Author: celeste

Madres visit U2

Less than one hour before the second Buenos Aires show began on March 2, the band received a visit from the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, the Argentinean Mothers of the Disappeared. The band met them for first time back in 1998, during U2’s first visit to Buenos Aires. At that time, Bono donated 20,000 dollars to help the Madres to reconstruct their archives and headquarters, which were destroyed by extreme right groups.

One of the Madres told Bono: “Look what we have done with your help. We created an university, a library, a coffee shop, a printer, and a radio station.” She held a box with photos of Madres working at these new installations. Bono asked for one photo that shows a national monument (Piramide de Mayo) covered with the photos of their disappeared sons. “Woah, those are the sons?” Bono asked. While the band posed for photos, Bono held Doña Juanita, a 92-year-old lady who still asks for justice for her missing son.

U2’s second show in Buenos Aires was broadcasted live by national TV and radio, and also was recorded by the 3D team. During “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” Bono picked a girl from the audience to sing “No more.” The surprise of the night was a performance of “Mothers of the Disappeared,” dedicated to Madres de Plaza de Mayo. It was an acoustic version, with Edge playing a Charango.

Setlist:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Until the End of the World
New Year’s Day
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Beautiful Day
The First Time
Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday / Rock the Casbah / Father Abraham
Bullet the Blue Sky / When Johnny Comes Marching Home / The Hands That Built America
Miss Sarajevo
Pride
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
Zoo Station
The Fly / Satisfaction
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
Mothers of the Disappeared
Original of the Species
All I Want is You

Photos are available at fmkabul.com (take note of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo images).

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‘We Missed You’

U2 played their first show in Buenos Aires in 8 years on March 1. This show was special because it reacquainted the band with their Argentinean fans, and also because the show was filmed using 3D technology. An army of cameras was seen in the stadium, including a crazy one flying over the heads of the audience inside the ellipse. A helicopter flew over the stadium the whole night taking aerial footage.

The concert began with “City of Blinding Lights” and Bono wearing a jacket made with the Argentinean flag. During the “Elevation” intro, everyone in the ellipse held up signs that read “We Missed You,” shocking the band. Bono asked to be handed one of the signs and told the audience, “We also missed you.” Then he folded the sign to form a plane, began to sing the song, and when he pronounced “E-le-va-tion!” he threw the plane into the air. The lyrics to “Beautiful Day” were modified, citing Argentinean locations:

See the world in white and blue
Buenos Aires right in front of you
From the Pampas to Patagonia
Tierra del Fuego, Rio Parana
Argentina is in motion
From the Andes to the ocean
See the bird with the leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colours came out

The audience was wild, which caused the band to perform wildly. “Love and Peace or Else” and “The Fly” drove the whole stadium insane. The band ended the show with “All I Want Is You,” with Bono adding a snippet of “Love Is Blindness.” Later he decided to perform the whole song. It was just magic.

Setlist:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Until the End of the World
New Year’s Day
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Beautiful Day
The First Time
Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday / Rock the Casbah / Father Abraham
Bullet the Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo / When Johnny Comes Marching Home / The Hands That Built America
Pride (In the Name of Love)
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
Zoo Station
The Fly / Satisfaction
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
Fast Cars
Yahweh
All I Want Is You
Love Is Blindness

Photos from the show are available at fmkabul.com.

Chile Querido

U2 played at Nacional Stadium in Santiago, Chile last Sunday (Feb. 26). The show was so moving that the full band said goodbye at the end of the show, speaking on the microphone one by one. Bono opened a champagne bottle to celebrate the show’s success.

During “With or Without You,” Bono picked two girls from the crowd to dance with. The big surprise at the show was the delicate performance of “Mothers of the Disappeared.” It was acoustic but played with a Charango, a typical little guitar of the Andes folklore. The instrument was a gift from former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, who gave Bono the Pablo Neruda medal for his artistic contributions to global culture. “Mothers of the Disappeared” has a deep meaning for Chileans, since it portrays the not-very-distant past of the country’s dictatorship and “disappearings.”

Setlist

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Until the End of the World
New Year’s Day
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Beautiful Day
The First Time
Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet the Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo
Pride (In the Name of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
Mothers of the Disappeared
Yahweh
All I Want Is You

Goodbye Brazil

Last night Morumbi Stadium was filled with 70,000 Brazilians, but 20,000 more without tickets listened to the show outside the stadium in the rain. They just wanted to be there to say goodbye to the biggest band on the planet.

Bono brought two girls to the stage, one during “Desire” (she stole a kiss from Bono and The Edge) and one during “Mysterious Ways.” The highlights of the show were during “Pride” and “Where the Streets Have No Name,” when the audience sang louder than Bono. The setlist was full of surprises. Take a look:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Until the End of the World
New Year’s Day
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Beautiful Day / Blackbird
The First Time
Desire
Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet the Blue Sky / When Johnny Comes Marching Home / The Hands That Built America
Miss Sarajevo
Pride (In the Name of Love)
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
Yahweh
All I Want Is You / Love Rescue Me

Photo slideshow

Brazil nuts

U2 played their first South American show yesterday at Morumbi Stadium in front of an audience of 73,000 wild Brazilians. Bono spoke in Portuguese several times, which charmed the audience. They went nuts when he mentioned the next soccer World Cup: “Copa do Mundo. Vamos buscar o hexa?” “U2 é irlandês, Deus é brasileiro.” Translation: “World Cup, are we going for the sixth cup? U2 are Irish, but God is Brazilian.”

In the middle of the show, a 12-year-old boy is picked by Bono while singing “Miss Sarajevo.” During “Mysterious Ways” and “With or Without You,” a brunette fan danced with Bono, and she stole a very sensual kiss from him at the end. As he did in Mexico, Bono wore a jacket made with the local flag.

U2 will play again tonight at Sao Paulo, and on Friday will attend the Bahia Carnival by invitation of the Brazilian Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil.

Setlist:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Until the End of the World
New Year’s Day
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Beautiful Day
Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of (semi-acoustic)
Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet the Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo
Pride
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
Zoo Station / Jean Genie
The Fly / Satisfaction
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
All Because of You / Norwegian Wood
Original of the Species
40

Barbecue with Lula

Bono had lunch with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday. The two first met in Davos last year, where they discussed social and economic development in Brazil. On that occasion, the president himself requested Bono’s visit, and the U2 singer flew to Brasilia to meet the head of state. This time talked about the same subject, and Lula explained to Bono the details of a new program for unemployed farmers.

After their meeting, Bono flew to Sao Paulo to prepare for U2’s Tuesday night’s show at Morumbi Stadium, which will be broadcasted live by Rede Globo.

Bono’s schedule for the rest of U2’s South American tour is filled with political meetings. On Feb. 25th, the singer will meet with Michelle Bachelet, the new Chilean President, a very brave woman and human rights activist who survived Pinochet’s concentration camps on 1974. On March 1st, Bono will receive the distinction “Huesped de Honor de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires” from the Argentinean government, in recognition of his fight against poverty.
(Photo: Reuters)

Last Night in Mexico

U2’s third and final Vertigo tour date in Mexico last night was filmed but will not be broadcasted like the rest of the Latin shows. The shows in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina will be aired on national television.

Last night’s audience was really loud and participative, again bringing thousands of balloons to delight the band. Bono sported a new jacket, similar to the one he wore during the Elevation tour with the American flag lining, but with the Mexican flag instead. The band offered a great performance, but Bono did not speak to the audience as much as the night before. He chose to dance with the same girl for both “Mysterious Ways” and “With or Without You.”

During “Beautiful Day,” Bono changed the lyrics to:

See the world in red and green
Mexico City in a waking dream
From Guadalajara to Monterrey,
Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco Bay
A new world is in motion

An after-show party was organized for the band, but they did not attend. Immediately after the show, U2 retired to their hotel.

Setlist:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Until the End of the World
New Year’s Day
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Beautiful Day / Cielito Lindo
Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of (semi-acoustic)
Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet the Blue Sky / Johnny Comes Marching Home / The Hands That Built America
Miss Sarajevo
Pride
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
Fast Cars
Original of the Species
40

Mexico part II

Last night U2 performed again for the Mexican fans, possibly their loudest audience so far. Despite the long queues and cold temperatures the fans have endured over the last few days, Azteca Stadium was full of energy and the band responded in full form. All over the GA field, balloons with the colours of the Mexican flag filled the place.

Concert highlights include Bono pulling one girl to the stage to dance during “Mysterious Ways,” and his adding a “Cielito Lindo” snippet to the end of “Beautiful Day.”

Setlist:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Mysterious Ways
Until the End of the World
New Year’s Day
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Beautiful Day / Cielito Lindo / Norwegian Wood
Original of the Species
Sometimes You Can’t Make it on Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet the Blue Sky / The Hands That Build America / When Johnny Comes Marching
Miss Sarajevo
Pride in the Name of Love
Where the Streets Have No Name
One / Unchained Melody
Zoo Station
The Fly
With or Without You
All Because of You
Yahweh
40

At the last concert held in Monterrey, the band dedicated “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m looking For” to the memory of Kirsty MacColl, and Bono addressed the Mexican goverment asking for justice for her. Yesterday, the office of President Vicente Fox made an official statement with the promise of a new investigation of the MacColl case.

Fiesta en Mexico

U2 started the party in Mexico City a day early. Hundreds of fans queueing outside Estadio Azteca listened to U2’s soundcheck yesterday. The band rehearsed 21 songs including “City of Blinding Lights, “Zoo Station,” “Miss Sarajevo,” and “Bad.” The Mexican fans who waited patiently outside the stadium and endured the freezing weather received a very special treat: the band ordered hundred of pizzas for them. So there you go: good music + good food = a good party!

4th leg of Vertigo tour kicks off in Mexico

U2 kicked off the fourth leg of their Vertigo tour in the Mexican city of Monterrey yesterday (Feb. 12). 48 hours before the concert, more than 600 fans were sleeping at the gates of the stadium in order to get into the ellipse; 24 hours before the show, there were more than 2,000 fans. Mexicans have really missed the band, since the last time U2 visited Mexico was during the PopMart tour in 1997.

Bono spoke in Spanish several times during the concert. Before “One,” he said to the audience: “La gente dice que no se puede cambiar al mundo, que tu no puedes, que yo no puedo, The Edge no puede, pero si se puede, si actuamos todos como UNO.” Translation: “People say you can’t change the world. You can’t, I can’t, The Edge can’t…but it is possible if all we act like ONE.”

One surprise during the show was a snippet of the traditional folk song “Cielito Lindo” during “Bad.” Other highlights include Bono pulling two girls on stage for “Miss Sarajevo,” and another one during “With or Without You.”

Full setlist:

Vertigo
I Will Follow
Electric Co
Elevation
Beautiful Day
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m looking For
City of Blinding Lights
Original of the Species
Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own
Bad/Cielito Lindo
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet the Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo
Pride
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
Until the End of the World
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
Yahweh
Vertigo

Photos: Mexican fans fill the stadium // Bono on the b-stage // Edge // Bono gets down

Press (in Spanish): El Universal // Excelsior // El Sol de Mexico

The second show of the fourth leg of the tour will be at Mexico DF on February 15. Right now more than 200 people are queueing at the gates of the stadium.
(Photo: Associated Press)