[Note: obvious spoilers below]
I was one of the fortunate ones to make into the rehearsal, but unfortunately an hour after it started. The stage is *extremely* clean- it's like a big raft in the arena. No part of the stage extends to the ceiling. I never sat behind the stage for Elevation, and was on the side for this show, but it seems like those in the back should have a clear view of the back of the band.
The LED lights are trippy. The best way I can describe them is to imagine those beads people hang in door ways. It's very much like that. They are rolled up above the stage and roll down for certain songs. There are maybe eight of them. At first I thought they were a little cheesy- my first look at them was when they were just glowing red for Bullet. But what's cool is that these beads are capable of reproducing images (like PopMart) and when they were showing live shots of the band members, I was blown away. IMHO, there should have been more shots like these. I guess the coolness factor of these beads depends on what's on them. Anyway, these beads really emphasize the openness of the stage- people in the back see the same image as people in the front but can also see through the strings of beads. I sound like a broken record, but I really mean to emphasize the openness of the design. All lights are suspended from above. And like with Elevation, there are screens on the front/back/sides, but these are color, not B&W.
Anyway, people expecting Zoo TV need to tame their expectations. This show is slightly more sophisticated than Elevation, but by no means a technological extravaganza. The stage itself, like Elevation, has some really cool lighting effects.
Also, the inside of the stage seems to be much bigger than the heart of Elevation.
And if you're still reading, you obviously don't mind spoilers. So I just wanted to make a comment about the mini-set of Zoo Station-Fly-Vertigo. The band FUCKING killed. The place went apeshit for Zoo Station when Bono emerged from this fog doing his fly strut. (A quick side note: this fog came after this declaration of human rights thing. IMHO, this part was weak and felt too forced into the show) Anyway, I was too young for ZooTv and to see this song come out of nowhere was unbelievable. Then they launch into The Fly, and it's like I've been taken back to 1992 to show I never attended. (BTW, the beads are now showing the random words and such from ZooTv. I guess poeple in back see the words backwards?) Just when you thought the show couldn't get any better, they play the most kick-ass scorching rendition of Vertigo. Again, since I missed the beginning of the show, I was surprised it was played this late. Just when the song seems to come to an end, Bono tells the boys to pick it back up as he throws in some Stories For Boys before bringing the song to a screeching halt with the "yeah, yeah, yeah's." Fucking amazing.
The rest of the set list seemed strange- like U2 on shuffle. But who cares? What an amazing show. Fuck.
Cheers, I cant wait.
