I'm not a massive U2 fan but just before the mid-term, I went back to London to see U2. Originally from London, it was my first time going back there since I was a kid. I was excited to visit this great city again. The main reason I went was to see U2.
I love The Joshua Tree, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb and various other songs by U2 such as Out of Control. I was still intrigued to see them. I heard from many people who have seen them before and they all said the same thing, they put on one hell of a show, and that they did.
Stepping into the 02 in London was impressive itself. A gargantuan impressive piece of architecture, a grand cathedral for gigs of this magnitude.
The 02 - Photo Credit: standard.co.uk
U2 start the concert from inside a gigantic screen that splits the crowd in two and eventually come out of said screen. They were greeted by a huge cheer from the crowd. I Will Follow, All Because of You and Beautiful Day were all played in a row and finally had me out of my seat. Songs I recognised and I enjoyed. The performance and sound was incredibly clear and tight.
U2 were tight all night and sounded fantastic throughout the show. From a visual aspect, they were outstanding as can be seen in the pictures below. My main gripe from the night was the setlist. U2 have played the same set list for pretty much this entire European run of the tour. For a die-hard U2 fan to hear some of these songs such as Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses and Acrobat live would be a treat, however, for first timers at U2 gigs it was disappointing.
Imagine going to your first Metallica show and not hearing Enter Sandman? Or seeing Foo Fighters and no Everlong? Yes, U2 are touring for their latest album and have just recently played The Joshua Tree in full, but every band should make room for their biggest hits.
One aspect of the concert that left me slightly miffed was Bono preaching about politics and life. His messages of love, being kind to each other and unity, especially stating that we're all better if we stay together whilst an EU flag with the Union Jack highlighted as one of the stars on the flag was interesting, it's hard to swallow his good words when he has a labyrinthine of businesses and tax avoidance schemes that makes him one of the richest musicians on the planet.
Bono preaching to the choir - Photo Credit: independent.co.uk
Would I see U2 again? Yes I would, disappointing setlist aside they put on an unbelievable live show and if you ignore Bono preaching about politics and life, then you're guaranteed a fantastic gig.
Bono and The Edge playing Summer of Love - Photo Credit: u2.com
Vertigo - Photo Credit: u2.com
Macphisto
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