Sunday afternoon in the Superdome


Photo: Associated Press

This afternoon U2 and their crew prepared for the band’s performance with Green Day tomorrow night at the Superdome. Rachel, our spy inside the Superdome, provided the following report:

2:45 pm – The U2 crew practice putting up and striking the stage as quickly as possible. The stage design is simple.

3:20 pm – The Edge and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day film interviews together in the end zone with Good Morning America and CNN. Bono runs around inside the stadium with photographers following him. Paul McGuinness surveys the action.
[Video of the Good Morning America interview at ABCNews.com // Video of the CNN interview at CNN.com]

4:20 pm – The Edge rehearses some Green Day songs, as well as “The Saints Are Coming” and “Beautiful Day,” alone to a tape. His trusty tech Dallas Schoo stands by.

4:40 pm – Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton arrive with the rest of the members of Green Day, joining Edge on stage for rehearsal. Bono is the last on stage, wearing a different outfit than what he arrived in. It’s a black military-style jacket with an atomic bomb starburst design on the back, black pants, and a black tee. Bono grabs his microphone and says, “Welcome to the black and red conference.”

4:45 pm – The bands rehearse “The Saints Are Coming,” segueing into “Beautiful Day.” Every volunteer and staff member working in the Superdome is on the field watching the bands rehearse.

4:55 pm – The bands rehearse Green Day’s song “Wake Up When September Ends” repeatedly.

5:05 pm – Rehearsal continues. The song order for the performance tomorrow appears to be “Wake Up When September Ends” and “The Saints Are Coming/Beautiful Day.”
[Video of the rehearsal is available at KUTV.com.]

5:30 pm – Bono changes into a different outfit for the second half of rehearsal.

6:30 pm – A brass horn section joins the band on stage for “Wake Up When September Ends.”

7:10 pm – Rehearsal breaks with a round of applause from everyone on the field.

7:55 pm – Both bands return to the stage to rehearse the set again.

8:05 pm – Rehearsal ends.

U2 and Green Day’s performance tomorrow during the pre-game show will air live on ESPN and at Rhapsody.com at 7:20 pm CT.