Inspirational, amazing and talented are only a few of the words that describe U2.
On Sunday, Oct. 25 U2 performed at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. on their 360 degree tour. The show was one of the most anticipated of the year, selling out 96,000 seats. The anticipation was worth the wait.
Their recent 2009 album No Line on the Horizon supported the concert. History was made as U2 streamed their concert live on You tube for the world to see.
The show opened with songs off the new album such as “Breathe,” “No Line on the Horizon,” and “Magnificent.” Fortunately for fans, they also played many of their all time greats; “Where the Streets Have no Name,” “Beautiful Day, “With or Without You,” “One,” and “Sunday bloody Sunday.” The band performed a total of 24 songs.
The Black Eye Peas were an odd choice for an opening band, but carried a decent amount of energy nevertheless. After opening with “Let’s get it started” their highlight came towards the end of the set list when Slash from Guns n Roses joined them on stage to perform lead guitar to his famous “Sweet Child of Mine”. Their final song was an even more repetitive version of “I’ve Got a Feeling.” Overall their sound was a little too bass heavy and unclear.
I haven’t ever thought of what 96,000 people really looks like until seeing it myself. My vantage point wasn’t close but that really added to the feeling of how immense the production was.
The theme of the concert was Space. The stage sat at the center underneath a UFO built out of elaborate lighting rigs, and massive speakers. The height of this 4 legged feat of engineering topped the height of the Rose Bowl itself. The center of the UFO had a large wraparound LCD screen that could raise and lower. The screens gave a great view of the band no matter what seats one could be assigned to.
When they performed the song “City of Blinding Lights” there were many lights that it made it look like a giant screen saver come to life.
The inspirational song “One” was dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi, who is a Nobel Peace Prize winner who has been held in a Prison in Myanmar for protests against the military government. As the song was performed he had people walk around the stage with masks on their faces to represent Suu Kyi, so people will know who she is.
After nearly three decades together U2 really knows how to please a crowd. They’re inspirational yet humble, serious about what they do while maintaining a sense of humor. Fans of all ages attended the show from every kind of background. U2 have cemented the fact that they’re one of the greatest bands in the world.