Rogers Centre
Toronto, Ontario
July 11, 2011

Photos & Review: Declan Goodall

If you love Bono and his band mates U2 from Ireland then the Rogers Centre was the place to be this Monday night to see the 360 Tour for the second time around.  This time a rescheduled show from the July 3, 2010 cancelled gig, and yes the Sky Roof would be open once again to show off the 360 Space Ship (The Claw) under a beautiful blue Toronto skyline; a photography treat indeed.

The show was billed as sold out, maybe that’s why my seat was at the top of the venue, and the prices for parking around the Roger Centre/SkyDome reflected that in $50 parking spaces… holy cheeseburgers Rickey... pass! We found underground parking near the venue for $20 and off we went, first to the bars on Front Street which also reflected that there was a big show... a really big show in town tonight, and the master of ceremonies was the Irish Man from Dublin himself Paul David Hewson, aka Bono. The suds were flowing, especially at the Irish Bars around the venue.  Makes sense to me, how else can you wash those meat pies down?  Suds, laddy's, lots and lots of suds!

So now that we had our fill of good Canadian beer on Front Street, it’s off to the venue to take in the festivities.  This evening was perfect.  The day time heat had given way to a nice cool breeze and a beautiful clear sky.  As we arrived we could see the Sky Roof was closed. No problem, someone had not gotten the memo yet that this was U2, one of the only bands to enjoy the roof opened, so we were not concerned. Lots of time to roll that baby back and let the sound out to the rest of the fans camped out around the venue in their lawn chairs.

With or without a ticket you were going to at least hear the world’s best band from Ireland tonight belting out their stadium anthems for free.  What a treat, maybe I should have bought a lawn chair and saved the $41.75… No! I have a camera with me, I am reviewing the show and I want a picture of Bono to frame with my concert ticket to put up on the wall of fame at home with the other U2 concerts.

We hung around the venue outside for about half hour and took in the sights and sounds.  We took lots of photos with my posse, checked out the merchandise booths and pretty girls and talked to other fans about Bono sightings.  No one had any tweets on sightings or signings unlike last time when he stopped across the road from the Rogers Centre and signed for the fans who were lucky enough to be waiting for a glimpse of the band arriving.  So it was in to the venue to check out the food and beer!

We're in and we head to the Roger's field to see the U2 Space Ship under a closed roof… a closed roof?  This can't be! It is so beautiful outside, and my I-Phone says no sign of rain for the rest of July.  That can't be good for corn prices, the ground will be parched and the top leaves all curled up… Can you say, “would you like some corn from Mexico honey”?

So off we go to the nearest beer line and a couple of pretty bar maids to serve you your suds in a can? Not a plastic cup? They say it keeps the beer colder. I say you can throw the beer further from the upper decks… gotta change this policy back to plastic cups, and serve the cups from the freezer.... I’m not a genius, I just look like one.

So as we are socializing with the rest of my Posse, we hear a huge roar from the people already seated, it can’t be the opening band, way too early.  No, it’s the Sky Roof being opened up… someone did get the memo… I am so happy again in life...  Yes, let’s get the party started!

After a couple of pints with the brethren, we hear another roar for the opening band on this tour, INTERPOL, a Great post punk band from New York City formed in 1997 with four albums under their belts.  A treat and a half especially if you have any of their albums, as I do.  Check out their first album, "Turn On The Bright Lights".  We listened to them all the way down the 401 to get into game mode.  Why listen to U2? We already know all their songs by heart… even the B sides.

The lead singer of Interpol, Paul Banks, has an uncanny resemblance to a famous movie Starr who carries babies around for Angelina Jolie so when you see his face larger than life on the video screens you have to do a double take.  Yeah it looks likes him, but let’s get past the looks girls, and into the meat and potatoes of their show.

Interpol were dressed in suits with the lead singer wearing a different colour from the rest.  Their sound is great, and clean, with lots of volume behind it and the band was good… really good.  I wish we would have gotten to our seats at this time, but it was too early, and lots of things to do around the venue.  It’s a big place, with lots of floors to check out til we reach the 5th level upper deck.  When we did get there it was a treat to see.  One word: WOW!

With a polish sausage in one hand and a beer in the other, we sat back and took it all in.  55,000 people would be filing in here tonight.  The roof was open and Bono was in the building with the Edge, Larry and Adam.  Life does not get any better than this unless you own real estate in St. Thomas, Ontario.

After Interpole left the stage to the generous applause of the crowd, the U2 crew set about getting the stage ready for the greatest show on earth besides that one time at Marine Land, Niagara Falls in the 70's when my folks took us for the first time to see Shamoo or Shampoo the Killer Whale.  Didn't kill no one when I was there? It was a long time ago, so this night overrode everything else in town or the world for that matter.... So on and on we go forward into war!

It’s getting close to party time U2 style, the crew has left the stage, and here it comes… David Bowie's “Space Oddity”.  How appropriate, a space ship on stage and a Bowie song to open the show. Half way though the song, out comes Larry Mullen from behind the stage where there was a ramp leading straight to the drum kit, then Adam Clayton, then The Edge, and then the man himself. The self proclaimed Geezer from Dublin Ireland, the reigning king of rock n roll, the counterpart to Elvis, Roy, and Johnny all in one, you know him as The Fly, we know him as the unproclaimed King of Ireland ............. BONO!

The venue erupts into a giant mass of ear shattering screams from the girls and myself and the band breaks into the first song ... “Even Better Than The Real Thing”.  And now the party has officially started, and we have waited a long time from the last show in 2009 to this one, and we are not disappointed, the songs are better, a different set from the last time, not as much from their last album in 09, "No Line On The Horizon ".  More U2 hits and more energy.  Bono said he was not happy with the set list at the Rogers Centre last time… too slow.

The fans want the hits and he wanted a second dig at it, and this night he took care of business.  The show had it all,  lots of energy, no glitches in the sound, it was powerful, the light show was great as it played along with the colours changing on the CN Tower, the tallest structure in Canada.  The bridges of the stage looked better from above.  To see Bono get over to the fans for photo ops, the ultimate showman indeed, with a voice straight from the record, note for note in pitch, no one does it better than Bono at this point in the music business.

Being at the Rogers Centre with the roof open at night is more than just a concert, it is an experience.  U2 began playing “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”, also called, "The Bogside Song".  Being from Ireland I know the history of that song quite well.  January 30th 1972, when the British Soldiers gunned down 26 unarmed Civil Rights Protesters, in Derry, 13 Males, 7 of them Teenagers, most shot in the back while running away from the conflict.  This brought home the emotions it invokes.  Thank you U2 for letting the rest of the world know.  As Sir Paul McCartney said: "Give Ireland back to the Irish".

Every song this night was a staple U2 song.  Loved every one, but sooner or later you have to go for a beer break, so we picked “Miss Sarajevo” and “Zooropa” to deek into the men’s room to powder up, and then the beer line.  No beer line up in the Rogers Center is any longer than one song, so it’s right back into action in our seats to “City of Blinding Lights” and “Vertigo”.  It’s like we never missed a beat.

Bono was still wearing his black leather coat.  He didn’t run around on the outer stage as much as other shows but he did take a kid up on stage for a walk about during our first song back.  That should have made this kid class valedictorian of his 5th grade class this year.  This kid should go on to fame after being on stage with U2.  Maybe that would have changed my future and I might have been a famous fish surgeon in some big port on the east coast had Bono dragged me around the stage for a bit and made my parents proud of me for a change.

Encores… Did you say what were the encores? Well lets not play semantics at this point, how about ... "Where the Streets Have No Name", "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me", "With or Without You", and "Moment of Surrender".  You know U2 didn’t want to leave the stage at this point because they knew that this show rocked, and everything was going their way so why stop? Oh yeah! Time for U2 to start a little party of their own backstage to celebrate a sold out show with a warm pint of Guinness or two. I'm giving this show Five out of Five Stars.  Hell yeah I'll be back.  I'm a U2 fan from the great island of Ireland.  Don’t forget to try our warm beer!  In A Gadda Da Vida.

Setlist 

 

Rogers Centre
Toronto, Ontario
September 16, 2009

Review: Declan 'Ace' Goodall
Photos:  Declan 'Ace' Goodall & Vince Desando

And so it was...  I have been following the new U2/360 Tour with great interest since the first European show in Barcelona, Spain right through to the last one in Scotland, and watching the set list for all the song changes, not a lot of changes from show to show, but the fans let the band know through web site which songs they thought were missing in action, and the bands adds and removes them accordingly..... Ah!  The power of the internet and real time communication.

Listening to all the songs they’re playing for this tour in the car and party room to prep myself for being their in person Wednesday night at the Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario was the only way to go to really enjoy the whole experience, and that’s the word I will use to describe this show ...... it was a Rock n' Roll Experience as in like …is there anybody out there?

Ok so lets get down to business.....  I get to the Rogers Centre at 4 o’ clock in the afternoon with the sun shining brightly. Perfect temperature. I walk across the road to where the band would arrive to drive under the venue. Five minutes later I was shaking hands and photographing  Bono who stopped his SUV to sign for the fans who were waiting for a glimpse of the band  He looked great!  The Edge drove in first but never stopped, and we didn't see the other guys from U2 either.

Can the day get any better than that? …Maybe!  I mean I do have a ticket and a pocket full of cash to party with, so that's not bad either. I hung around the venue to check out all the festivities, taking in the great food and music that was pumping out of the radio station and television van that was playing U2 videos. The bars around the venue were packed with fans priming for the show.  T-shirt and program vendors doing their thing, and pretty girls everywhere.  Oh yeah it can get better!

If you have never been to the Rogers Center In Toronto, it is the home to Major League Baseball team the Toronto Blue Jays.  It is a big venue with a retractable roof that was opened up for U2 for only the second time in it's concert history.  The last time the roof was opened up was in 2003  for Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, and because the week had been so good weather wise and there was no forecast of rain, the roof was going to be open for the fans who did not get tickets to party around the venue with U2... set up my lawn chair boys.  Ok forget about the lawn chair, we got tickets, and we want beers, so we better get in there and take care of business.

When you walk into the Rogers Centre with the roof open it’s a real treat with the vacuum the outside air creates.  You look down from the top and see the monster U2/360 stage, and you just have to get down on the field and see the 150 feet tall star ship stage with the four monster hydraulic legs and a 54 tonne 360 video screen up close. .... WOW!  No wonder it takes so many tractor trailers to put the show together ahead of each city for days in advance.  It’s a giant construction site with concert lights.

So we’re in the venue with 58,000 U2 fans from all over the world who were treated to a great opening act from Belfast N. Ireland called Snow Patrol.  They played their hits "Crack the Shutter Open" , and "Chasing Cars" with lead singer Gary Lightbody sounding great. They played for a little less than an hour, then it was time for the Lish Rockers from Dublin Ireland to take us to Mars.  And so they did cranking out David Bowie's "Space Oddity" over the PA system to get their party started.. anybody got some Wild Wood Flower? Spark ‘em up boys! We're ready to fly.

And so one by one each member of U2 came out one at a time to the roar of the crowd, with the biggest roar for Bono, Irelands own political envoy to the rest of world.  He goes right into “Breath” from the new album "No Line On The Horizon", an album I have come to love very quickly.  They have been playing seven songs off this album at each show, and tonight would be no different. 

The light and sound show was like a 70's Pink Floyd Experience x 100.  Sid Barrett would have loved the experience, but since he couldn't there, I did it for him... Ground control to Major Tom check ignition countdown on, if everything plateaus here I can handle it.  Oh what great colors this party has... Wish You Were Here!

My main man The Edge was right on the money note for note, and Bono's voice was INCREDIBLE.  The sound was also all around us and the 58,000 voices were singing each song word for word.  Welcome to the world of U2. Bono gave it his all, running around the outer stage connected by two revolving bridges to get closer to the fans and giving them great photo opportunities.  He ran around the whole outside stage, and collapsed to show us that it ain't easy, it takes the breath away, and the crowd loved the antics of Ireland’s greatest export since Guinness... another round of Guinness please!

Since the roof of the venue was open that was another treat on top of everything else. You could see the CN Tower (the second tallest structure in the world) against the evening skyline, with its own light show of colors that accented U2's own light colors.  I just had to photograph it for the review as it looked like it was part of the show.

Imagine the people in the outside glass elevator of the tower looking down into the concert from up there, now there’s a photograph! Send one over to me if you took one... Please!

The songs kept getting better and better, and you knew somewhere in the night, you were going to hear the opening chords of "Where the Streets Have No Name" coming from the Edges guitar.  With a cool slant on the opening from Bono that led into it, the place went wild.  That  guitar sound has to go down in rock and roll history as one of the best known sounds by any band ever!  That and the intro for "In The Name of Love ".

Each member of the band took turns crossing the bridges to treat the fans. Larry Mullin even came over playing a hand held drum keeping rhythm.  The Edge and Bono hooked up on the bridge on Edge’s side, and Adam hooked up with the Edge on the same side as well.  The seats behind the stage actually got a great view of all this action minus the obstruction of the four giant hydraulic legs.  A shot from behind the stage would have been killer for this review, but you can't just sit anywhere in the Rogers Centre.  Your hand is stamped to say you’re on the floor, and not the seats, along with plenty of security asking for your ticket if you leave for another keg of beer.  So we didn't move around for shots like we do at other venues.

By this time I'm looking for the beer cart girl, then I remember that was on the weekend, and you have to leave the artificial turf surface to get a $10 beer ...DOH!   But I just don’t want to miss a thing.  Its like leaving your date in the back seat of the drive in to get a hot dog, common sense says it ain't gonna happen, I just cant go, how long would I be in line, and what songs would I miss?  So I just got over it and fought the thirst off, this is U2 and I don’t want to miss a thing.

Time has now moved into the hour closest to midnight, and U2 said goodbye after "Streets" but we knew they would be back.  So they did come back to the cheers of the fans who waited months for this day and boom... right into "Ultraviolet", "With or Without You", and the closer "Moment of Surrender".  Where did the time go to? The band took the front of the stage to say thank you Toronto and thank you Canada for all you do for the rest of world, in fact if I am not wrong I thought Bono said at one point during the show Canada was his home away from home and that he would be back for the only other show on this 360 Tour Oct 28 in Vancouver at BC Place Stadium. 

As the band was leaving everyone was standing, and as they disappeared behind the stage the lights came on and the PA system took over again pumping out the tunes saluting the crowds leaving the venue to fill up the bars and talk about their favourite band on the planet… U2.

SETLIST:

Breathe
 No Line on the Horizon
 Get on Your Boots
 Magnificent
 Beautiful Day
 Still Haven't Found
 Elevation
 Your Blue Room
 Unknown Caller
 Until the End of the World
 Stay
 Unforgettable Fire
 City of Blinding Lights
 Vertigo
 I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight Remix
 Sunday Bloody Sunday
 MLK
 Walk On
 One
 Streets
 Ultraviolet
With or Without You
 Moment of Surrender

10th Row, Skydome.  Only way to ever see a show in that horrible ass venue.  It's just way too big and the sound is fucked in there.  It's a baseball field. Nothing more. Nothing less.  Only ever saw one other concert there and will NEVER step foot into that joint ever again unless the band is amazing and the ticket is free.  This one was free.

Popmart had to be the most overproduced show I've ever seen.  Made KISS look like they were holding something back in the CHEESE department.  Don't get me wrong, I think U2 is an amazing band musically.  They've written some REALLY great tunes and they are great performers. BUT.... there's that butt... they really melted the whole fuckin jar of CHEESE WHIZ and dumped it on us this time.  

From the giant half a golden arch to the humongous glitter ball, it was just dripping in cheap processed SHIT.  I was really disgusted in that they must have been thinking "what are the things that make those fucking Americans line up with money in their hands"  Hmmmmm.. McDonald's.... Disco is making a comeback... giant TV's.... They really just rolled our whole culture up into a ball and threw it at us.  Clever if you live in a trailer and don't quite get it.  Pompous and arrogant as fuck if you have a free standing house and you DO get it.

I'd go see them in a better venue next time.  They have too many good songs to count.  Hope they back off on the cheese though, it just clogs arteries.


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