corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
boomTISH!
June 7, 2011 - Overstock.com Coliseum - Oakland, CA
- Thread starter romi
- Start date
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Miringeltje
An Interferer
Awesome photos Sicy! (And thank you!)
We had a great time! It was our first 360 show since Rose Bowl and though I still prefer the RB show, this one was fantastic! I never mind when Bono's voice might sound a little rough around the edges at the start. One of his strengths is that it always seems to just get better and stronger as the show goes on, and it's the uniqueness of his voice I love best anyway, rough spots and all. He makes up for it by far with the emotion and passion he puts into every line that make him special. And by Miss Sarajevo he was amazing. We stayed near the center back of GA to get the big picture this time and it was fine and not crowded.
We met Dallas of all places out in the parking lot and wow what a sweetheart! He spent 15 minutes just talking to my family about all kinds of stuff and talked guitars with us, he was curious about what kinds of guitars my husband has. I asked him about Bono's new custom Tele and he saidWhat!? No one is supposed to know about that until Bono sees it first! Oops
lol
Dallas and Charlie
And with my daughters
Me and the setlist
We had a great time!
OMG, seeing these pictures I realize I walked right by you and your daugthers towards the end of the show. One of you was holding a camera and all of you were either looking at a picture that was just taken of busy with the camera setting. And I almost tapped one of you on the shoulders, because I felt you were someone I knew. But I didn't, because I was afraid that I was wrong. Damn, I should have risked it!
bonocomet
Blue Crack Distributor
OMG! I wish you had! Aw damn! I was hoping we'd meet at this show too. Maybe next time? Will you be at any of my other shows? (see sig!) I missed Sicy too and it seems she was standing somewhere near us as well. 
Thanks again so much for the tickets.
shooboxx
The Fly
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2004
- Messages
- 72
Just a couple of my thoughts about the show
This was my only 360 show - I would love to be able to go to another but its just not in the cards.
The GA line went great - I was pretty stressed out beforehand about it but it seemed to be for no reason. Thank you to Nick and everyone else involved. Thanks to all the kick ass people who were around in line as well. Everyone made the day stream by nicely .
Overall the show was simply amazing. I kept on looking back around at the huge crowd in the coliseum and was blown away by just the sheer amount to people there. My first "stadium" concert, so it was all a bit overwhelming.
As I posted before, it was uncomfortable listening to Moonalice - but hell, good for them. It was a good opportunity for them, however they came about it. All my digs at them were made before they even went onstage. My bf was cracking jokes and giving me "looks" all through thier set. I finally had to scold him and tell him to be respectful. Although I was trying hard not to crack a smile at his joking around.
Lenny put on a much better set than I expected. I am not a fan of his really but I found myself rocking out. I was LOVING his trumpet player - how kick ass was that guy! Did anyone else notice that Lenny's guitar tech seemed to have flubbed up a couple times? Lenny looked less than pleased.
I'll get my pit complaints out first:
Of course when Space Oddity started playing, the pit got PACKED. I had picked out a spot where I thought I would have a very good eyeline to the center of the stage and still have a couple of up close moments as Bono and boys walked around the catwalk. I also thought that being at the back around the rail on the catwalk would give me a smidge more room when the band was all on the main stage. I was completely wrong. Rookie mistake, I guess, plus the pit being overcrowded made it impossible to have any room, no matter where you were. Somehow I was lucky enough to end up surrounded by a group of people who seemed to not want to be at the show. A couple of the group were texting/tweeting through the whole show, seriously, through the whole thing. One person held his hands over his ears for parts of the show. None of them seemed to be fans. Why anyone would have dealt with being packed in that crowd for a band they were not enjoying is a mystery to me. Gave me a slightly bad vibe, but eh, f*ck um. I'm sure they found it even more fun with me screaming the songs at the back of their heads. (umm maybe that's why the one guy had his hands on his ears...
)
Okay now the good stuff. It is hard to pick out favorite moments - everything sounded great. I didn't feel a lull in the show at any point. Every song seem to hit spot on. The sound was so amazingly clear and in no way overwhelming. I guess if I have to pick my favorite moments, I loved Bono throwing around the white roses at the start of the show. Of course, Larry singing a tune. Hearing Zooropa live - one of my very favorite songs - was amazing.
The one aspect of a U2 that hooked me from my first show was the feeling of hanging out a few ten thousands of fellow fans all singing the same songs and getting excited about the same songs. It doesn't happen all too often, and personally I can't think of another musical artist whose show I would go to where it would be as electric, for me, as a U2 show. It is always a bonus when the band is playing spot on and everything is perfect, but even if there are missed beats, missed lyrics, Bono's voice is off, whatever, it doesn't matter cause we are all gonna be there singing our lungs out. That's why I love U2 shows. I definitely had that feeling at this show.
I will say this - and its an obvious thing - Elevation and Vertigo were much more "intimate" affairs. 360, for me, was almost all energy and adrenaline. The prior two tours were more emotional. In comparison I think I prefer the more emotional to the pure energy. That is not a complaint at all, just an observation. And it also isn't to say that 360 is without emotion. I was really taken with the intro to Beautiful Day and Walk On and honestly nearly lost it crying during Stay, but hell, I nearly cry whenever I hear that song.
Anyway, that was a much longer post than I intended but I feel better now having got it out.
This was my only 360 show - I would love to be able to go to another but its just not in the cards.
The GA line went great - I was pretty stressed out beforehand about it but it seemed to be for no reason. Thank you to Nick and everyone else involved. Thanks to all the kick ass people who were around in line as well. Everyone made the day stream by nicely .
Overall the show was simply amazing. I kept on looking back around at the huge crowd in the coliseum and was blown away by just the sheer amount to people there. My first "stadium" concert, so it was all a bit overwhelming.
As I posted before, it was uncomfortable listening to Moonalice - but hell, good for them. It was a good opportunity for them, however they came about it. All my digs at them were made before they even went onstage. My bf was cracking jokes and giving me "looks" all through thier set. I finally had to scold him and tell him to be respectful. Although I was trying hard not to crack a smile at his joking around.
Lenny put on a much better set than I expected. I am not a fan of his really but I found myself rocking out. I was LOVING his trumpet player - how kick ass was that guy! Did anyone else notice that Lenny's guitar tech seemed to have flubbed up a couple times? Lenny looked less than pleased.
I'll get my pit complaints out first:
Of course when Space Oddity started playing, the pit got PACKED. I had picked out a spot where I thought I would have a very good eyeline to the center of the stage and still have a couple of up close moments as Bono and boys walked around the catwalk. I also thought that being at the back around the rail on the catwalk would give me a smidge more room when the band was all on the main stage. I was completely wrong. Rookie mistake, I guess, plus the pit being overcrowded made it impossible to have any room, no matter where you were. Somehow I was lucky enough to end up surrounded by a group of people who seemed to not want to be at the show. A couple of the group were texting/tweeting through the whole show, seriously, through the whole thing. One person held his hands over his ears for parts of the show. None of them seemed to be fans. Why anyone would have dealt with being packed in that crowd for a band they were not enjoying is a mystery to me. Gave me a slightly bad vibe, but eh, f*ck um. I'm sure they found it even more fun with me screaming the songs at the back of their heads. (umm maybe that's why the one guy had his hands on his ears...
)Okay now the good stuff. It is hard to pick out favorite moments - everything sounded great. I didn't feel a lull in the show at any point. Every song seem to hit spot on. The sound was so amazingly clear and in no way overwhelming. I guess if I have to pick my favorite moments, I loved Bono throwing around the white roses at the start of the show. Of course, Larry singing a tune. Hearing Zooropa live - one of my very favorite songs - was amazing.
The one aspect of a U2 that hooked me from my first show was the feeling of hanging out a few ten thousands of fellow fans all singing the same songs and getting excited about the same songs. It doesn't happen all too often, and personally I can't think of another musical artist whose show I would go to where it would be as electric, for me, as a U2 show. It is always a bonus when the band is playing spot on and everything is perfect, but even if there are missed beats, missed lyrics, Bono's voice is off, whatever, it doesn't matter cause we are all gonna be there singing our lungs out. That's why I love U2 shows. I definitely had that feeling at this show.
I will say this - and its an obvious thing - Elevation and Vertigo were much more "intimate" affairs. 360, for me, was almost all energy and adrenaline. The prior two tours were more emotional. In comparison I think I prefer the more emotional to the pure energy. That is not a complaint at all, just an observation. And it also isn't to say that 360 is without emotion. I was really taken with the intro to Beautiful Day and Walk On and honestly nearly lost it crying during Stay, but hell, I nearly cry whenever I hear that song.
Anyway, that was a much longer post than I intended but I feel better now having got it out.
shooboxx
The Fly
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2004
- Messages
- 72
oh correction - not my first stadium show - I saw PopMart....but it was a long time ago and it really was a whole 'nother ball of wax with the assigned seating all around.
tryan101
Refugee
This might have been said before, but the sound was spot on! After Qwest I was worried, as that was really bad. (due to the stadium configuration)
AnCatKatie
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Was anyone about 20 feet away from stage, on Adam's side? I have the feeling there were people from Interference nearby, just didn't recognize anyone
I enjoyed the concert a lot. First one for me and I think they may prove addicting...I loved EBTTRT as an opener and have been unsuccessful at getting it back out of my head...it was so nice how close the band was; even though the crowd got packed later on, I was actually able to see up there properly, and Bono moved around a lot anyhow. There was definite live energy going on that was building by the time Lenny Kravitz got onstage and Moonalice off, and the energy positively exploded once U2 got on...BART was a nightmare but all in all a great night was had by me.
I enjoyed the concert a lot. First one for me and I think they may prove addicting...I loved EBTTRT as an opener and have been unsuccessful at getting it back out of my head...it was so nice how close the band was; even though the crowd got packed later on, I was actually able to see up there properly, and Bono moved around a lot anyhow. There was definite live energy going on that was building by the time Lenny Kravitz got onstage and Moonalice off, and the energy positively exploded once U2 got on...BART was a nightmare but all in all a great night was had by me.
OP
OP
romi
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I guess the highlight of the show for me was watching Larry sing, as the setlist was identical to Seattle other than the snippets. Not complaining yet. If Anaheim 1 and 2 have the exact same setlist then I might start. Still, being that half the songs are different from 2009, that's pretty good for me.
It was great to finally have a "hometown show." The closest to one that I was going to get on this tour, at least. Seeing a lot of familiar faces was nice, as was spending time with a few of you before and after. I got to meet Adam with three friends in San Francisco, but missed seeing Bono when he rolled in to the stadium by 30 minutes. The GA line was moving right about the time he pulled in.
I don't think it had been mentioned in here that the Gat A line was allowed inside a minute or two before the Gate B Line, but they got halted at the turnstiles to the inner circle because security there thought it was for Red Zone only. This allowed the Gate B line to catch up and take much of the front rail. I hope this does not happen in Anaheim. I But considering we had to deal with the two lines, I thought the day went pretty smoothly. Nick did a great job of organizing things.
Here's my pics:
U2/Oakland - June 5-7 | Facebook
It was great to finally have a "hometown show." The closest to one that I was going to get on this tour, at least. Seeing a lot of familiar faces was nice, as was spending time with a few of you before and after. I got to meet Adam with three friends in San Francisco, but missed seeing Bono when he rolled in to the stadium by 30 minutes. The GA line was moving right about the time he pulled in.
I don't think it had been mentioned in here that the Gat A line was allowed inside a minute or two before the Gate B Line, but they got halted at the turnstiles to the inner circle because security there thought it was for Red Zone only. This allowed the Gate B line to catch up and take much of the front rail. I hope this does not happen in Anaheim. I But considering we had to deal with the two lines, I thought the day went pretty smoothly. Nick did a great job of organizing things.
Here's my pics:
U2/Oakland - June 5-7 | Facebook
mtnfox
Refugee
bonocomet
Blue Crack Distributor
Yes! Thanks for sharing those, romi! 
paigekparsons
Babyface
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2011
- Messages
- 2
Here are some of my pix from the Oakland show. I was fortunate to have a photo pass, but it was a real challenge to shoot as the "photo pit" was at the foot of the stage left claw, a good 50 years from the main stage. Most of these were shot with a 400mm, handheld.
The review + pix will be up on Ice Cream Man shortly.
Hope you enjoy...
U2 at Oakland Coliseum, a set of 31 images on Flickr.
Bono of U2 by gussifer | thecolorawesome.com, on Flickr
Bono and Adam Clayton by gussifer | thecolorawesome.com, on Flickr
The review + pix will be up on Ice Cream Man shortly.
Hope you enjoy...
U2 at Oakland Coliseum, a set of 31 images on Flickr.
Bono of U2 by gussifer | thecolorawesome.com, on Flickr
Bono and Adam Clayton by gussifer | thecolorawesome.com, on Flickr
OP
OP
romi
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
very cool! Who were you shooting for? The Ice Cream Man blog?
paigekparsons
Babyface
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2011
- Messages
- 2
Yes, I shoot for Ice Cream Man. Usually it's large music fests like Sasquatch, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, but occasionally we do one-off shows like this. Wish we'd had free Ice Cream to give away that day.
Here I am in the photo pit on the 360 gigacam: http://www.u2.com/gigapixelfancam/110607/938435-paige-parsons
Here I am in the photo pit on the 360 gigacam: http://www.u2.com/gigapixelfancam/110607/938435-paige-parsons
OP
OP
romi
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
wow... free ice cream would have been... well... sweet!
Bear with me, fellow fans, I'm new to all this, using the iPhone app...
I'm from the central valley of California and I U2 has been my favorite band since I was 7 years old. The number one entry on my bucket list was to see them live from the front row. Well, on June 7th, not only did my dream come true, but it was better than I ever imagined. In Oakland, before the show, we found a group of about 40 people waiting near the neighboring arena. We waited with them, sharing the same hopes of seeing the band. After several false alarms, a police escort of 6 motorcycle cops drove up, followed by an SUV, containing the one and only, Bono. He stopped, got out, spoke with us, and when he saw my shirt (the lemon/shopping cart logo with no words) he said "ohhh duuuude!" and signed it "Bono rides the lemon", before giving me a fist bump and moving on. I had to sit down and collect myself. "What could ever top this moment?" I though to myself, as the tears reached my smiling lips. The concert was almost as amazing. By far, the greatest concert I've seen in my life (and I've been to a few hundred large concerts).
Greatest day of my 30 years on this blue rock.
Just thought I'd share.
Cheers,
Trevor Race
Fresno, California
I'm from the central valley of California and I U2 has been my favorite band since I was 7 years old. The number one entry on my bucket list was to see them live from the front row. Well, on June 7th, not only did my dream come true, but it was better than I ever imagined. In Oakland, before the show, we found a group of about 40 people waiting near the neighboring arena. We waited with them, sharing the same hopes of seeing the band. After several false alarms, a police escort of 6 motorcycle cops drove up, followed by an SUV, containing the one and only, Bono. He stopped, got out, spoke with us, and when he saw my shirt (the lemon/shopping cart logo with no words) he said "ohhh duuuude!" and signed it "Bono rides the lemon", before giving me a fist bump and moving on. I had to sit down and collect myself. "What could ever top this moment?" I though to myself, as the tears reached my smiling lips. The concert was almost as amazing. By far, the greatest concert I've seen in my life (and I've been to a few hundred large concerts).
Greatest day of my 30 years on this blue rock.
Just thought I'd share.
Cheers,
Trevor Race
Fresno, California
AnCatKatie
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
^ That is awesome!
tryan101
Refugee
So happy for you Trevor!
Jeannieco
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Trevor! Congrats!!Thanks all!
The one thing I learned with a quickness is how most of the fans at the show treated me like family. I can't think of any other band, with such a large and eclectic fan base, that has such a sense of unity. It was a wonderful experience for so many different reasons! I'm proud to call myself a U2 fan.
The one thing I learned with a quickness is how most of the fans at the show treated me like family. I can't think of any other band, with such a large and eclectic fan base, that has such a sense of unity. It was a wonderful experience for so many different reasons! I'm proud to call myself a U2 fan.
AnCatKatie
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Once again, awesome XD I loved his face when he saw the shirt
still running
Babyface
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2008
- Messages
- 16
No, it was definitely not bad! The only other show I have been to was Chicago II, and in comparison with that the band seemed much more engaged and enthusiastic (lots of smiles, Larry singing, Bono not sounding like a sleepwalker on standards like WOWY).
I loved all of the audience interaction and the off-the-cuff banter (something sorely missing in Chi), and there were some killer performances of songs (Beautiful Day, for one), as well as favorite songs I didn't expect to hear (AAWIY, Zooropa, etc). I was reminded why I love this band so much.
And who could object to EBTTRT?
I loved all of the audience interaction and the off-the-cuff banter (something sorely missing in Chi), and there were some killer performances of songs (Beautiful Day, for one), as well as favorite songs I didn't expect to hear (AAWIY, Zooropa, etc). I was reminded why I love this band so much.
And who could object to EBTTRT?
bratty_cat
War Child
Few people really slagging this show of on U2tours.com, was it really that bad? someone actually said they are like the Rolling Stones because they opened with EBTTRT saying it was terrible
IMO, it wasn't their best Bay Area showing, that's for sure. But then I've seen some incredible shows from them here so maybe my expectations were too high.
Edge_Orchestra
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
Great pic of Mr. Coment and Dallas. I am so jealous! But cool for yer hubby for sure.
Cute pic of you and your setlist and the two Comettes too. The are cute, like their Ma.
Cute pic of you and your setlist and the two Comettes too. The are cute, like their Ma.
Awesome photos Sicy! (And thank you!
We had a great time! It was our first 360 show since Rose Bowl and though I still prefer the RB show, this one was fantastic! I never mind when Bono's voice might sound a little rough around the edges at the start. One of his strengths is that it always seems to just get better and stronger as the show goes on, and it's the uniqueness of his voice I love best anyway, rough spots and all. He makes up for it by far with the emotion and passion he puts into every line that make him special. And by Miss Sarajevo he was amazing. We stayed near the center back of GA to get the big picture this time and it was fine and not crowded.
We met Dallas of all places out in the parking lot and wow what a sweetheart! He spent 15 minutes just talking to my family about all kinds of stuff and talked guitars with us, he was curious about what kinds of guitars my husband has. I asked him about Bono's new custom Tele and he said
Dallas and Charlie
And with my daughters
Me and the setlist
We had a great time!
bonocomet
Blue Crack Distributor
KUEFC09U2 said:Few people really slagging this show of on U2tours.com, was it really that bad? someone actually said they are like the Rolling Stones because they opened with EBTTRT saying it was terrible
Of course, this was my first U2 show...however, as a musician and as a sound engineer, I think the performance, energy, sound, and overall showmanship were great. You could tell Edge was lacking in energy(probably from the G3 partying the previous night), but it didn't change the overall feel of things...IMO, it was an amazing show.
hotpepper
War Child
It's been a week and I'm still walking on air. I had such a great time last Tuesday. It was so nice meeting so many of you and spending time with those who I already knew. Special thanks to Nick and Brad for making the day go smoothly. Even though we were so packed in the pit, it was totally worth it and a lot of fun! The explanation about the 2,400 guests of U2 joining us makes a lot of sense now. I thought the show was one of the best that I've ever seen despite Bono's voice sounding a bit odd, like he had a cold or something. His energy didn't seem diminished at all!
My U2 360 Oakland Pix!
Lori
My favorite:
My U2 360 Oakland Pix!
LoriMy favorite:
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