U2's latest 360° Tour has taken the extravagant stage show thing to a whole new level of absurdity. Just when you thought it couldn't get any more elaborate than the Zoo TV or Pop Mart tours, they go ahead and plop down this massive, 164-foot tall, four-legged, steel, space monster, nicknamed "the claw," smack dab in the middle of your local football stadium.
This monstrosity downright humbles some of the other enormous stage shows of recent years, such as the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang, and Genesis' Turn It On Again tours, and essentially proclaims, "we'll fit both of your measly stage shows together inside of OURS". As over-the-top as this getup may be, it is quite magnificent nonetheless - and this here concert fanatic definitely appreciates the effort.
U2 360° At The Rose Bowl was my first foray into Blu-ray territory, and it looks like there is no turning back now. The additional expense of Blu-ray over DVD is still a bit difficult to swallow, but the upgrades in audio and video quality are well worth the expense. I am accepting donations, however, to upgrade my existing 400-plus concert DVD collection to Blu-ray.
Touring in support of their Grammy-nominated (huh?) album No Line On The Horizon, U2 kicked off their 360 world tour on June 30, 2009 in Barcelona, Spain. The tour is actually still ongoing but was temporarily postponed due to a back injury Bono sustained during preparation for the North American third leg of the tour. The October 25th, Pasadena, CA, Rose Bowl performance filmed for this video was the band's biggest ever US show, with a audience exceeding 97,000 people.
The 23-song setlist was a bit of a disappointment for me, mainly because it focused on the new NLOTH album so much, which I found to be one of the band's weaker efforts. It didn't help that they kicked off with the dreadful "Get On Your Boots" either, although they actually opened all of the shows with "Breathe," and then, for whatever reason, relegated this performance to the bonus features. They follow with "Magnificent," which is one of the better songs from NLOTH, and eventually play four more songs from that album before the night is through.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Welcome to the world of Blu-ray, Paul. The format is awesome for music fans, especially with a good surround system. Check out my Rhapsody in Blu feature for some recommendations/upgrades for your collection.
Not being a fan of the album and unimpressed by what I saw when the concert was aired on YouTube I am going to pass on this disc though. Hopefully some of their older concert releases will get worthy upgrades.
2 - Paul Roy
Thanks El Bicho. I am already a fan of your Rhapsody In Blu feature. If you already saw the concert on YouTube I wouldn't bother with the DVD/Blu-ray especially if you are not that crazy about the new stuff. You have to see this stage show one way or another though.
3 - Songbird
I was actually very lucky to see the 360 tour at Wembley Stadium, and I was disappointed by the DVD. I see what they have tried to do, to create a more intimate fell, but what you missed out on is the big stadium spectacle.