U2 Blast Off In Toronto

Rogers Centre

Toronto, ON

on Sep 16 2009

Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

09/17/2009 3:27pm

It's probably safe to say anyone who attended U2's first of two nights at Toronto's Rogers Centre as part of their U2 360 Tour will never have a sensory experience like that again.

After Snow Patrol warmed the crowd up bored the crowd with a medley of hits from their three most recent albums, singer Bono, guitarist The Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. took the stage just as the sun had set.

But before they even bounded on stage it was clear this wasn't going to be your average stadium rock show. The Rogers Centre dome was open for the second time in the building's history (Bruce Springsteen's Sept. 10, 2003 show there is the only other time the dome has been open during a concert) and U2's "claw" stage structure, which looked like it could morph into a Transformer at any second, dominated the entire venue.

The unconventional and innovative, BlackBerry-designed U2 360 stage is structured in a mind-bending way. The main stage area is circular, and three bridges — two of which can move — connect to another circular riser that's out in the middle of the crowd. When the band cross the bridges and stand on this riser, it looks like they're standing on top of the crowd.

The "claw" also features incredibly trippy wraparound screens that's really an intersecting set of pieces (think chain mail) that can separate and provide one hell of a light show. Mullen, Jr.'s drum platform also rotates 360 degrees.

U2 ran through No Line On The Horizon's "Breathe" and its title track before the bridges on either side of the stage began moving and the band played "Get On Your Boots" and "Magnificient" on the riser.

A rendition of All That You Can't Leave Behind's "Beautiful Day," which was mashed up with Elvis Costello's "Alison" followed before Bono introduced his bandmates and called Clayton a "sexual predator" (he didn't mean it the way you think he did).

An amazing singalong followed during The Joshua Tree's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" before the band got nearly everyone in the floor section jumping up and down during "Elevation."

At this point, Bono declared the show had achieved "lift-off" and images from the International Space Station and its commander appeared on the screen for "Your Blue Room."

But things became truly mind-bending during "City Of Blinding Lights." The wraparound screens began separating into tiny pieces and flashing multiple colours while the lights on all four legs of the "claw" flashed red. At one incredibly well-timed moment, the lights on the CN Tower flashed red and began shooting up and down on its elevator shaft. It was unlike anything this reporter has ever seen.

"Vertigo" followed before a really weird, electronic version of "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" in which Mullen, Jr. played bongos.

Of course, it wouldn't be a U2 show without heavy-handed political imagery, and photos of protests in Iran appeared on the screens and all the lights appropriately turned green during "Sunday Bloody Sunday."

Bono took the time to dedicate "Walk On," which ended their set, to Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically-elected leader of Burma who has been under house arrest by the country's ruling military junta for 14 of the last 20 years. A group of people took the stage carrying masks of Suu Kyi's face.

Two encores followed, but before the band came back on stage, images of anti-apartheid activist Archibishop Desmond Tutu promoting the ONE campaign appeared on screen. Appropriately, the band ran through "One" and an impromptu version of "Amazing Grace" before concluding their set with "Where The Streets Have No Name," "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)," "With Or Without You" and "Moment Of Surrender."

With the 360 Tour's ridiculous (in a good way) stage and fancypants flashy imagery, it could have been very easy for U2 to hide behind technology. At times, it did seem like the stage was putting on more of a show than the band. This wasn't any kind of harkening back to the PopMart Tour, mind — no giant lemons graced this stage — and musically, U2 were nothing but spot on.

But at times it became apparent that Bono can't exactly hit the notes he used to in his youth. The now 49-year-old singer seemed to be singing much lower than he used to on "Where The Streets Have No Name," "One" and "With Or Without You." That's a small criticism, however, as one can't control how the aging process affects one's voice.

If anything, this showed how much thought U2 put into their stage show and why they're still one of the world's most engaging live acts. While their most recent material might not be top quality, the band haven't lost their live chops.

Here is what Snow Patrol played:

"If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It"
"Final Straw"
"Hands Open"
"Shut Your Eyes"
"Run"
"Chasing Cars"
"Crack The Shutters"
"Open Your Eyes"
"You're All I Have"

Here's U2's setlist:

"Breathe"
"No Line On The Horizon"
"Get On Your Boots"
"Magnificent"
"Beautiful Day"/"Alison"
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
"Elevation"
"Your Blue Room"
"Unknown Caller"
"Until The End Of The World"
"Stay (Far Away, So Close)"
"City Of Blinding Lights"
"Vertigo"/"Pump It Up"
"I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
"MLK"
"Walk On"

First Encore:
"One"
"Amazing Grace"
"Where The Streets Have No Name"

Second Encore:
"Ultraviolet (Light My Way)"
"With Or Without You"
"Moment Of Surrender"

To view a gallery of shots taken of the show, click HERE.