“Dag Amsterdam”

Now that Donal’s gone home to get some well-deserved rest and prepare for Dublin, I’ll take this opportunity to give you my impression of the two nights in Amsterdam. Actually, I’ll stop right here, ‘cause I could just suffice with one word: WOW!

Just kidding, I’ll give some more details .

I’ve been to a few U2 shows, but so far I hadn’t been in the inner circle yet, so this time I was determined to make it happen. We got to the queue at 9:30, by which time there were already a few hundred people. There was a numbering system and I had number 376. Not too bad, so there was time for some relaxing in the sun.

Unfortunately, the sound quality in the Arena is quite bad. This year, many Dutch fans even lobbied with U2’s management and asked them to skip the Arena and go for the Feyenoord stadium. Alas, it didn’t help. Reasons were that the Feyenoord stadium wasn’t available for the desired dates and the Arena has the largest crowd capacity.

So we had to make do with the Arena, and from the spot I had (inner circle, Adam’s side) it was at times painfully obvious how bad the echoing was. Especially when Bono was talking I could only hear about half of what he said.

But it wasn’t all bad – on to the show.

I don’t think “Breathe” is the best opener there is (the pace isn’t right I think), but in itself, it’s a good song, so I’m not complaining.

“No Line On The Horizon” is one of my favourite tracks on the new album, so I was very pleased that it was performed, but the song didn’t soar as much as I would have expected.

“Get On Your Boots” rocked and Bono did his best to impress us with his dancing, while it was good to see Larry singing during the “Let me in the sound” part.

“Magnificent”, “Beautiful Day” and “Mysterious Ways” were great, and during “I Still Haven’t Found” the audience sang a large part of the song, with Bono obviously enjoying it and encouraging us.

After that, it was time for “Angel of Harlem”, dedicated to Michael Jackson again. Bono’s snippet of “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough” continues to amaze me, the way he cranks out that falsetto of his is quite impressive.

“Unkown Caller” was a great new live song, but the highlight for me was “The Unforgettable Fire” because it’s one of my favourite songs and I’d never heard it live. The lowered video screen and the red and yellow lighting filling the screen and stadium worked very well with this song.

“City Of Blinding Lights” and “Vertigo” rocked like they should, with everyone belting out the “Uno! Dos! Tres! Catorce!” at the top of their voices.

The images on the screen during the “Crazy” remix cracked me up, it was quite comical seeing the band members’ faces next to each other, so I just hope that was intentionally funny. Larry walking all over the outer catwalk playing the djemba looked good, and he actually looked like he was enjoying himself, something which is not so obvious during the rest of the show because he’s always concentrating so hard.

A few songs later, MLK was played, and it blended perfectly into “Walk On”. I had a look around me, and like me, most people held up Aung San Suu Kyi’s mask instead of putting it on.

“Streets” and “One” were moving, as always, and I’m glad the red glow during “Streets” is back, like when I first saw it on TV in “Rattle & Hum” when I just got into U2.

“Ultraviolet” was a bit of a mix for me. The laser suit is impressive, but very strange and I’m not too sure about Bono’s playing with the steering wheel microphone. The vocals were very good however, so that made up for the rest. Bono’s voice sounded powerful and compelling.

The closing song, “Moment of Surrender”, sounded great live. I know it’s a song that is ultimately about hope, but it still makes me sad when I hear it, so for me it wasn’t the best song to end the show. Before the concerts, the Dutch fanclub asked everyone to print out signs saying “40” and hold them up during the last song to see if the band would play it. Bono noticed our plea and indulged us with a few rounds of “How long to sing this song”, with the audience joining in of course. That was a good finish!

Amsterdam 2

In most respects, the second show was even better than the first. I had a better spot (inner circle, in the middle right below the speakers, whereas I stood on Adam’s side during the first night) and the sound was better, possibly just because of my own place in the stadium. I could see more of the stage and the video screen, plus I got to see more of Edge, Larry and Bono.

It did seem as if the band used the bridges less on the second night, or maybe that’s just my impression. At one point one of the bridges stopped right over my head and Edge and Adam both walked over it. That was surreal, Edge and Adam walking all over me!

“Beautiful Day” ended with an homage to Amsterdam and after that it was time for the first of a few surprises: “Elevation”. Not the best version I’ve ever heard, but certainly enough to get people jumping, clapping and singing.

After that, I was delighted to hear “Stuck in a Moment” with Edge’s beautiful falsetto at the end. It was rather surprising that “One” was next, and even more of a surprise when “Until the End of the World” was started. Great song, great performance. Bono demonstrated he could still climb very well as he lay down on one of the bridge railings and reached for soap bubbles flying in the air during the lyrics “I reached out to the one I tried to destroy.” Nice dramatic touch!

During “Sunday Bloody Sunday” there were some more explicit images of the Iranian protests. It fit the song well, but the green lighting was something my conditioned mind couldn’t really connect to the song (yet), even though I knew it had to do with the Iranian flag. When I think of SBS, it’s mostly red, black and white that pop into my head, not green. Green is most often a positive colour, so its usage here was interestingly alienating.

After “Streets”, Bono lay down on his back, and I remember wondering what song would come now. Imagine my surprise and delight when I realized it was “Bad”! Such an amazing song, and one I’d heard live only once before. During the day, we did hear it in the sound check but I never actually thought it would really be played at the show. Thank you U2! Bono snuck in a snippet of “40” again, at the start of the song, while lying down. During the sequence of “separation, condemnation” etc., I noticed Larry briefly looking a bit tense at Bono, as if to ask, “How many words are you going to sing?” It went alright though, and Bono ended the song with another snippet of “40”.

During the two shows, Bono said a few sentences in Dutch, thanking everyone for being there, and saying “This is our last night in Amsterdam” the second night. At those times he always reminds me of a self-conscious kid, shyly trying to impress his teacher and then feeling relieved and proud when he’s done. And we understand what he says, so his pronunciation isn’t that bad .

The whole stage setup is brilliant and completely immersed me into the experience. The moving bridges are a great way of letting more people see the band from up close and giving Edge, Adam and Bono freedom of movement. At times it felt like a game: “Where’s Adam? Where’s Bono? Ah, I see a spotlight! Somewhere at the other end of the stage… let’s check the video screen then.”

U2 really excelled at their trademark live asset: turning a huge stadium into an intimate setting. It was an incredible sight, looking around the stadium and seeing all the lights people were holding up during “One” and “Moment of Surrender”. At my first show 12 years ago, they were cigarette lighters, now they’re mostly phones, but it’s as effective as ever, giving me goose bumps and chills down my spine.

Despite some sound problems, they were two unforgettable nights!

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