You’ll excuse me, I’m sure - but to give full disclosure and a deeper understanding of what the entire experience was like to me I’ll have to spend some time beating around the bush before I get to the actual crux of this post [and that crux is not the actual concert].
It’s Sunday, 13 February 2011 and the big day has arrived. It’s U2 day! And I couldn’t be more excited.
Since the concert was being held at FNB Stadium (or Soccer City if you prefer), Big Concerts pulled out all the stops for this one. Utilising the FULL of infrastructure built and used for the Fifa World Cup, including the Metro Rail system, Bus Rapid Transit, park & rides and in fact, the whole 9 yards.
Now, this being a 3rd world country, it was a welcome surprise to see the mass of people (official attendance of 94,232) being herded without any major hick-ups, and all getting into the stadium on time. Make no mistake, there were hordes of people. But, as far as I could see, everyone was excited, and having a good time. So big-up to Big Concerts and all involved for getting the behind-the-scenes part spot on!
It seems like I say this very often, but I’ll say it again... I’m not the world’s biggest U2 fan, and defiantly not a big enough fan to pay R 2,654 for a Golden Circle ticket. So when I got tickets for the “cheap seats” I was actually quite chuffed! Bear in mind that we had been to Rammstein the Friday, had the Muppet’s birthday celebration the Saturday, and got up early on ‘U2 Day’ so I was quite looking forward to watching the concert from my bird’s eye view, in a plastic, orange seat high-up in the stands.
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| Inside the Metro Train with all the other whities |
Since we were meeting family in Centurion, we decided that we’d board a Metro train at Centurion Station. I’ve never seen so many
whities on any form of public transport, much less a train. So out of the ordinary was the sight, that we had onlookers totally dumbstruck. At every station we stopped, the regular commuters were in awe of these (mostly) middle-class, white folk, armed to the teeth with booze of every variety, acting quite rowdy on their trains.
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| Life saving beer-can holding the door open for some fresh air |
The 2½ hour train ride there was quite pleasurable, everyone was excited, and we even took turns smoking outside, between the coaches. We passed through Jo’burg CBD on our way to FNB Stadium, and saw some strange and derelict sites – it’s a different world to the image they present to you about the inner city. And I must admit, I had a moment or two of quite reflection about the privileged position I held to be on my way to a stadium concert as opposed to the utter poverty I witnessed on the ride there...
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| FNB Stadium |
Coming around the corner at Nasrec, the majestic stadium lay before us like a homing beacon, and all avid photographers rushed to the side of the train to forever immortalise that moment on film (or memory stick). Arriving at the train station, I swear you could feel the electricity in the air. I can’t believe anyone there was not excited. That’s one thing I can say about the Pop-enthusiast, in their hordes, they are loyal to the end. There were thousands of people, of every colour and creed, all seemingly bursting at the seams to see the world’s most celebrated band live.
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| Thousands of people making their way into the stadium... |
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| Inside the "Calabash" |
Having arrived at the Soccer City stadium, we started making our way into the stadium area and to our seats. I was dumb-struck, seeing that brobdingnagian structure from the inside for the first time was truly a moment that made me proudly South African. This did not pass by the Muppet either, her comment being along the lines of “It looks like something out of Battlestar Galactica.”
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| "The Claw" as seen from our seats |
Arriving at our seats, the immensity struck us like a low-flying brick! Words cannot describe the feeling of grandeur and insignificance all at the same time... The 40-odd metre high stage, aptly named “The Claw” was standing like a huge mechanical spider above the field – ready to spring to life at any second – most impressive! Even more impressive was the massive line array speaker system. From my seat, I counted 450 separate speakers and subs. Now that’s huge!!! I later read that this is the largest speaker system collection in touring history.
[Follow this link for a full write-up about the sound system: http://clairglobal.com/u2/]
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| The dusk African skyline over FNB Stadium |
As light started fading, and scores of people flooded the stadium, my anticipation was reaching breaking-point. Though not my favourite band, I simply couldn’t wait to see what all the fuss in the press was about. I wouldn’t dare say anything bad about the machine that is U2. Even though I despise the politically motivated, 3rd world defending, tax evading,
Bono, and can’t even tell you the name of the drummer...
[Larry Mullen – thanks to Google] -
The Edge truly is a magical guitarist. Thanks to his signature playing style and tone, I have the world’s respect for him.
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| Amandou & Mariam performing live |
There was a roar from the crowd, and as I looked up I saw something happening on the stage. A group, which was totally unfamiliar to me, took up their instruments and continued to play an inaudible din. I was to find out only later that they are called
“Amadou & Marriam”, a musical duo from Mali. There is no doubt in my mind that this was Bono himself doing his bit to promote African music - and props to him for doing so. But, why then, not consider a local band with African flavour like
Freshly Ground, or even
Malaika? Guaranteed to get a better response from the crowd, and guaranteed to strike a heart-string with the locals.
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| Mind-boggling clock that doesn't tell the time |
Drawing ever closer to the start, the analogue clock on the screens caught my eye. Being 100% lucid, and not under the influence of any controlled substances whatsoever, the clock didn’t seem to be counting down correctly. Eventually the dials “fell off” and the concert got underway with an earth-shaking roar of approval from the almost 100,000 strong crowd.
... and suddenly, I got it! I understood the hype, I got why they booked-out FNB Stadium, why every single “entertainment correspondent” from every single TV show, radio station, newspaper and magazine were singing the praises of the 360° Tour!
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| The concert in full-swing |
IT WAS AWE INSPIRING!!!
The band walked on from behind the monolithic stage and utter chaos ensued. The golden circle was ecstatic, and I probably would’ve been too if I could get within spitting distance of Bono
[and foot-kissing distance from The Edge]
The set-list was completely predictable, but this did not take away from the spectacle in the slightest. They played all the old hits, as well as some of the songs from the
No line on the horizon album (of which the tour is in support of). A very pleasant and unsuspected surprise was when
“Bra” Hugh Masakela was called up onstage to play the trumpet on
I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. An absolutely mind-blowing performance from the custodian of Jazz in this country.
Sunday Bloody Sunday is my favourite U2 single by miles, but the version of
Still haven’t found with Hugh gave me that patriotic feeling the residents in Pretoria get when the Bulls win the Curry Cup. To me nothing after that even mattered!
I was quite surprised with the political aspect of the show, which we all knew was inevitable. Not with the content as much as the duration. With the South African struggle still fresh in our minds, Bono had numerous figureheads and subject matter to choose from. Surprisingly enough, they opted to go for a speech by
Archbishop Desmond Tutu about the “One” campaign and not for some arcane liberation speech by
Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela. I’m very happy to report that this part of the concert was short lived, and they soon got on with the real reason we were there – the music.
There were quite a few gimmicks that I picked-up on... Video of a live cross-over to the International Space Station, The Desmond Tutu speech, snap shots of Nelson Mandela, moveable bridges that went over the heads of the golden-circle groupies, more political themed videos, etc.
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| Stage with big-screen fully extended |
To my mind the saving grace of the show was, not necessarily the actual musical performance, but the stage design, lighting, and (to make special mention) the humongous, movable big screen! At one point, the screen expands, and stretches down about 25 metres from its original position – truly amazing.
I would be neglecting my (self-chosen) duties if I did not say anything about the lighting. Or perhaps, I shouldn’t say anything at all, but leave you with a picture of what I’m referring to...
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| Huge mirror-ball on top of the stage - blindingly spectacular |
All said and done, and with minimal criticism, the show was awesome! Everything surrounding the actual live on-stage performance was pretty good too – and it all came together to give me a goose-bump experience when I think back on it now...
Everything except for the Springbok Nude Girls...
