U2 360 Tour Anaheim
A few details on our amazing time together, at the shows in Anaheim (with Suzy & Jen) not discounting U2 Crew.. : )
Photos below
FIRST WARNING TO US… whilst @ the MARMONT you can NOT be fans… you can not take pics… only outside of hotel.. so DAMMIT I had to behave but this was a journey for my friends, sentimental reasons… so WHAT HAPPENED @ the Marmont, stayed at the Marmont… till check out…. then the cameras were allowed to roll..
Long drive back and forth…. LA to ANAHEIM… Suzy and Jen arrive Thursday…
We drive down to Angels Stadium.. something’s not right… no rehearsals?? Ahh… they can’t get “something” not sure WHAT, thru the drive path.. We were cautioned not to go near the heavy equipment… ahem… lol yeah right.. So we walk right in to construction zone.. just us and the gigantic claw.. it was gorgeous… The claw was all lit up .. just us girls and the crew.. Rocco, U2 Stage manager approaches us.. hi how r u?? etc etc…. then “where the hell are ur hard hats… u will get hurt here” he was a riot.. we said we came in to check on our CLAW!!.. he laughed.. we didn’t want to stay to long.. we walked around, took pics.. Since Suzy and Jen were in awe here, never so close in a restricted area.. it was a treat for them, thus making me joyous!!! : ) We figure oh well.. go eat.. we say bye and leave… But.. we were real hot.. I got sun burnt!! We were taken to the band hospitality for what we wanted.. we just took water.. wanted to get out of there and beat traffic.. Security from the get go treated us so nicely.. escorted us everywhere….. Rocco’s hard hat comment didnt sit well with them, they wanted to make sure we were ok the entire time.. it was amazing.. honestly, the total royal treatment… GREAT DAY!!!
We had the best time, Suzy, Jen and I..dot dot dot.. in total awe… but it was amazing…. I never felt more alive… only when I am around my sisters and niece & nephew I am in full gear.. Nature took it’s course…
We had a great suite, everything was covered from dining to you name it… so we were damn well pleased in the least… very humbled…
I tweet a few pics of the claw and Rocco.. and my phone starts going off the hook…
My friends started messages about why no rehearsal.. if there was going to be any.. I confirmed there would be none.. I also told them the band would be there the next day, day of the first show, on Friday @4 pm…
Friday… We drive out to the stadium… I really wanted to see my friends.. my phone decides it will give me signals when it wants to… it sucked.. Now remember.. I have 2 special guests with me, who flew in from afar to see the behind the stage, close to stage stuff, and chat up with the rest of band…
We go near hospitality tent.. wait.. I see Cathleen!! YAYYYYY!!! : ) and Charlie, her husband, friends and great people… : ) I heard them call my name out, it was so nice to see them.. then I see JASE!! she comes up to me.. Suddenly I am so happy and overwhelmed by seeing my friends.. I was so happy… emotions… (long story)
We go inside the stadium… some 50 to 60 thousand fans will soon fill up stadium… The band arrives via helicopter.. but they were late… so they didn’t make it out. they had one hour to rehearse.. and it was a quick rehearsal…
We go right to inner circle….. but I want to bring more friends in.. how am I going to pull this off… I had wristbands.. Suzy did.. but Jen didn’t… so Suzy escorts Jen is with my writst band.. and I decide I am going to walk around… I see Cathleen.. I take her away from her hubby and kids, to go inner circle… She is a class act.. She says to me not if it’s going to cause a problem.. she was cautious… I shrugged her concerns, I wanted her there with me, and with Charlie’s (what an awesome dude) go have fun.. I took her right in… : ) IT WAS FANTASTIC!!!!! Enjoyed being there with friends, but I stayed close to dungeon.. I needed to be cautious about the space around me…
I met the head of Live Nation, and Gibson guitars (who was there for Edge’s guitars.. Edge’s personal guitar guy from Gibson) we took pics, they were all so nice.. saying hi how are you.. I was truly shocked.. I dont rememer meeting them… lmao… but I went along with it.. perhaps it’s cause they had seen me with Bono??? not sure… but it was nice…
Dallas, Edge’s guitar tech, a celebrity in itself just by that name, came said hello, hugged us and my friends… we messed with him a bit teasing him.. he has been with U2 forever………..
Anyway.. the show for FRIDAY was great… Cathleen was a gem.. having her with us.. was GREAT!! It’s the PORTUGESE thing.. <3 <3 <3 love them!!
My phone did not have any reception thru the show.. oh well I shut it off… but we were too damn close for that full view.. we were right at the dungeon… AGAIN… for me I got out of there with a bent neck, arm and back… : )
SATURDAY: band meetings.. et al. We drive out to the Stadium… saw my friends again.. U2 late as usual.. arrived in a heliopter… The police presence was a definite sign that the band had arrived… from HORSES, SCOOTERS, CARS… damn….
We went in.. I left to go secure a spot… figured no more dungeon… I get trampoled over.. and I am on the floor.. A security supervisor sees me, (Adam.. what a great guy) lifts me right over the cat walk… I want out of there.. I cant get out.. it sucked…. I want to get to my friends… : ( He escorts me right via the cat walk and people are staring.. I am so embarrased.. : / He took me right to my friends… and he escorts us through this MOSH PIT OF FANS, right to the front.. right at the railing that seperates the stage from fans.. I had to sit and lean against the railing.. reserving energy… AND THEN…………. A DRUNK IDIOT makes a dash towards me, trying to get to the stage, where his friend was, also drunk and passed out, with medics assisting. Suzy… the mother she is… BLOCKS the guy and elbows him… throws herself over me holding the rails.. covering me.. and the guy flew and fell into the mosh pit of fans… Security all over the place.. I am shaking like a leaf.. got so scared.. I didnt know what to expect.. I was just shaking.. security quickly came up to us, checked on us.. asked if we were ok… Same security apparently can hear each and every incident via radio, had heard the original incident where I got stomped on.. so they knew … THANK YOU SECURITY GUYS!! YOU ROCKED!!!………..
Lenny Kravitz was great as an openning act.. he was right in front of our face….. took pics.. it was surreal…
U2 gets on stage.. B man and Edge are right there in front of us but too close for pics.. LOL!! (always complaining right???) seriously… it was great.. we were like 16 year old kids!!! Having the time of our lives…
Right at first encore, Dallas decides to throw water to fans.. he sees us.. throws water in a soft pitch form, it hits my right eye.. and BOOM!! I go down lmao!! Suzy quickly takes bottle to ice my eye.. it came out of nowhere… SUZY to rescue again… she saw my eye puff up and did her motherly thing right away…
AGAIN … SECURITY GALORE!!! everywhere.. next thing I know I cant see. I am getting carried out.. this was at 2 songs left for finish…
I bitch at EMT.. tell them I am fine.. yes I count fingers they were pointing.. (I still had one eye.. what did they think I was stupid?? lol) I quickly want out of there.. My friends didn’t fly all this way to miss this awesome show… we go back to dungeon… and had each other to lean on the rest of the night… it was awesome.. I had one working eye lol!!
Sunday… Father’s day… Brunch.. again no reception inside hotel.. (up hill… ps I dont like you SPRINT!!!!!!) Breakfast/ Lunch… We were now allowed to be fans.. after we left hotel LOL!! so we waited as per Brian’s request…. so we could do the pic stuff in group.. we see a bunch of fans waiting… Bono and I say a long good bye (for now) wishing each other the best till next time… My sweet Suzy and Jen, who patiently waited till they could be fans, then spent time with him.. I posted some of our pics with him…
What was meant to be happened…. it all seemed effortless.. I just wanted my friends to have the time of their life, and bring closure to a certain promise… for my friend Suzy… they got to spend some “Fan” time when B was leaving…
He then walked down to greet a few fans, I took pics of the fans, cause they all wanted to give their info to get the pics.. I posted those in blog so the fans can access them…
It was sweet… I hear B saying bye Rita, again, upon entering his ride… tons of hugs with both Brian and B Man…
I have made my friends dream come true… I am happy.. but what they gave me is amazing… my family, my SWEET SISTERS, RIMA & KRISTINA got to meet them.. They just LOVED my friends… : ) Made my day…. It was all meant to be.. just like this… Sorry if some of this does not make sense or it seems like I am skipping details, cause I am… it was a bit too personal… : )
“I will be with you ……………… again…..” to my precious friends… LOVE YOU!!!!
I failed to mention, in my condition I was jumping up and down like a kid with Suzy, Cathleen and Jen : )
It was an amazing time…
A special shout out to Paulette!! Ty angel for what you did!! Love you my sweet friend!!
The time with my friends, filled with laughter and joy…. what else could I have asked for??? Miss u guys…
We MISSED our Marta, wishing she were with us… she lives in Europe… her presence was so apparent…
<3 <3 <3
by Rita Simonian
You can see more photos here and here.
A few fans had the chance to meet and greet Bono yesterday, in Los Angeles. Two of them asked him about the next step U2 will take when it comes to global touring.
With that being said, @u2mp3s on twitter, posted the following:
He said the next tour will be smaller, indoor arenas. Private shows. They will play the obscure songs that they either never played live or haven’t played live in awhile (something like that), especially songs off Pop. Like Gone, Please, Staring at the Sun. Then I told him I wanted to hear Acrobat live and he smiled and his eyes lit up and he said “That’s a great song, but it’s hard to play live.”
Prior to this he also chatted about Anaheim 2. I think he said they changed the setlist because the venue was not really 360 but the previous night’s setlist was designed for a 360 venue so they wanted to try something different for night 2.
Full report here.
More photos here.
A Brazilian fan, Silvia, also chatted with Bono and he told her the same thing: indoor arenas, smaller places, pretty similar to Elevation Tour, with some Pop songs. He also told that they will change the setlist to Glastonbury and that the Anaheim II changes were a ‘rehearsal’ for the upcoming 360º Tour shows.
All of this may be soon confirmed by Adam Clayton, who recently gave an interview about the subject.
Many thanks to U2 Brasil and @u2mp3s for the reports.
It’s a trick the band have been playing for some time and they pulled it off again tonight, mixing up the set list and dropping in some surprises.
‘Are you ready for some Kraut Rock – circa 1990?’
Were we ever? Second nights often throw up something no-one is expecting and no-one was expecting The Fly.
‘It’s no secret that the stars are falling from the sky
It’s no secret that our world is in darkness tonight…’
Wow! After that this show was in orbit, circling the planet in the 360 spaceship.
Lots of special friends at Angel Stadium tonight. Quincy Jones is here and Still Haven’t Found is dedicated to him, while ‘Stuck in a Moment’ goes out to Michael Hutchence, ‘a beautiful man, he loved it here.’ ‘Big love to Morleigh’ – she and Edge celebrate their wedding anniversary today – as well as shout-outs to everyone who signed up to the One campaign. But tonight the most special dedication brings the show to a close on a poignant note.
‘I want you to think about the beautiful symphonic sounds that came out of a saxophone…’ says Bono, referencing Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. ‘This man carried music and music carried him until this day…’
Moment of Surrender is dedicated to Clarence Clemons.
Full U2.COM review here
Below, you can see the best videos we got so far and link to constantly updated photo albums, credit to the several U2 fans attending the show and press.
SETLIST
Opening Act(s): Lenny Kravitz
Main Set: Even Better Than The Real Thing, The Fly, Mysterious Ways, Until the End of the World, One, Amazing Grace – Where the Streets Have No Name – All You Need Is Love, I Will Follow, Get On Your Boots – She Loves You, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Stuck In a Moment, Beautiful Day – Space Oddity, Elevation, Pride, Miss Sarajevo, Zooropa, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo – It’s Only Rock and Roll, I’ll Go Crazy (remix) – Discotheque – Please, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Scarlet, Walk On – Never Walk
Encore(s): Ultraviolet, With or Without You, Moment of Surrender – Jungleland
VIDEOS
Fan Videos
Compiled by U2News. Arrows for navigation to all videos.
PICTURES
Click in the link below to see all photos
Band Members Off-Show: Here
Show Photos: Here
‘Tonight might be the night to toast a man who has meant so much to this band… Without this man, things might have turned out a little differently. Larry Mullen Jnr would not be the drummer of U2.. he’d be a highway patrol man. But in Dublin! Adam Clayton, what would he be without this man? I’m thinking hand bag designer. Really posh ones though… a designer of fine things…‘
Edge, continues Bono would have been a city planner and as for himself, probably a theatre critic – but none of those histories came to pass because four young musicians in Dublin bumped into Paul McGuinness and tonight, at the opening show in Anaheim, for the first time in three decades they persuaded him to join them on stage.
‘So tonight, we want to toast our manager, Paul McGuinness, whose sixtieth birthday it was yesterday. Here with his wife Kathy, his daughter Alexandra and his son Max. It’s impossible to say what this man means to us… For the first time ever on the U2 stage..’ says Bono, as Paul greets the band who lead the audience in a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday.
When Even Better Than The Real Thing marked the arrival of the main attraction everyone was on their feet as two and a half hours passed in a moment.
‘Thank you… thank you… thanks to Los Angeles favorite son Lenny Kravitz for opening the show, our very special guest. Incredible dude, the kids a star. Thank you all for your patience… ‘
Also in the house, another special guest with a key role in the story of this band – Chris Blackwell who signed U2 to his Island Records when they were barely out of their teens. Stay is dedicated to Chris while Pride is dedicated to Maria Shriver. Can’t fail to mention yet another compelling new video making a debut tonight, this one created by Run Wrake for Miss Sarajevo – more coming on that soon.
Before you knew it, the lights were down and Bono was pointing out the milky way of cellphones illuminating the night, inviting everyone to think about our small blue planet, spinning round the sun ‘and all the people trying not to fall off.‘ And that was our Moment of Surrender on a night of birthday wishes.
Full U2.COM review here
Below, you can see the best videos we got so far and link to constantly updated photo albums, credit to the several U2 fans attending the show and press.
SETLIST
Opening Act(s): Lenny Kravitz
Main Set: Even Better Than The Real Thing, I Will Follow, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Mysterious Ways, Elevation, Until the End of the World, Happy Birthday, All I Want Is You, Stay, Beautiful Day – Space Oddity, Pride, Miss Sarajevo, Zooropa, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo – Are You Gonna Go My Way, I’ll Go Crazy (remix) – Discotheque – Life During Wartime – Psycho Killer, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Scarlet, Walk On – You’ll Never Walk Alone
Encore(s): One – United We Stand, Will You Love Me Tomorrow – Where the Streets Have No Name, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, With or Without You, Moment of Surrender
VIDEOS
U2.com Official
Fan Videos
Compiled by U2News. Arrows for navigation to all videos.
PICTURES
Click in the link below to see all photos
Band Members Off-Show: Here
Show Photos: Here
Angel Stadium is bracing itself for the swarm of U2 fans who will descend upon Anaheim this weekend. After a 10 day break, U2 will bring its 360 Tour to Anaheim.
The crew raised the Claw a few days ago and now everything is ready for two amazing nights!
More than ready are all fans that have been queuing for days and will have the chance to see not only U2 but Lenny Kravitz, who will be opening both nights.
Seems like we will have live stream tonight from our mates at U2Radio so keep checking U2NT on facebook or @U2_NT on Twitter! You can also check our new Tweet Feed from Anaheim, here, at the right side of the page.
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