U2 @ Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Thu 9 Dec 2010)

went to this 13 years ago

So, as it happened, I was in Brisbane for the second of U2’s Brisbane shows. Going to the show was a pretty last minute decision, as I’d only decided to travel to Brissie (to see family and friends) a few days prior.

As much as I had enjoyed the 360 show the [intlink id=”130″ type=”post”]previous week in Melbourne[/intlink], I was disappointed I hadn’t seen a show from GA this time ’round, so this was my chance.  I also heard that the show had sold rather badly, compared to the rest of the tour.  I would imagine this would be due to a number of factors, including how close the shows were to Christmas, the fact that a number of other big name bands were touring at the same time (Bon Jovi being the main contender for the punters entertainment budget), as well as the fact that U2 have never done more than one stadium gig in Brisbane on any tour.  Yes- they played a bunch in ’89 for Lovetown, but they were ‘venue’ shows (inside, and much smaller capacity).  The Zoo TV, Pop and Vertigo tours were all at the same stadium (although called ANZ stadium, QE2 or QSAC, depending on when you’re looking at it), but only ever one show.  Yes, Brisbane has grown over the years, but not that much.  Anyway- I digress.  My thought process was that it would be fairly easy to get up close at this show.

U2 Brisbane 9 Dec 2010

Where is everyone?

Well, I’m damned glad I did get those tickets. One of my best mates, Russ, and I got 2 GA tickets for the show, and headed in around 6:30pm. We were amazed at how few people were in the venue, as Jay-Z was due to start any minute.  My thoughts on the smaller crowd were certainly looking to be correct.

So- I missed Jay-Z at the [intlink id=”130″ type=”post”]Melbourne show[/intlink], but saw his whole set tonight.  Not bad.  I’m not a hip-hop fan in the slightest, but I was definitely tapping my foot to Mr Z.  The crowd certainly grew while he was on, and although most seemed to be getting into it, there were a few cringe-worthy moments.  The main one was when he asked everyone to singalong, and the crowd response was less than enthusiastic.

Here be some vids of Jay-Z

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_DZu3EFK9E

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGqmWW-CwPY

The show

Tonight the band definitely felt more comfortable on stage, and Bono was A LOT more talkative. His between-song banters were much more relaxed (and funny).

The set was extremely similar to the Melbourne show that I saw, with the exception of I Will Follow being swapped for New Years Day. One oddity was the fact that Moment Of Surrender wasn’t played, so With Or Without You was the set closer. As unexpected as it was, I really liked it. Moment Of Surrender isn’t a favourite of mine, and I don’t really rate it as a closing song. As it turns out, the reason was because of the strict curfew imposed by the stadium. As the ever wonderful U2gigs.com noted:

First 360° Tour show at which Moment Of Surrender is not performed, and hence first 360° Tour show closed by a song other than Moment Of Surrender. Due to the venue’s strict 10:30pm curfew, U2 were off stage by 10:27pm after With Or Without You.

All in all- this was probably the best U2 show I’ve seen, although the Lovetown show in 1989 still holds a special place for me. After hearing rumours over twitter that All I Want Is You had been soundchecked, I was was really hoping we’d get a bit- even a snippet.  Alas- it wasn’t to be- maybe they’ll wheel it out at another of the Australian 360 shows.

edit: turns out they did All I Want Is You in full at the second Sydney show, along with Love Rescue Me.  Some great footage by Kennysmith can be found here.

I think after the Vertigo tour, I should have learned my lesson that a U2 stadium show needs to be seen from GA (for Vertigo I was seated for the [intlink id=”91″ type=”post”]Brisbane show[/intlink] and in GA for [intlink id=”92″ type=”post”]Melbourne[/intlink]). Seated is great- but only if you’re seeing a GA show as well. So I daresay I’ll make sure I do the same next time they tour- at least one seated show to really soak it up, and one GA show to get into the thick of it.

As you can tell, my videos for this show are a lot shorter and jumpier. I wasn’t looking through the camera at all, so some of them are downright bad. My fave is definitely I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight due to the close proximity to Larry (for those new to this blog- I’m a drummer and Larry was a childhood hero and the reason I started playing drums professionally.)

Enjoy the vids and see you at another show sometime….

Videos

Coming onto stage / Stingray Guitar

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lki2NejIFk

Beautiful Day

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7-pg-nqeo0

New Years Day

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Lzagfo6bA

Get On Your Boots

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEVBy9G67dg

Mysterious Ways / Elevation

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycj8l5UYh5w

Elevation / Until The End Of The World

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbpRsOgWyjo

Bono’s fashion tips / I Still Haven’t Found What I’m For

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twoeVzAssn4

Instant Karma / Bad

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWzeY1a2vSs

In A Little While / Miss Sarajevo

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tym4Owstbkc

City Of Blinding Lights / Vertigo

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFTlJr3qF94
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2W-TaL8ibs

I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRBaJ8YB9ns

Sunday Bloody Sunday

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtt6qIIWH40

One

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJGnAARekBo

Where The Streets Have No Name

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQxbAlQUFPc

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfYG_U2mMdU

With Or Without You

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8OH7cpwdPw

end of the show….

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvhBXmzjkFQ

Piccies

Setlist- courtesy of U2gigs.com

1. Return Of The Stingray Guitar
2. Beautiful Day
3. New Year’s Day
4. Get On Your Boots / She Loves You (snippet)
5. Magnificent
6. Mysterious Ways
7. Need You Tonight (snippet) / Elevation
8. Until The End Of The World
9. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
10. Mercy
11. Bad / In My Life (snippet) / Instant Karma! (snippet)
12. In A Little While
13. Miss Sarajevo
14. City Of Blinding Lights
15. Vertigo
16. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight / Relax (snippet)
17. Sunday Bloody Sunday / Oliver’s Army (snippet)
18. Scarlet
19. Walk On

encore(s):
20. One
21. Amazing Grace (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name
22. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
23. With Or Without You

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went to this 13 years ago