U2 conquer Dublin: ‘Three extraordinary nights’
( Clayton by cvodb/U2log.com)
‘Even with our megalomania, we had never expected these three nights to turn out like they did.’
Near the end of a long, crazy, third Dublin show, Bono thanks the audience for three nights, using his very favourite expression: ‘Extraordinary’.
And they were. We wondered what the band would cook up for night III. Minutes before the show began (half an hour late!), the crew were given the setlist (and by chance, we caught a glimpse of it too – which ruined our surprise, but thrilled us nonetheless). The look on guitar tech Philip Dogherty’s face said it all: ‘Huh?’
( the setlist as shown to us shortly before start of show )
‘Gloria’, ‘Original of the Species’, ‘Bad’, ‘An Cat Dubh’, ‘Yahweh’ and ’40′ played after the encore of Vertigo and for Dublin: ‘Unchained Melody’ tagged onto the end of ‘One’… too good to be true, but it was. Had the boys been rehearsing on their day off? Gloria sounded as solid as a rock and fit the set perfectly. ‘Original of the Species’ sounded a little tentative, but beautiful.
Bono plucked a little girl wearing a white cowboy hat from the audience during ‘Into the heart’. He took the hat from her, put it on and when he tried to give it back, it got stuck behind his ear piece. The girl, Kira, very patiently untangled her hat from Bono’s wires. A touching moment in a show that tugged at the heart repeatedly.
‘If the children don’t grow up, our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up,’ goes the song to which the band take to the stage. It might have been a Virgin Prunes lyric, a coda to the Lypton Village motto to never, ever, grow up.
Children featured heavily this final Dublin show: The Edge had Bono dedicate ‘Yahweh’ to a ‘Bernadette’ of Crumlin’s Children’s hospital and ‘Into the Heart’ went out to Crumlin’s staff. Bono introduced ‘Miracle Drug’ referring to human fragility and our dependance on science, while dedicating the song to its inspiration: fellow Mount Temple student, the author Christopher Nolan and his mother.
Many times during the show Bono let himself go, riding the waves and soaking up the energy coming off the audience, arms spread out, embracing the moment.
These are the moments that become memories for the band, their crew and their fans.
It’s over and out from Dublin from the U2log.com team. We are heading home.
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Caroline,
Did the initial setlist included Yahweh and 40 or those where an aftertought?
Caroline,
Did the initial setlist included Yahweh and 40 or those where an aftertought?
Agree with the sentiments above, two great shows in a row was hard to believe and a third was too much to ask for but it happend, it was icredible. Fair play to the crowd who sang their hearts out each night after sitting in the rain for several hours Friday and who were made stand for hours in the scorching heat on Monday.
Agree with the sentiments above, two great shows in a row was hard to believe and a third was too much to ask for but it happend, it was icredible. Fair play to the crowd who sang their hearts out each night after sitting in the rain for several hours Friday and who were made stand for hours in the scorching heat on Monday.
Yaweh and 40 were on the setlist we saw before the show. We had been joking around about it all day, and the setlists were already taped down, when a new one popped up, and all the techies kind of had a “huh?” expression on their faces. Then we saw the list, and we were just like OMG…!
It was fucking incredible (excusez le mot) to be at the very front of the Croke Park gig for this. Even when I was rained on thursday night, chilled to the bone by friday night’s wind, near frozen on sunday night, with blistered feet and messed up hamstrings, I was still jumping up and downlike everybody else around me. I consider myself so lucky to have been able to be part of this… Just amazing. Seeing the fire burning again in the band, finally seeing them unwind, and daring to take on something like the third night’s setlist. Wow. So yeah, wow.
I think I may be adding Berlin to my gig list… ;-]
Yaweh and 40 were on the setlist we saw before the show. We had been joking around about it all day, and the setlists were already taped down, when a new one popped up, and all the techies kind of had a “huh?” expression on their faces. Then we saw the list, and we were just like OMG…!
It was fucking incredible (excusez le mot) to be at the very front of the Croke Park gig for this. Even when I was rained on thursday night, chilled to the bone by friday night’s wind, near frozen on sunday night, with blistered feet and messed up hamstrings, I was still jumping up and downlike everybody else around me. I consider myself so lucky to have been able to be part of this… Just amazing. Seeing the fire burning again in the band, finally seeing them unwind, and daring to take on something like the third night’s setlist. Wow. So yeah, wow.
I think I may be adding Berlin to my gig list… ;-]
I’ll upload the setlist soon.
I’ll upload the setlist soon.
One word – AMAZING
Flying to Cardiff today but can’t see how they’ll top it.
One of the greatest shows the band have ever played.
Was in court yesterday see post
Jetlag
One word – AMAZING
Flying to Cardiff today but can’t see how they’ll top it.
One of the greatest shows the band have ever played.
Was in court yesterday see post
Jetlag
Damn. Guess this is my fav setlist so far. Original of the species, one of my favourite songs, scarcely played before. The return of “40″…
If they would just ad Fast Cars to it by the time they get to Amsterdam…can’t wait!
Damn. Guess this is my fav setlist so far. Original of the species, one of my favourite songs, scarcely played before. The return of “40″…
If they would just ad Fast Cars to it by the time they get to Amsterdam…can’t wait!