July 5, 2011 - Soldier Field - Chicago, IL

[bulltproof]

I'll give my review of the complete Chicago show.

First... I contacted the Stadium last week to make sure my camera would be allowed in. Kevin Walsh contacted me back via email. He said the lens must be shorter than 3 inches. He further stated that if anyone had a problem with it, to print the email and he would handle any issues the day of.
I asked him where we line up. He told me the south entrance.
I asked him a bunch of other questions, and he responded to all of them.
He was very friendly. He was very helpful.

I decided to visit Soldier Field on Sunday night. That's when I met a woman named Stacy. She was looking for "someone with the list". I thought it was too early for a list, but went with it.
After an hour of us searching we found 2 people under a second overpass. Clearly they were hiding.
Why would they be hiding?
Because Soldier Field is now property of Chicago Parks Systems. Chicago Parks Systems states that they close at 11pm. Anyone on the premises after 11pm is subject to arrest.
I asked the people that were doing the list some questions.
Who are you? Just fans
How many people are on the list? 78 so far
How will you enforce the list? Once security sees how organized we are they will be cool with it
What time do we meet? On Tuesday at 4:30 or there about
I thought security would ticket you if you were here before 6? Oh, we won't be on the property. We will be wandering around.

I contacted Kevin Walsh again.
His reply:Last concert a fan started a number wrist banding system. That did not work out real well for the fan. We have police ready to issue tickets prior to 6 a m. The only system that we will honor is the system that we will implement. If someone tells you are 79 and you come # 7. You are # 7 in our plan. We have Stadium rules and we follow them. That is the bottom line. If the fan club creates internal drama that is on the fan club and not us. But we will use OUR plan.

I contacted the North and South parking garages. The North one said we can come in at 5am. South one said 1pm. I went to the North one at 5am. Got to the line, and was told I missed roll call at 4:30, so I was kicked out. I was MAD! They told me if I talked to those around me I could possibly get my spot back, but they would do nothing to enforce it.
The people after me said sure. (thanks guys)

My thoughts on "the list".
The list gestapo were assholes.
LET PEOPLE KNOW THERE IS A LIST!
MAKE THE PROCESS LEGAL! Why should I risk a ticket/arrest for YOUR choice in making a list? I am attending law school. Do I want trespassing on my record? HELL NO!
BE FRIENDLY!

Once in the GA line everyone around me was cool. I was next to U2BROTHR. He was good to talk to. Very polite. Stacy and the other people I had the pleasure to meet... very cool.
The crew at Jimmy John's... awesome! Good food and fast delivery!
Once we were scanned and got to que for the stadium, everyone was pushing and running. Out of the 100 that were first, I was last. No problem, the venue allows enough room for at least 100 to get a rail spot. NOPE!
Once we got to the rail, the first ones had saved spots for people with 200-300 numbers.
ASSHOLES

The wait for Interpol was loooooong. I couldn't make out half of what they were singing. BUT they had a good driving beat. This will be a record I will buy. I'm sure I will like it.

U2 exceeded my expectations. Their choice in a setlist was very good.
They played and performed for the audience.
I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH THEY STUMBLED ON AN IMPROMPTU SONG!
It was great.
The band made all the BULLSHIT I had to endure with some GA "fans" almost not exist. Almost.


Ok... it's not complete. But after writing all this, I just got a bad taste in my mouth

 

[GopherMacPhisto]

I apologize this took so long, but this is the first time since the show I've been able to sit down at a computer and flesh out my thoughts on the matter. My phone does not count. I apologize in advance if this gets wordy.

-First off, thank you to all the folks here on U2 Feedback for all the information available to this concert first-timer.

-Great group at the Celtic Crossing pub on the north end of downtown. Edgefest, U2BROTHER, and others on here can post pictures for ID. I'm the really tall guy that was wearing a Minnesota Golden Gopher shirt. Little can relieve the tension of a long day's driving like Guinness, Jameson, and an alcohol-fueled singalong to "Gone."

-6:30 AM arrival at the line yielded a number of approximately 300. However, at the insistence of the two sisters on here from Indiana, I went back and sat with them in the line. The fan numberers gave our group 340-347.

-Props to the Soldier Field event staff. The main section of the GA line was set up under the trees along the south side of the fenced off area. Lots of shade, a good breeze, and good company. Later in the day, when we were moved into the stadium, they did a good job of maintaining order in the line.

-Very international crowd in the GA line. In addition to seeing the flags of Ireland, Canada, England, Scotland, and an RFC club of Dublin in the line, I also saw 360 concert shirts from Wembley, Croke Park, Camp Nou, Athens Olympic Stadium, and Estadio Azteca.

-The only major drawback to Chicago GA was that the options for a food run were very limited. Lunchtime at Subway required a LONG walk, even for me, to the nearest one on Michigan and Roosevelt.

-One of the gals was right when she said the first hour of being out on the floor is the worst of the whole day. No shade, scrambling crowds, and scalding hot metal grating. It was awful out there from the time we got there to the time the sun went behind the west side of the stadium.

-That said, our arrival time yielded a spot on the outside rail, one person back from the fence. The ladies on the fence were glad that we sat down and spread out behind them, giving us all a little room to move.

-U2 crowds are great because they take care of each other. Two creeps tried to bull their way to the rail past us, and they were given a rather rude reception by both us and security. After a while, they stopped claiming they were with one of the guys in our group and left.

-Whoever was mixing the Interpol show was doing a miserable job of it. Vocals were completely inaudible.

-The $2 pair of earplugs picked up at the Menomonie Fleet Farm were ideal for concerts like this. Not only did they take The Edge off the sheer volume of it, they also cleaned up a lot of the high-frequency junk floating around.

-As for the show, I knew something was going to be different when "Space Oddity" was faded down and they didn't bring up either "Kingdom" or the floating watches. Or, for that matter, when they put the walkout video up on the board before "Space Oddity" was over and the house lights were turned off.

-bono_212 was wondering why there was so much booing at the mention of the White Sox. I think some of it was because there were fans from all over the Midwest there, very few of whom are fans of the Sox. I'll admit that I booed cause I'm a fan of the Minnesota Twins.

-Put bluntly, everyone was on like Donkey Kong. Bono was in spectacular form, Edge was sharp, security staff, EVERYONE. Hell, no one in the stadium sat for 2 1/2 hours. I have no idea how everyone managed to keep up the intensity for two and a half hours.

-All they needed to include was a broadcast by the Emergency Broadcast Network before they came out and we would have been in hog heaven. As if we weren't already.

-The only drawback that I'm going to disclose in this recap is that someone behind me and to our right was smoking marijuana. To you, I say: BOO THIS MAN!!!

-Put mildly, the show was mind-boggling. I'll admit that I'm something of a late bloomer to the diehard U2 game, but I can see why everyone is now.

-I'm never going to another event at Soldier Field. Crowd dispersal after the show was awful. It's even worse than football games at Iowa, where it takes 5 hours to clear the campus from the crowd. Everyone has to go out the one gap in the north side fencing. Also, the crowd never dispersed, even after riding up to their hotel on the north end of downtown.

-At 2 in the morning, when you haven't eaten in 15 hours, a Classic Italiano sans mushrooms from Sarpino's is absolutely divine.

-Between the lack of sleep, emotional hangover, and reluctance to see something fun end, did anyone else's trip back home yesterday really, really suck? I know that I've had some rough trips home from Madison and Iowa City after football games, but yesterday was the roughest drive across Wisconsin that I've ever dealt with. And that was without the Northwest Tollway looking like a 40-mile long cribbage board.

Thank you to everyone who made this such a fantastic experience!

 

[hand0lotion]

"For a lot of us here, rock'n'roll just means one word: liberation. Political, sexual, spiritual. Liberation." -Bono, Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame, 2009

At this concert, I laughed, I cried, I danced, I sang my heart out, I screamed my heart out. Then I came back to my real life, and the people who don't know U2 just don't get it. They don't understand why why our fanaticism with going to multiple shows is justified. With U2, they don't just play the tunes and fuck off (Bono's phrase, not mine). I thought of a great example for that: the Beautiful Day intro by Gabby Gifford's NASA austonaut husband, followed by Bono singing "Tell my wife I love her, very much". How can the average American NOT be moved by that?

Ok, concert review:

The music
Out of Control: thanks Bono for recreating the feeling of Slane's OOC. I could imagine what it was like to be there
Get on Your Boots: I'm grateful for the obligatory Bono-Adam fondling during "Women of the future hold a big revelation" bit. I wish their cuddling would extend to other songs/be more spontaneous though.
Stay: I thought I'd chill out during this song, since Adamie wasn't right in front of me. (1: I prefer full band Stay, lovely bassline and iconic drum ending. 2: Was hoping for North Star instead. 3: heard many acoustic Stay performances already). SO I'm just relaxing there, and Bono's raw vocals and Edge's "Aaaaaooooh" just unleash some emotion inside and I start to cry. Took me back to the first time I heard the song. It was like spiritual liberation. Gal beside me was also wiping her eye.
Crazy Tonight: energy from this show was so good that I really felt like I would go crazy if I didn't lose myself completely in this show tonight. I think I lose a pound or two from all the jumping I did for this show!
One Tree Hill: What can I say? Thanks for giving Chicago a rarity again, after Your Blue Room ( Iwasn't there in 09 though). I had a moment where it was like I was at the Joshua Tree tour, although I wasn't born then, so it was incredible to go back in time with the band. I swear, I heard excited whispers of "North Star!!!' when Bono was describing the song. But his assistant died 25 years ago, so I knew it couldn't be.
Pride: After the end, when the pit carries on with the "ohohohoh, ohohohoh!", I swear someone behind me said out loud "Don't do that!" Honestly, if that person wasn't talking about something else, I would be so pissed, cos she totally missed the spirit of a U2 concert

Why do you think...
they (read: Bono) seem to love some cities more (like Chicago, NY) and perform better cos they "feel more love from the crowd"? Don't they realize that most of the the hardcores upfront jumping up and down and feeding them the energy probably travelled from pretty far and are not from Chicago?

I will be back later to review topics like "Fangirly experience (with Adam and techs)" and "GA line fan experience" and "Pit fan experience"



note to Adam: please look up during City of Blinging Lights. The crowd is showing their love for you during "Oh! You! Look! So! Beautiful! Tonight!", honey!

question for Stuart: has Adam ever hit you when he tosses his empty water bottles into underworld?

 

[bono_212]

The crew at Jimmy John's... awesome! Good food and fast delivery!

The wait for Interpol was loooooong. I couldn't make out half of what they were singing. BUT they had a good driving beat. This will be a record I will buy. I'm sure I will like it.

Damn, I didn't think of that. Made the same long walk as Gopher to Subway. definitely regretted that decision.

Their newest is not their best. Try Turn on the Bright Lights and Antics first. The former is their best, imo, but the latter they played the most songs off of the other night.

-bono_212 was wondering why there was so much booing at the mention of the White Sox. I think some of it was because there were fans from all over the Midwest there, very few of whom are fans of the Sox. I'll admit that I booed cause I'm a fan of the Minnesota Twins.

I didn't wonder why they booed at all. I was saying that Bono was wondering and I couldn't tell if he was joking.

I'm a Chicagoland native. I booed for the same reason a great number of people likely booed. I'm a Cubs fan.

 

[mrnathan15]

For those that met the band what time did they arrive? I left the entrance at five or so but shouldn't have it seems..

 

[kitkat234]

For those that met the band what time did they arrive? I left the entrance at five or so but shouldn't have it seems..

Dallas and Edge came out about 5:15 or 5:20.... I think you are the one we were talking to while waiting and went into the red zone? If so, we were thinking of you when he did come out. I have pics and videos.....

 

[mrnathan15]

Dallas and Edge came out about 5:15 or 5:20.... I think you are the one we were talking to while waiting and went into the red zone? If so, we were thinking of you when he did come out. I have pics and videos.....

Wow awesome that's great! Yes that probably was me haha

 

[kitkat234]

Wow awesome that's great! Yes that probably was me haha

I thought so... He signed our cd too, bet the red zone was rockin'

 

[mrnathan15]

I thought so... He signed our cd too, bet the red zone was rockin'

Yeah it was a bit! Haha good to see someone actually came out, that was a big crowd there by 5pm! Where did you guys sit?

 

[kitkat234]

Yeah it was a bit! Haha good to see someone actually came out, that was a big crowd there by 5pm! Where did you guys sit?

Our seats ended up to be not so good 2nd level but behind stage and claw but loved the show... OTH, how does it get any better... So looking forward to Minneapolis show now, GA for that

 

[mrnathan15]

Our seats ended up to be not so good 2nd level but behind stage and claw but loved the show... OTH, how does it get any better... So looking forward to Minneapolis show now, GA for that

Good luck with the GA! Hope you get a nice spot! OTH was definately an unexpected but very welcome closer

 

[Kyra1]

U2Shamrock, I think you may have been standing just a little to my left. Was the kid with the nasty women weirdly androgynous looking with long-ish hair? They were super rude to us and my girlfriend yelled at them but we could not quite get them shoved back to where they came from and I think they ended up blocking the view of the people behind them, because one of the women put the kid on her shoulders. What is with these rude people????

 

[Kyra1]

I also meant to tell U2Brother that while I wasn't able to meet you (because we got to the line late and we were outside the pit), I did at least get to see you. At one point my husband picked me up (I am short) so I could try to see our friends in the pit who were waving to us. I couldn't see them, but I saw the top of a shiny hat and immediately thought, "that has to be U2Brother" and of course started yelling like an idiot (um, he can't hear me and doesn't know me anyway). But I loved the hat!

 

[bulltproof]

So who were the lovely ladies that started the list?

 

[GPitt]

This was my first U2 show, so I have no way to gauge its quality. I can't really imagine a better concert, though, so I'm glad to see some others here saying it's their favorite show. The energy was insane, from both the band and the crowd, and the setlist was better than I ever could have dreamed.

I didn't get mixed up in any of the "list" BS and thought the GA line was handled fantastically, with great communication, excellent execution, and professionalism. Getting us into the stadium and out of the sun made the day a whole lot better, and I got right in the center of the pit where I wanted to be for my first and only U2 concert. Thanks to everyone here for the GA advice, to Joe's page, and to the awesome dudes I ended up in line with. The experience wouldn't have been the same without you guys!

I do wish I'd known they were going to stop selling drinks in the pit once Interpol came on, I would have purchased a few waters to get me through the evening. Dehydration was hitting people left and right, and I had to leave around One to get some water so I watched the rest of the concert from a comfortable distance. Still, that also meant A) I didn't pass out, B) I got out of the venue ahead of the crush and caught an earlier train than expected. I can say that the view from out there was still fantastic and I'm glad I pushed my way out during the intermission.

Fantastic time...I almost moved to Pittsburgh then and there just so I could see that show! But I headed to Joplin instead to help with tornado relief. Maybe see you guys next tour.

 

[mama cass]

have to say, i find this whole fan/interference-run list thing a bit shocking to be honest - i mean, any interferencers at that concert must make up a tiny percentage of attendees, and to assume that all GA peeps should "comply" with their fan list instead of normal stadium queuing procedure is, well, just plain ludicrous...

some of the comments having a go at the so-called line-jumpers i've read on the other thread in particular are just ridiculous, especially since the people in question had apparently been queuing since the crack of dawn anyway... and taking photos of them and posting them on the internet is just plain disgusting... some people really should grow up... makes me sad to be associated with interferencers it really does...

 

[mama cass]

So who were the lovely ladies that started the list?

they won't come out of the woodwork bulltproof - there have been similar incidents at gigs in the past, with the same kind of entitlement problems - girls having hissy fits because they didn't get their place on the front rail which apparently has their name on it lol - in fact, whole threads on the subject have been locked in the past

 

[bulltproof]

Thought I would share the pic I have of the list originators.

It's odd they complain about "line jumpers" that were actually BY LAW and BY STADIUM policy allowed to be in the line, yet they have 20 of their closest friends at the top of the list.

 

[bulltproof]

for hand0lotion...

Thanks for smiling... thanks for the creativity.

 

[hand0lotion]

Aww, thanks bulltproof! But can you take the picture of my cheesy face down? My mama always told me, "don't put your pic on the internet!"

I love your Bono-Adam pics (yeah, I love them both, but I love them together even more!!) The b&w really adds something to it too! Omigosh, do you have a pic of Adam waving to his section before he went in for the group hug at the very end? I was with another true Adamgirl so we were both screaming and waving like mad to him. And he grinned and waved back too!

 

[unforgettable fire]

How come East Lansing was alcohol free?

....College campus and had their own set of rules. So, no alcohol which is nice. They served snow cones in the inner circle and it was delightful.

 

[corianderstem]

The numbers of people who post regularly on Interference is actually pretty small, I think, especially among the vast sea of all the U2 fans out there. I'm always surprised by how few people I actually "know" in the GA lines (which is dumb, because of course U2's fan base, even the die-hard crazies, is still vast and varied, and are full of people who likely don't even regularly post on any of the fan forums).

I don't recognize that line runner, and I'll go out on a limb to say that yes, while I've heard tales and seen threads of some Interferencers who participate in occasionally appalling behavior, I don't think that Interferencers are generally the ones running the line.

These are the things that I tell myself to make myself feel better about hanging out here.

no really - when these things come to light, I don't think that it's "our" people that are to blame. Unless they're just really good about burying the truth on the internet. And these days, that's pretty damned hard to do.

 

[bulltproof]

Odd, I just saw the fancam.
Why do these girls change clothes and put on make-up and F*CK everyone else out of a good spot?
Is it their life's calling to be Mrs. Hewson?

I really love seeing U2 in concert. REALLY.
But the drama has to stop. It just has to.

I have gotten PM's from other members that agree with me about the GA nonsense.

I'm gonna try to make Pittsburgh. I'm gonna be a PART of the GA list process. I want it to be fair and representative of the band we are trying to see.


This post was written in a hotel room in Chicago.
'Round about the time a friend or ours, little Bulltproof,
was putting together a list of GA Fans against assholes.
This is a post written about a man in a shanty town outside of Huntington, West Virginia.
A man who's sick of looking 5 rows down to see the band.
A man who is at the point where he is ready to take up arms
against his oppressor.
A man who has lost faith in the security of the stadiums
they argue and while they fail to support a true "list" that is fair and equal
and his request for fans of a band that elevates to actually act elevated.

Am I buggin' you?
I don't mean to bug ya.

Ok Edge, play the blues."

 

[romi]

Interferencers do not aloways run the line. In fact, one of the two people is not on interference. U2 fans just know how to run GA lines. They got it from Bruce Springsteen fans.

The two ladies, and dozens of others, ran the line smoothly the entire time. I don't like you accusing them of anything but.

 

[bono_212]

The line was run so poorly it was an embarrassment. Lying to other fans is unacceptable.

Bruce has it right now. He fixed a bad situation if that's what his fans were doing before.

 

[romi]

No one was lying to you. What is it tnhat was confusing you?

 

[bono_212]

As I posted in my review, I witnessed a linerunner straight up insist that if a person in line had been on interference theydve known the line was forming. completely untrue until the 75th person was already there. And that wasn't by a linerunner, it was by someone who found the line.

 

[LemonMelon]

You want to go deeper, but you can't handle the truth. The greatest trick the list creators ever played on U2 fans was to convince them that the list didn't exist.

Forget it, Ashley. It's Interference.

 

[U2BROTHR]

While I was in MTL, someone told me they were starting a sign up list in MTL for the Toronto show. True story. I have to shake my head though. I understand venues are no longer allowing for people to camp out. But Chicago was the 1st time I've ever experienced a GA signup as it was. I go with the flow though....

 

[bono_212]

I just personally feel like go with the flow is the wrong attitude, but that's me.

Also, what you just said about the Toronto show list is disgusting.