What were your Top 5 favorite Vertigo Tour shows?

[4U2Play]

I had the great fortune to attend 14 Vertigo Tour shows over the past 19 months.

Here are my 5 favorites:


5. Oakland 2 - November 9, 2005

- Inside the Ellipse, stood near the back for a change, lots of room to jump around
- Crowd was really pumped up, the Ellipse was already packed during Damien Marley's set
- "IWF"and "Gloria" back-to-back, awesome, totally awesome
- Moving speech by Bono during "One", talking about how the Bay Area "dreamt up the 21st Century"
- "Fast Cars" with Courtney on tambourine
- "Bad" to finish


4. San Jose 2 - April 10, 2005

- Scanned into the Ellipse for the second night in a row, very exciting, ended up in front between Bono and Edge
- Bono was in high spirits, having attended church that morning, much improved over the night before
- Opened with "LAPOE", great mood setter
- "An Cat Dubh", my favorite "Boy" song
- Debut of "OOTS", with Edge on piano
- Bono borrows Bratty Cat's lipstick
- Iris, Iris, Iris! Amazing dancer with Bono during "MW", brought the house down


3. Mexico City 2 - February 16, 2006

- Inside the barrier, between the two B-stages, lots of room to move around
- Awesomely loud crowd in Estadio Azteca, 75,000 screaming U2 fans
- Amazing visuals, we stood in the perfect spot to see the full effects of the giant video screen
- Great crowd singalong to "Cielito Lindo", a traditional folk song
- Show ends with "Fast Cars", "OOTS" and "40"


2. Tokyo 3 - December 4, 2006

- Entered the arena five minutes before everyone else, saw U2 doing their soundcheck ("OOC", with Bono saying "too much echo, lower the echo, please")
- I was in a great mood that night after worrying about the GA situation for three days... ended up on the front rail between Bono and Edge, my favorite spot
- Received a copy of the setlist before the show began
- John Sampson walked over and handed me Bono's guitar pick after Bono had used it out on the B-stage
- Japanese crowd was mental, really really into it
- Funny moment when the crowd sang the "woo oohs" to "Elevation" wrong... Bono tried to correct it, but he just gave up
- Instead of the usual crowd dancer during "MW", three Maiko (apprentice geishas) shuffled across the stage as Bono bowed to them
- They nailed "WITS"
- "Vertigo" to end, crowd went ballistic


1. Las Vegas 2 - November 5, 2005

- No Ellipse, but 8th row on Adam's side
- First chance to see the cool visuals
- Smallest arena of the tour, very intimate setting
- Brandon Flowers and Mary J. Blige as surprise guests
- Crowd sings Happy Birthday for Dennis Sheehan
- Hard rockin' setlist, no acoustic stuff
- Ended with "Bad", segueing into "People Got The Power" as they left the stage while the crowd kept singing

 

[bratty_cat]

1. San Jose 2
- Despite GA debacle going in where we lose our place at the front of the line, my friend scans in for the ellipse and we get front rail, right in front of Bono. He borrows my lipstick during the show (and thanks to 4U2Play, the moment is caught on "film").

2. Las Vegas 2
- Inside ellipse, front rail between Bono and Edge. Mary J. and Brandon Flowers and the first time I hear Bad live in years! A few hours after the show, I literally hit the jackpot and win $4K which covers our suite at the MGM and then some!

3. Oakland 2
- Outside front rail. Both Bad and Gloria played in the same show. One of my fave setlists on this tour!

4. San Jose 1
- My second Vertigo show (after SD opener) and our first GA experience on this tour. Outside front rail. Bono borrows our disposable camera and attempts to take a pic of himself during COBL.

5. Tokyo 3
- My 9th and last Vertigo show. Just two very, very short fans away from the rail on Adam's bstage (totally unobstructed view and no pushing). Great concert, great crowd energy and the chance to meet awesome fans from around the world!

 

[4U2Play]

Hey Bratty Cat!

Hmm, great minds think alike.

I edited my above post to include your famous lipstick incident , another great moment from SJ 2... SJ 2 maybe deserves a higher spot on my list, come to think of it.

You never told me about hitting the jackpot in Vegas, what a great night you had: U2, front rail and money.

 

[bratty_cat]

Hi Nick!

Ah, Vegas...Yes, I hit multiple jackpots on a dollar slot machine at New York, New York. It was about 5:30am after the second show and I was practically comatose. Had I not been catatonic, I would have walked away after the first jackpot (like any sensible person) but I believed the casino guy when he told me that sometimes the machines hit twice. In the end, I hit max jackpots twice and multiple small ones to total about $4K. Two days later I met Bono at work. It was a particularly good week

 

[Axver]

Well, out of the ten I saw, I'd rank them like this:

1. 2005-05-26, Boston
- Gloria
- Spontaneous Out Of Control
- Bad closing
- Band on a huge high, amazing atmosphere
- I was front row!

2. 2005-05-28, Boston
- The Electric Co.!!
- An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart (which is especially fun when you're in GA and have a girlfriend to dance with)
- First WGRYWH in 12.5 years
- Almost as good a position as the 26/05 show

3. 2006-11-25, Auckland
- Incredibly moving One Tree Hill to close; my single best live moment by any band ever
- Bad in LAPOE's spot
- Beautiful acoustic Walk On with a snippet of You'll Never Walk Alone
- Bono wearing an All Blacks jersey, and then revealing the Irish one underneath!

4. 2006-11-19, Melbourne
- The First Time!
- Bad to close
- Best Miss Sarajevo I've heard
- Just a couple of rows from Edge in a packed stadium
- Edge's hilarious "thank you, Sydney!"

5. 2006-11-13, Sydney
- The return of I Will Follow
- The funniest and most catastrophic Party Girl ever
- UTEOTW is a great encore opener
- A very relaxed "party" atmosphere

 

[celticbhoy]

Out of the 17 I saw, I'd rank them like this:

1. 2005-10-14, NY
- Gloria & Electric Co
- Requested & Sang Party Girl........and got Bono's champagne
- First into Elipse
- Bono's Set List
- Great atmosphere as last of 5 night stand

2. 2006-11-19, Melbourne
- First into stadium
- Bad to close out the show
- Party Girl much better than the Sydney debacle
- Peter Garret ( Midnight Oil ) stood in pit in front of me for first 3 songs , jumping around like a man possessed
- Bono's Set List
- Last show in Oz and band really on fire , Best Stadium show i saw

3. 2006-11-18, Melbourne
- First into stadium ( there's a bit of a pattern here , i think i should seek help !! )
- Fiancee at her 1st U2 concert in front of bono with me , finally she understands why i travel the world for this band !!
- I Will Follow outstanding as was The Fly
- Bono's Set List

4. 2005-06-25, Dublin
- First into stadium , which was funny as i was on o'connell st at 4pm selling a friends spare tickets , while they held my spot in the queue !!
- Bono's Set List
- Out of Control, Electric Co & Party Girl

5. 2005-10-10, NY
- I Will Follow & Electric Co
- Bad & 40 to close out the show
- First into Elipse
- Adam's Set List

roll on 2009...........

 

[pgv]

I was only at 3 ...

But..

1. Buffalo 9/dec/05
On my birthday, after lots of travelling and anticipation
In a small arena, and I was on the rail
At the end of love and peace or else bono handed me one of larrys drumsticks. Sums it up really.

2. Cardiff 29/June/05
First U2 Concert
In an amazing venue - such a huge stadium, I had nosebleed seats but still felt part of everything.
Opened by the killers
Played absolutely everything I wanted, and closed with vertigo which (contrary to popular belief) was amazing

3. Hawaii 9/dec/06
My birthday again, with lots of anticipation and travelling
Huge party atmosphere, for both band and audience
They played window in the skies and angel of harlem (two of my many favourite songs) and bono played the harmonica in the latter.
I was on a rail again.

4. Last Croke Park
I wasn't there - but have a bootleg and really wish I had made the effort to go. 26 songs (I think?) and all of them brilliant.

5. Melbourne
Only wish I had been there to witness the booing!

 

[Kinsa]

I only went to 5 concerts, so here's how I rank what I saw -

1) Vegas 2 -
Just a phenomenal night of music. The band and the audience had such a real connection, to me its hard to put in words, but it was like having a real spiritual experience (yes, I know that sounds totally corny ) Loved the setlist, loved Mary J, and Brandon Flowers, loved Bad with People Got the Power, just loved the show!!

2) Phoenix 2 -
Great night of music, loved the setlist, and the boys were just on their game that night.

3) Honolulu -
This was a great show, but I didn't care for the setlist as much as others I have seen. Felt like the middle portion of the show (LAPOE, Miss Sarajevo, etc.) lagged in energy a bit. But the two encores were

4) Anaheim 2 -
First show I saw this tour, so it was just great to see everything. Loved watching them work out 40 in front of everyone.

5) Vegas 1 -
This show was good, but definitely lacked the energy of a great U2 show. But, it did have a lot of songs I really wanted to hear, albiet acoustic versions (Wild Horses, Walk On), plus it had Elvis baby!

 

[J_NP]

Funny this thread .....

People are saying I " only " went to 5, 4 .... poor me .....



What about people who could attend 1 or better people who couldn't attend any ....... what word should be used ?

 

[Kinsa]

Funny this thread .....

People are saying I " only " went to 5, 4 .... poor me .....



What about people who could attend 1 or better people who couldn't attend any ....... what word should be used ?

I don't think anyone is stating "poor me", but the question asked to rank your top 5 concerts, so if you only went to 5, that is relevant information for everyone to understand your ranking.

And for those who could only attend 1 or no shows, well, then, there really isn't anything for them to rank, right? So why does it matter what word should be used?

 

[Zoots]

I only attended 25 shows. Didn't like any of them.

 

[Chizip]

poor you

 

[Zoots]

What can I say? I have high standards.

 

[corianderstem]

My list is pretty easy out of the 6 shows I attended, because there was only one show that I can honestly say did nothing for me (Vancouver 2).

1. Vegas 2
First and only time in the ellipse! Second row! Great show, great company, just all-around awesomeness.

2. Seattle 2
My one time not in GA, and it was SUCH a rocking show. Nice not to have to worry about GA and not seeing. My $160 was completely worth it. Gloria! Bad! The first appearance of Vertigo x2! That show was amazing. I only ranked Vegas 2 higher because I was in the second row.

3. New York 10/10/05
Decent spot on the floor, really great show.

4. Portland 12/19/06
Back of the floor by the mixing board, but still a good time and a fun show.

5. Seattle 1
In comparison to the other shows I saw, it wasn't great by any standards, but it was the first time I'd seen U2 since 1997, and I was only two heads back from the rail on the floor. I just about popped my head off with excitement.

 

[pgv]

Funny this thread .....

People are saying I " only " went to 5, 4 .... poor me .....



What about people who could attend 1 or better people who couldn't attend any ....... what word should be used ?

I'm not saying poor me, i only went to 3 shows. But when you compare that to the 10+ that alot of people on here have been to.. it seems oddly insignificant. Plus its hard to pick your top 5 when you have been to under 5 shows.

 

[schnazdoodle]

I only went to three - so I won't presume to rank anything (I don't feel "qualified" to do so) - but I was at both Vegas shows, and am glad to see I'm not the only one who thought Vegas 2 was AWESOME!!

I was outside the ellipse and while the band was pretty main-stage bound (as opposed to the night before when they were all over the catwalk thing), the playlist and performance was infinitely better. It was a great concert, IMO.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

4. Philadelphia 5/22/05
My first U2 show since 1997 and my first time in GA. I was one back from the rail on Adam's side, all the way at the side barrier. The standard setlist, but a very good performance. Rumors had it that Bad was on the setlist, but the show closed with 40, most likely because Dallas and Stuart got confused and brought out the wrong equipment (let's blame Stuart ) A great show, but it didn't have the same magic as the fall shows for me.

3. Philadelphia 10/16/05
My first U2 show by myself, and my only night in seats. I had a great view (I was on Adam's side, about even with the tip of the ellipse), but the crowd in my section and the one next to it wasn't a lot of fun. There was an extremely drunk middle-aged couple next to me, and they kept making beer runs, so I wanted to kick them. The woman spilled half a beer on me during Miss Sarajevo. But it was the guy's first U2 show ever, and he hugged me and started crying during Streets, and it was somehow still a nice moment.

2. Buffalo 12/9/05
A very long, tedious day in GA, as the people in line around me didn't want to talk, and we weren't allowed to move around much. I had my best spot of the tour, on the rail about maybe 10 people from the tip of the ellipse on Adam's side. I knew it was going to be my last show of the tour, so it was a bittersweet night. The band arrived late, but what their performance lacked in polish they made up for in heart. They were having so much fun. Adam stood in front of me for a long time during Streets (I got a ) and Bono sang With Or Without You right in front of me, which completely made me go weak in the knees

Also the first show where I paid attention to Dallas

1. 10/17/05 Philadelphia
The best concert I've ever been to, hands down. The band connected with the crowd in a totally different way than they had the night before, and my section of GA was great. I was in the same spot as my first GA show, because I let two girls have my rail spot because it was the birthday of one of them (I sort of regret it now, since not only did they not send me pictures, but they didn't even thank me and say good night after the show), though they did let me have the rail for Sometimes and Streets. They played The Electric Co., I Will Follow, Walk On, Fast Cars, and a lot of great snippets.

And of course Brooooooooce. It's funny--I was trying to reload my camera when he first came on stage, and I thought the crowd was booing. My only disappointment was that again Bad was on the setlist and didn't get played.

I had tickets for two other shows but just couldn't make my plans work. What a tour for me, though. I wouldn't trade the memories for anything. I'm really glad I've got recordings of all four shows to help me relive the good times.

Sorry for the novel

 

[4U2Play]

Sorry for the novel

Not at all, your descriptions are very interesting, I think.

It's great you saw the Bruce show, the bootleg video looks awesome.

 

[coolian2]

Despite attending two shows, i can do this.

5: Auckland I soundcheck: Acoustic bits and pieces - got to the stadium mid-way through U2 soundchecking before the opened the gates. Sounded like Yahweh and the First Time.

4: Auckland I soundcheck: City Of Blinding Lights up until after the chorus sans Bono - It finally hit me that the time had finally come. Despite being in the merchandise queue outside the gates behind the stage, it sounded great and i could feel the drum punching me in the chest.

3: Auckland I soundcheck: One Tree Hill - Arrived mid-way through the rehearsal of it. Great.

2: Auckland I - First U2 show ever. Great night..got to hear I Will Follow, Sgt. Peppers snippet, Kite, Angel of Harlem, really popular Mysterious Ways and especially One Tree Hill.

1: Auckland II - If i thought the first night couldn't be topped, i was wrong. More songs i never expected to hear prior to the tour - Walk On, Bad!!!, Desire. Not to mention fuckmazing performances of Until The End Of The World, Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Fly and One Tree Hill.


Disqualify me if you want.

 

[MacHat]

I only went to Auckland I, so that's my favourite Vertigo show

 

[J_NP]

Despite attending two shows, i can do this.

Was thinkin the same .......

So I went to :



1-São Paulo 21/02/06 : U2 played The First Time for The First Time in a Stadium :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IijR6Ltg8TU

2-São Paulo 21/02/06 : U2 played Desire for the 1st time on Vertigo Tour :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vTZRl8FAIEE

3-São Paulo 21/02/06 : U2 played an amazing version of Yahweh :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1cgPDJkmTZw

4- São Paulo 21/02/06 : U2 Ended a Vertigo Show with AIWIY for the 1st time :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XNY04Qu-LXc

5-São Paulo 21/02/06 : After 16 Years U2 played Love Rescue Me , even if only a snippet

So feel free to call the mods and delete my message , if I'm breakin the rules also

 

[Westport]

1. Vegas 2
2. Anaheim 1
3. San Diego 1
4. NYC - 10/10/05
5. Los Angeles 11/1/05

 

[brono]

Out of 27 Vertigo's...hmmm:

1. San Jose 2, spring 2005 - ellipse front row Edge for most of the show, end of report.
2. Seattle 1&2 (tie), spring 2005 - for probably the first time in 61 U2 shows, I enjoyed both nights equally...just cried and cried...one night in the ellipse, one night "sitting" behind the soundboard.
3. Chicago 4, spring 2005 - best setlist, especially since they played UTEOTW.
4. Dublin 2, summer 2005 - Bono in particular was on fire!
5. Vegas 2, fall 2005 - seats behind the stage amazingly thrilling and they played UTEOTW again.

 

[4U2Play]

Disqualify me if you want.

Pure genius!

The only way you'd be disqualified is if you would have ranked one of the soundchecks ahead of the shows


Brono, 27 Vertigo shows, wow. Where do you rank Honolulu?

 

[shortfuse]

This is how i rank the 5 shows i saw -

5. Sydney 13 Nov 06
UTEOTW opening the encore was fantastic, as was mysterious ways to follow.
And who can forget that awfully disjointed party girl....

4. Melbourne 18 Nov 06
Full band performance of stuck in a moment... but overall the show wasnt as good as the following nights'

3. Sydney 10 Nov 06
My first ever u2 show, Zoo station, Yahweh and full band Walk on all included in the set...

2. Melbourne 19 Nov 06

I only got my GA ticket at 6 on the evening of the show, but i got a wristband and thus gained access to the ellipse
jubilant atmosphere, fantastic performances of the first time and Bad.....

1. Sydney 11Nov 06
excellent show, great set, the band were on fire as was the crowd....

 

[coolian2]

Pure genius!

The only way you'd be disqualified is if you would have ranked one of the soundchecks ahead of the shows

I also thought i heard a full band Walk On, but it sounded like it was right off ATYCLB.

If i was certain it was live

 

[cdparky]

Out of the 14 I attended (8 Europe, 6 USA)

1. Croke Park 24/6/05
- First time seeing U2 in Dublin, enough said. Best place in the world to see them.

2. Boston 3/10/05
- amazing show, amazing atmosphere, inside the Ellipse.

3. New York 7/10/05
- first trip to NYC, inside the Ellipse again.

4. London 18/6/05
- Never really been one to queue but made the effort this time. Spent all day in blistering heat (hottest weekend of the year in the UK) but ended up about 5 rows from the front - never been that close before.

5. Glasgow 21/6/05
- after the queueing success in London did the same in Glasgow. Glasgow crowds certainly know how to give the boys a warm welcome!

 

[U2FanPeter]

Seattle 1&2 (tie), spring 2005 - for probably the first time in 61 U2 shows, I enjoyed both nights equally...just cried and cried...one night in the ellipse, one night "sitting" behind the soundboard.

I thought Seattle 1 was a near write-off whereas Seattle 2 being one of the very best shows of the entire tour. The bootlegs usually don't lie.

The only thing S1 has going for it was being one of the last LAPOE openers and I think the BOY set had something rarer.

Of course, I was in the rafters night one and outside the ellipse the second night.

 

[THATgirl]

I was fortunate enough to see at least 1 show on every leg of the tour, here is how I would rate my top 5 shows:

1. Mexico City 1. It seemed to me that the city itself when in U2 mode, there seemed to be U2 everywhere, newsstands, TV, posters, etc. I even remember watching some music channel, Mtv perhaps, and they addressed U2 as “The band that woke up the World!”Amazing energy in Estadio Azteca, especially after the lack luster crowd of Monterrey. The band walked out from behind the stage in full view of the crowd and everyone just went mad! Really set the mood and turned out to be an excellent performance. I’ll definitely be going to any/all Mexico City shows next tour.

2. Dublin 2. Finally got to see the lads in their home town. The first night seemed a little shaky but this second night, they were on fire! Relaxed and having fun, they put on a great show. And having “Matt from Canada” go up and play Party Girl was a highlight!

3. Mexico City 2. Awesome crowd, the band just ate it all up. IT WAS SOO LOUD in the Stadium! Tons of audience participation, what a fun night!

4. Seattle 2. Vertigo twice! And I think every girl in the audience had a tear in her eye during Sometimes with "Jason" singing along, what a great memory.

5. San Diego 2. Maybe not the best show on the tour but this was a great night for me for purely personal reasons. I went from having behind the stage seats to giving them to some friends who had never seen U2 live, to scoring GA s at the box office, to getting scanned into the Ellipse! End up on rail on Edges side. Plus it was in my hometown


Honorable Mention: Oakland 2. I can’t quite pinpoint why but for some reason this show had an “old U2” feel about it. It seemed a bit stripped down. And the flags were missing, although I believe this was in error!

 

[popacrobat]

#1- Toronto 9/ 17

popmuzik, discotheque, fast cars, the fly

#2- Boston 12/4

long version of one, bad, extra encore with all because of you, fast cars closing.

#3- Boston 12/5

out of the 24 shows i saw this was the only one where i was in the ellipse. crumbs, instant karma were cool as well.


#4- Philadelphia 10/17

fast cars, people get ready w/ bruce springsteen.... great show.

#5- Boston 5/28

last night of the first leg... wild horses electric, an cat dubh, love and peace opening, party girl, vertigo x2, until the end of the world...


boston had the best shows overall