Even the biggest concert of the year acknowledged the sombre mood of the nation.

U2’s Bono said the band felt privileged to be here especially at a time when hearts were aching and so raw.

Struggling for the right words to convey his condolences for the people of Greymouth, he said: “People deal with grief in all sorts of ways. In Ireland, we sing”.

Bono then launched into “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”.

The names of the 29 mining victims scrolled across the screen as the band played “One Tree Hill”, a song penned for New Zealander Greg Carroll who was the band’s roadie.

Opening act Jay-Z also paid a rap tribute to the miners saying “they will always be in our hearts and they will always be forever young.”

The start of the 4^th leg of the 360 Tour has begun in Auckland. The show was 4 years later after rehearsing a couple of days to shake off the holiday the boys arrived ready to play.

The setlist featured the debut of One Tree Hill and Scarlet Earlier Bono talked about the Pike River mine disaster with all 29 names displayed on the screen. Scarlet’s performance was the first of the October album leaving POP to be out so far.  Pretty much the setlist remained the same as most of the tour a couple of changes and positioning.