by Chris

Just got back from the performance in London.

I'll start off with a bit of a moan and then tell you about the performance.

It was completely disorganised (perhaps a bad idea to give the tickets away
at such short notice) and we had to make 4 trips back and forth from the
queue to main reception before finally being handed the tickets.

Luckily we were allowed to queue jump as competition winners others were not
so lucky and too many people turned up and too many tickets were given out
so I think they ended up raffling off the remaining places.

The show didn't start til 7.30 and U2 weren't due to come on til about 7.45
but they kicked things off with a rehearsal of the first three tracks
playing stuff off the new album. Vertigo, All because of You and City of
blinding lights.

You could tell they were using a backing track but the crowd were still
pretty into it. I'd estimate about 300 people were left into the actual car
park where they were playing with 1 or 2 thousand outside trying to peak
through the gates and listen over the wall and loads off people (presumably
bbc staff) looking on from the bbc studio balconies and office windows (or
anywhere else they could find a space).

In between bono shouted exterminate, extermionate. The reason for this is
because there is police box in the bbc car park (this is from an old show
called Dr Who, and there used to be these things called Daleks which shouted
Exterminate). Bono shouted it, but added onto it shouting out Exterminate,
Exterminate Pop Music.

When they came back out again for the "live" performance they started with
Vertigo which to be honest for the type of song it is, was dissapointing. It
should have rocked more live but bono did a kind of slower version with the
lyrics and it didn't have that energy that I think it will when they are on
tour.

They played All because of you next which sounded pretty good and then did a
FULL LIVE version of Desire and City of Blinding lights which sandwhiched
She's a mystery to me which was a mystery to me beacause I have never heard
it before but Bono told us a "story" about the song and I think it was a Roy
Orbison cover but couldn't say for sure cos it turned out during is story
time that he may have been pulling our leg.

Desire got everybody going it sounded great and then they played City of
Blinding lights. The intro to this track sounds awesome. It's not too long,
but it's one of those complex intro's that only U2 seem capable of pulling
off.

I have to say personally I thought Bono sounded great on All Because of You
and City of blinding Lights, His voice just soared it was awesome hearing it
and made me appreciate just how good a vocalist he his.

All in all it was a great performance and as whetted my appetite even more
for the new album. It was even worth the 2 hour commute from where I live
and using London transport, which is shocking.

Jus to finish off I think the album Will fall in between the sound of ATYCLB
and Achtung Baby. I remember thinking when the City of blinding lights intro
came on first time that it sounded like something off Achtung but further
into the song it wouldnt of sounded out of place on ATYCLB.

Bono was on form all night keeping the crowd entertained with jokes in
between songs and finished off by saying "We'll see you in the summer when
we're back. And no doubt it will still be raining."

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