The U2 concert previously scheduled for FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25th, 2009 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey has been moved to WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD, 2009. The performance on Thursday, September 24th will proceed as scheduled.

The change was necessitated by the rescheduling of the New York Jets football game on Sunday September 27, 2009 from 4:15pm to 1pm out of respect for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which starts that evening. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year.
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IT was one of the most eagerly anticipated gigs of the year.

And for 70,000 fans, it delivered on every count.

When U2 rolled into Cardiff last night for the last leg of their European 360 Degree Tour, they blew the audience away.

Taking centre stage and most of the audience’s breath away in the Millennium Stadium was the £20m set dubbed The Claw – which towered over the main circular stage.

As the iconic front man Bono emerged last night, clad in black and wearing his trademark sunglasses, the crowd erupted with delight.

The almost capacity 70,000 audience made it a record-breaking attendance for any gig at the stadium, outselling Take That’s 64,000 audience earlier this year.

After opening with Breathe, from the new album No Line on the Horizon, the band treated fans to a mix of their many hits from the last three decades and new songs from their latest CD.

Highlights included Beautiful Day, Mysterious Ways, Vertigo, Pride and One, as well as newer stand out songs, Get On Your Boots, Crazy Tonight and Magnificent.

Homage was also paid to The Edge’s Welsh roots, with Bono confessing to having once had singing lessons from the guitarist’s father, Garvin Evans.

“He told me to look after the consonants and the vowels will look after themselves,” Bono told the crowd, who lapped up his every word.

The Edge, whose family were in the Cardiff crowd, received a rapturous applause simply by saying “Cymru Am Byth”, before the band launched into I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For while the adoring masses sang along.

Of course, no U2 gig would be complete without a political message of democracy and freedom, and this was no exception.

The band dedicated their tracks Walk On and MLK to imprisoned Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu gave an uplifting video message before the song One.

Fans hailed the gig as possibly the greatest spectacle seen in the stadium’s 10 year history.

Martin Howarth, 25, from Swansea, said: “I’ve seen the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the stadium and the Rolling Stones but U2 were much better.

“They get such a mixed crowd because they have been going for so long. Some people knew all the words of the old stuff and others only knew the recent albums.

“You have to give them credit and say they are one of the best live bands in the world.

“I would definitely go back and see them again if they came to Cardiff.”

Lloyd James, 24, from Swansea, said: “It was unbelievable. I have never seen a gig like it before.

“The sound was fantastic and the stage looked immense.

“I’ve been to some pretty special rugby games in the Millennium Stadium before but the atmosphere was something totally different to those.

“It’s the best gig Cardiff’s ever had.”

Read more at WalesOnline

- WalesOnline.co.uk

U2 guitarist the Edge has paid tribute to late guitar pioneer Les Paul in a message posted on the Irish band’s official website.

Referring to Paul as “a legend of the guitar and a true renaissance man”, the 48 year-old is a long time Les Paul guitar user.

He said: “Les Paul disproves the cliche that you can only be famous for one thing. His legacy as a musician and inventor will live on”.

The Edge – real name David Evans -  went on to conclude that Paul’s “influence on Rock and Roll will never be forgotten.”

Les Paul, who died in New York yesterday from complications after suffering from pneumonia, is also known as the inventor of the multi-track recording technique.

- Gigwise

The record for the biggest audience at Wembley Stadium was broken when U2 performed there last night.

More than 88,000 people attended the gig, breaking the record held by Foo Fighters, who appeared in front of 83,000 fans last year.

The extra capacity for U2 was made possible by a 64ft-high stage, the tallest in the world, called The Claw.

The four-legged, crab-like construction ensured that there was more room for fans.

Frontman Bono said: ‘The Claw means more people can fit into the shows and everyone will be closer to the action.’

Show director Willie Williams, who developed the solid steel contraption, added: ‘It’s a really amazing spectacle – when you are on stage all you can see is people.’

U2’s tour has seen the group perform at a number of outdoor venues, including Barcelona and Zagreb.

- Daily Mail

Croatian U2 fans are calling on all those who will attend the group’s concert on 10 August to use balloons to welcome the Irish band.

The idea’s initiator, U2Croatia.net website forum, said today (Fri) the idea was to make an Irish flag across the whole stadium with the balloons.

Everyone should bring one balloon to the concert. All those in the west stands should have green balloons, those in the north and south stands and on the pitch white balloons and those in the eastern stands orange balloons.

The balloons should be prepared but not tied before U2 takes the stage.

During the first song, people should hold the balloons in the air and then release them when the song ends.

- Croatian Times

NEW YORK, Aug. 8 (UPI) — The Irish rock band U2 grossed more than $100 million in the first 13 shows of its 360 Degrees tour, box office totals show.

Billboard.com reported Friday the “With or Without You” rockers grossed $28.8 million of their total during three shows at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, in late July.

The profitable Dublin performances allowed U2 to post the fourth-highest recorded gross for a performance run at a single location.

The U2 performances were narrowly edged out for third by the 1999 Woodstock festival, while the Spice Girls’ 2008 performances at London’s O2 Arena held second overall with $33.8 million in earnings.

Tops on the single gross concert
list was U.S. singer Bruce Springsteen, who raked in $38.6 million at Giants Stadium in New York in 2003.

Billboard.com said Springsteen and U2, along with pop star Madonna, are the only touring musical acts to have exceeded $100 million in overall ticket sales so far in 2009.

- UPI