Mercy and Bad in the show as the band mix up the set list for the opening night in Melbourne.
Edge and Bono opened the show from the b-stage tonight, coming round to meet during The Return of the Stingray Guitar. 'G'day!' said Bono, slipping effortlessly into the local language, and with that came the opening bars of Beautiful Day and it all kicked off.
It's been four years since the band were last here and it was pretty clear from the off that we were going to have a night to remember.
'What do you think of our space station? It's taken us all over the place and tonight it brings us down under.
'Good to be back in Australia and in Melbourne in particular,' added Bono. 'We feel at home in Melbourne.'
Plenty of thanks and name-checks tonight including Michael Coppel ('been promoting us since we first played in Australia') and an old friend, Natalia Imbruglia, who is in the house.
'We've been doing this a while, Adam, Edge, Larry and I, and we're still figuring out so much musically, spiritually - keep coming to see us we're still pilgrims.'
Our highlights of this opening night of eight in Australia were a storming version of 'Boots' with Larry Mullen standing up at the drum kit and the reception for Magnificent when Bono asked, 'Where are we going? St Kilda, Fitzroy. Richmond. Melbourne...'
And after promising new music for audiences here, Bono was true to his word: 'Let's play you a new song. Brand new song. This is Mercy.' Coupling that with Bad was a show-stopping moment in the set, matched only by the reception for Miss Sarajevo.
Edge and Bono opened the show from the b-stage tonight, coming round to meet during The Return of the Stingray Guitar. 'G'day!' said Bono, slipping effortlessly into the local language, and with that came the opening bars of Beautiful Day and it all kicked off.
It's been four years since the band were last here and it was pretty clear from the off that we were going to have a night to remember.
'What do you think of our space station? It's taken us all over the place and tonight it brings us down under.
'Good to be back in Australia and in Melbourne in particular,' added Bono. 'We feel at home in Melbourne.'
Plenty of thanks and name-checks tonight including Michael Coppel ('been promoting us since we first played in Australia') and an old friend, Natalia Imbruglia, who is in the house.
'We've been doing this a while, Adam, Edge, Larry and I, and we're still figuring out so much musically, spiritually - keep coming to see us we're still pilgrims.'
Our highlights of this opening night of eight in Australia were a storming version of 'Boots' with Larry Mullen standing up at the drum kit and the reception for Magnificent when Bono asked, 'Where are we going? St Kilda, Fitzroy. Richmond. Melbourne...'
And after promising new music for audiences here, Bono was true to his word: 'Let's play you a new song. Brand new song. This is Mercy.' Coupling that with Bad was a show-stopping moment in the set, matched only by the reception for Miss Sarajevo.
Setlist
1. Return Of The Stingray Guitar
2. Beautiful Day / Here Comes The Sun
3. I Will Follow
4. Get On Your Boots
5. Magnificent
6. Mysterious Ways / My Sweet Lord
7. Elevation
8. Until The End Of The World / Anthem
9. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
10. Mercy
11. Bad
12. In A Little While
13. Miss Sarajevo
14. City Of Blinding Lights
15. Vertigo / Highway to Hell / Devil Inside
16. Funky Town / Crazy Tonight
17. Sunday Bloody Sunday
18. Scarlet
19. Walk On / You’ll Never Walk Alone
20. One
21. Amazing Grace / Where The Streets Have No Name
22. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
23. With Or Without You
24. Moment of Surrender
Article that appeared in HeraldSun.com.au
U2 has proven that size does matter in the world of rock concerts.
Their 360 Degrees Australian tour, launched in Melbourne tonight, revolves around a super-sized claw-shaped stage that managed to dwarf Etihad Stadium.
It was hard not to be in awe of the Claw; the kind of thing only the biggest band in the world could pull off - they have always dreamt large.
The structure - shoehorned in the middle of the venue - moved all the state of the art screens, lights and speakers above the band for the 360 degree view the tour boasts.
A ring of catwalks and moving bridges let the band get closer to fans in their quest to find intimacy in the world's least intimate venues.
"What do you think of our space station?," Bono asked the crowd.
No one works a stadium like Bono, dropping in shoutouts to Fitzroy, St Kilda and Richmond before lost single Magnificent.
But technology and stadium staging aside it's those songs that drew 60,000 fans out tonight.
Beautiful Day and I Will Follow set the agenda; a clever mix of their biggest (I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Mysterious Ways, Vertigo) and best (Bad, One, Miss Sarajevo) to appeal to their wildly diverse and wildly loyal fanbase.
It means Bono can quote Leonard Cohen in one song, AC/DC in another, even Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Only U2 could manage to get rap icon Jay-Z to open for them, a man whose "limitless talent" Bono praised.
The rapper added a verse to U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday during their set.
While his lyrical skill was lost on some members of the crowd during his own set - hopefully some minds were opened as Jay-Z and his band showed how hip hop can work live.
His brilliant set featured anthems like 99 Problems, Run This Town and Dirt Off Your Shoulder but it took the instant classic Empire State of Mind to get the rapper the respect he deserved.
Sadly rumored appearances by Kanye West and Jay-Z's wife Beyonce did not eventuate.
And luckily the predicted rain was another no-show.
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