U2 concert in Brussel – 23 September 2010 (in pictures)

This review consist mostly of pictures, because I lack the amount of adjectives to describe the songs properly. And I’d be saying lovely, brilliant and genius over and over again. So I’ll just say it once: Everything was LOVELY, BRILLIANT and GENIUS!

I went to U2 in Brussel on 23 September! My third U2 concert ever (I went to the 2 concerts in Amsterdam last year).

I live in The Netherlands and had to go to the concert by train (took 4 hours). If it were closer I would have loved to have gone to both concerts, but now I just went on Thursday.

Long before the concert I said that the ONE song I really wanted to hear was Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. Of course I like every U2 song and would like to hear every song I haven’t heard live, but that was THE song I wanted to hear.

I arrived at +- 17:45 in Brussel and took the underground to the stadium and bought two U2 posters there :)

Poster 1

Poster 2

I had a ticket for the section 1H so I was up high, but with a really good view (better than at Amsterdam).

Stadium at 18:17

Interpol went on at 19:45 and played until +- 20:30. I did not know Interpol at all before the concert, but when I got a ticket (in August this year) I listened to some of their songs.

19:45

It rained so there were these tents on the stage

To me almost all of the songs they played sounded similar, but it was a nice rocking sound :) The crowd was pretty quiet unlike with Snow Patrol last year. Snow Patrol was way better, but Interpol was nice to hear too.

At the concert in Brussel the day before the full moon was visible and Bono sang about that, but on Thursday the only time I saw the full moon was during Interpol and it was only for about half a minute. The rest of the time it was cloudy and raining (I had a roof above me).

The moon and the Atonium

When Interpol was over some time later the screen had to be fixed (some parts were black instead of giving light). You can see that in the picture (the 4th purple bit in the middle from the top is not working properly). There were 2 guys who did some magic and it worked again after that :)

Two guys fixed the screen

At around 21:00 there were waves going round the stadium and soon after that died out I suddenly realised that I sat very close to where U2 were going to get out! I really hadn’t thought of it before and the next 30 minutes went by SLOWLY! Also 1 seat behind me and 3 seats to the left of mine were empty (so I had more room for me to make crazy movements! ;) ) The people in front of me were almost all sitting during the entire concert (the guy in front of me didn’t even clap!!!), but I was standing and singing my lungs out. I have never clapped harder in my life :P

U2!!!!!!!!!

The setlist (from www.u2gigs.com):

1. Return Of The Stingray Guitar
2. Beautiful Day / Rain (snippet)
3. New Year’s Day
4. Get On Your Boots
5. Magnificent
6. Mysterious Ways / Private Dancer (snippet)
7. Elevation
8. Until The End Of The World / It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (snippet) / Singing In The Rain (snippet)
9. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / Many Rivers To Cross (snippet)
10. Angel Of Harlem / Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (snippet)
11. Bad / Singing In The Rain (snippet)
12. In A Little While
13. Miss Sarajevo
14. City Of Blinding Lights
15. Vertigo / It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It) (snippet)
16. Can’t Stand The Rain (snippet) / Crazy Tonight / Relax (snippet) / Life During Wartime (snippet)
17. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
18. MLK
19. Walk On / You’ll Never Walk Alone (snippet)

Encore(s):

20. One
21. Rain (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name
22. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
23. With Or Without You / Shine Like Stars (snippet)
24. Moment of Surrender / Singing In The Rain (snippet)

I really love Return Of The Stingray Guitar as an opener! Breathe was also pretty good, but I like Stingray better.

Bono walking around during Return Of The Stingray Guitar

I'm fairly sure this is during Mysterious Ways

Mysterious Ways is one of my favourite favourite U2 songs and just LOVE it live. I’m really glad this was in the setlist! Bono also took a girl from the crowd on stage and walked/skipped with her on the stage :)

Bono in the crowd and I think taking a picture

It rained a lot! (I think this is during Angel Of Harlem)

After I still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For Bono said: “Let’s play a new song… This could be a hit *harmonica*” Me: SOMETHING NEW? A new  song that starts with harmonica?!!!! I LOVE it when Bono plays Harmonica! This is my lucky day! :D But then Edge started playing guitar and realised that it wasn’t something completely new, but Angel Of Harlem. But it was still completely awesome :)

This is Bono with guitar during Bad

I was incredibly happy when I heard the first notes of Bad. Bono played guitar and it was a mind blowing live version. At the end you could see that Bono wanted to snippet something, but then Larry ended the song. Bono turned round and kept playing his guitar and Edge quickly joined him. Bono sang Singing In The Rain and Adam and Larry also joined in again. It was incredible.

Edge joins Bono again with the guitar during Bad

Frank de Winne during In A Little While

After In A Little While was Miss Sarajevo which I hadn’t heard live before and it was beautiful! The Italian verse gave me chills. Bono

Claw Of Blinding Lights

The Claw at its prettiest

Vertigo had a tiny bit of Harmonica in it

I LOVE the Crazy Tonight Remix!

Edge on the screen during Crazy Tonight & Larry walking around :)

Adam looking lovely during Crazy Tonight

Walk On

Bono amidst buffalos during One

I don't need to tell you what this song is ;)

Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing you can do

Light, microphone, action!

I spot 4 wheel microphones!

Love.

Even more Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

Bono is the king.

Moment Of Surrender

The end.

And then it was over. It was magical and I want to go again!

‘My’ Picture

I use this picture almost everywhere:

It’s so lovely.

It is my picture on last.fm, YouTube background and I’m pretty sure it’s on on more sites…

I found it at @U2, which you might have guessed, because it has the @U2 site in the picture :P

I  knew and used this as my picture for about 2 years when I bought U2 & i by Anton Corbijn and I discovered that 1. Anton Corbijn had taken it and 2. That this picture was taken in Arnhem in the Netherlands!!!!! I was shocked that it was taken where I live!

But now… after almost 3 years of using this pic on last.fm I’ve had enough of it…

Old:

And new:

Haha been listening to some songs in between taking the two pictures :P

(Stupid) alarms

Aaaargh! I had a U2 dream, but then my alarm wakes me up! :(

I am at another U2 concert in the Amsterdam Arena and while I’m walking towards my chair, a man who’s walking in front of me is getting interviewed by a news reporter. The man says that the fans on the chairs 47-52 are the greatest U2 fans in the building. I disagree of course, because I’m on chair 42, but I don’t say it out loud (I don’t really feel like giving a huge interview). The reporter is now going to chair number 1 where the fan sits who had the very first U2 ticket. He’s wearing a beautiful U2 T-Shirt! :) And then my alarm goes off! :(
The dream wasn’t very spectacular, but it probably would have been if I didn’t wake up… It did however feel great to be in the Arena again!!!! :D

Luckily I was not really awake after my alarm went off, but was still half asleep. So, I dreamt that I was a guest in Bono’s house. I realised it was a dream, so I was a little disappointed, but then Bono is poking me and saying: “Anna! Wake up!!! We’ve got a lot of things to do today!” :D Bono was really great as an alarm! And it worked too, because I woke up for real and with a lessened annoyance at getting up early :P

Bono Ate A Birthdaycake

Bono, now forty-nine
Bono, that age is just fine
Bono, allergic to red wine
Bono is the person with whom I would love to dine

Bono, the famous singer
Bono, is it settled? You and me, a dinner?
Bono, with boxing always the winner
Bono, sometimes needs to get slimmer

Bono, coming to me in July
Bono, I’ll love you till I die
Bono, The Fly
Bono, whose albums I always buy

Bono, I love your harmonica
Bono, sings “Aha Shala”
Bono, wearing sunglasses
Bono, easy to recognize in the masses

Bono, born in Ireland
Bono, is in a famous band
Bono, I would always lend you a hand
Bono, his lyrics are sometimes hard to understand

Bono, has a lot of fans
Bono, does not always know how to dance
Bono, spends his holidays in France
Bono, Chris Martin has no chance

Bono, you can not call him tall
Bono, his legs are just small
Bono, is the best singer on earth
Bono, that title is a lot worth

“Bono, sexy person”
Bono, no one can stand with you in comparison
Bono, is never grim
Bono ate his birthdaycake, before the birthdaycake ate him

Bono, Adam
Bono, Larry
Bono, Anna
Bono, Edge
Bono, Elvis
Bono, MacPhisto
Bono, Ali

Bono, this might seem like a long way to say
“Bono, have a nice birthday!”
Bono

by Anna (inspired by Elvis Ate America by Passengers)

May Your Dreams Be Realised…

Since U2 announced that they were coming to Amsterdam I’ve had more U2 dreams! :D

I write all my U2 dreams down in the @U2 forum (http://forum.atu2.com/index.php/topic,75.0.html) and before it got renewed I saved all my old dreams, so here they are!

My favourites: 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 18, 25, 28, 29 but I actually like them all
I have to say that I was very surprised that I could give such a (brilliant) answer to the question in 5 :P

The old @U2 forum

1. Bono and Edge were holding a talent contest. If you won, they would teach you how to play guitar. I came into the room and I saw Bono and Edge sitting on a couch with a large window behind them. I told a story and I won!!!! Bono was laughing and Edge started to play guitar.
2. I woke up (in my dream) and went downstairs. I opened the door and I saw Adam behind the computer. I acted like it was the most normal thing in the world and sat next to him. When I really woke up I walked quickly downstairs hoping that Adam would be there, but that did not come true…
3. A few weeks for my birthday I dreamt that U2 were coming to play in the Netherlands (where I live) on my birthday. I really looked forward to the concert, but then I woke up. (I had this dream 6 times! :O)
4. I am in my old school playing golf with Larry, Bono and Adam. That’s not so weird to me, but we are playing golf in a small room with computers in it. There is one computer standing in the middle. Larry smiles a lot and looks like he is REALLY good at golf. Adam goes first and hits a computer on the right and then the computer in the middle. Then it’s my turn and Bono helps me. I have exactly the same shot as Adam and I feel really proud. Then I think “where is Edge?”. That’s when I woke up with a big smile on my face.
5. This one is also weird. I am in Math class and my teacher asks: “who is a big U2 fan?”. I raise my hand immediately and he asks me what my favourite songs are. I tell him that I love all their songs, but also say that I like One and Love Is Blindness the best. Then he starts to explain Love Is Blindness(!!!!!!). He draws triangles and I think “yes that makes sense, that’s Love Is Blindness!”. Then we have to make a test and the only question I can remember is: “U2 already have a poet, what do they need more?” I answered all the other questions, but got stuck on this one. Then I finally have an answer and think it is the best answer on the world: time…
6. I am in a street (with no traffic) and I see Adam and Edge on the other side of the road. Then Bono runs past us and he’s chased by the PopMart Bono (the muscle Bono). Adam is laughing and then Edge get chased by the PopMart Edge. I start laughing and that was the end of that dream. When I woke up I almost forgot it, but luckily I remembered it :P
7. I was in my room and saw the book U2 by U2. So I sat down and opened the book. But when I saw the first page I thought there must be something wrong with the book, because it began with the title “Stuck in a moment” and was about the ATYCLB album. I thought this was very weird and went looking for the beginning of the book. I found the boy era at the middle of the book and then I thought the book was OK (I thought for a few seconds it might show the future of U2, but with the boy era in the middle I knew that it could not be so) and started with the first page of the book. When I had read that (can’t remember anything) I turned the page and there was on the right a page called: “Rattle and Hum Special”. I thought “Wow, I did not notice this the last time I read this!” I read it and then my dream ended.
8. I was in the car with my mum and dad on my way to U23D in Amsterdam. Then my dad asks where it is and I am a bit worried, because I don’t know what the address is. We drive past a lot of IMAX theatres, but not the one from Amsterdam. Then my dad says “Ohh, we need to go to Amsterdam!”. I thought he already knew that, but I was very relieved. My mum says “I don’t know if we should go to U23D, I read somewhere that it was dangerous to watch the movie”(!!!) all I can think is “NOOOOOOOOO I WANT TO GO!!!!!”, but we turn around and went home.
9. I was in a building (a sort of sports hall) and there was going to be a Lenny Kravitz concert. I knew that U2 was going to be the support act and that was the only reason that I was there. I waited and finally it started. I saw Edge and I was the only person who looked at him (all the others looked at Lenny), I started waving at him and he saw me and he smiled I was so happy when he saw me, it all looked very realistic and it took me a while to realise it was just a dream. I thought “Wow, I have seen Edge and he smiled at me!….. Ohh right it was only a dream…”
10. We (U2 and me) are in a small red room. Bono is playing drums very enthusiasticly and Larry is standing behind him playing guitar. Larry watches Bono all the time (to make sure that Bono isn’t damaging his drums). I’m standing between Edge and Adam and are very happy that I’m hearing U2 play. The only thing that I can remember about the song is that it was an instrumental song (Bono can’t sing when he is so busy drumming).
11. I was watching a daily Dutch soccer quiz on tv called “Play like a Champion”. Suddenly I see that Bono is one of the guests. I’m very surprised and think myself very lucky for watching it exactly the same day as Bono is a guest. My luck didn’t last very long, because in the commercial break (the real show hasn’t got any commercial breaks) my tv broke down. I ran downstairs and turned on the tv. I’m looking everywhere for the same channel, but I couldn’t find it any more…
12. I was in Rotterdam at a U2 concert, but I was very early in that building (there were about 20 other U2 fans). There were big screens everywhere and then a man from the crew came to us and explained what the screens did. “On the right is the Bono screen and there’s Edge, Adam and Larry” I was standing on a sort of high platform in the middle so I could see all the screens. The man of the screens moved on and went to the other U2 fans to explain about the screens. Then someone else from the crew told me that with the Live From Milan dvd Bono doubted between putting the Miss Sarajevo from Milan on the dvd or the Miss Sarajevo from Rotterdam on the dvd. I asked why, because I loved the Live from Milan version. He then showed it to me (I was there at the concert :S) and when Bono ended the song every single one in the crowd started to sing 40 (starting with: “I waited patiently for the Lord”) I was now standing next to Bono and we were both just standing there not believing or ears. I could understand why Bono doubted between Milan and Rotterdam. I was back with the member of the crew and he told me that Bono liked the Rotterdam version better, but that it would be weird to put Miss Sarajevo Live From Rotterdam on a dvd that said Live From Milan.
    Then I woke up and looked at my watch and thought “11 O’Clock…” and in my head I could hear bono say: “TICK TOCK” The concert had started! :)
13. U2 are playing a song and then a man hands Edge a flute. Edge says he has never played flute before but would like to try it. He starts and the man stands next to him explains where to put his fingers. Edge doesn’t need much help and is “on fire”. I was surprised that Edge could play flute so good, but the rest of the band did not seem surprised and they just played on…
14. In my dream Bono was playing drums (again! but this time he was able to sing at the same time). Bono was on his own in a the middle of a stadium. I felt like I was a cameraman, because I could get really close and there were no fans around me. Bono was playing drums really well, but I could not help thinking Larry could do this better. When I woke up I totally forgot it but then it slowly came back to me and I tried to remember the song he was playing and I now think that it was Pride.
15. I found out that the new album was to be delayed at 22:00 so when I went to bed that was all I could think of. My dream of that night went like this: It was morning, and when I went into the living room my mother says something like “Have you heard the news?” and I said “Yes I know the new album is delayed to early 2009″ but then my mum says (very surprised) “No I meant the new U2 movie” I: “What?!!!!!” “U2 have made a concert movie. A sort of Rattle and Hum, I thought you knew that…” I started panicking because I did not have tickets for the première of the movie. So I quickly went to the site where you could get tickets and I see that there are 38 tickets left, I’m now panicking even more, because I thought that every second the tickets would all be sold out… I did manage to get tickets, but my ticket said that I could get in 1 hour after the movie started. It said: “enter after 1 hour, when a man in a big T-shirt interviews U2″ I then wondered whether it was going to be in 3D, but I knew the answer myself: it was not in 3D but it was going to be in HD quality and I thought: “Well HD is also very cool” END
16. I always wake up with a CD and this time I had HTDAAB in my stereo, so that Vertigo was going to wake me up. I dreamt that my alarm went of, so I heard Vertigo (very clearly!) in my dream. I woke up for real but found out it wasn’t my stereo but a dream. I found this funny but went to sleep again since I could sleep for more than an hour before my real alarm went of. Then I dreamt again that I heard Vertigo and it woke me up again, I did not think it that funny any more and went back to sleep. After that I had the same dream again! Then I started to think it all very ridiculous. I now had a few more minutes before my alarm really went of and then I could listen to Vertigo all over again.
17. I’m talking to Edge, but that’s about all I can remember. He said something smart about Staring At The Sun and something very funny about Bono and I thought “I really have to remember this line!” but I didn’t…

From the ‘new’ @U2 forum

18. I’m in a small house (in a forest) and U2 will be holding a concert there. I’m waiting with 12 other U2 fans and then the organiser tells us that U2 is not going to play a 3 hour concert but a 1.5 hour concert and after that they will go to a big stadium where they will do two shows of 3 hours (in a row). We (the other fans and me) get a bit angry, because we paid for a 3 hour concert. Then the organiser gets confused, because he thinks a 1.5 hour concert is better than a 3 hour concert… U2 arrive and we’re all very happy. There’s no stage and we can actually touch them. I remember that they played Walk On and Wake Up Dead Man. Then the show ends and they go into another room. I follow them into that room and they’re staring at me like “What is she doing here?” I realise that I have to say something and say “Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have a question.” I did not have one, but quickly thought of one and I asked Bono “Can I give you a hug?” (that was the best I could come up with :D) Bono said: “Yes of course!” and he gives me such a tight hug that he almost broke my shoulders. I remember that I thought: “Who else could say that their shoulders were broken by Bono?” :D and then I gave Larry a kiss on his cheek and then I went to Adam who told me that his guitar tasted like cherry. I was a little surprised and asked if I could taste his guitar and it did taste like cherry! :D
19. In the next dream U2 are holding a show in China and Bono asks a sweet little girl (about 8 years old) on stage. The girl did not walk to him but held out her hand (as if asking for money) Bono walks to her and the girl says: “People in Africa need money” Bono did not expect this but he was very much touched by this. Suddenly I’m backstage and someone says: “Bill, put all Bono’s money on the bank now!” (because if that wasn’t done quick Bono would give all his money to Africa)
20. Larry picked me up with his car at ‘my school’ (it wasn’t my school, but I thought so in my dream) We had a long drive and I was very happy. I can’t remember that we talked, but after a long time we arrived at a summer house (I don’t think it was from Larry) There were other people in there and it was a very small and weird house. There were only two rooms, one with a kitchen and bed in one room and no windows and the other room was also very weird. So all of us made plans to move the furniture and we were very busy making drawings of how it was going to look. And that’s about it :P
21. I see that I have 50 mails from my mailing lists and it turns out that Bono is in the hospital, because he has lost his voice (nothing serious)
22. I get a new cd and dvd from Passengers, but it takes ages to take the plastic of… At least it looked nice ;)
23. I am sitting on a very little chair on the front row listening to U2 :)
24. Adam and Edge are wearing black Allstars (yes that was all :P)
25. There is an Monty Python sketch where they perform movies and speak in morse and things like that
    
    it really starts after 1 minute :P
    And in my dream Adam was going to play in the Wuthering Heights bit and John Cleese gave him a tour around the set.
26. Two of my friends have been to an U2 furniture sale (apparently that exists :D)
    I ask (a little sad) “Why haven’t you not told me there was one? I knew nothing of it” :(
    Then they say “Oh, but why should we tell you? You don’t need furniture do you! And what on earth would you do there?!” “Well… I could look at it… I would love to have seen U2 furniture…”
    “That’s just silly and stupid!!” I almost started crying  :(
27. It was 27 February and I was racing home to hear the new album. I got there really late (around 18:00) (how on earth did I manage to need 4 hours to get home?) I went to my room, put the cd in the cd-player and pressed the play button… The song started with a heavy bass line and some drums where added after that. It reminded me a little of ‘Sixty Seconds In Kingdom Come’ I was really excited and it sounded very VERY great, but then my dad comes in my room and asks a silly question. I give an answer and he goes away. A few seconds later he’s interrupting me again and again and again, so I could not hear more than the first 10 seconds… (but it sounded great!!! :P)
28. I went to a U2 concert in my dream! but it was very weird…
    I was on the front row and my dad stole my ticket! (he’s not even going) but no one checked if you had tickets so it didn’t matter after all… After some time U2 came on stage, but all they were doing was drinking Orange Juice…  all the time… :S
29. I dreamt that I was filming the videoclip for Magnificent!
    I was in a white room and I was filming with a simple camera. I remember thinking “Now I have to film Edge with Infinity is a great place to start on the background” but it never got to that point…
30. I dreamt that I finally knew who the support act for 20 and 21 July was going to be… It started with an J, but I wasn´t very happy with it…

and of course my two GOYB dreams
(http://u2isdebest.wordpress.com/2009/01/27/getting-on-your-boots/)

31. In the first dream (13 January) I heard it in my dream and when I woke up I tried to put it into words and I described it as: Quick! Very U2ish and similar to Vertigo. I remember that I really liked it.
32. But in the second dream I heard it again (about 2 days later) and I didn’t like it any more, so I did not know what to expect after all…

EDIT: two forgotten dreams

33. I get a U2 iPod on my birthday :D
34. There’s a U2 special on television at 00:30 but I forget it! Luckily they are repeating it the next day, so I can still see it.  Edge is the only one who is appearing in the special and he is explaining some things about the new album: “When is the new album going to be released?” Edge: “December, January, February, March.” They are recording the album in Zeewolde (a town in The Netherlands) and I find it incredibly funny that Zeewolde would appear on the album credits next to Fez, Dublin, New York and London… XD

Wow! 34 U2 dreams! (in +- 3 years) :D

Wants some stats?                        …I know I do… XD

Dreams with:
Adam: 6
Bono: 9
Edge: 9
Larry: 3
U2 concert: 5
Bono drumming: 2

Bono, you’re (EDIT: No longer!) the (only) winner of this dream survey! ;)
You now have to share the top spot with Edge :P (I hope you don’t mind) XD

I forgot ‘my dream’ from my NLOTH ‘review’ XD
Here it is:

Watch more television!
U2 knock on my door and ask if I’ve got a television. I’m very shocked and surprised that U2 should knock on my door, so I stare at them for a few moments. Then I say: “Yeah, I’ve got a television… Do you want to see it?” Larry: “No, well actually we want to use it. You see, Edge said in the Letterman show that he sucks at guitar hero, well that was a joke, but we sort of made a bet that we can all be better than Edge at guitar hero.” This is the last thing that I expected, but I say: “Well, you’re more than welcome to test that here!” So they come into the house, install the wii thing and the guitar. Edge has to go first and is a bit nervous, because he has never played guitar hero before and really wants to beat the rest at it. Edge picks a Jimi Hendrix song. Bono and Adam are making a lot of jokes “If you play Jimi Hendrix you’ll have to demolish your guitar at the end of the song!” Edge tries not to laugh at these jokes. He made a few mistakes, but he has a very high score (86%). It’s Adams turn and he is really really good at it. He’s about halfway through and has not yet made any mistake, but then Edge stands up and whispers something in his ear and they just can’t stop laughing. Bono and me are very curious after that joke, but they can’t speak any sense for minutes, so it’s Bono turn. Bono is playing really well, but he’s also very distracted by Edge and Adam rolling over the floor, so Bono scores 78%. Now Larry says to me that it’s my turn, so I play a song and score 95%!  Larry is not very much impressed by my score and is ready to beat it. Bono and me are now watching Larry play the song flawless and Bono says to me: “we have to distract him, but with what?” Edge and Adam are obviously not distracting him so we’re both thinking of a better joke. Then right before the end I say: “Wenn ist das numstuck git und Slotmeyer? Ja… Beiherhund oder die Flipperwalt gersput” Larry survives The Killer Joke, but he does make some mistakes at guitar hero, so in the end he has a score of 92% I realise I have won and I am cheering. Larry congratulates me and makes a bow and Bono says to me “Thank you so much! It’s almost impossible to bear a Larry who has won a game.” Adam and Edge have stopped laughing and everyone is leaving. I’m at the door waving at them and then Edge walks back and whispers into my ear: “Beachball…”