salomeU2000
The Fly
By Dave Hooper
[SIMG]http://bonovox.interference.com/reviews/slanethumb.jpg[/SIMG]
Well what can I say? Two U2 shows in two weeks - not bad considering that they had only planned one, and had to change the local concert law for this concert to go ahead as planned. So for the first time ever, and according to MCD and Lord Henry Mountcharles, this was the only time there would be a second show. Slane 2 was going to be special.
We get into Slane and not only the heart, but the pit passes are gone. It?s very overcast, and getting warmer. 1 o?clock ushers in Dara, after a decent start they got worse. The Walls who weren?t much better came on around 2. Then at about a quarter to 3, Nelly Furtado came on and she was pretty poor. The pick up in events came at 3.45 when the Ireland vs. Holland Soccer match was on. This was a vitally important match for Ireland to qualify for the world Cup. The atmosphere was tense, and all of Slane was watching the match. Then Jason McAteer scored for Ireland, the place erupts. 20 very tense minutes follows, finally the final whistle, and Ireland have just about qualified for the World Cup. Slane erupts and cheers and claps for a couple of minutes, Amazing. I turn around to a guy I had been half watching the match with, and he says ?I thought you were going to have a heart attack In the last few minutes, Mate?. He was right - I was in bits.
The excellent Ash comes on just after 5. I followed Ash for a while and the Northern Rockers didn?t disappoint. Just after 6, Moby came on stage. I?m not a big Moby fan but he was brilliant. He brought Fr. Dougal Maguire (From Irish TV show Father Ted) on stage and they did their classic, 1996 Eurovision entry ?My Lovely Horse.? He also congratulated the Irish Soccer team on great results.
So next U2, and I knew what to expect from last week: an 8.20 entrance. Half eight comes and goes, 15 minutes later U2 arrive on stage. An excellent version of ?Elevation? blasts out. Then, with the start of ?Beautiful Day,? Bono shouts out ?and now we?ve had two.? The band is in a real party humour, compared to the tense and full experience of last week. ?Until The End Of The End Of The World? Is next, and this time a photographer gets on stage and flashes pictures as Bono mocks to take he\she on!
Next is ?New Years Day,? excellent, in the middle part Bono raps an Ireland flag around him, and says, ?For just once, I?ll be Jason McAteer.? Then it?s the first set list change of the evening. ?Out Of Control,? a real punk rock version, with Bono saying how each band members? family put up ₤500 for them to start a band, ?but were not going to Live in London or New York, were going to stay at home and live in Dublin.? He then introduces ?from Malahide; Adam Clayton, from the Artane Boys Band Larry Mullen.? Then ?Sunday Bloody Sunday,? without the ?Get Up Stand Up? bit, but this is real heavy metal. The song ends and Bono starts shouting out the names of all those who died in the Omagh bombing, with that, they play the best version I?ve heard of ?Wake Up Dead Man.? I turned around and people holding lighters light up. Bono says, ?this is a song about friendship? before launching into ?Stuck In A Moment? - brilliant.
The excellent ?Kite? is next, which I believe is the best song on the new album; Bono dedicates it to his late Father. Afterwards, Bono tells a story of his father and Edge?s father falling down a street in New York, ?the two of them absolutely rat arsed.? ?Angel of Harlem? comes next, with Bono changing the lyrics ?The grey Slane Skies cleared away\Tonight Slane Castle belongs to me.? Excellent! I was very surprised to hear ?Angel of Harlem,? so that was excellent. The Band headed to the tip of the heart and played ?Desire.? Bono and Edge preformed ?Staring at the Sun,? with Bono messing with a beach ball he took from the crowd.
Then Bono dedicates ?All I Want is You? to his ?beautiful wife Ali,? with a prolonged ending to the song. Bono sang ?All I want is? and the crowd replied ?You.? Bono: ?All I Need Is? Crowd: ?You? excellent, lasting a couple of minutes. The amazing ?Streets? was next, a good bit better then last week, with the lights stronger then the 1st show. ?Mysterious Ways? came next, this time Bono brings his daughter Eve on stage and she dances away to the song - classic as little Eve gives the dancing loads. It was a class version with Edge tearing in to the guitar. The song ends, Bono starts shouting, ?is there love in the house tonight, This is Our Love? and ?Pride? played again, where it was recorded.
Unlike last week, we didn?t get the ?No Guns? video that precedes ?Bullet the Blue Sky.? This time, the video wall lit up with ?The Five Biggest Military Suppliers in the World! France, Great Britain, USA, China and Russia.? And with that, ?Bullet the Blue Sky? screams across Slane. You can see Bono running on stage to start singing. At the end of ?Bullet,? you can hear slowing build his voice up as he sings ?IRA, INLA, Real IRA, UDA, UVF, You gotta Compromise Compromise!?!
Then the opening crowds of ?With or Without You,? - amazing, absolutely amazing. Then comes ?One,? which Bono dedicates to ?the best support act we?ve ever had! The Irish World Cup Team, Yeah were nearly there, we promise to support you from now on.? ?One? is excellent, not as emotional as last week, but still excellent. Finally, as with their encores, ?Walk On? is last, but not least, and certainly excellent, a good deal better then last week. Disappointedly for me this was the end, and it was followed like the previous week with fireworks, but since it was the last show of the tour, I expected another song or two. It was still great, the way they changed their set. So a great weekend, and I?ve been elevated twice in a field in County Meath.
[SIMG]http://bonovox.interference.com/reviews/slanethumb.jpg[/SIMG]
Well what can I say? Two U2 shows in two weeks - not bad considering that they had only planned one, and had to change the local concert law for this concert to go ahead as planned. So for the first time ever, and according to MCD and Lord Henry Mountcharles, this was the only time there would be a second show. Slane 2 was going to be special.
We get into Slane and not only the heart, but the pit passes are gone. It?s very overcast, and getting warmer. 1 o?clock ushers in Dara, after a decent start they got worse. The Walls who weren?t much better came on around 2. Then at about a quarter to 3, Nelly Furtado came on and she was pretty poor. The pick up in events came at 3.45 when the Ireland vs. Holland Soccer match was on. This was a vitally important match for Ireland to qualify for the world Cup. The atmosphere was tense, and all of Slane was watching the match. Then Jason McAteer scored for Ireland, the place erupts. 20 very tense minutes follows, finally the final whistle, and Ireland have just about qualified for the World Cup. Slane erupts and cheers and claps for a couple of minutes, Amazing. I turn around to a guy I had been half watching the match with, and he says ?I thought you were going to have a heart attack In the last few minutes, Mate?. He was right - I was in bits.
The excellent Ash comes on just after 5. I followed Ash for a while and the Northern Rockers didn?t disappoint. Just after 6, Moby came on stage. I?m not a big Moby fan but he was brilliant. He brought Fr. Dougal Maguire (From Irish TV show Father Ted) on stage and they did their classic, 1996 Eurovision entry ?My Lovely Horse.? He also congratulated the Irish Soccer team on great results.
So next U2, and I knew what to expect from last week: an 8.20 entrance. Half eight comes and goes, 15 minutes later U2 arrive on stage. An excellent version of ?Elevation? blasts out. Then, with the start of ?Beautiful Day,? Bono shouts out ?and now we?ve had two.? The band is in a real party humour, compared to the tense and full experience of last week. ?Until The End Of The End Of The World? Is next, and this time a photographer gets on stage and flashes pictures as Bono mocks to take he\she on!
Next is ?New Years Day,? excellent, in the middle part Bono raps an Ireland flag around him, and says, ?For just once, I?ll be Jason McAteer.? Then it?s the first set list change of the evening. ?Out Of Control,? a real punk rock version, with Bono saying how each band members? family put up ₤500 for them to start a band, ?but were not going to Live in London or New York, were going to stay at home and live in Dublin.? He then introduces ?from Malahide; Adam Clayton, from the Artane Boys Band Larry Mullen.? Then ?Sunday Bloody Sunday,? without the ?Get Up Stand Up? bit, but this is real heavy metal. The song ends and Bono starts shouting out the names of all those who died in the Omagh bombing, with that, they play the best version I?ve heard of ?Wake Up Dead Man.? I turned around and people holding lighters light up. Bono says, ?this is a song about friendship? before launching into ?Stuck In A Moment? - brilliant.
The excellent ?Kite? is next, which I believe is the best song on the new album; Bono dedicates it to his late Father. Afterwards, Bono tells a story of his father and Edge?s father falling down a street in New York, ?the two of them absolutely rat arsed.? ?Angel of Harlem? comes next, with Bono changing the lyrics ?The grey Slane Skies cleared away\Tonight Slane Castle belongs to me.? Excellent! I was very surprised to hear ?Angel of Harlem,? so that was excellent. The Band headed to the tip of the heart and played ?Desire.? Bono and Edge preformed ?Staring at the Sun,? with Bono messing with a beach ball he took from the crowd.
Then Bono dedicates ?All I Want is You? to his ?beautiful wife Ali,? with a prolonged ending to the song. Bono sang ?All I want is? and the crowd replied ?You.? Bono: ?All I Need Is? Crowd: ?You? excellent, lasting a couple of minutes. The amazing ?Streets? was next, a good bit better then last week, with the lights stronger then the 1st show. ?Mysterious Ways? came next, this time Bono brings his daughter Eve on stage and she dances away to the song - classic as little Eve gives the dancing loads. It was a class version with Edge tearing in to the guitar. The song ends, Bono starts shouting, ?is there love in the house tonight, This is Our Love? and ?Pride? played again, where it was recorded.
Unlike last week, we didn?t get the ?No Guns? video that precedes ?Bullet the Blue Sky.? This time, the video wall lit up with ?The Five Biggest Military Suppliers in the World! France, Great Britain, USA, China and Russia.? And with that, ?Bullet the Blue Sky? screams across Slane. You can see Bono running on stage to start singing. At the end of ?Bullet,? you can hear slowing build his voice up as he sings ?IRA, INLA, Real IRA, UDA, UVF, You gotta Compromise Compromise!?!
Then the opening crowds of ?With or Without You,? - amazing, absolutely amazing. Then comes ?One,? which Bono dedicates to ?the best support act we?ve ever had! The Irish World Cup Team, Yeah were nearly there, we promise to support you from now on.? ?One? is excellent, not as emotional as last week, but still excellent. Finally, as with their encores, ?Walk On? is last, but not least, and certainly excellent, a good deal better then last week. Disappointedly for me this was the end, and it was followed like the previous week with fireworks, but since it was the last show of the tour, I expected another song or two. It was still great, the way they changed their set. So a great weekend, and I?ve been elevated twice in a field in County Meath.
