Early this morning U2 announced concert dates for the first leg of their tour only a week after releasing their new album, No Line On The Horizon. So far they have only listed three States-side dates: Chicago, Boston, and New York (also Toronto), but they will soon be announcing more dates starting in September for cities like Atlanta; Dallas; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Norman, OK; Phoenix; Tampa; Washington, D.C.; Vancouver; and…wait for it…Charlottesville, VA! I am so going to this concert. Full tour date listing and more tour details below.
U2’s 360° Stage
They are calling it the “U2 360° Tour” because the stage will be moved toward the center of the stadium, allowing 360° seating around the stage. As Bono told Rolling Stone,
“We’re going outdoors to try to meet that audience…We want to play for each other as much as we want to play for the crowd this time,” Bono adds. “You just don’t know how long you will be going to be doing this. I just sat everyone down the other day, because some concerns about the tour had come up, and nobody wants to be away from their families. I just said, ‘This is an unbelievable and rare opportunity to be in this band and to play at this level. You don’t know what is around the corner, you don’t know if you will be up for it or the audience will be up for it. Right now, we are perfectly riding across those two thoughts and every single night should be the best night of your life. If not, then we are just the worst of those Seventies dinosaur bands that felt it was enough to just turn up and play and that people were lucky to be in their presence.’ ”
I’ve got goosebumps.
Here are some screengrabs from U2.com of what the stage will look like. Scroll down further for the announced dates.
U2 360° Tour Dates
| DATE | VENUE | CITY | COUNTRY | |
| 30 June 2009 | Camp Nou | Barcelona | ES | |
| 07 July 2009 | San Siro | Milan | IT | |
| 11 July 2009 | Stade De France | Paris | FR | |
| 15 July 2009 | Parc des Sports Charles Ehrmann | Nice | FR | |
| 18 July 2009 | Olympic Stadium | Berlin | DE | |
| 20 July 2009 | Arena | Amsterdam | NL | |
| 24 July 2009 | Croke Park | Dublin | IE | |
| 31 July 2009 | Ullevi Stadium | Gothenburg | SE | |
| 06 August 2009 | Slaski Stadium | Chorzow | PL | |
| 10 August 2009 | Stadium Makimir | Zagreb | HR | |
| 14 August 2009 | Wembley Stadium | London | GB | |
| 18 August 2009 | Hampden Park | Glasgow | GB | |
| 20 August 2009 | Don Valley Stadium | Sheffield | GB | |
| 22 August 2009 | Millenium Stadium | Cardiff | Wal. | GB |
| 12 September 2009 | Soldier Field | Chicago | IL | US |
| 16 September 2009 | Rogers Centre | Toronto | ON | CA |
| 20 September 2009 | Gilette Stadium | Boston | MA | US |
| 24 September 2009 | Giants Stadium | New York | NY | US |
Been listening to this one a lot, pretty much the whole way through.
This novel was published after the Chilean-Mexican author's death, and I'm not even sure if it was entirely finished or not. It is broken up into five parts which, while connected, stand pretty much on there own. I have not yet made it to the grim part about the murders of hundreds of women in Mexico, so I have so far found it enjoyable and even funny despite some dark underpinnings. It's had a ton of critical praise, and I like it much more than my last foray into the violent novel genre: Blood Meridian.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The stage looks pretty scary, don’t you think? Like a big claw that will scoop up the people in the good seats. Serves them right, I guess. What are your thoughts on the album? I bought it last week but haven’t had time to sit down and give it a good listen, though I’m planning to soon with a blog to follow…
Now that you mention it, it does look like something from a death metal concert. I like that the band is right in middle with no background or anything. I think it will make it feel more intimate.
I’ve been meaning to post my thoughts on the new album, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I have been listening to it, though, and I do really like it. It’s been growing on me more and more with each listen.
I’ll look forward to hearing what you think about it once you give it a good listen.
OK, also, clearly I didn’t scroll down far enough or something, because I thought Charlottesville was wishful thinking and you had just included it in a list of other likely cities. Nope! There it is on the website! Hot damn! That will be super badass! And probably way more intimate than stadium shows in larger cities… because how big is y’all’s stadium? Score one for you! Maybe I’ll come see them there if the timing is right…
Also, I feel I should thank you again for getting married right before Pearl Jam played D.C. That concert changed my life. I owe you big time.
I don’t blame you – it’s kind of unbelievable. I’m pretty sure it must of been part of that exclusive deal U2 did with Live Nation a while back (Live Nation is based in Crozet, VA which is 20 minutes from C’ville).
And yes, I was supremely excited when I found out. I knew I was going to try to go where ever the nearest venue happened to be, but it will make it all the more special.
According to Wikipedia, the official capacity of Scott Stadium is 61,500. That’s bigger than I would have thought, but, then again, I have no concept for stadium sizes. The Georgia Dome holds only 10,000 more. Of course, being a stadium tour all the venues are probably bigger than the arenas they otherwise would have played in.
You should think about coming if you don’t go to the Atlanta show.
Hi i am so excited i am gioing to see U2 both shows in Toronto, Ontario.
The first show i have Vip first row . They say i have excellent view of the stage and i am able to see the band rotate. I don’t know what that means.
Anyways i can’t wait for September for these 2 shows.
I am a die hard fan of U2 forver