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!

Guilty

I am feeling bad about something. This morning was the presale for U2 tickets and as I said in a previous post, I had the chance of getting 4 tickets which I was going to do. I had asked some friends if they would be interested in the spare 2 but various reasons came back - credit crunch, on holiday, don't like them, etc - but one person did express an interest albeit nothing concrete.

When I logged on to the site this morning and saw the possible prices for the tickets I decided to just get 2 tickets after all as I was worried that I would be left with 2 tickets I couldn't pass on and be £170 out of pocket! I emailed the person to ask if they definitely wanted tickets but it was very short notice (I didn't have a phone number as it is not someone I know in real life.)

I didn't hear back so I went with 2 tickets. I have subsequently heard from the person and they would have had the tickets. Now I feel a bit sh***y about not just getting the two extra tickets as they are now going to have to battle with the masses in the general sale. I probably could have sold the tickets anyway - and they didn't cost as much as I was expecting. It was a split second decision as Ticketmaster was telling me I only had 3 minutes to fill in this or that screen, and now I feel like I made the wrong one.

So to the person concerned - I am really really sorry. You don't have to reply. I'm sure you would be very gracious as I know you are a lovely person, but I know if it was me I would probably be grumbling about it under my breath and I don't blame you.

U2 tour 2009

Whoopeeeee! The tour has been announced and as a U2.com member I have a presale code for tickets. We have decided to go to the one at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield on 20th August.

After last time when we didn't even think about a hotel until a week after we'd got the tickets and ended up about 10 miles outside of Cardiff, we got straight on it and have booked a hotel already. (They hike up the prices if you aren't careful). Anyway we are going to be staying here - posh eh?

I'll probably be getting the maximum 4 tickets so if you fancy coming let me know! (But make sure you book a hotel early!)

Anyone know any yarn shops in Sheffield?