[cerveza_fiesta]

Holy. Freakin. GOD.

What a fantastic concert that was. I saw some pics of other forumites that attended in different countries. The 360 tour ended last Saturday in a city about an hour from where I live.

I heard everything from 75,000 to 85,000 people but haven't seen an official number yet. Either way it was a fantastic show and I was soooooooooooooooooooooo close to the front.

The opening band "Carney" was terrible IMO....except for their lead singer who has a voice like Freddie Mercury. Boring, formless songs for the most part but the quality of the singer made it tolerable.

The second band "Arcade Fire" was absolutely fantastic. I was not a fan before but I definitely am now. I can't say I really enjoy their songs on an album so much, but I would pay good money to see them again in concert anytime. It's like going to see a symphony orchestra play vs. listening to a CD of a symphony orchestra. The visual is so entertaining that the previously "meh" songs take on a whole new life.

Then U2 came on. Played an awesome high-test set. They all seemed to be rocking out pretty hard, they played like 10 encores, cracked champagne onstage and crammed some amnesty international message down the crowd's throat. I've never eve thought about seeing them live before they announced they were coming to Moncton, but I'm really glad I went. It gave me a whole new appreciation and I can say with certainty I'd go see them again, given the opportunity. That claw stage was fucking insane. Highest-tech concert setup I've ever seen in my life. It was as entertaining as the band all on its own and really added a lot to the show. Especially standing right under it, the scale of it is really marvelous.

Also, hands-down the best audio quality of any major concert I've ever been to. Massive sound system on that stage.

Best thing was that there was a dude and his brother next to me with along with their kids and a bunch of their kids' friends. They were all 13 yr olds at most and stood directly in front of us. I had a perfect, unobstructed view of the stage the entire time.

My only complaint, and I think it is entirely valid:

THE EDGE DOES NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DESERVE HIS NAME. HOLY SHIT THAT IS A BORING ASS GUITAR PLAYER TO WATCH.

Here's some pics of my vantage point.

Carney
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Arcade Fire
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U2 with their amazing expandable jumbotron cone thingy
 0730112234b_90865.jpg (88.74K)
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U2 playing In the Name of Love
 0730112333a_89611.jpg (87.51K)
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This post has been edited by cerveza_fiesta: 02 August 2011 - 12:29 PM

[Gothos]

However fantastic the gig was, it's still just U2...

/troll

[cerveza_fiesta]

Love em or hate em, they put on a damn good show.

Any band that can play a massive outdoor concert with album-quality audio like that is all-good in my books.

[QuickTidal]

I love U2 and to this day they put on the BEST MUTHA FUZUCKIN CONCERT I have EVER been to. Nothing less than an absolute spectacle!


and U2 is the best band in the world! Testify!

[cerveza_fiesta]

The edge is very, very, very dull though.

He plays guitar like most bass players play bass. One location, no dancing, no sweet guitar shredding moves, no knee-slides....for a guitar player he's just all-round meh.

I don't even think he does anything really special on the guitar....just kinda sits his hand in one spot and plays the same note over and over with a massive delay effect on it.

[Fid]

Saw them in Sheffield - ok - nothing special - the support, Elbow blew them away as far as I was concerned - think I would have gone just for Arcade Fire

[QuickTidal]

Fid, on 02 August 2011 - 04:47 PM, said:

Saw them in Sheffield - ok - nothing special - the support, Elbow blew them away as far as I was concerned - think I would have gone just for Arcade Fire

Yeah ELBOW really are incredible. I dunno if it's the raspy, gravel-voiced Manchester lead singer or the fact that it had violins...either way I was sold.

[cerveza_fiesta]

Arcade fire had 2 violins!

There was a little indie music festival in a nearby town the night before. Arcade fire was booked to play there but an exclusivity clause prevented them from playing any shows in the nearby geographic area within a few days of the U2 concert.

So they renamed themselves SHARK ATTACK for the night. This somehow circumvented U2's clause because the name "Arcade fire" was not being used to sell tickets to the other show and thus could not draw people away from U2.

Nobody at the little festival knew who the hell they were or why they'd be booked in one of the prime-time slots. Then they arrived onstage and started playing Arcade fire songs to everybody's complete surprise. As much as I hate that idiotic hipster scene, it would have been sweet to be there just to see the crowd reaction to something like that.


Probably apathy.


I know what you mean though. U2 was U2. It was what I expected. Arcade Fire on the other hand....wow. I thought I would suffer through it for my wife's sake (she's a huge fan) but I genuinely enjoyed every note of every song.

This post has been edited by cerveza_fiesta: 02 August 2011 - 05:02 PM

[QuickTidal]

cerveza_fiesta, on 02 August 2011 - 05:01 PM, said:

Arcade fire had 2 violins!

There was a little indie music festival in a nearby town the night before. Arcade fire was booked to play there but an exclusivity clause prevented them from playing any shows in the nearby geographic area within a few days of the U2 concert.

So they renamed themselves SHARK ATTACK for the night. This somehow circumvented U2's clause because the name "Arcade fire" was not being used to sell tickets to the other show and thus could not draw people away from U2.

Nobody at the little festival knew who the hell they were or why they'd be booked in one of the prime-time slots. Then they arrived onstage and started playing Arcade fire songs to everybody's complete surprise. As much as I hate that idiotic hipster scene, it would have been sweet to be there just to see the crowd reaction to something like that.


Probably apathy.


I know what you mean though. U2 was U2. It was what I expected. Arcade Fire on the other hand....wow. I thought I would suffer through it for my wife's sake (she's a huge fan) but I genuinely enjoyed every note of every song.

Arcade Fire is a band that I can't seem to really enjoy on CD beyond a few songs....BUT live, on the other hand, they tear the stage down. Sometimes bands are just amazing live.

This post has been edited by King Kazma: 02 August 2011 - 05:09 PM

[cerveza_fiesta]

King Kazma, on 02 August 2011 - 05:08 PM, said:

cerveza_fiesta, on 02 August 2011 - 05:01 PM, said:

Arcade fire had 2 violins!

There was a little indie music festival in a nearby town the night before. Arcade fire was booked to play there but an exclusivity clause prevented them from playing any shows in the nearby geographic area within a few days of the U2 concert.

So they renamed themselves SHARK ATTACK for the night. This somehow circumvented U2's clause because the name "Arcade fire" was not being used to sell tickets to the other show and thus could not draw people away from U2.

Nobody at the little festival knew who the hell they were or why they'd be booked in one of the prime-time slots. Then they arrived onstage and started playing Arcade fire songs to everybody's complete surprise. As much as I hate that idiotic hipster scene, it would have been sweet to be there just to see the crowd reaction to something like that.


Probably apathy.


I know what you mean though. U2 was U2. It was what I expected. Arcade Fire on the other hand....wow. I thought I would suffer through it for my wife's sake (she's a huge fan) but I genuinely enjoyed every note of every song.

Arcade Fire is a band that I can't seem to really enjoy on CD beyond a few songs....BUT live, on the other hand, they tear the stage down. Sometimes bands are just amazing live.

For me it was the minute I realized all those little background sounds and effects were actual instruments being played by skilled musicians and not just some tightly pantsed hipster douche mashing buttons on his vintage synthesizer.

And the fact that the guy mixing the sound was actually a member of the band and was a central part of their stage show instead of some long-haired roadie hanging out in the dark offstage. He was literally playing the mixing board and adding effects to the various vocal and instrument channels onstage the whole time, which was really neat to see.

[LadyMTL]

Well, being a U2 fan for more than half my life now, I was stoked to finally get to see them again in Montreal this past July. Our opening act was Interpol and they were okay, but they're not really my kind of music. Ironically enough when I saw U2 in 2005 Arcade Fire was their opening act and they were incredible. I had actually splurged for the VIP ticket (I posted a pic on our "Ridiculously good looking" thread, actually) and though my seat was great and the pre-show buffet was yummy - and they served free beer and wine! - I don't know if it was worth the price, even with the exclusive gift they gave us...which was a program and a polar fleece blanket with U2 written on it.

That said, the show itself was spectacular! We had a huuuuge outdoor crowd too, and the sound was crystal clear and the stage was mind blowing. They played pretty much all of my favorite songs, from "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" to "Beautiful Day" and so much in between and when they did their acoustic version of Stay I practically cried. If it hadn't been for the rainstorm that practically drowned us all (and that started during the 2nd encore) I would have called it a perfect night. Oh well, I didn't get sick and I eventually got home so no permanent harm done!

Oh, and I agree about Edge being boring to watch but then I don't really care about watching him...as long as he keeps playing the way he does he can sit in a rocking chair for all it matters to me!

This post has been edited by Maia Irraz: 04 August 2011 - 11:51 PM

[cerveza_fiesta]

Maia Irraz, on 04 August 2011 - 11:49 PM, said:

Well, being a U2 fan for more than half my life now, I was stoked to finally get to see them again in Montreal this past July. Our opening act was Interpol and they were okay, but they're not really my kind of music. Ironically enough when I saw U2 in 2005 Arcade Fire was their opening act and they were incredible. I had actually splurged for the VIP ticket (I posted a pic on our "Ridiculously good looking" thread, actually) and though my seat was great and the pre-show buffet was yummy - and they served free beer and wine! - I don't know if it was worth the price, even with the exclusive gift they gave us...which was a program and a polar fleece blanket with U2 written on it.

That said, the show itself was spectacular! We had a huuuuge outdoor crowd too, and the sound was crystal clear and the stage was mind blowing. They played pretty much all of my favorite songs, from "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" to "Beautiful Day" and so much in between and when they did their acoustic version of Stay I practically cried. If it hadn't been for the rainstorm that practically drowned us all (and that started during the 2nd encore) I would have called it a perfect night. Oh well, I didn't get sick and I eventually got home so no permanent harm done!

Oh, and I agree about Edge being boring to watch but then I don't really care about watching him...as long as he keeps playing the way he does he can sit in a rocking chair for all it matters to me!

I think it was your pic in the good looking pics thread that got me interested actually. I was wishy washy about getting tickets but once I saw that stage I knew I needed to be present for the show. Totally agree about the sound. Even when the first opening band came on and they had it turned up maybe halfway, it was easy to tell that the sound was going to be perfect. When U2 came on and the sound was on full-blast it was awesome.

RE Edge, don't get me wrong, he's awesome. He is easily the biggest part in forming the signature U2 sound....much moreso than any of the other members - even Bono. I just think the name "edge" and what that word connotes is hilariously inappropriate for his style. Nothing he does is even the slightest bit edgy.

.......................

Actually, in trying to come up with a more appropriate name, (which I was doing for the last couple minutes before typing this) I realize that there isn't really an appropriate one-word nickname that describes him perfectly. In which case, I suppose it makes sense for his nickname to be something that describes everything he isn't perfectly. At least then it gets people thinking....