by Lord Jennings of Jenningsshire

I really enjoyed this gig, but I have such high expectations from a U2 concert that on this night, I was slightly let down... This is mainly due to the poor venue layout which was shockingly organized and the mediocre crowd and lack of interaction…

There weren't enough people on the floor, the eclipse or whatever it’s called at the front didn’t look full and there were too many dullards in this section…

The stage and pitch set-up looked a mess with too many barriers and speaker stacks, the mini stages that went into the eclipse were crap, the cat walk worked much better and engulfed more fans and left a more natural standing area, all you could see was a see of fans... Also, I reckon organizers could have fit another 10,000 in the stadium, safety etc… The gap was ridiculous…

The last time I saw a listless crowd like this was the Elevation Tour in New Jersey... That was classed as a rocking gig, so maybe it's all about expectations or hype? I do expect better of a Northern England crowd, places like Leeds and Manchester in the past have been phenomenal!!

I thought U2 were fantastic, I've never heard them sound better!! All the classics sounded superb and the new material sounded fantastic…

Vertigo, I Will Follow, The Electric Co., Elevation, New Year's Day & Beautiful Day went so well together! They really were spot on and I felt overwhelmed by such a tirade of music genius, they really are made to play live!

Running to Stand Still put the crowd into a trance like state, as did all the other 80s material, Streets got the crowd on the pitch bouncing and it really was electric…

The audience indeed only seemed hyped by the Joshua Tree era and Vertigo material… All Because of You and the Vertigo got the crowd going somewhat, they sound like all time classics!! I thought the latter was great even if played twice!

The Zoo TV Tour Homage was awesome! Sadly though, the crowd looked unimpressed and duly missed the point… I really loved Zoo Station; maybe this lacklustre response will put them off playing too much Acthung Baby material? I hope not!

I thought the setlist and performance was better than the last 3 tours, it really was special… Previous U2 tours have finished on a low key note, Vertigo Tour has kept the setlist heavy all the way, it really works!

Do the ticket prices put off fans, were there too many corporate packages? I remember the crowds were wicked on Pop Mart and that’s when U2’s lull in Popularity came about, maybe the hardcore got the tickets… I wish those crowds had witnessed this performance!

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