Less than a month later, I was back on the tour, this time in North America. I enjoy going to openers because of the chance to hear new material. The night before the opening North American show (in Chicago), we were treated to a lengthy rehearsal and heard Your Blue Room for the first time. We were excited to hear this Passengers song because it hadn t been played live before. Chicago was also the city where the lighted microphone for the closing encore set ( Ultraviolet (Light My Way) and With or Without You ) was revealed on tour. It was pretty eye-catching to see this microphone / prop change between Europe and North America. Chicago was also the city where I met the band again on the tour (having met them previously in Zagreb). I had bought Cathal s book Me U2 earlier in the day and had that signed by Bono, Edge, and Adam when I saw them after their rehearsal at Soldier Field. pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon Being back in the United States gave me a chance to reconnect with most of the die-hard American fans there that didn t make it over to Europe. I also brought pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon my good friend Chris along for his first 360 show. He was the one who converted me to a U2 fan in the first place, and a real joy to have him finally experience the grandness of the tour.
It was a few weeks before I returned to the tour to catch the last couple pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon of concerts in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and the closer in Vancouver. The Phoenix show was the first real experience for me of what would later become known as the GA list system a North American method of queue management I ll explain pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon later on. On a lighter note, this part of my trip was a bit of Joshua Tree pilgrimage between the Phoenix and Las Vegas shows. My friend Vik (London) and I made a journey to the Joshua Tree National Park. Although it is not the site of where U2 s actual Joshua tree is located pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon (it s lying in a restive state in Death Valley National Park, California), it was still a magical place to visit.
We also made a trip to the old Las Vegas strip on Fremont Street to walk in the steps of where the music video was filmed for I Still Haven t Found What I m Looking For . Security questioned us as to why we side-stepped into the alleyway and explained it was where U2 started their video for that chart-topping pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon song. The guard understood our intentions and left us in peace.
The opening act for these last few shows of the North American leg was Black Eyed Peas. They garnered split opinion amongst fans, but for me, I thought they were incredibly entertaining. I had never seen an opening act have the house lights off and have their own laser show, nor seen the venue almost entirely full during their performance pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon before Black Eyed Peas. They had a lot of radio friendly hits to play and were able to get the crowd jumping and pumped for the show. They were a nice change pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon from Snow Patrol, and a chance to hear and see someone different on the tour. Those who did not enjoy Black Eyed Peas were most likely those who didn t like the genre of hip-hip in the first place. I grew up with hip-hop and rap before switching over as a die-hard U2 fan, which explained why I liked Black Eyed Peas and later Jay-Z in Australia as opening acts.
Las Vegas was the first time where I was a part of the organizing team for the GA queue. I had always pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon been an observer of queue management but never really had the appetite to run one because of the huge effort and lack of sleep involved. I was #1 in line and Vik was #2 and we took charge of the queue since we were the first ones there. One thing I had learned was that you can t manage a queue on your own; a lot of help is required from fellow fans. Pat (Arkansas) had stepped up to the plate, as a few others. One fan worked for security and was able to provide a direct channel of communication with the venue staff, which was valuable.
Like most North American venues, Sam Boyd Stadium disallowed camping, so we instituted a roll-call system, an arrangement identical to what I went through in Phoenix. For all those who actually showed up in line (and not pre-signing friends who have yet to fly into the city), we took their names down in the GA book, assigned them a number, and asked them to come back the next day at 6AM for roll-call. The vast majority complied and when the gates opened at 7AM, we walked in accordingly with security as planned. Security were very helpful and the fans were happy that there wasn t queue jumping. Drinking was allowed in the line and it was more of a party atmosphere in the Vegas queue little pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon surprise there! pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon The show was more-or-less a dress rehearsal for the subsequent Pasadena filming, but there was certainly a carnival mood in the air. I reckon it was because there were a few celebrities in the crowd such as Coldplay and Bill Clinton, and because of this, U2 must have felt compelled to elevate their performance to entertain their peers.
Although I was offered a ticket, ride, and a place to stay, I decided to skip the Pasadena show. There were two reasons why I decided to miss the DVD gig. First, I heard there were people already queuing up even before the Las Vegas show and felt that even if I left immediately after the concert to go to California, I d be far behind in line and may not be worth my time. I was already spoiled from being at the front row too many times, and figured that my chances were slim to repeat pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon that in Pasadena. pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon Second, and more importantly, two of my best friends from Winnipeg came to Las Vegas with the intent of hanging out in the city after the show as our reunion. I did not want to ditch my buddies for another concert, even if it was U2. In the end, I felt vindicated because of the ensuing chaos in the queue that occurred in Pasadena. Apparently, a pair of fans pretended to work for U2 and convinced security to recognize their line and abandon the already established queue at a different gate. There was mass confusion, accusations flew, and a mad rush to the front. My friend Stephan (Calgary) who was in the 200s later told me that he made it to the front row centre position after capitalizing on the melee in the queue. It goes to show that when there is chaos in the line, it can be a real advantage to those at the back.
The Pasadena Rose Bowl show was broadcast live on YouTube and my friends Chris, Eddsel, Daniel and I watched it from our Las Vegas hotel room. We stocked up and had a U2 party as the show was being video-fed live to the world. 10 million people watched the concert online. As the camera panned the crowd at the front of the stage and around the catwalk, I was able to identify several of my friends in the audience. Although the adrenaline was flowing in my body knowing how intense and fun it can be at the front, I was really sad that I wasn t there to share the historic video taping with them. It was a standard, well rehearsed set list, similar to the ones played in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and eventually Vancouver. pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon U2 wanted to play it safe and take no risks in the video sequencing, performance, and outcome. Fair enough, but I felt it lacked the spontaneity that the 2001 Slane Castle DVD had, which embodied so much raw energy and emotions mainly because of the passing of Bono s father Bob Hewson. Nevertheless, I still was deeply lamenting at not being there. We sung our hearts out during that YouTube broadcast until I fell asleep from inebriation before hearing Moment of Surrender . What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas and is written in a blog.
The last show of the leg was in Vancouver. I was #1 in the line again, and got the help from my friends Chris (Winnipeg) and Bryan (Vancouver), pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon as well as Salvi (Edmonton) to manage the queue. I learned a lot from the Las Vegas line, and implemented similar rules in Vancouver. It was a cold two days in the line, and it was clear not many fans wanted to camp out. The venue had originally banned overnight queuing, only to change their minds and said that it wasn t a problem. Due to the mixed signals given by BC Place, we gave people the choice to camp or not. Understandably, most decided pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon to stay in their beds that evening because it was so cold, but would show up for roll-call the next morning at 5AM. However, there were a few of us hardy types, maybe 20 give-or-take, who did camp out and it turned out to be such a fun time. Dino and Debbie (Vancouver) brought their BBQ set up and Tri (Vancouver) was our chef. They also brought their propane heater to keep us warm throughout the night. We shared pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon hot dogs, hamburgers, and seafood with each other. Security stayed and chatted with us the entire night they were great company to have.
The next morning, fans arrived for the roll call, and security walked down the line with me to help cross off names from the list of people who failed to show up luckily there weren t very many. We continued to assign numbers to new GA arrivals up until 3PM and were in the thousands to ensure there was some order in the otherwise non-gated, pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon non-taped-off queue. Upon the initial entry, security would not let anyone in unless they had a number. It was the best example of when there is synergy between the fans and security, and everyone was happy. Other fans shared coffee and donuts in line throughout the day, adding to the already strong pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon communal atmosphere that I have come to value at a U2 queue. It was at that Vancouver pet friendly vacation rentals in bend oregon show where I realized that the line was more than getting to the front, about also the development of friendships and community. I duly added this to my GA guide as a central tenet, and hoped others would come to experience these special moments I had in the queue.
As before, my friends and I coordinated our efforts in renewing and securing our various levels of U2.com presale codes (Horizon, Breathe, and Boots) for the next round of North American shows. My original plan was to go to the opener in Salt Lake City, the two Anaheim shows, Oakland, Seattle, Edmonton, Minneapolis, the two Montreal concerts, and the closer in New York all GA. I was particula
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