September 12, 2009 - Soldier Field Chicago - Illinois

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Here's some pictures from last night. These turned out really great. From inner circle, about 7 people in, directly in front of Edge.

U2 360 at Soldier Field- a set on Flickr

A few of my faves:

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The rest are here
 
Those pics are sweet

There are two soundboard areas...A & B. They are across from each other

Not sure what the view of the band was like, but the claw & screen probably looks bad ass

I'm about 30 minutes away from splitting for the stadium....I'll post when I get back

-dan
 
In short and less essay like than what I will write for the front page:

Loved the show, perhaps my best ever: a completely reborn band & a ragingly reborn fandom for this writer. Getting Bad sealed the deal on an absolutely stellar night for me & my lovely companion.

The sound depends on where you sit, which is a big challenge. We were side/rear (Edge's) stage in the 200s.

The stadium lip of the 300s hung over our seats, making our $100 tickets some of the worst in the house: muffled sound & obscured view of SpaceClaw.

But we did what we had to & formed a small standing section with some other fans & luckily schmoozed security to leave us be. We moved more rear than side and had amazing sound and view for the whole show. We had an awesome view of the band's entry.

Our little crowd were all into it. But I do have to wonder why some fans are so sedate at shows. But tonight, I know my Dad will *love* it, but he is almost 70 and very physically challenged, so he may not show it.

I'm going to have to disagree about a few things. One, I think the setlist is awesome, with Bad taking it to the top level for me. While I would have traded Elevation and Stuck for any number of other songs, they were great for what they were. Second, Walk On is incredible WITH and BECAUSE of the statement. The kids parading with masks moved me, and I think it was creatively choreographed. Hats off to the guy I saw wearing a kilt and wearing a mask. I hope he got some photo ops.

Most importantly, the crazy "Crazy" is crazy in the best sense. And "Moment of Surrender" is an epic, spiritual, perfect closer. Also, getting the "40" snippet with "Bad" is having your cake and eating it too.

All said, the band sounded phenomenal. Bono's voice is the strongest thing I've ever heard; every cosmic epic gospel-opera falsetto element for sure. I think the gravel we heard was only on Ultraviolet & WOWY & enhanced by the distortion on the steering-wheel, boxing-match mic.

Edge's playing powered its way into my body, especially on the new material on tracks like Unknown Caller and Moment, reminded me why he is the Edge and gets to be in a movie with Jack White and Jimmy Page.

Larry rocked that djembe and that drum kit with focused, pulsing desperation, like his life depended on his playing. During streets, the drums were further front to the mix than I remember, and it rattled me deep inside.

Adam is the shit as always. Calm, sexy, graceful. At some points, the bass was so thick I thought it might implode the steel and concrete with gloriously thick and creamy thumpiness.

I refuse to apologize for my love for this band, at this time, with this set, in these massive canyons of human unity and folly. Both U2 and Snow Patrol insisted on showering Chicago with prideful, hometown love. Amazing feeling here.


I love this post.
 
Wow, that video of them leaving the hotel was INSANE!!! :crack:
Learn2kneel - those are some insanely great photos!!! :yes:
Chelsea - are you still going to the Rose Bowl, and will you be doing GA?

If I had more than one show to go to, I wouldn't mind showing up late and just being anywhere on the field. But with only one show & GA & Maddy, looks like we'll still be camping out. :pray:

Great review Anu :up:
 
If I had more than one show to go to, I wouldn't mind showing up late and just being anywhere on the field. But with only one show & GA & Maddy, looks like we'll still be camping out. :pray:

Yeah, I think I'm going to at least *try* to camp out, but if there's any sign of Chicago-like craziness, screw that, I'm out of there. Thankfully, Sarah is old enough to line up and try for any spot she wants. There will be plenty of friends/Interferencers around for her to talk to.

I have a feeling TO will be more organized though, just knowing the layout of the stadium, where the GA gates are located, etc. It's a layout that lends itself to an organized, single (or double) file line.
 
Why can't they all be organized like Boston was on the last tour (it was the last tour, right?) where they handed out wristbands and told everyone to come back by a certain time to line up? How simple would that be? Less work in patroling crowds of people, less chance for injury, etc. I don't understand...

Oh, and some great photos showing up everywhere!!!

U2 - Chicago - Soldier Field - September 12th, 2009 - a set on Flickr

U2 - Chicago, September 12, 2009 - a set on Flickr

U2 - Chicago, September 12, 2009 - a set on Flickr


And GA in an arena is so much smaller - how many thousands can that be - a couple? Compared to a stadium which has THOUSANDS
 
Paris GA was fucked up, too, but for different reasons. Also, I had the most expensive tickets for Paris 1, and, when I got to the venue, my fucking section had no seats. That's right, the whole section was being renovated, so the seats did not exist. They were relocation people to upper levels. I stayed in my area and just stood.

Point is, these problems are not exclusive to the States.

i don't know if you were aware, but the French fan site u2achtung put up an online petition as so many fans had the same problems with gold seats simply being removed without warning, GA fuck-up, and also Red zone problems too... they were trying to sort some sort of group action and the petition was being sent to Stade de France, Live Nation and Principle Management... i haven't been over at the site lately so don't know what the upshot was... but i think they were complaining and hoping for refunds etc... (for those who didn't get the "gold" seats they'd paid for)
 
would it be better off to try the inner circle off to the sides, or the outside rail either centre or sides, what would you recommend.
aslo im thinking of arriving circa noon 1 pm is that ok for outsdie rails on side or inside cricle sides

i was on the rail inner circle, just slightly off-centre between Bono and Adam at the Paris I gig, and it was perfect - everyone around me was so mellow and i didn't get pushed or crushed at all and had room to dance and jump up and down... however, i heard the middle and back of the pit was atrocious though that night... so it definitely does make a difference where you stand...
 
the guy collapsed on me..

i had to help the fucking security carry him out of the pit. my brother and i had to help his girlfriend get out too.

it was so sad.

wow, that sucks. :(

I lined up at 6 am, and it was so worth it. Yeah, things got annoyingly disorganized once they started actually letting people in ... my friends and I were in the second group to be let in, but we got held up where they were handing out wristbands for some reason. none of the security people seemed to know what was going on. and then when we were let in the venue, we had to stop again before we could go all the way in. but we eventually made it in and I got a spot on Edge's side, second row. I really don't understand why everyone is so anti-FOS. For about 70% of the show, Edge was right in front of me, and Bono was close, and he sometimes sang right in front of us too. That, to me, is so worth waiting in line all day for. Unfortunately I'm really short so I couldn't see Larry at all, and I only saw Adam once when he came over. and it is true that you don't get to see all the visuals, though the screen coming down during UF was amazing. if I could get tickets to another show this leg, i would probably get seats to get a different perspective. but for one show, I gotta go with GA. it's incredibly exhausting, especially because I walked a LOT during the day and the night before, but being so close to my favourite band and in front of soooo many people was just awesome. plus, the person in front of me turned out to be unico! :)

as for the show itself - amazing. The band were in top-form; there were very few mistakes. I actually think the NLOTH songs were some of the best of the night. That, and Vertigo and Elevation ... way fun. anyone who wants those off the setlist is nuts, because the crowd loves it. The crowd around me was pretty awesome really. i guess being near the stage they were diehards, so they sang along to everything and went nuts for UF (which was gorgeous!). I was sooo happy I got to see UV, and Bad was a nice surprise. Also, Streets was perfect. the intro was long like it should be, and the Claw went red and then the house lights came on ... amazing. One of my favourite moments was probably the climax of the Crazy Tonight remix ... the crowd around where I was totally loved it. I had a blast, and my friends loved it too (one of them had seen U2 with me before, one had just seen U2 at the inauguration, and one of them had never seen U2). I gotta say though, I'm glad the show is only about 2 hours. Doing the whole GA thing is so tiring. A longer show would have probably resulted in me dying :crack: but yeah, can't wait for the third leg :up:
 
Red Zone 1 Chicago

2orangecats - awesome pics. I have RZ1 for Charlottesville and was wondering what time did you head into the stadium and where did you get to stand (or dance and sing and scream :hyper:) during the show. Any advice on when, where and how would be appreciated!

Thanks!
 
2orangecats - awesome pics. I have RZ1 for Charlottesville and was wondering what time did you head into the stadium and where did you get to stand (or dance and sing and scream :hyper:) during the show. Any advice on when, where and how would be appreciated!

Thanks!


We got there around 4:30. I just wrote a little review with all the details in the Red Zone thread in General Tour Discussion....check it out! :wink:
 
the guy collapsed on me..

i had to help the fucking security carry him out of the pit. my brother and i had to help his girlfriend get out too.

it was so sad.

Nice to meet you, and sorry for yelling at you to move off the rail. I am sure you understand under the circumstances!

Security at Soldier Field = a joke

I/we barely managed to get the guy to the rail since it was so packed, only to be greeted by two blank faced security guards. Then the sister... I could have flung her over the rail had I had any room, but it took several of us grabbing body parts just to get her over. I really hope tonight is going much better for everyone!
 
If you can, I'd say to grab an outside rail. Unless they allow fewer people in the inner circle tonight than last night, there was no room to move no matter where you were. And by move, I mean shift your feet, turn your shoulder, and so on. Maybe it was just the area I was in, but it seemed like the whole circle was packed very tight.

It was horrible in there. Sardines are packed less tightly. I had the absolute worst concert experience (environment wise) EVER. :(
 
Nice to meet you, and sorry for yelling at you to move off the rail. I am sure you understand under the circumstances!

Security at Soldier Field = a joke

I/we barely managed to get the guy to the rail since it was so packed, only to be greeted by two blank faced security guards. Then the sister... I could have flung her over the rail had I had any room, but it took several of us grabbing body parts just to get her over. I really hope tonight is going much better for everyone!

Ah! It was nice to meet you too! :wave:

And no, it was completely fine! I was trying to make space for the guy to rest on the rail; I couldn't support his body weight ( :yikes: ). The whole bunch of us by the rail were SCREAMING at the security guards to do something and trying to make room in the limited space we had. They literally stood there with a "durrr" face while the guy was coming in and out of consciousness. Ugh, buzzkill, for sure.

If I'm correct, I believe you were jammin' during the set. :rockon: :wink: :up:. It's cool. So was I. :)
 
I jammed up until Elevation, which was the last time I really had room to move.

My husband grabbed the shirt of one of the security imbeciles, while I yelled at the smaller one and continued to try to hold as much as his weight. Still, nothing happened until the third guy in the black shirt showed up.
 
I lined up with some interferencers around 6 am on Saturday. The front of the line was a bit contentious, I must say. We stopped to say hello to people we had known from previous tours and were basically yelled at and told to move to the back of the line. I would say we were about 200 people back or so.

Phil would visit us from the front of the line and give up updates. :)

The people around us were very nice and the line wide but venue security was watching it all day. Some time around noon we heard that we would be moved up after 3 pm. As the day went on we were told that the line would "close" (no more potty breaks, putting stuff away, etc)

Well, at about 10 to 4 there was a mad rush and the line turned into what you saw on my twitpics. There were cutters and people who got in line hours after us in front of us. Not to mention how close everyone was standing. They roped off the first group and brought them to the turnstyles. Apparently, they venue staff had no clue how to: a.) put on a wrist band, b.) punch a hole in a tickets, or c.)scan a ticket for entrance to the venue. I know people in the first group who didn't get their ticket scanned or get a wristband until they were inside Soldier Field.

Once inside, it was a mad dash to the floor entrance. Pushing, shoving, going through landscaping. . We were stopped again to show our punched ticket and wristbands. The first group had to be wristbanded at this point. All the while, people are taking small steps and crushing closer.

They funneled us through small gates and then it was another crazy run to the floor. They weren't counting how many people were going in the inner circle. We chose the back center 2 or 3 people off the rail. There were people on the rails that were waaaaay behind us in line so that was frustrating.

By the time Snow Patrol came on it was so tight that you could not move. Everyone was shoulder to shoulder, touching. It was hard to get your hands up without touching the person in front of you.

A guy had a seizure at the start of Bad. At first he couldn't fall down b/c there were so many people around so he was just collapsing on them. People were screaming on the venue security since we were like, 2 people off the rail and they just stood there. People in the crowd had to drag this poor guy to the rail and help get him over. It wasn't until someone, who we thing was from U2's team, came over that he got any help. this guy's poor sister was freaking out and Miroslava was comforting her and had to try to get her over the rail so she could go with him. Again, security didn't do much of anything.

I am not new to GA. This was the worst experience I've ever had. Other diehards we talked to after the show agreed. Stick to arenas in the US U2.

I'll comment on the show after I go tonight. I will say that the Crazy Tonight remix doesn't work for me. The first half is so awkward and disjointed it's hard to tell what song it is. Play the club remix at a club, not a stadium. kthnx.


Agreed - worst experience I've had in GA at a U2 (or any other artist I've been on the floor for, for that matter) ever. Security was a freaking joke, and their lack of a reaction to the seizure just capped it for all of us. Hopefully the rest of the GAers for the remainder of the shows don't have to go through the crap we did last night. Absolutely ridiculous.

That said, the show was really amazing. The band worked their butts off to ensure the "360" aspect of the show, and Ultraviolet was my highlight moment, as well as UF... Crazy Tonight took me a bit to get into but I did like it. Like I was saying to those in my group, it was different in good and bad ways. I definitely prefer arenas.

From the looks/sounds of it, tonight is going MUCH better for everyone. :up:
 
Yeah, this was my first GA experience with U2 and I was a little letdown. My first U2 concert was at United Center and I had one of the 400s seats. After this GA experience, I think I'm gonna stick with seats if they do another stadium tour.

The performance was fantastic and the energy was great, but I think the small things that could have been enforced, like limiting the number of people into the inner circle or how we were sent into the stadium like tidal waves, would have made such a difference. Boo to you, security. :down:

Still, it was a good show.
 
Back at the hotel and took a nice shower

Saw your blue room...neener neener neener :D

-dan
 
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