Hi'ya Superblue,
I have a Canon Powershot S90, a camera that is very similar to the Lumix LX3 (& now the LX5). They are both pretty interesting cameras for concerts, when you don't want to do the dSLR thing (I can't afford an SLR, plus I don't want to lug it around).
Fast wide-angle lense, good sensor size, but only a teeny-tiny zoom. I kinda like this limited zoom, no cheating with a 10x zoom, you actually HAVE to get close. Plus the wide-angle 20mm will let you get in a little more of the screen & the CLAW in your shots.
One big advantage of these cameras compared to your average compact is that fast lense (large aperature). Both cameras have a maximum aperture of f/2.0, which lets in double the light of your usual compact f/2.8 lense. So you'll get away with shooting at a lower ISO (sensitivity), & faster shutter speeds, without getting under-exposed shots. dSLR have much larger sensors, so they can get away with shooting at much higher ISO's without too much noise (grainy look) - as the pixel density is lower. Most compacts crap out above about ISO 400. But as the sensor size for the LX5 & my S90 are a bit larger than your average compact, & as the resolution isn't too high (at 10MP) - the pixel density isn't too high. So you can get away with shooting at a bit higher ISO WHEN required (ISO 800 or a bit higher, but only when needed).
Even though I wanted the aperature pretty much fully opened all the time, I actually shot at shutter priority (Tv), not manual. This was so the camera could adjust the aperature when required, for those super-bright times, to reduce the chances of over-exposed shots. Not that this really worked, as even at exposure compensation of -2, the camera still would keep it's aperature fully opened at f/2.0, due to all that black background. Still on a few shots, during those very, very bright times, the camera did close the aperature a little, reducing the over-exposure.
I shot at a shutter speed of 1/125s, so the shots are nice & clear, with no blurring. With that large f/2.0 aperature you can do this no problem, & still get enough light in. I only reduced the shutter speed a couple of times, for the very beginnings of a couple of songs which were very, very dark (not sure if you want spoilers, so won't say which songs unless you ask - not that there's too many suprises now anyway). Actually dropped the shutter speed down to 1/8s for one of these songs, as it's so dark, but watch for camera shake.
I shot between ISO 250-400, a few shots at 640 (& 800 to 1600 for the beginnings of the couple of songs mentioned above). I generally found that I had very few under-exposed shots, a few shots over-exposed, but generally not too bad. Not sure how easy it is for you to change settings mid-show. My camera has a control ring around the lense, so I could change my ISO very, very easily. If this is a hassle, & you wanted to set one ISO & leave it, I'd say set it around 320 if you can. I had found, in '09, (when I let set my camera at auto ISO, -2 exposure compensation), when most of my photos were ISO 800, that there were a lot of over-exposed shots, totally washing out the band member's faces. So I'd say be VERY careful using high ISO with your camera, as it lets in a lot of light, & you'll get over exposed shots. Oh, also, not sure if Larry is angelic or what. But he definitely had a glow to him. In '09 he was very washed out on my catwalk shots. With that white shirt, I'd shoot him at 250-350 ISO, no higher.
I use continuous shooting. Don't want to concentrate on the camera too much, I want to enjoy the show. I just point the thing in their general direction, hold the finger down, for a burst. That's what digital photography is about right, one of them is bound to come out ok.
One bad thing with a large aperature lense, you have a smaller depth of field, so there's a little higher chance of unfocused shots. But I still decided to use auto focus, & it generally worked fine. Not many out of focus shots. I Didn't want to spend too much time fiddling with focal lengths, so auto focus was the way to go. Not sure how manual focus would do in Red Zone anyway, when the band members come around the catwalk, it's be tough getting that right. May be good to use manual focus for the main stage, & check your focal length before U2 comes on. Oh, turn on image stabilisation to reduce the chances of blurring.
I used spot metering. More so for those close ups when the band is close, not a big deal for shots of the main stage I think.
No flash, goes without saying.
I also turn down the brightness of the LCD screen, conserve batteries, & annoy those behind you less.
Ok, enough rambling on. In summary,
Fast shutter speed, 1/125s.
Large aperature, f/2.0 (if in Tv shutter priority mode AUTO with -2 exposure compensation).
Mid-level ISO, 250-400, 320 if I had to pick a single value.
Spot metering.
Continuous shooting.
Image stabilisation on.
No flash.
Good luck
I'd also say try not to get caught up in the photography, enjoy the show. But I'd recommend that during the intermissions you check out some of the shots (zoom in on them), & see if you need to make any adjustments (probably the ISO you're using would be the thing you may want to adjust).
