U2 Concert Photos

mikeB · Post by **mikeB** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:03 am

I took my daughter and my Olympus 1030 WS to the U2 concert. We were pretty far up but the presentation was such that everone had a pretty good view of the stage and the 360 degree live screen. I think the folks on the field, especially those in the inner circle closest to the stage, paid in the hundreds of dollars for their tickets. We were in the cheap ($30.00) seats. We had a great time and I was amazed at the cultural diversity of the crowd. The band members often walked out on the outer circle as they performed. The ramps moved like clock hands around the perimeter.

Dustin · Post by **Dustin** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:05 am

That's quite an elaborate setup!

DaveR · Post by **DaveR** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:09 am

"cultural diversity"?

Hatch · Post by **Hatch** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 9:02 am

Very Cool! Dad/daughter date night. I remember those very fondly!

mikeB · Post by **mikeB** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:18 am

"cultural diversity"?

Lots of different nationalities, saw several folks waving flags from who knows where, folks from India in front of us, folks from England behind us, Latinos next to us. A real mixed bag of people.

mudfish · Post by **mudfish** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:45 am

Great pics Mike. Your daughter is a cutie.

I heard that 80% of ticket holders were from out of town, makes sense considering how big U2 are that you'd have such a diverse crowd. Wonder where the Irish folks were.

On a side note. I also saw on the news the Bucs got a new field of turf out of this paid by the band. $75,000 worth. Pocket change for them I'm sure. Gives them something/someone else to blame now,

Todd · Post by **Todd** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:26 pm

teamshaft3 wrote:On a side note. I also saw on the news the Bucs got a new field of turf out of this paid by the band. $75,000 worth.

Off topic but...

"When do we hit the break-even point? We haven't hit it yet," McGuinness told Billboard, the American music trade publication last week. "But we will between now and the end of this leg. Not exactly gravy, because whether we're playing or not, the overhead is about $750,000 daily."

With more than 120 trucks transporting three stages that cost $40m to build and up to 500 staff on the payroll, U2's tour is being touted as the most expensive rock 'n' roll expedition ever mounted.

The band expects to clock up 70,000 miles jetting around the world by the time the two-year tour concludes in 2010.

"That overhead is just to have the crew on payroll, to rent the trucks, all that," said McGuinness. "There's about 200 trucks. Each [of the three stages require] 37 trucks. And then the universal production is another 50-odd trucks, and there are merchandise trucks and catering trucks."

These expenses do not include the construction cost of the band's 150 ft. spaceship-like stage, known as "the claw." Three of these custom-built claws, each containing a 54-tonne, cylindrical video screen, are being hauled around America.

justabucup · Post by **justabucup** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 12:56 pm

Todd wrote:
"When do we hit the break-even point? We haven't hit it yet," McGuinness told Billboard, the American music trade publication last week. "But we will between now and the end of this leg. Not exactly gravy, because whether we're playing or not, the overhead is about $750,000 daily." I wonder how many children in Africa could be saved if they got this money

With more than 120 trucks transporting three stages that cost $40m to build and up to 500 staff on the payroll, U2's tour is being touted as the most expensive rock 'n' roll expedition ever mounted. I wonder if they used union labor to consturct these stages

The band expects to clock up 70,000 miles jetting around the world by the time the two-year tour concludes in 2010. I wonder what the carbon footprint of this is

"That overhead is just to have the crew on payroll, to rent the trucks, all that," said McGuinness. "There's about 200 trucks. Each [of the three stages require] 37 trucks. And then the universal production is another 50-odd trucks, and there are merchandise trucks and catering trucks." I wonder if the merchandise is lead free and made by child labor law safe vendors

These expenses do not include the construction cost of the band's 150 ft. spaceship-like stage, known as "the claw." Three of these custom-built claws, each containing a 54-tonne, cylindrical video screen, are being hauled around America.

mudfish · Post by **mudfish** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 1:36 pm

Interesting points Buc. If Bono is as "Earth" conscientious as he makes himself out to be, a portion of U2's earnings would make a sweet donation to many of these causes.

Guess that still remains to be seen or reported.

John · Post by **John** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 3:00 pm

Bono and U2 donate Millions every year, and have set up and fund numerous trusts throughout the world.

Why should they use union labor, that's a crock of shit.

I'm pretty confident that they are very aware of the carbon footprint and offsetting it best they can. without earning money they can't donate money?

Easy to pick holes in them, but just as easy to pick at any other rock band.

justabucup · Post by **justabucup** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:10 pm

As a matter of fact I applaud this group and feel they do not get as much recognition as thhat they should in some respects. The thing I do not like is the bobbying for funds from goverments. Charity should be an individuals decsion not having a politician offer the funds from their constituents pockets. (disclaimer: I do believe in funds for natural disasters but not decades of funding)

John · Post by **John** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:58 pm

Bollocks!

Mark R · Post by **Mark R** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:30 pm

John wrote:
Why should they use union labor, that's a crock of shit.

They do, they have no choice in the arenas. It's local crews or no crews.

mikeB · Post by **mikeB** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:24 pm

Nevermind the Bollocks, Heres the Sex Pistols

What are bollocks?

Rik · Post by **Rik** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:52 pm

Bollocks

A highly flexible term commonly used by the English.

1. something rubbish
2. a falsehood or series of lies
3. something great
4. the best possible
5. testicles
6. exclamation on making a error.

with contradicting meanings, no wonder they call it flexible.