Australia is on - early 2006!

[Earnie Shavers]

UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE-UPDATE
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The Sunday, Sydney Morning Herald had a article saying that U2 have 'signed up' with a Australian promotor and are simply organising logistics...

Yah!

And that article, like I suggested before, says we're getting the stadium show.

Heads up to those who have never seen a concert at the Sydney Football Stadium - borrow, beg, steal, do whatever you can to be on the floor (ie not in the stands) and IN FRONT of the second row of speakers (which will be about a third of the way back). I know that is stating the obvious to all of you in here who will probably camp out for a month to get right up the front, but seriously, if you are in the stands or behind the second row of speakers you'll just hear an echo all night. The sound in that place is fucking awful.

By the way - anyone remember the guy who climbed to the very top of the speaker tower at the Sydney Popmart? Crazy!!

 

[bazza]

yeh - i remember that...Bono called him a crazy idiot or something...

good concert that one...

 

[timothius]

yeh - i remember that...Bono called him a crazy idiot or something...

Bono forgets there was another "crazy idiot" doing that in the early eighties.

 

[timothius]

And that article, like I suggested before, says we're getting the stadium show.

Heads up to those who have never seen a concert at the Sydney Football Stadium - borrow, beg, steal, do whatever you can to be on the floor (ie not in the stands) and IN FRONT of the second row of speakers

Does anyone know in what format they divide up the ground. The only stadium show I have been too was at the SCG & it was devided in half. So what I'm trying to suss out how many tickets will be available for the coveted front area.

 

[bono_man2002]

Now I'm getting Excited!

 

[Earnie Shavers]

The only divides Popmart had (as well as the last stadium show I went to - Robbie Williams, don't laugh) were basically splitting the crowd into three. They were also the dividers for the three price ranges on the floor. You had to be in the top one for Popmart to be anywhere on or around the stage/ramp/b-stage, but Popmart also had seating on the floor (ridiculous I know) so there was no rush for a spot, your ticket told you exactly where to go. It will probably be a bit more complicated with the design of this stage. Ask in a different thread that doesn't attract only Australians....

 

[timothius]

The only divides Popmart had (as well as the last stadium show I went to - Robbie Williams, don't laugh)

Normally you can save face by saying you were there to see the suppourt or somthing.... but this time I have you cornered!

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Normally you can save face by saying you were there to see the suppourt or somthing.... but this time I have you cornered!

No! I can save face! I took my little sister for her birthday!
I can't save any face by admitting that I enjoyed it though. The guy is a great performer.

 

[timothius]

No! I can save face! I took my little sister for her birthday!
I can't save any face by admitting that I enjoyed it though. The guy is a great performer.

He is charasmatic I will give him that & he is an interesting character - really I don't think it's that embarresing I know plenty of people who went. It's very rare to get a stadium gig in Australia anyway.

Just so long as you know you were part of beating the ZooTV record.

 

[beaut_day]

Oh My Dear Gawd!! they're actually coming, excellent!!! Im getting excited now.. So the tour is gonna be Vertigo right?! Hrm.. they better not pull out at the last minute! Very many dissapointed fans they will have... Oh im grinning crAzy like now.. ^_^ Yeehaw!
'WALK ONNNN.........'

 

[bono_man]

A stadium tour of Oz makes me nervous. Not that I dont like the whole stadium tour idea, the European tour is fabulous. In Brisbane however, the stadium they would use, ANZ Stadium, is just terrible. Horrible sound, horrible layout and not at all conjustive to a good rock show. ZOO TV on the other hand was amazing but Popmart was just terrible there.

Since Popmart came here last, Brisbane has a lovely new 52 000 seat stadium and would be great for a rock show, Suncorp Stadium (Lang Park). However, I am led to believe concerts cant be played there due to noise restrictions.

How sad (and typical!) we spent all that money on a new stadium and cant use it for such an event.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Open top stadium is what you want. By that I mean one that has stands on all 4 sides to keep wind to a minimum, but doesn't have a roof (particularly a wavey roof like the Sydney Football Stadium) over the top of the stands. The sound bounces around in there forever. You just want to blast it forwards and upwards and into the night, not have some dumb wavey roof play tennis with it. Make sure you are on the ground, in front of the second row of speakers.

 

[dazzlingamy]

God hello telstra dome for melbourne...

the sound is HORRIBLE in there. You need to be within the first 50 m of the stage or you're gonna hear two bonos that night (migh tnot be too bad! lol)

the only thing good about stadium shows, there is a hell of a lot more ticks on sale and about 5000 more GA tickets to snatch up! weeeeeeeeeee!

 

[timothius]

Why wouldn't they use the SCG for Sydney (assuming the concert is ultra-early January)?

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Because it's January, ie cricket season, and despite the coverings they put down they probably don't want 50,000 jumping around on the pitch. Plus there may be availability issues there. I don't know, I don't follow cricket (yaaaawwwn).

Also the SCG is a little too big. Not in seating capacity, but in the physical size of the oval. The stage would be kinda in the middle of it, too wide etc. The football statiums shape is perfect, in one sense it's the perfect size and shape for a stadium gig. It's only that roofing that kills it because of the sound.

If not the Football Stadium, then the Showgrounds at Homebush (site of the Big Day Out and has hosted other concerts eg Pearl Jam) is very good. The stage is very close to the back end stand, so while there is the echo/bounce, it's almost immediate and therefore not really noticable except when a song or drumming or whatever cuts out quickly and you catch a light echo of it bouncing back. It actually holds more than the SFS as well (about 60-70K capacity) but thats with a LOT more people on the ground and not everyone really cares for paying a truckload to stand at the back of an oval.

It will be at the Football Stadium. I heard they were planning for up to 4 gigs, 3 definite, at the SuperDome. That's a capacity of 20,000 per gig, which means there's every chance there'll be two stadium shows in Sydney (SFS capacity = approx 45,000).

 

[bono_man]

Is there anything we (or I) can do about this Brisbane situation? I am very scared we'll get a poor show in a poor arena.

Is it definate they are doing a stadium leg? Where does this info come from?

 

[timothius]

Because it's January, ie cricket season, and despite the coverings they put down they probably don't want 50,000 jumping around on the pitch. Plus there may be availability issues there. I don't know, I don't follow cricket (yaaaawwwn).

Also the SCG is a little too big. Not in seating capacity, but in the physical size of the oval. The stage would be kinda in the middle of it, too wide etc. The football statiums shape is perfect, in one sense it's the perfect size and shape for a stadium gig. It's only that roofing that kills it because of the sound.

The SCG ebbs and flows during January. If it were anywhere after the very earliest of January the only thing they would have to dodge would be the First ODI Cricket final. That would be it. What months are you hearing?

Don't knock cricket either.

SCG is a fine size & has fine acoustics - sure the people in the members stand and so forth has a pretty shit view - but it's no worse than anywhere else on the ground. WaveAid was perfectly fine there I thought.

 

[bazza]

I'm hearing Jan, Feb or March - no later.

Wouldnt be the SCG...would most likley be the SFS (football stadium next door). This was where Popmart was. Rumor is that they will be doing 3+ shows in Sydney alone...that says to me that they wont be putting it in the Telstra Stadium at HomeBush - they would only be able to run 2 concerts there max (as it is a much larger set up).

I'm surprised that they are suggesting they'll be bringing the stadium show - i thought it'd be cheaper to bring the in-door show like they had in the US - much less stage construction / expense .

 

[dazzlingamy]

well melbourne there is only 3 places

Rod Laver - small capacity only about 10,000, off limits in jan for tennis and march for commonwealth games

MCG - march is commonwealth games plus perhaps wizards cup in feb?

Telstra Dome - fotty from march onwards on weekends - so wouldnt have it then. the pitch would be fucked...

so really, its gotta be jan/feb or late april!

*prays for jan/feb*

 

[timothius]

well melbourne there is only 3 places

I also think Waverly could be an option... it was where PopMart was after all, I think?

Not in a million years the MCG... they had major sound problems during ZooTV - thus the switch. Mind you the MCG last year with half the Grandstand knocked out would have been ace!

 

[Axver]

I am desperately hoping for late January/early February. That won't clash with any trips to the US or university.

But whatever happens, I'll work around U2. The more U2, the better.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I'm hearing Jan, Feb or March - no later.

Wouldnt be the SCG...would most likley be the SFS (football stadium next door). This was where Popmart was. Rumor is that they will be doing 3+ shows in Sydney alone...that says to me that they wont be putting it in the Telstra Stadium at HomeBush - they would only be able to run 2 concerts there max (as it is a much larger set up).

I'm surprised that they are suggesting they'll be bringing the stadium show - i thought it'd be cheaper to bring the in-door show like they had in the US - much less stage construction / expense .

3 concerts at the Football Stadium is a huge ask. Concerts there are rare (since Popmart there has only been the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Robbie Williams) and only Robbie and U2 have been able to pull off two sell outs (for Zoo TV, Popmart was one concert only). I doubt U2 can do 3.

As for Telstra Stadium @ Homebush.... If that sold out, including the ground area, the capacity would be easily over 100,000. That would make it probably the largest crowd on this entire tour? I don't think they'd get anywhere near selling out one, let alone selling into a second show. If they configured it differently - put the stage at the halfway point, or 'sideways', that's a different story. But then I doubt they would ignore a full Football Stadium to play to a cut in half Telstra Stadium. The Football Stadium is U2's 'home' in Sydney, and if it's free, I can't see them going anywhere else.

I had always heard mid-late January, sneaking into Feb, when it was arena gigs. About 2 1/2 weeks in the country from the first of the Brisbane gigs to the last of the Sydney gigs. I don't know if that has changed with the likely move to stadiums.

 

[bono_man2002]

I also think Waverly could be an option... it was where PopMart was after all, I think?

Not in a million years the MCG... they had major sound problems during ZooTV - thus the switch. Mind you the MCG last year with half the Grandstand knocked out would have been ace!

Waverley is just an Oval now, the grandstands are gone.

 

[imogen]

Has anyone here joined U2.com and do we have any idea how the ticket sales are going to run? Will it be the same as for Europe and the US??

 

[beli]

I've joined U2.com but I have no idea if we are going to get the same ticket chance as the northern hemisphere people. I hope so.

 

[bono_man2002]

Hopefully we find out WHEN they announce the dates.

 

[timothius]

Waverley is just an Oval now, the grandstands are gone.

Oh well. It's only Melbourne.

 

[Axver]

Oh well. It's only Melbourne.

Hey now, Melbourne may just be the only worthwhile city in Australia.

[At least in the eastern states; I can't speak for Adelaide or Perth.]

 

[timothius]

Hey now, Melbourne may just be the only worthwhile city in Australia.

You know my feelings on Australia... but I've always really liked Sydney. Although I must say I've enjoyed Melbourne both times I was there as well.

 

[Axver]

You know my feelings on Australia... but I've always really liked Sydney. Although I must say I've enjoyed Melbourne both times I was there as well.

Melbourne's one of my favourite cities in the world - though the presence of trams for a tram/train fanatic like myself may have a little something to do with it.

I've never liked Sydney myself, and oh goodness, the Gold Coast and Brisbane don't bear talking about. At least Brisbane's got a few cultural points on the Gold Shallow Coast.