U2 360

(Photos in this post not the best quality as they are from my iPhone.)

Thursday morning we set off for Sheffield - in the rain. This was the view from the car on the M56 - nice!


As we headed over the Snake Pass it was still raining.


When we arrived it stopped and it turned into a lovely sunny afternoon. This is Sheffield town hall.


Colin had a drink in the bar of the hotel when we arrived, as the room wasn't quite ready, and he didn't have to drive to the concert as we were going on the SuperTram!


We set off just after 5 and got to the tram stop as it started to rain again. Colin ran back for the raincoats which we had thought we weren't going to need, and off we went. We had to wear the coats while we were queuing to get in as it was raining quite a lot and we were a bit worried that it was going to be 5 and a half hours of sitting in the wet! But as we got through the gates the rain stopped and the sun came out and this was our first view of the 360 stage, it was huge.


The first support band came on at 6 while I was pushing and shoving and spending far too much at the merchandise stall! I got a T-shirt and a very nice fleece which I was glad of later on when it got cold because apart from the raincoat I only had a thin cardi. The band were called The Hours and weren't bad.

At 7pm, Elbow came on. I do quite like Elbow but I wouldn't go to see them live as headliners. Their music is more to be listened to at home or in the background as it is not the kind of music to whip up a crowd. They were ok though.

Almost an hour passed, and then "Space Oddity" by David Bowie started and smoke started pouring out of the top of the set and around the edges, and everyone started whistling and shouting. As the track ended Larry strode over the walkway and started the intro to "Breathe" and we were off! There was a real mix of new songs and golden oldies like "Unforgettable Fire", "Sunday Bloody Sunday", and "Pride" and we all had to sing Happy Birthday to U2's set designwer Willie Williams who is from Sheffield and it was his birthday that day. (A bit of creative scheduling I wonder?)

And as it got dark the stage transformed into this.....


and this.


A brilliant show, but then U2 always put on a good show. Roll on the next tour!