Saturday, February 19, 2011

More of Cape Town Concert

The South African press is blooming with articles about the historical concerts in that country...







City’s Friday, rocking Friday


Cape Town fans roared a welcome to Bono and U2 as they bounded on to the giant Claw stage at Cape Town Stadium last night as part of their 360º world tour.
As cameras flashed around the stadium and Bono clapped his hands above his head, the sound of whistles, cheers and the unique U2 sound hit Cape Town.
The lifting of the turf to enable fans to occupy the field meant that last night’s concert accommodated 72 000 people, 8 000 more than any of last year’s World Cup matches.
Earlier, thousands of people stood along the Fan Walk, boogying to the sounds of U2 being blasted from speakers along the route, marching alongside the minstrel troupe and laughing at the antics of the U2-style stilt walkers.
As people streamed towards the stadium, bars along the route were packed, spilling out on to the pavement, while vendors moved among the people selling U2 caps and T-shirts.
Inside the stadium, people streamed to their seats awed by the enormous claw stage imported in 200 shipping containers.
Fans were still pouring on to the field as Arno Carstens and the Springbok Nude Girls electrified the crowd, dwarfed by the huge circular screen above them forming part of the Claw.
As they left the stage, the massive crowd erupted in applause. - Saturday Argus



U2 give Cape Town, fans all over the world a concert to remember



U2 outdid themselves again last night, as they performed a truly memorable show in Cape Town for not only the fans cheering inside the stadium, but also the fans cheering from their homes.
U2.com gifted subscribers with a live stream of the entire show, which I think is fantastic. To unite fans from all around the globe and the audience rocking out in Cape Town to share in the same special moment of hearing U2 live is very generous. Let's hope they do it again for the shows coming up!
As for the concert itself, the band didn't disappoint and they also paid tribute to some honorable people. "Pride" was dedicated to Nelson Madela, as it was in Johannesburg. "To our brothers and sisters in Libya," Bono announced during "Sunday Bloody Sunday". Aung San Suu Kyi was celebrated before the band performed "Scarlet". Singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka joined U2 on stage for "I Still Haven't Found", which I'm hearing was amazing.

Bono was once again his comedic self during band introductions. Naming Edge the "ring tailed lemur and spider-monkey of U2", Adam the "llama", and Larry the "meerkat", he got a taste of his own medicine when Edge dubbed him the "wildebeest"!


As surprising as that sounds, another curveball the band threw was playing some of the stellar "Fez-Being Born" from "No Line" before they went into "City of Blinding Lights". The beautiful "North Star" was in the set, as was "I Will Follow", "Hold Me, Thrill Me", and a full version of "Stand By Me" with Yvonne Chaka Chaka.  I'm hoping that little "Fez" tease turns into an actual performance of it this summer!
U2 are back on the road in a little over a month, when they start the South American leg in Chile on March 25th.

by Jill Marino








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