Videos are in and available for viewng, Thanks everyone today is another concert day, more postings to follow
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK (AP)
Bono and U2 rocked more than 80,000 fans in Dublin as the Irish supergroup's latest world tour hit new emotional highs Friday night on home soil.
A deafening roar welcomed the Dubliners as they launched their three-concert homestand at Croke Park, Ireland's biggest stadium and a cathedral to Irish nationalism. The band's "360" tour — featuring its underselling 12th studio album, "No Line on the Horizon" — switches from Europe to North America in September.
"We are so young — as a nation!" shouted the 49-year-old lead singer Bono.
Crowds braced for downpours threw their raincoats aside as an unexpected sunset gave way to a starry Dublin night.
All of the "360" concerts feature a stunning feat of engineering: the four-taloned "Claw" stage. The 390-ton, green cabana stands more than 10 stories above the band as they strut through the crowds on moving bridges and a ring-shaped stage with concertgoers inside and out.
The U2 touring juggernaut deploys three "Claws" — each costing euro100 million ($140 million) and capable of holding up more than 150 tons of lighting, pyrotechnics and giant TV screens — that are continually being assembled and disassembled in different concert locations.
Before taking the stage, Bono joked that the band's performances in Barcelona, Milan, Paris, Nice, Berlin and Amsterdam were just "rehearsals" for the Dublin concerts.
And in front of a crowd waving flags from as far away as Brazil and Japan, Bono said tens of thousands had traveled worldwide to Dublin. "You know the best place to see U2 live is right here," he said to cheers.
High school students Paul "Bono" Hewson, guitarist Dave "The Edge" Evans, drummer Larry Mullen and bassist Adam Clayton came together to form U2 in Dublin 33 years ago.