by Aad

Hello,
I've posted the same review here as I posted on the u2star.com forum..I hope that's ok

Well, this was my first u2 concert....actually, this was my first real concert...
So, I had no idea what I could expect......
I got tickets for the blue zone, so already secured for a reasonably good spot.....but, after they let us in I ended up right next to one of the b-stages....!!!!!......I was really getting nervous then....
so, whe heard the thrills and snow patrol...both bands were good and really knew that we were waiting for something else, or, as the singer from the Thrills said:
"are you looking forward to seeing u2??...WELL WE ARE!!!"

that was great!!

Then, the begin-tune kicked in at 21:30...and the crowd went mad....you could see by the reaction of the people on the left side of the stadium that u2 was approaching, so everyone got even more excited.....then we heard:
EVERYONE.....EVERYONE!!!........
And suddenly, these four guys pup up from the back of the stage and I can't believe I'm actually there...
so, larry starts off with Vertigo while Bono introduces the band to us....or as he said it:
"let me introduce the band"
And then....with a short pause of about 3 seconds....vertigo kicks in....we're on the way....
The first Vertigo is good but, since it was relatively light, little focus is put on the screens......So, u2 rocked and we're on to Until the end of the world.....Suddenly edge starts moving towards te b-stage where I'm standing....and yep, a few seconds later he was jamming away right in front of me....(I took some pictures with my mobile, which you can see on www.u2-vertigo-tour.com....I'm Aad van der Laan)....and I just cou'ldn't believe it....the whole song was played right before me....

Well, I can't discuss each song but, I'll give a general picture.....

What really got me excited was the impression I got from the band...they seemed to be having so much fun....Bono was smiling all the way, even edge made the crowd crazy by waving his arms up and down during a song, to get the whole crowd moving...And the interaction between the band members was great...they were constantly smiling at each other....
Adam also entered the b-stage after a few songs, walking slowly, waving his bass around with, again, a big smile on his face...
ok, let's discuss songs:
Miracle drug was AMAZING....the screen showed a heart-beat-monitor the whole song...but at the end of the song you heard:
boom boom..............boom..boom.......(simulating a heart-beat) but after 30 seconds, suddenly......:
PIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE......

you see a flat line on the screen simulating no-pulse...the crowd is completely silent and then they kick in to "SYCMIOYO"....and Bono says:
"this is for my father, Bob Hewson"...

very emotional moment

Then, Love and peace or else....MAN, what a live song..!!!......the ground shakes during the intro and the whole band walks to the b-stages...And as everyone knows, bono plays the drums at the end....but, also plays them when Sunday, bloody sunday starts....but only for about 20 seconds...I guess adreniline kicked in for a moment..
Zoo station was surreal...I can't believe that certain people don't want this song to be in the set...it was perfect!!!!!...again, they used the b-stages and the screen showed all kinds of crap ...Again, edge and bono used the b-stages...with a great connection between the two...

ok, next up: running to stand still
pff...that was really really great...the whole song was done acoustically, with edge on piano...and the whole crowd sang in a silent way....when bono said: "now, the people sing"
"HALALALALIDEEEEEEEEEEEEE..........."........shivers down my spine..
The song was interupted by a plane passing by right above us, resulting in a slight lyric change by Bono while the plane was passing:
"step on the steam train....get tickets for an airoplane"......everybody laughed...

ok....then, mysterious ways:
no girls were pulled on stage...Bono decided to dance around edge for about a minute, on the b-stage...again, right in front of me ...
I guess this was one of the best songs of the evening....everything seemed to fit...

Last up:
the second vertigo:
I have no idea why people don't want to hear this song twice during a concert....because the second time was thrilling...everyone went crazy and jumped up and down...the light show was just awesome...and the energy within the band was huge...Bono actually started with:
"ok...spanish lessons, encora, it means....encore....it means, we allready played this once, but we're f*cking gonna play it again"
and u2 was on it's way...with the Stories for boys part included...

And then.................silence...

I was left with a great feeling of....well, I still have no idea what it was....but it was good...u2 really rocked the whole show, no negative parts, the energy within the crowd was amazing...and the band members were in good spirit...

pfff....

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