U2 Landmarks in Dublin

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Source: Jaunted.com

In the Name of Love: Three Must-See U2 Landmarks in Dublin

Where: Dublin, Ireland

August 4, 2009 at 11:28 AM | by cmb

All this week, Jaunted contributor CMB will be giving us notes on her Dublin Field Trip. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know.

We mentioned last week that we had caught U2 at Croke Park in Dublin. Dublin is a mecca for U2 fans for obvious reasons---it is where the band formed, got their start and where most of the band's members still call home. Thus, the city is full of U2 landmarks. Here are our suggestions for the ones you can't miss.

Where to Stay:
The Clarence Hotel, 6-8 Wellington Quay, is the place to stay for U2 fans because it is owned by Bono and The Edge. The hotel is nice and the bar is popular, even with locals, but the stand out feature of The Clarence is the possibility of running into celebrities. When the band is in town they frequent the hotel for meetings and parties. It is also the place to stay for American celebrities in town doing press or filming. The hotel's prices are affordable too as standard rooms start around €179.

Where to Eat:
Nude, located at 21 Suffolk St in Temple Bar, is a must for U2 fans because it is owned by Bono’s brother, Norman Hewson. The restaurant specializes in wraps and salads made with organic ingredients. They also feature a variety of homemade soups like Thai Chicken and Mediterranean Tomatoes to warm you up on a damp Dublin day. Their prices are reasonable with a bowl of soup costing €4.75 and wraps at €4.50.

What to Do:
No U2 tour of Dublin is complete without signing the U2 Graffiti Wall at the band's studio on Hanover Quay. Fans from around the world visit the wall everyday leaving well wishes (and marriage proposals) to the guys in sharpie, paint and chalk.

The gate at Bono's house has also become a favorite tagging spot for U2 fans. Bono lives between the towns of Killiney and Dawkey, about 10 Miles from Dublin. If you are in Dalkey, follow the road down to the beach and you can't miss his house, its the one with "Bono, I Love You" scribbled all over the wooden gate.

U2 Gives Dublin 70 Million Dollars

Tweet From Irish Central:

U2 shows pump $70m into Ireland's economy

Hotels, bars restaurants report bumper earnings as fans flock to capital

By

KELLY FINCHAM

,

IrishCentral.Com Editor

Published Monday, July 27, 2009, 8:51 AM

Updated Monday, July 27, 2009, 10:07 AM

U2 have boosted the Irish economy by a whopping $70m with their three shows in Dublin this weekend.

Experts say the band's three sell-out shows at Croke Park pumped $70m into Ireland's faltering economy.

Restuarants, bars and hotels reported bumper earningas as fans flocked to the Irish capital to see the boys from Northside.

The concerts have electrified Ireland, so much so that Dublin Criminal Court was forced to cancel jury deliberations for the weekend because too many jurors had tickets.

The shows were also a critical success with rave reviews in Ireland.

Irish Times critic Tony Clayton-Lea said the band was simply unbeatable while Barry Egan from the Sunday Independent said only a begrudger would fault their performance.

They play the last of their triumphant three gigs in Ireland tonight before moving on to Gothenburg in Sweden.

The band will play their first American gig at a sold-out Soldier's Field in Chicago on September 11

The U.S. leg of the massive tour will see them perform in Chicago, Boston, NEw York, Houston, Washington, Charlottesville, Raleigh, Atlanta, Tampa, Dallas, Houston, Oklahoma, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

The band, which will wrap up the tour in Vancouver, Canada, on October 28, will have played an astonishing 44 shows since kicking off the 360 Tour in Barcelona on June 30.

U2 Refuses to Stagnate

Tweet Taken from The Irish Times online...here, and pasted below:

Adam Clayton and Edge managing to keep it fresh at Croke Park on Saturday night. Photograph: Arthur Carron/Collins

TONY CLAYTON-LEA

IT’S LIKE this: every four years, U2 return home from their travels, set up their inordinately large and mostly innovative tent, and sing for their supper. No more and no less, they are entertainers, a rock band of a certain mature age that have been schlepping around the globe for over 30 years.

You would think by this stage that we (by this, I mean the band’s die-hard fans, cynics, casual followers, staunchest critics, wry observers) would be weary of Adam Clayton’s studied stoicism, Edge’s adamant refusal to remove his skull cap, Larry’s cavalier, muscular way with a white T-shirt, Bono’s sincere humanistic nature. You would think that we would be tired of hearing, yet again, With or Without You, Where the Streets Have No Name, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Desire, Elevation and all the rest.

And you know what? Such is the nature of familiarity, we probably are fed up with U2. Yet still they continue to surprise and extend themselves. Cynics and arch critics of the band may start to yawn or laugh by this point ­ yes, we’re giving you permission – but there remains at the core of U2 an obvious if not obsessive necessity to weave change in and out of the fabric of their music and performance. Whether you’re a fan or not, after 30 years on the go this type of resistance to stagnate is beyond admirable.

Once you get over the impressive presence of the veined ‘Claw’ (which, due to the spatial dynamics of Croke Park, is more 270- than 360-degree), what you’re left with is just four blokes, an excellent sound system, some very large hi-tech screens, subtle and effective visuals and rock music that ranges from heritage to extraordinary.

The band bookend Friday night’s set with two of the best tracks from their, comparatively speaking, underperforming latest album, No Line On The Horizon: Breathe and Moment of Surrender . The title track, Get On Your Boots (the weakest single U2 has released to date) and Magnificent (aptly titled) follow, the latter picking up slack before belting into a triple whammy of Beautiful Day, Elevation and Desire. They follow this with a stripped down version of Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of , wherein Edge strums acoustic guitar and Bono sings as if there’s 80 in the room, not 80,000. And then Bono and the crowd launch into a rugged rendition of The Auld Triangle , which is dedicated to Ronnie Drew. People, there was not a dry eye in the house.

These songs and more (including One , The End of the World, The Unforgettable Fire, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Walk On, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Where the Streets have No Name , and Bad ) constitute a series of moments that result in a pin-sharp point of fact: there is no other rock band in the world capable of maintaining such a steady level of quality at such a high level of performance.

The downside to this is that we shall probably never again see U2 in venues small enough to see the whites of their eyes, a stance that seriously undermines their battle-cry ethos of ‘He Who Dares Wins’. On this particular grand, wham-bam-thank-you-maam scale, however – where four ordinary blokes perform in front of almost a quarter of a million people over three nights, where the music often matches the ambition, they are simply unbeatable.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times

U2: Dublin III

Tweet Welcome to the Dublin III post. As The Claw is taken apart, here is a quick recap with pics and vids, of an incredible night in Dublin.


U2 rehearsed I Will Follow, New Year's Day, Drowning Man and Electrical Storm today. New Year's Day made the list after Beautiful Day, and Bad was a nice addition after One to lead into the encore.

Follow me on twitter here,

SETLIST:

Breathe
No Line On The Horizon
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Beautiful Day
New Year's Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stay
Unknown Caller
Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (Remix)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride (In The Name of Love)
MLK
Walk On
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
Bad
--------
Ultraviolet
With Or Without You
Moment of Surrender


Great Bono pics here. From ShadesofBonoblog.com.


VIDEOS:

Intro/Breathe:


Magnificent:


Beautiful day:


New Year's Day:



I Still Haven't Found...


Stay:


Vertigo:


I'll Go Crazy (Remix)


Sunday Bloody Sunday:



Pride:



Streets:


Walk On:


Bad:



Ultraviolet:


With Or Without You:


Moment of Surrender:

Kansas City Review of U2 in Dublin

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From KansasCity.com

By SHAWN POGATCHNIK

Associated Press Writer

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.

The U2 gigs are delivering an estimated euro50 million ($70 million) boost to Ireland's recession-ravaged economy, with most Dublin hotels booked solid for weeks. Even the Dublin Criminal Court shut down jury deliberations for the weekend because too many jurors had U2 tickets.

Nonetheless, Ireland's descent into double-digit unemployment could be seen in the stands. Several thousand seats remained empty - the first non-sellout of a U2 gig in Dublin since 1980.

Irish safety laws also barred fans from the most hallowed end of Croke Park: standing-room-only concrete stands called Hill 16.

Hill 16 was built on rubble from Ireland's first, failed rebellion against British rule in 1916. Ireland won independence six years later, but not before British security forces made Hill 16 the most infamous killing ground of the conflict, shooting to death a dozen spectators and athletes at a Gaelic football match.

The day become known as Ireland's first Bloody Sunday, the inspiration for U2's 1983 anti-war anthem "Sunday Bloody Sunday."

"We're undefeatable!" Bono shouted. "Hill 16 right behind us. Out of the rubble of a revolution in 1916 they built a beautiful stadium, and more importantly they built a great country. And there is nothing we can't do if we believe in ourselves."

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.

Posted on Fri, Jul. 24, 2009 03:26 PM

U2 in Dublin: One Fan's perspective

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From Tonyfrattarolli.com

--

U2-Live Croke Park-The 360 Tour July ‘09

Posted by Tony F on Jul 25, 2009 in Uncategorized |

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A good friend of mine Peter Falahee and I made the trip to Dublin to see our favourite band U2. We were to be part of an electrically charged night filled with material from their new album “No Line On The Horizon” plus many classics dating back twenty five years.

Pete and I in front of The Claw

On entering Croke Park ones breath was taken away by the sheer size and scale of the “Claw”, the 360 degree stage set that was to be the centre of almost two and a half hours of raw energy and power.

At 8.39pm Joe O Herlihy, U2’s sound engineer, started the intro. Space Oddity by David Bowie. The place went mad and out from the back of Hill 16 walked Adam, Bono, Larry and the Edge. Larry quickly sat behind his silver Yamaha drums and started pounding the toms of the opening track “Breathe”. Croker was heaving and one thing U2 always seem to get right is their opening number. I have witnessed them many times before and they nail it every time. It sets the tone and mood of the gig. This was no exception. This was followed by “No Line, Get On Your Boots and Magnificent” all three from their new album. This took some balls to open a gig with four new tracks but showed how critically aclaimed “No Line On the Horizon” has become. Both Adam and The Edge made great use of the outer ring of the stage which brought them closer to the punters and which was to be the appeal of the 360 degree tour. Unfortunately because Hill 16 is not a seated area, the stage was not set in the middle of the pitch but what the heck, it was U2 and it was Rock n Roll at its best. One thing that was noticably missing from The Edge’s set up was his rack system with effects that resembled something from inside a Boeing 747. They all went for simplicity on stage and power in the songs.

“Beautiful Day” and “Elevation” had the fans going vertical. This from my seat in the Hogan Stand was an incredible sight and the goose bumps were rising. Bono’s voice is still as good as ever and continuously hits those high notes all the time. The true brilliance of any band is their ability to replicate live what they spend many hours recording in a studio. U2 do this to the letter of the law all the time. I was impressed by Bono’s lack of talking between songs. He did however welcome all out of towners to U2’s home, Dublin and made reference to Hill 16 which had the crowd in raptures.

Bono at his best

The Edge donned an acoustic guitar and started playing the opening chords of “Desire” which ironically was their first British No. 1. Himself and Bono did a beautiful acoustic version of “Stuck In A Moment” which had a personal rememberance for me. Bono then paid tribute to Ronnie Drew and slipped into “The Auld Traingle” which was quite impromtu. “One” and “End of The World” followed quickly.

The sound and lighting set was incredible. It was like something from “Close Encounters”. A 360 degree screen threw images of the band right to the back wall of Croke Park and as the evening fell darker the vibrant colours from The Claw lit up Croke Park like the biggest 4th of July fireworks display one has ever seen. The suspended PA system meant that Larrys drums were pounding into your chest like a steam train coming at you and this coupled with Adams thunderous bass lines. There were a few occasions when the vocal line got a bit lost but one would put this down to the logistics of the stage set.

Close Encounters

The classics were coming at us fast and furious. “One”, “End of The World” and “The Unforgettable Fire” a great song IMO took the crowd to a new level. The sky over Dublin had fallen conpletely dark and every now and again white spots would circle the venue and 80,000 heads could be seen for miles. After “City of Blinding Lights” Bono screamed “Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce” and off we went with “Vertigo”. A remix of “I’ll Go Crazy” had Larry don a conga, come from behind the kit and walk the circumfrence of the B-Stage playing intermitentally. It was like a rave and a great crowd pleaser.

We were now entering the final phase of the gig and when Larry started the military drum roll for “Sunday Bloody Sunday” spellbinding video footage of the Pro-Democracy protestors in Iran hit the giant screens. “Pride” and “MLK” followed before over fifty people wearing Aung San Suu Kyi masks walk on the stage for “Walk On”. Bishop Desmond Tutu makes a welcome appearance on the screen and my two U2 favourite songs of all time are played.

“Where The Streets Have No Name” and “Bad”. I have not heard “Bad” played for many a tour and the four lads leave the stage to the crowd singing part of “40″. “How long to sing this song”? The stage went into darkness before they reappeared for the encore.

The Milky Way

Bono asked Willie Williams to trun off the lights on stage and asked us all to turn on our mobile phones to create what he called “a milky way”.

“Ultraviolet”, “With or Without You” and “Moment of Surrender” were the final three tracks and brought everyone back down to earth after what was a roller coaster of a set.

The four lads applauded the crowd, embraced and congratulated each other before disappearing back into Hill 16 where they had come from some two and half hours previously.

We witnessed an incredible musical event. U2 performing in their home town, sounding better than ever and completely enjoying their music and their performances with each other. I have seen them well over fifteen times and continue to be blown away. They have the ability to re-invent themselves and create that bond with their audience which is quite difficult especially when standing in front of 80,000 people.

Ciao…..

T.

Irish Trial on pause because of U2

Tweet From the Irish Times:

Deliberations delayed by U2 concert

Deliberations in the trial of five men accused of involvement in a €2.28 million “tiger kidnapping” robbery will not begin until next week because several jurors have tickets for tonight’s U2 concert.

The jury of seven men and five women is expected to begin considering a verdict on Monday at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after Judge Tony Hunt ended proceedings early today, on day 56 of the fourteen week trial.

David Byrne (36) of Old Brazeel Way, Knocksedan, Swords; Niall Byrne (27), of Aughavanagh Road, Crumlin; Mark Farrelly (37), of Moatview Court, Priorswood; Christopher Corcoran (61), of Bayside Boulevard North, Sutton; and Jason Kavanagh (34), of Parslickstown Court, Ladyswell have all pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning the Richardson family on March 13th and 14th, 2005.

They also pleaded not guilty to robbing Ian Richardson and Securicor on the same date.

U2: Dublin I

Tweet Scroll down for the videos:

Image via Wikipedia

U2 Go Home again. Check out this amazing setlist and some great videos from an incredible first night in Dublin, where Bono says there is no better place to see U2 live.


Setlist:

Breathe
No Line On The Horizon
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Beautiful Day
Elevation
Desire
Stuck In A Moment
The Auld Triangle
One
Until The End Of The World
The Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding Lights
I'll Go Crazy (remix)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Pride
MLK
Walk On
Streets
Bad

Ultraviolet
With Or Without You
Moment of Surrender

VIDEOS: Thanks to U2gigs for the continued amazing footage, and also Jaime Rodriguez, a fellow U2ter of mine, for his front row, energetic and pure crazy videos:

Proof that something special was happening in Dublin:


Intro/Breathe:



Get On Your Boots:




Magnificent:


Elevation:


Desire:


Stuck In A Moment:


The Auld Triangle:



Until The End of The World:


The Unforgettable Fire:


City of Blinding Lights:


Vertigo:


I'll Go Crazy:


Sunday Bloody Sunday:


Streets:



Bad:


Ultraviolet:


With Or Without You:


Credit to the pic owners/takers can be seen when you click the pic to enlarge:

























Videos:

Hours from The Claw's Homecoming

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Taken from: Independent.ie

By Fiach Kelly

Wednesday July 22 2009

IT'S clearly a stage to grip the imagination.

U2's 'Claw' was beginning to make its mark on the north Dublin skyline yesterday ahead of the band's three concerts in Croke Park, the first of which takes place this Friday.

Crews of workmen, teams of cranes and legions of forklifts busied themselves on the Jones's Road pitch, which has been uprooted for the concerts, as the distinctive set began to take shape at GAA headquarters.

Although not yet complete, and without its distinctive wraparound video screen and inner and outer stages, the main stage almost reached above the main stands in the stadium, and looks certain to do so once its central 'antenna' is attached.

The figures are by now familiar: it's 50 metres high, weighs 390 tonnes, costs €100m and requires 180 trucks to move it from venue to venue.

It is also a triplet, and while one claw is being put through its paces by the band (as one was in Amsterdam last night), another is being constructed at a different venue and a third is being transported to a different venue again.

"The show itself is probably the most sophisticated show we've gone on the road with," the Edge said yesterday.

He told Gerry Ryan on RTE Radio that the latest 360 tour was all about breaking down barriers between the band and their audience.

"That sort of spirit and that wish to make a connection . . . because that's what this band has always attempted to do, to break down the barrier," he said.

"And this production is particularly helpful for us in doing that. A U2 show is really about creating that connection and, so far, that's been one of the real features of these shows -- that communal sense within the building."

He jokingly said they had been "playing a few warm-up shows before Dublin" that had been "terrifying but compelling".

Rehearsal

The band is not due to arrive in Dublin until Friday and they are not expected to go through a full rehearsal at Croke Park.

The build-up to the concert has not been entirely controversy-free, however, as some fans were disappointed that the full 360 show will not be put in full effect over the three Dublin dates. Hill 16, which forms a backdrop to the stage, will remain empty for the concerts.

Residents in the Croke Park area have also been angered by extensive late-night works at the stadium to get it ready.

Organisers MCD yesterday advised anyone heading to the concerts to use public transport and asked those driving to use city centre car parks.

- Fiach Kelly

Dublin: Hello Hello

Tweet Thanks to U2miracle.com and SalU2.com for these pics of The Claw being built in Croke Park, Dublin.

U2ters hopes rose about a changed seltist after Amsterdam II introduced Elevation, Until The End of The World, and Bad for the first time this tour, and moved One to much earlier, where it sounded VERY good. However, I'd expect the first night in Dublin to be the same "regular" setlist we've come to know. Changes should come in night two, and night three could potentially be a glorious setlist. Be sure to follow AllU2 on Twitter for Dublin I, as it happens live.





...and thanks again for stopping by and checking out my blog!