StageCo “Building The Claw” slideshow
Thanks to Constantine for this slideshow of pictures and video taken at the StageCo lot at Werchter from 7-5 to 18-5.
StageCo crew reveal details about U2360 Claw
Bart the Unstoppable has been back for another round of picture-taking at StageCo. He had a talk with a StageCo employee, who was able to confirm what U2log.com had learnt from a different source earlier: Production in Barcelona starts on the 15th.
Furthermore, Bart has learnt that as rumoured, the tour will last two years and that the band will be back in Europe next year, and are 99% certain to tour South America.
The 27-meters-high towers visible in Bart’s pictures are for lifting and taking down the claw, which itself is 50 meters high. There will be no towers during the show. It takes four days to build the claw, and two to set it up for production.
Guess what… sheets will cover the the claw and they arrived in Belgium today where they will be tested this week. Contrary to Bart’s earlier report the claw will be lifted one more time in the next ten days. This is only one of three claws. The other two have not yet been built, they will be constructed and improved upon using what they’ve learnt from setting up the first.
Claw #1 will be used in Barcelona, Gelsenkirchen, two of the UK shows and Paris. It will be the hardest to work with because of its prototype-status.
Bart concludes that the gray-ish coloured loose part sitting around in the pictures are the claw’s legs. The screen used in the show will be tested at Sportpaleis Antwerp. The engines used in the towers to erect the claw come from Spain, and sound is being tested in Dublin, making this quite the pan-european production.
Thank you, Bart, for some excellent investigative journalism!
U2′s riggers declaw set
Our Belgian friend Bart has had another look around the StageCo property in Werchter and he has added more pictures of U2′s U2360 tour rigging to the collection we featured a few days ago. Bart reports that U2′s ‘Claw’ is no longer there and he’s heard that testing of the stage will continue in parts (they will not be erecting the entire stage again) for the next 10 days, after which everything will be shipped to Barcelona for the first show of the European leg of the U2360 tour. U2log.com has learnt that the actual production of the shows commences on the 15th.
“Who’s always eager to extend a friendly claw?”
Thanks to Bart Mot for sending us a link to his pictures of U2′s 360 ‘Claw’ as it’s being constructed at StageCo in Wechter, Belgium. Will it look that daunting once it’s put in production? Or will they drape it with nice sheets?
Extra Dublin and Gothenburg dates added to U2′s tour
U2 have added an extra show in Gothenburg, tickets went on sale straight away. The second Dublin date has also been announced as well as the opening acts for both shows: Glasvegas and Kaiser Chiefs. Public ticket sales start March 20. For more information see our spreadsheet, or check U2gigs.com.
Update March 14: An extra Amsterdam date was added during the public on sale.
U2 Tour Dates 2009
U2 have announced their tour dates for 2009.
EUROPEAN TOUR SCHEDULE:
30-JUNE – BARCELONA, SP – NOU CAMP
07-JULY – MILAN, IT – SAN SIRO
11-JULY – PARIS, FR – STADE DE FRANCE
15-JULY – NICE, FR – PARC CHARLES EHRMANN
18-JULY – BERLIN, DE – OLYMPIC STADIUM
20-JULY – AMSTERDAM, NL – ArenA
24-JULY – DUBLIN, IE – CROKE PARK
31-JULY – GOTHENBURG, SE – ULLEVI
06-AUG. – CHORZOW, PL – SLASKI STADIUM
10-AUG. – ZAGREB, HR – MAKSIMIR STADIUM
14-AUG. – LONDON, UK – WEMBLEY STADIUM
18-AUG. – GLASGOW, UK – HAMPDEN PARK
20-AUG. – SHEFFIELD, UK – DON VALLEY STADIUM
22-AUG. – CARDIFF, UK – MILLENNIUM STADIUM
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR SCHEDULE:
12-SEPT. – CHICAGO, IL – SOLDIER FIELD
16-SEPT. – TORONTO, ON – THE ROGERS CENTRE
20-SEPT. – BOSTON, MA – GILLETTE STADIUM
24-SEPT. – NEW YORK, NY – GIANTS STADIUM
In September and October, U2 360° Tour will also visit: Atlanta, GA; Charlottesville, VA; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Norman, OK; Phoenix, AZ; Tampa, FL; Washington, DC and Vancouver, BC. Complete Tour and ticketing information to follow.
“The U2 360° Tour will visit 14 cities across Europe including dates in Milan, Gothenburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Nice, Dublin, Chorzow, Berlin, Gelsenkirchen, London, Sheffield and Glasgow before finishing at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on August 22.
The European tour will be followed by dates in North America beginning at Chicago’s Soldier Field on September 12th, 2009.
Long-time U2 Show Director Willie Williams has worked again with architect Mark Fisher (ZooTV, PopMart, Elevation and Vertigo), to create an innovative 360° design which affords an unobstructed view for the audience. U2 360° also marks the first time a band has toured in stadiums with such a unique and original structure.”
- See U2.com’s Tour FAQ
- See virtual tour of the stage
- Open our U2360 Tour Dates spreadsheet on Google docs.
- U2.com tour schedule
Billboard reveals U2′s ‘U2360′ world tour
This week, Billboard magazine will be featuring U2 on its cover, and the band is also showcased on Billboard.com.
Today, Billboard announced details of U2′s plans for their upcoming world tour. LiveNation’s Arthur Fogel says:
“Playing in a 360 configuration will increase the capacity by about 15%-20%, depending on the stadium. The configuration opens up myriad opportunities for scaling ticket prices, an important consideration for Fogel and the band. The top ticket price will be slightly higher than last time and the bottom price will be lower, with the floor seats — the closest to the stage — the lowest priced. In fact, playing larger capacity venues allows for more conservative pricing overall. Field level is going to be $55, and there will be 10,000 tickets a show, every show, at $30, Fogel says. The price points are $250, $90-$95, depending on the market; $55 and $30.”
The feature also has an in-depth interview with The Edge.
Originally the article stated the tour would be called ‘Kiss the future’, but this was later amended to “U2360″.
U2.com states: “Dates for the U2360° Tour will be announced exclusively, here on U2.com, at 8am Dublin time, this Monday, March 9th.”
Permanent Hiatus
Archives
U2 News Links
- U2 Fan Survey 2012: Third Set of Results Available May 23, 2012The third set of results from the 2012 U2 Fan Survey is now available, and it takes us through your votes on U2's albums and songs. As a reminder, the survey was open from April 5th through April 30th. We received completed responses from 3,530 fans in 79 countries this year, both of which are down from 2010. We think that's likely due to the band […]
- A Look at My U2 Framed Album Cover Wall (PHOTOS) May 22, 2012How would you like to have a wall in your house covered with perfectly framed U2 album cover art? You could just have your favorite U2 albums on the wall or, like me, you could go all the way and put every U2 album on display in order — like this: That’s one of the [...]This is a post from the @U2 blog.A Look at My U2 Framed Album Cover Wall (PHOTOS) […]
- The Resource Miracle May 22, 2012[Note: This essay appeared in the May 28, 2012, edition of TIME magazine.] It's become the go-to cliché of modern economics. Natural resources are a "curse." When a nation is over-reliant on one or two commodities like oil or precious minerals, corrupt government ministers and their dodgy associates hoard profits and taxes instead of properly […]
- Bono Pays One More Tribute to Steve Jobs May 22, 2012Bono made an appearance via video tonight at the Webby Awards, contributing to a tribute to Steve Jobs. A host of tech legends and celebrities each paid tribute to Jobs in five words or less, a Webby Awards tradition. It looks like Bono’s contribution was recorded within the past week, but that’s just a guess. [...]This is a post from the @U2 blog.Bono Pays […]
- Billboard Music Awards: U2 Top Touring Artist May 21, 2012Gestern Abend wurden in der MGM Grand Garden Arena von Las Vegas die Billboard Music Awards 2012 verliehen. U2 wurden dabei - wie bereits im Jahr zuvor - in der Kategorie Top Touring Artist ausgezeichnet. Neben U2 waren in dieser Kategorie auch noch Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Take That und Roger Waters nominiert. ... […]