by Nathan Scoggins

Brilliant set. Universally agreed that this show was better than the good (but tentative) first night.

Arrived at Croke at noon, after walking for an hour to get there. About 300th perhaps in the queue. At 1 they opened the gates and lined us all up inside in barriers. At 3 we were let into the stadium and it was a mad walk to get to the Ellipse. Got in on Edge's side, about four people from the rear.

The Thrills and Paddy were both excellent -- is it me or did the lead singer of the The Thrills look like Orlando Bloom? Paddy was great -- awesome percussion and genuinely humbled to be at Croke.

U2 came out with little fanfare -- no Everyone, but when everyone heard Arcade Fire, they knew it was on....

U2 were on fire tonight. The band exploded into Vertigo, then jumped right back to Out of Control and Electric Co, which were brilliant. I think them being in the old town brings back thrilling memories, they were jumping around and enjoying the hell out of the show. A few songs in Bono said, "It's always the second date, isn't that right girls?" leading to a chorus of cheers from the ladies in the house (including my wife).

Nothing completely surprising about the setlist, although Love and Peace is back rightfully at the start of the war trilogy set. Party Girl was a great surprise, though I wish they'd pull up someone from the crowd who could surprise them a la A Sort of Homecoming during Elevation. Matt from Canada seemed stoked to be up there though, and it was great to see him grinning from ear to ear. Overall they played 25 songs for nearly 2.5 hours -- certainly a longer show than in the US. A feeble attempt was made to launch "How long to sing this song," but honestly -- anything else they did would have been anticlimactic.

The band all seemed in fine form, relaxed and smiling, really using the catwalk this time (as opposed to the first night). They all came down for Love and Peace, but Adam took a walk during New Year's Day, Edge was out there quite a bit for Electric Co and Zoo Station, and Bono ran down during All I Want is You and plucked a lucky girl who was sitting on someone's shoulders. Security wanted her down but Bono waved them off and brought her up. Unlike some of the more inappropriate women who have been up there, she was polite, calm, and having the time of her life.

The biggest surprise was the visuals -- so much better than the US. They are really using the wall of lights behind them much better than they did on leg one. Catherine Owens has added some great new images for the tour that expand on the visuals from leg one.

Overall, nothing more can be said about the show -- it was amazing, and it will be interesting to see the momentum they take with them into leg three....

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