Nick Walker Capsures U2's Passion

One Frame At A Time

We have thousands of requests that come into us weekly about wanting access to shoot a U2 concert. Some of them start out like this, “ We are such big fans of U2” Others start out like this “Can we please meet the band” or something like this, "I take pictures all the time and I am really good at it"  Sometimes you get a one diamond in the ruff and we are lucky to have Nick Walker on our team. His images will ignite the passion of evening and take you back to that U2 experience.  

Concert photography is nothing like you would think. Its not glamorous, no catering is provided and the chance of actually meeting the band stands somewhere between “no” and “HELL NO” and do something stupid like walk away from your handler and find yourself outside the venue with your camera in your hand.

Shooting for a major tour is not as easy is walking in with your pocket camera and shooting what ever you want.  Most bands like U2 limit the shot. First three songs, or maybe first and last three. 

Sometimes its one and done. U2 has always allowed fans to bring their cameras into the show. Our photographers arrive early and stay late to get that memory captured. Capture that feeling and do it quickly before you lose your shot that's what most editors say. Images are complex and full of passion this requires more understanding of what the band will do and will not do. Example if you know that "The Edge" never walks during the first song you can move your focus over to Adam and vice verse.

To be a U2TOURFANS concert photographer you have to understand that your job no matter what you personally want to do. GET THE SHOT! That is all that is asked of you. The process is to become part of the team starts with our team looking at your past work. If you say your fan, we automatically push your application to our special file.  

We have some great photographers on the team like Nick Walker “An enigmatic aura to my otherwise existential ethos of normalcy. It was not discovered until my twenties; I wanted to photograph the beauty of the world, the harshness of its reality, the people and the places affected by its events, and I wanted write about it all. My lone want is infinite desire.”  Nick has been part of the team since The 360 Tour. He images have been viewed/downloaded over 10M times.  Nick provided some great shots from the Denver 1 and II show that surely will amaze you.

How do you become a photographer for U2TOURFANS? Do not ask us, show us your work and we may consider having you join our team.

No Rapture Just a Mile High with U2

Denver was ready for the show, ready for about a year since Bono hurt his back. GA Line was pretty long, yet tickets still seemed to be available. We’ll skip the opening act, which from all tweets and facebook comments was better than good. They should have been earlier in the week the group had a chance to play a private show, nothing of course like U2’s private show.

Where else would you be in Denver on Saturday evening, 70 thousand plus fans packed in Invesco Stadium to U2 back to the USA. The boys took the stage about 8:45 p.m local time. The crowd was on its feet.  After a day of tailgating, music was in the air, beer flowing, and Memphis Mullen was somewhere out with the crowds.  For the next 2 hours it was all about U2, and the crowds shouted BONO, THE EDGE, CLAYTON and MULLEN! The wave took over the stadium and lift off!

The stage was massive as reported before.  The idea worked the larger the stage the closer everyone felt to the boys from Ireland.  The group like no other group out on tour today owns the stadium show

The show kicked off with a very passionate “Even Better Than the Real Thing” filtered into “I Will Follow,” leading into a pummeling “Get On Your Boots.” “Boots” with The Edge whaling away the party officially kicked into high gear

Bono drew the crowd in closer to kick up and off “Elevation, and the crowd joined in with “All That You Can’t Leave Behind. From up top of the stadium “Beautiful Day” was amazing. “ Walk On” a tribute to peace campaigns and offers hope to the crowd expecting the world to end.

“Sunday Bloody Sunday” a classic rock anthem, which lead into “Where The Streets Have No Name” the rest of the evening was note perfect and the evening was worth the wait. Bono is back and the boys are ready to take on the US this summer with the largest tour out on the road.

So what happened Harold Camping? I guess the rapture missed us? Bono dedicated “Until the End aof The World to Harry (ok we should show Campie some respect)

Bono said “ To be taken up to the air, sounds like fun to me, just as long as Larry Mullen is with me” kind of sermon “ God is in the house”

Something pretty crazy started to happen. Bono standing on the bridge started shaking and spazzing with the group playing an instrumental breakout, could that be Bono’s way of simulation of what the rapture would look and feel like, with some lighting and video?

U2 fans left the stadium entertained, and the boys left feeling like they are back! Outside its America,  and we came to rock you.  Now its time to move on to Salt Lake City -

Before we move on the BIG Red trucks load up and out - Big Shout out to Upstaging ! 

 

Rare Treat For U2 Fans

U2 has kicked off their US and Canada dates with a great warm up and a bit more than a normal sound check -

300 or so guest and participants in the Special Olympics were inside Invesco Field (Denver) for a intimate show. Kids from Grandview Highschool will attend a dress rehearsal of U2 360. The three participate in a special education spirit programme organised by the Special Olympics in Colorado.

Tonight’s dress rehearsal will be the first time the teenagers have seen U2 in concert and they were pretty excited to meet U2 and have their picture with The Claw. U2 performed at the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics in 2003.

This is third time the band have opened up a dress rehearsal to participants of the Special Olympics and other invited guests - with previous events taking place in Brussels and Barcelona.

The boys did have a rehearsal that inclludes

Magnificent, Miss Sarajevo, Zooropa, and City Of Blinding Lights

Whille this may not be considered a show they did play their full set list for the guests as some lucky GA fans listened.  Set list has been updated

 

 

U2 360 Tour Returns to North America Tomorrow Night!

/PRNewswire/ — Following three sold-out shows at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, U2 360 will make its much anticipated return to North America this summer for 22 shows across 20 cities, kicking off tomorrow - May 21 at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado.

Ahead of tomorrow night’s show in Denver, the Edge discusses what U2 fans can expect from the band’s return in the attached video link which also includes highlights from the tour.    

For low resolution viewing and on-line use, as well as a high broadcast link, please go to: http://media.u2.com/rmpphoto/360/video/U2360TOURRETURNS.mov

U2 360 opened on June 30, 2009 in Barcelona, Spain arriving in North America on September 12, 2009 at Soldier Field, Chicago for 20 dates across 16 cities. This summer U2 360 will play 18 new cities across the U.S. and Canada before finishing up in Moncton, New Brunswick on July 30. The North American tour dates will feature a variety of popular supporting artists including The Fray, Lenny Kravitz, Florence and the Machine, Interpol, and Arcade Fire.

U2 360 has already set the record for the most successful tour of all time, having thus far played to over 5 million people across Europe, Russia, North America, South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. By the tour end on July 30, more than 7 million people will have seen this revolutionary production with 110 shows in 30 countries across five continents.

 

U2 360  TOUR NORTH AMERICA:





May 21  Denver, CO Invesco Field at Mile High The Fray
May 24  Salt Lake City, UT Rice Eccles Stadium The Fray
May 29  Winnipeg, MN Canad Inns Stadium The Fray





June 01  Edmonton, AB Commonwealth Stadium The Fray
June 04  Seattle, WA Qwest Field Lenny Kravitz
June 07     Oakland, CA *Overstock.com Coliseum Lenny Kravitz / Moonalice


(*formerly Oakland Alameda County Coliseum)
June 17 Anaheim, CA Angel Stadium Lenny Kravitz
June 18  Anaheim, CA Angel Stadium Lenny Kravitz
June 22  Baltimore, MD M&T Bank Stadium Florence and The Machine
*June 24   Glastonbury, UK The Glastonbury Festival Multi-Artist
June 26  East Lansing, MI Spartan Stadium Florence and The Machine
June 29  Miami, FL Sun Life Stadium Florence and The Machine





July 02  Nashville, TN Vanderbilt Stadium Florence and The Machine
July 05 Chicago, IL Soldier Field Interpol
July 08 Montreal, QC Hippodrome de Montreal Interpol
July 09 Montreal, QC Hippodrome de Montreal Interpol
July 11 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre Interpol
July 14 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field Interpol
July 17 St. Louis, MO Busch Stadium Interpol
July 20 East Rutherford, NJ New Meadowlands Stadium Interpol
July 23 Minneapolis, MN TCF Bank Stadium Interpol
July 26 Pittsburgh, PA Heinz Field Interpol
July 30 Moncton, NB Magnetic Hill Music Festival Arcade Fire / Carney

SOURCE Live Nation

  U2 tickets at TicketsNow

 

Denver Ready ?

The trucks are all parked and the crew is working on the finishing touches for Saturdays show. Which we have posted all the details on what, where and when so check that out. Memphis Mullen was spotted last night, we are still looking for someone to snap a photo with her and send it to us. Of course we would like it if we saw our name around town.  In case you have not been a U2TOURFANS member for long here is an update of what is needed to make this show happen.

- A Small Army: U2’s 360° Tour travels with 132 technicians for every show, in addition to 30 staging people and 47 truck drivers.

- Extensive Staging: The entire production typically takes nine days to pull off: one day for production, one day to lay the custom flooring, four days to build the stage and two days to tear it down, in addition to the actual show.

- It All Starts In Denver: The Mile High City is the first stop of U2’s current North American tour.

- Supersized: 360° has the largest and heaviest video screen ever to tour; it weighs nearly sixty tons

- The Object of the Claw: The idea was to create same sort of in-the-round vibe with 360 as they did in the arenas on their last tour, while also creating a certain intimacy in a stadium environment. “Their idea,” said Jake Berry, Production Director of the 360° Tour, of architect Mark Fisher and show director Willie Williams’s original concept, “was that if we build something big, we’ll make the stadium look small. So if you make the stadium look small, then you get the more feeling of intimacy, and it brings the crowd closer to the band. That was how it started it off, and The Claw was just the name that it got as we dragged it around the world.”

- Big Tour, Big Goals: “We’re going to try to get more people in the stadium than the Broncos,” said Berry, pointing out that 80,000 people are expected. “That’s our aim. I bet we succeeded, actually. If we can outsell the Broncos, we’ll be pretty good. Also on this tour we’ve outsold the Pope in East Rutherford, New Jersey. We’ve broken some pretty big records. This is will probably be the biggest ever to tour. I don’t think anybody can tour with a show this size again.”

 

Video by Mahala Gaylord.

U2 Invesco Field Daily News

StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, is launching the Take Off Your Boots campaign to collect shoes for the charity Soles4Souls, and giving away tickets to the U2 360ˇ Tour to those who participate. StubHub, with the help of Hard Rock Cafe, is kicking off its series of events in Denver on Friday. At least 150 pairs of tickets to the May 21 U2 concert will be given away that day to those who donate. There is a limit of one pair of U2 tickets per person donating a pair of new or gently used shoes, while supplies last. Soles4Souls, a Nashville-based charity, collects shoes and distributes them to people in need. Since 2005, it has given more than 13 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes to people in over 125 countries. The event takes place from 3-6 p.m. at Hard Rock Cafe Denver, 500 16th Street Mall.

Memphis Mullen Due to arrive in Denver on 19th and will be attending the Hard Rock event. Catch up and grab a sticker from her -

Twitpic We are looking for some Denver fans to shoot, snap and post - U2TOURFANS.2011@twitpic.com

Under a Blood Red Sky  is an acclaimed U2 tribute band that passionately recreates authentic U2 concerts. Covering the War tour in 1983 to present day, each show has amazed fans with their ability to recreate famous U2 shows and has solidified their reputation for sold out venues - including the world-famous Red Rocks!

Billy Bunting had been a rabid U2 fan since he saw the band in New Haven, CT in 1981. Billy never forgot Bono climbing up to the balcony of this old theatre singing at the top of his lungs and thought, “I want to do that!” From that point forward, Billy immersed himself in U2 music and that event helped shape Billy as a singer. After 20+ years as professional musicians, Billy and Jerry Bousquet returned to their roots and formed UABRS. UABRS got its start by recreating the legendary 1983 “Live at Red Rocks” concert on New Year’s Eve 2005 at a sold out show at the Paramount Theater in Denver, CO. It went over huge!!! The fans were taken back to that foggy June 5th evening and ended the night by singing the refrain from “40” as the band left the stage. It was EXACTLY like Red Rocks and Billy “Bono”, Ted “The Tedge”, Todd “Adam” and Jerry “Larry” have never looked back – providing fans the best U2 experience this side of Dublin!!

Not only does UABRS play and sound like U2, their amazing attention to detail creates a visual experience that the most ardent U2 fan would recognize. UABRS makes every effort to replicate wardrobe, stage props, video/audio choreography, instruments and equipment from many famous U2 concerts around the world.

UABRS is the ONLY U2 tribute band to ever play Red Rocks amphitheater. Fans reminisced at the sold-out venue as the band recreated the ultimate U2 experience not seen or heard since June 1983. The music of U2 echoed off the walls of Red Rocks with over 9,000 fans chanting the lyrics of great U2 songs such as With or Without You, Pride (In the Name of Love), and Sunday Bloody Sunday.

Check out the show and this video -

Hello USA, We are back

U2 heads to Denver later this week. As the boys take a couple of days down and rest up for what is sure to be this summers must see tour, U2 crews have arrived in Denver to setup the stage and reset from last years sudden stop of the tour due to Bono’s back related issues.

“This tour truly is history in the making on a wide range of levels, and U2 will roll into the record books in style,” Waddell says.( Billboard Senior Tour Editor)

The expectations are running high, however this tour has been around the USA once already so most have an idea of what to expect. The only difference is the set list for music selections. 

We have been working to collect a list of fan meet ups, parties and just over all details of the shows ahead. One item that came into the editors desk was about GA policy - Take a look at the info and as far as suggestions we will post some ideas later in the week. We want to hear from you ! Are you attending a show ? If so which one and how many? Provide us some photos and look for the U2TOURFANS car which is out right now heading to Denver -

Adiós México "You have given us a good life"

Adiós México nos has dado una buena vida

MEXICO CITY, May 16 .- The hybrid spacecraft and time machine that U2 named as The Claw (The Claw) rose, as the title of Elevation sentence, one of his most popular songs, the euphoria over 100 000 passengers who yesterday gathered at the Estadio Azteca to say goodbye to the Irish band in their third and last concert in Mexico in the starting phase of its North American tour of its 360 ° Tour.

Bono (vocals), The Edge (guitar), Adam Clayton (bass) and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums) manned the mammoth structure along a little over two hours of a journey through their hits, their classic tracks and some compositions of his latest album No Line On The Horizon.



Given a field bleachers filled and the Colossus of Santa Ursula loyal fans packed alignment Dublin, Bono and company embarked on a musical recorrdido its history, which began in 1976 and to date has become the rock group largest gathering in the face of the Earth that has made their current tour the most successful of all time, earning an estimated $ 700 million.

Prior to the performance of the group Snow Patrol opening act, as he did last Wednesday and on Saturday, far exceeded expectations, U2 came out to the tune introductory Space Oddity by David Bowie to play Even Better Than The Real Thing from his acclaimed album Achtung Baby! which this year celebrates 20 years of its appearance.

With the public on the stock since the beginning of his show, the quartet demonstrated that falls short of its lavish trappings as it did the day before, made some variations in the setlist to include songs such as New Year’s Day, Pride (In The Name Of Love) All I Want Is You “and” Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me.

Except these minor adjustments, the huge machinery of U2 hows work in his two previous concerts with the desired response of a given audience participatory start to finish that marked both the sensory and surround sound experience in his background as a successful implementation and to peace speeches by Bono, alluding to the sale of U.S. arms to Mexico’s northern border for drug trafficking.

After his first and only encore that included One, Amazing Grace, Where the Streets Have No Name, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, With Or Without You “and” Moment of Surrender, Bono and his “cronies” as he singer summoned his bandmates, they said goodbye to the jubilation of his followers and the desire for a new visit to a consensual bands and more power convcatoria the country.