dsmith2904
ONE love, blood, life
Please post all reviews of the November 24th Aukland show here.
24 November 2006 Auckland Ericsson Stadium
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kramwest1
has a
I'll post a short review. I'm guessing I'm the first one awake here who was at the show (there were A LOT of empty beer bottles on the GA field-LOL!). My wife and I flew in from the US to see both Auckland shows. It was a promise we've kept to each other for at least 10 years: to see U2 play One Tree Hill in Auckland. We've been in love with NZ for years, and U2 just heightens it for us.
Bono and the band sounded great. I think his voice is very strong, maybe the strongest of the Vertigo Tour (I saw shows on the 1st and 3rd Legs).
The rain in Auckland broke perfectly at the start of U2's show. I can only assume there must have been some Hypothermia cases because the drizzle and wind were so cold and not a lot of people brought rain gear.
I'll just skip saying anything about Kanye (if you can't say something nice, don't...).
The GA line was so civilized, they had everyone queue in a large old tent (old Cirque du Soleil, I think). The field just continued to fill up right until U2 took the stage. Apparently TM dropped an additional 700 GA tix just before the show. I don't know what the official tally is yet, but the field was packed, thousands upon thousands.
This was my first Vertigo stadium show, so it was amazing to see just how many people there were. And, unlike the back of the GA at US arena shows, the entire crowd was into it.
The band sailed through the opening several songs with excellent references to NZ (Land of the Long White Cloud--Aotearoa in Maori, etc.). But, it was One Tree Hill that stopped the show. Bono talked very genuinely about Greg Carroll and performed an absolutely beautiful (full band) version of it. Just magical. He finished with the "O, great ocean..." part and also added to the end of SYCMIOYO which they had segued perfectly into by talking about Greg's funeral and then to Bob Hewson's. Very touching.
The Love and Peace/SBS/Bullet trifecta had new energy and passion to it. I thought it had lost all power, and that the band had been just going through the motions by the end of Vertigo Leg 3. But, it was powerful and the crowd loved it.
Possibly the most well received song of the night was Streets. I have never seen a larger sea of jumping people in my life.
The encores were good, but I am not much of a fan of The Saints... It is fairly empty as a song and not up to U2's standard. They played it well, but I really would like to hear a different song or a different cover in its place.
Despite an excellent night and an almost flawless performance by U2, the show did end on a downer. Kite was weak with a bizarre feedback coming through the speakers. The band seemed out of sync and all of this magnified the pathetic performance of the "kite." The wind was too strong for it, and it obviously was frustrating Bono. It wound up stuck to the large video wall and the band said goodnight.
I've seen enough U2 shows so as not to judge an entire show by one bad performance or screw-up. It's going to happen occasionally. So, It was a really great show. Strong performances, a great Kiwi crowd, no rain during the set and an orderly exodus from the stadium made for an exceptional night, but One Tree Hill deserves to be the spotlight stealer from this show. Just fantastic.
Mark
Bono and the band sounded great. I think his voice is very strong, maybe the strongest of the Vertigo Tour (I saw shows on the 1st and 3rd Legs).
The rain in Auckland broke perfectly at the start of U2's show. I can only assume there must have been some Hypothermia cases because the drizzle and wind were so cold and not a lot of people brought rain gear.
I'll just skip saying anything about Kanye (if you can't say something nice, don't...).
The GA line was so civilized, they had everyone queue in a large old tent (old Cirque du Soleil, I think). The field just continued to fill up right until U2 took the stage. Apparently TM dropped an additional 700 GA tix just before the show. I don't know what the official tally is yet, but the field was packed, thousands upon thousands.
This was my first Vertigo stadium show, so it was amazing to see just how many people there were. And, unlike the back of the GA at US arena shows, the entire crowd was into it.
The band sailed through the opening several songs with excellent references to NZ (Land of the Long White Cloud--Aotearoa in Maori, etc.). But, it was One Tree Hill that stopped the show. Bono talked very genuinely about Greg Carroll and performed an absolutely beautiful (full band) version of it. Just magical. He finished with the "O, great ocean..." part and also added to the end of SYCMIOYO which they had segued perfectly into by talking about Greg's funeral and then to Bob Hewson's. Very touching.
The Love and Peace/SBS/Bullet trifecta had new energy and passion to it. I thought it had lost all power, and that the band had been just going through the motions by the end of Vertigo Leg 3. But, it was powerful and the crowd loved it.
Possibly the most well received song of the night was Streets. I have never seen a larger sea of jumping people in my life.
The encores were good, but I am not much of a fan of The Saints... It is fairly empty as a song and not up to U2's standard. They played it well, but I really would like to hear a different song or a different cover in its place.
Despite an excellent night and an almost flawless performance by U2, the show did end on a downer. Kite was weak with a bizarre feedback coming through the speakers. The band seemed out of sync and all of this magnified the pathetic performance of the "kite." The wind was too strong for it, and it obviously was frustrating Bono. It wound up stuck to the large video wall and the band said goodnight.
I've seen enough U2 shows so as not to judge an entire show by one bad performance or screw-up. It's going to happen occasionally. So, It was a really great show. Strong performances, a great Kiwi crowd, no rain during the set and an orderly exodus from the stadium made for an exceptional night, but One Tree Hill deserves to be the spotlight stealer from this show. Just fantastic.
Mark
Lila64
Blue Crack Distributor
Have you seen the video of One Tree Hill (albeit out of sync) on You Tube yet? 
scotttnz
Babyface
Can't wait
I'm going tonight......I am sooooooo hyped!
I'm going tonight......I am sooooooo hyped!
Gluey
Blue Crack Addict
The balloons during Streets were amazing!!! The NZ fanclub organised to take along orange, white and green balloons and blow them up when Streets started, and then to release them when Bono started singing 'Love, Love, Love..."
From where I was in the stands it was like magic. As the song opened, all these balloons appeared out of nowhere in the closed off part. There were hundreds of them! Everyone held on them, waving them about until the "love" part, and then let them go. When the song finished, Bono was speechless, he didn't know what to say, and when he did speak he said "Wow, thats huge for 4 little Irishmen..." his voice breaking as he was saying it....awesome awesome awesome....
From where I was in the stands it was like magic. As the song opened, all these balloons appeared out of nowhere in the closed off part. There were hundreds of them! Everyone held on them, waving them about until the "love" part, and then let them go. When the song finished, Bono was speechless, he didn't know what to say, and when he did speak he said "Wow, thats huge for 4 little Irishmen..." his voice breaking as he was saying it....awesome awesome awesome....
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