic]

Miroslava. Can you see anything at all on the screen from the position on the rail you were at?

 

[Miroslava]

Thanks! Great pics yourself... the main stage was absolutely great, no question. I had a similar spot a little further to the left for Chicago 1, but that experience was enough to make me aim for the same spot this time around! Being 5-10 feet away from them is always fun, but being around people who I knew from other shows before and Chicago 1 definitely made the night a bit better as well.

During Vertigo, the dream for me was the rail at the main stage or failing that, outer rail. I only did 3 shows for 360 with 2 of them being GA and only lining up early enough for the front rail for 1 show. I loved it. For the four shows I did this tour, I never really was in contention for the front due to not lining up for hours, but I am not sure I would have gone for it. I am of course happy to hear you loved it. I am sure I would have felt the same way had I had the opportunity to be there.

But, the fact that I didn't fee the NEED to be there is the GREAT thing about this tour. There is no magic perfect spot. There are so many cool, though not perfect spots from a being able to see EVERYTHING standpoint that it allows so many of us to get spots that we are thrilled with.

Miroslava. Can you see anything at all on the screen from the position on the rail you were at?

If you are on the North Side (Adam's) you can barely see anything. I ended up there 1 out of 4 times. The other times I was given a South Side wristband. Since the gap between the catwalk and the rail is wider there due to the camera track, your view of the screen itself is better but you can barely see the band members themselves when they are inside the screen. I never felt cheated since as I mentioned above, all spots have some cons and some pros. So you win in certain aspects and lose in others.

I totally had the intention to roam the back for Phoenix 2 but that didn't happen since the venue was issuing wristbands and you had the opportunity to get to the rail for very minimal effort. Then, I meant to roam the back for Chicago 3 so I could see the screens. But then we got those Ride passes and the rail was there and being a true rail skank, I ended up going for it for both of my Chicago shows. I figure I can watch the screens on YouTube or when the DVD comes out, but the DVD cannot give me Bono and Edge right in front of me during RBW, or Larry just pounding that drum during SBS, or Adam laughing with/at me while I danced during MW etc. etc. So for me, it was awesome, but your mileage may of course vary.



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[usceltic]

How do those ride passes work? Will they be for every venue? Won't be much use to me anyway as I'm flying in to NYC from Miami.

 

[Miroslava]

The Ride thing appears to just be a trial run and was only planned for Denver, Chicago and Boston. My friend signed us up for it. You just had to tell them how you were going to reduce your footprint to get to the show. Carpool, public transportation, etc. I was going to be driving my friend and I for both shows. There were a limited number of passes. Not sure exactly how many but over 100 since that was supposed to be the maximum number of cars that got free parking at the venue. We didn't pay a cent for parking either night. However, there was nowhere near 100 people that were in line for early entry into the venue. I just don't think they did a great job of advertising it.

Anyway, we were let into the arena concourse at 5:00 pm and onto the GA floor several minutes after the general GA line had started to go in. Not sure how many minutes is several. For Chicago 3, I am guessing (I suck at telling how many people there are gathered at any given time) maybe the first 150 had been let in. There were quite a few spots along the side of the catwalk. Didn't really look to the e stage or main stage to figure out if we could get rail there. For Chicago 4 they let us in a lot earlier. There were tons of open spaces along the rail. Again, didn't look to the e or main, but we MAY have been able to get a spot on the e since I believe people that were behind us managed it. I will never have an easy GA experience like this so I am happy to leave it here for this leg. Not that I had plans for more shows, but I am definitely leaving it as is! My guess is that Boston will have a lot more people taking advantage of this as the word gets out.


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[trevgreg]

But, the fact that I didn't fee the NEED to be there is the GREAT thing about this tour. There is no magic perfect spot. There are so many cool, though not perfect spots from a being able to see EVERYTHING standpoint that it allows so many of us to get spots that we are thrilled with.

Absolutely. It's almost a certainty that no matter when you get there or where you're standing, you're going to have a a great view of something or someone at some point. That's part of what I enjoy about the intimacy that an arena show brings here... at least you're not cranking your neck up like you were at times for 360 either!

I debated before the show whether to aim for the e stage or Adam's side during the second show, and I probably would have ended up doing that if I had a third GA ticket for the tour. Or heck, even standing in the back at the middle of the screen would have been a nice place too! But I suppose that's why I got the lower level tickets for L.A. back in May, just for the video screen and all.

 

[Moser]

But, the fact that I didn't fee the NEED to be there is the GREAT thing about this tour. There is no magic perfect spot. There are so many cool, though not perfect spots from a being able to see EVERYTHING standpoint that it allows so many of us to get spots that we are thrilled with.

I had a fantastic time with others rocking out back in the center of the GA by the Red Zone. Great view. Didn't feel far from the band at all. The stage setup this tour is just fucking fantastic.

 

[ntalwar]

A few shots from the seats.

 

[Miroslava]

Awesome pictures!

I am so glad that everyone is so happy with their vantage point when they are so varied.







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[henryvox]

https://youtu.be/PMAb7W3JA_U
Bono Greeting fans June 28th before the show. Yes that is my son who yells, "Hey Bono I have a letter for Larry Mullen"!

 

[henryvox]

My son's first U2 concerts were magical to say the least!
At the end of Chicago Night 4, Mr. Larry stops to say bye to my boy when walking off the stage!

 

[henryvox]

Bono I have a letter for Larry Mullen!

Signed Rolling stone and sketch from Bono. Gifted drumsticks from Mr. Larry. When walking form the E stage to main stage, stopped and gave my son the sticks he had just used. When my son saw Bono, he gave him a hand written letter to give to Mr. Larry!

https://youtu.be/PMAb7W3JA_U