"We´ll miss you...Goodnight!"

'Moncton, Hub City, where you gonna take us tonight?'

Moncton in Atlantic Canada, the end of U2360°,  the most successful concert tour of all time.

Two years after opening up in Barcelona in June, 2009 tonight the band played their final show in a record-breaking tour of  110 concerts  in 30 countries across 5 continents. It's been some ride and the fact it had rained all day and was moist underfoot here in Moncton was not going to stop anyone  in this 75,000-strong audience making this a night to remember.

A breathtaking flyover from the  Canadian Airforce  set the scene before the show along with  powerful opening sets from Carney and the one and only Arcade Fire.

'Extraordinary band, give it up for Carney,' said Bono, after Get On Your Boots.  'I don't know if there's vocabulary in English or French  to describe Arcade Fire. They asked to play here as they have a relationship with you guys. They're not like a band, more like a miraculous event, carnival of chaos...'

Six songs in and Moncton had put the 360° spaceship into orbit for one final trip: 'This is the best time we could be having anywhere,' explained Bono, adding that the band wanted to make the most of the fact that this is the end of the tour. 'Eighteen babies, two marriages in the crew, eight separations... over 7 million served!'

And the best thing about this remarkable structure they've played under night after night ? It has no roof, 'but that's because it won't rain - right?'

On bass guitar tonight, we had Adam Clayton. On drums, 'the man who gave us our first job', Larry Mullen. On guitar? 'People like to remind us that without Edge we'd be nothing... but without us, he'd still be in his room twiddling knobs.'
And at the microphone: 'My name is Bono, I'm a work in progress...'

'I have climbed highest mountains
I have run through the fields...'

The end of 'Still Haven't Found' segued into The Ballad of Springhill while the lyrics of 'Stay' were customised for the occasion.

'110 shows, strangely it feels like home
Glad my wife is here tonight, not a night to be alone
Just a bang and a clatter, as 360 leaves town...'

The night, like this tour, raced by. Special thanks to Live Nation, Universal Music, Principle Management and the unrivalled 360 Crew gave way to Moment of Surrender which was not to be the final song of the tour.
' We're a band from Dublin, Ireland. We're called U2..'
Out of Control, the band's first single,  was an inspired way to bring things to a close.
'A higher than high here, out on the Atlantic Coast
Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton, Bono, The Edge... still... out of control.'

But there was one final piece of inspiration, marrying this legendary tour to the band's earliest tours. A bottle of champagne was found for Bono to uncork and the band left this audience, singing with so many others,  as the night came to an end.

'How long to sing this song
How long to sing this song ...'

Bono, Edge and Adam waited at the back of the stage for Larry to end '40' and once he did, he took the mike at the front of the stage; 'We'll miss you guys, Goodnight!'

With that the four members of U2, arms around each other, took a final bow and the U2360° spaceship was gone.

SET LIST

Even Better Than The Real Thing
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Until The End Of The World
I Will Follow
Get On Your Boots
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Beautiful Day
Elevation
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Miss Sarajevo
Zooropa
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Discotheque
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Scarlet
Walk On

ENCORE

One
Where The Streets Have No Name

ENCORE 2

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
With Or Without You
Moment Of Surrender
Out Of Control
40

www.u2.com

Ciao Europe!!

Last concert of the European leg, last night in Rome.

'Thank you for this welcome… We're on stage tonight and a lot of people thought that was impossible. And I for one feel very fortunate to be standing on this stage with my three best friends...'

 'Still Haven't Found' brought the reveal - a  dazzling Irish flag, Italian flag and the word 'ONE' in red on white. It was a breathtaking visual moment, for the band, as much as everyone else in the stadium. 'Viva Italia!'

That segued into another great moment with a rare appearances for 'Bad' and, even more unusually, a snatch of 'All I Want Is You'. And then came 'Mercy' one of the six new and unreleased tracks that the band have surprised us with at different shows  this summer.

Dallas Schoo got a special shout-out before Bono thanked everyone on the crew ahead of In A Little While. This audience was pumped all night long and  delighted to hear Bono speaking so often in Italian. 'I wanna thank all the people who helped us build this dream of ours…'

Setlist

1. Return Of The Stingray Guitar
2. Beautiful Day
3. I Will Follow
4. Get On Your Boots
5. Magnificent
6. Mysterious Ways
7. Elevation
8. Until The End Of The World / Anthem
9. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
10. Bad / All I Want Is You
11. Mercy
12. In A Little While
13. Miss Sarajevo
14. City Of Blinding Lights
15. Vertigo / Teenage Kicks
16. Relax / Crazy Tonight / Two Tribes
17. Sunday Bloody Sunday / Get Up Stand Up
18. MLK
19. Walk On / You’ll Never Walk Alone
20. One
21. Amazing Grace (snippet) / Where The Streets Have No Name
22. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
23. With Or Without You / Shine Like Stars
24. Happy Birthday
25. Moment of Surrender

 

 Picture gallery.

www.u2.com/ www.u2.gigs(video)

Jessica Alba on education for all

ONE just returned from a listening and learning trip to Senegal, Ghana, Mozambique and Kenya with members of the board and other supporters. Below, Jessica Alba talks about 1GOAL and the campaign to provide education to all children:

I had an incredible week, joining the ONE team on the road in Senegal and Ghana as part of the 1GOAL: Education for All campaign to make the lasting legacy of the upcoming World Cup education for every child.

I’ve wanted to travel to Africa my whole life and when offered the opportunity to listen and learn alongside ONE, it was a once in a lifetime chance that I couldn’t pass up. I’ve always admired the work ONE has done and being able to see the programs you’ve contributed to firsthand was inspiring.

We met African entrepreneurs and academics, spoke with civil society and private sector leaders. We sat with street vendors at a microfinance project, heard from women now able to save their and their children’s lives through ARV HIV/AIDS treatment. We met some amazing people, a new generation of leaders for not only the continent, but for the world.

My goal in going on this trip was to listen closely and learn more about the fight against global poverty. And what I heard repeatedly was that as I’ve always believed, education has the power to lift individuals, communities and entire nations out of poverty. From a promising business idea to a woman pushing cultural boundaries to stand up and speak out, education has been the key.

Today, 72 million kids are out of school around the world, the majority of them girls. Without an education, they are almost certain to be trapped in a life of poverty and robbed of the knowledge of their basic human rights. Every year a child is out of school is a year they lose in literacy, in health, in opportunity.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Since 2000, because people like you and governments took action, 48 million more children are in school. And if we come together around this World Cup, we can do even more to put education front and center. Together with FIFA, leading players and fans around the world, we can use the power of this truly global game to ensure that education for all is a lasting impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We have a plan, we know how to beat this—all we need now is the will to make it happen.

Increased global education funding fights global poverty at the root, empowers girls and women, and promotes economic growth in poor countries around the world. And it’s a very smart investment: experts tell us that a girl will earn an additional 10% in income for every year of schooling she receives and be 50% less likely to become infected with HIV/AIDS. In Africa, children of mothers who receive five years of primary education are 40% more likely to live beyond the age of 5. It’s a proactive measure to avert many of the problems that plague developing countries.

More on Jessica´s experience, here.

To make a difference Join 1 Goal  and/or Join ONE

It´s Party Time!!

On Monday night Irish rock band U2 treated their friends and crew to and end of tour party at Bar None in Yaletown.

Bono, Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. hosted the event for crew and friends to celebrate the final show of the North American lef of the tour, which will be its last headlining gig until next year.

Adam Clayton was unable to attend the party due to the flu (Hope he gets on well soon!!!) , but U2 manager Paul McGuiness attended, as did CEO of global touring and chairman of global music for Live Nation Arthur Fogel and Craig Evans, U2 360 tour director.

Bono danced the night away with his crew and friends and was one of the last to leave (Sight to be seen!!!) The event went from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Bono and the others were very gracious hosts and mixed and mingled with the group of guests.

DJ Mateo was flown in from New York city to play at the event, and guests enjoyed Bar None’s cocktails and refreshments from Zen Japanese Restaurant and Culinary Capers Catering.

© Copyright (c) The Province

source:www.theprovince.com