Today's Vertiforum Poll | Which San Diego show was better?

Which setlist was better between the two San Diego shows? Place your vote in the Vertiforum under the San Diego boards.

U2 Vertigo Tour Setlist 3.30.2005 // San Diego iPayOne Sports Arena

Main Set:

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo, Cry - The Electric Co.
Gloria
Beautiful Day
With or Without You
New Year's Day
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet the Blue Sky - Hands That Built America
Running to Stand Still
Zoo Station
The Fly
Elevation

Encore(s):

Pride
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
All Because Of You
Yahweh
40

Comments:

'Gloria' is played for the first time since the end of the Lovetown Tour in 1990. Bono invites a fan on stage before 'Miracle Drug' and asks the fan for Spanish lessons. Before 'One', Bono talks about Eddie Vedder, who grew up in the San Diego area and first played music here. Vedder is in attendance at tonight's show. Bono coins a new name for this tour's version of the 'heart' when he asks 'How we doing in the bomb shelter?' before 'Yahweh.'

setlist courtesy of u2tours.com

Visit a great gallery to see pics from night 1 @ San Diego...

If you want to know what it was like to be in the front row in the Ellipse at San Diego 1, check out the gallery here. There are some amazing shots of the first night's show.

How To Dismantle a BitTorrent Site...

Just add U2!

U2's San Diego opener was too much for popular bit torrent site 'The Trader's Den'. Shortly after the announcement of the 3.28 show, their servers crashed, forcing fans to go to sites such as easytree.org to download the show. Within hours of the show hitting the net, over 1,000 people had already downloaded it. This provides solid evidence that, without a doubt, U2 maintains the title of 'World's Greatest Rock Band', or at least the most downloaded one.

A Bright Idea.

There is some good information about the LED lighting system available at www.barco.com, the designer of the curtain lighting system being used for the Vertigo Tour shows. All visualization aspects of the show are designed, integrated & produced by Barco/Innovative Designs, and delivered by Barco's Rental Partner, XL Video.

It's Cold Outside, But It'll Get Hot In Here! Join Vertiforum Today!

If you're viewing this blog, you're undoubtedly a U2 fan. As such, we're inviting you to join The Vertiforum. We're a grassroots fan group not sponsored by Ticket companies and other corporate entities that conflict with the purpose of a fan forum. We're not trying to make a buck off those who visit. It's pure Vertigo, and anything else U2 that you want to talk about. No militant moderators here! Have fun and express yourself. Join www.vertiforum.com today!

Uno San Diego!

U2 is officially back on the road after kicking off their 2005 Vertigo Tour in San Diego's iPayOne Sports Arena last night. Our reports from fans coming back from the arena are somewhat mixed, yet unanimously enthusiastic about the inaugural show being an incredible experience. Some veteran fans were a bit disappointed at the new arrangements of songs such as 'Streets' turning into an African equality song having done away with the traditional red backdrop and replacing it, instead, with images of that continent's country flags. Bono said it best when, at the end of 'The Fly', he chanted "Change! Change! Change!" All fans spoken to commented that the crowd, as a whole, was absolutely deafening. Many of the traditional refrains sung by the fans were louder than ever and the energy was palpable as the band segued from 'Beautiful Day' to 'New Year's Day' and then made more intimate with effortless transitions between 'Miracle Drug' and 'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own'. Overall it was a solid performance and we can look forward to tomorrow night's setlist to see if any more old favorites are dusted off and given a shine.

U2's Global Community... The Vertiblog records biggest day ever.

We always find it interesting seeing where visitors to The Vertiblog are coming from. Yesterday was our biggest day since the site's inception in late January. With over 5,000 unique visitors, and almost 20,000 page views, we had a busy day yesterday all the way around. When the dust settled, the visitor traffic broke down as the graph above illustrates. Thanks again to DRay... for all of his hard work yesterday taking pictures from the GA line and giving The Vertiblog the scoop before anyone else.

U2 Vertigo Tour Setlist 3.28.2005 // San Diego iPayOne Sports Arena

City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Cry - The Electric Co.
An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart
Beautiful Day
New Year's Day
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet the Blue Sky / Hands That Built America
Running to Stand Still
Zoo Station
The Fly
Elevation

Encore(s):
Pride
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
All Because Of You
Yahweh
40

Comments:

Opening night of the Vertigo 2005 Tour begins with confetti falling around the full stage as Bono sings 'City of Blinding Lights' from out at the edge of the ellipse. He adds a bit of 'Stories for Boys' to 'Vertigo', and a bit of 'Blackbird' on the end of 'Beautiful Day.' Larry helps sing during 'Elevation' and plays keyboards during 'Yahweh.' The concert ends with a full version of '40' just like the '80s, with each band member leaving the stage separately and a brief drum solo ending the show.

setlist courtesy of: www.u2tours.com

ALL GA TICKETS WILL BE SCANNED | Computer to decide if GA tix holders will gain Oval Access...

Word from DRay is that all GA tickets are going to be scanned upon admission to the venue. We will continue to investigate the rumor of the 'beeping scanner' theory for admission to the Oval.

UPDATE: We are receiving word that there is, in fact, a scanning procedure in place that will either put GA ticket holders inside or outside the 'Eggclipse', as we've termed it (hey, it's been a long day!) We'll certainly hear more about this as the upcoming shows happen.

Preshow music | As it Happens...

Pink Floyd - Money
Beastie Boys - Check it Out
Smith's - Panic (changed from Hang the DJ as reported from the floor) thanks for notifying us.
Green Day - American Idiot

The Eggclipse! Thanks to DRay for all the hard work today!

Early pics of stage from side and floor.

Vertigo Tour General Admission line around 4pm local time...

More pictures from the GA line right before the doors open to the San Diego iPayOne Sports Arena.

t-minus 2 hours until doors open for fans...

We've got confirmation that chairs and other belongings were ordered removed from the GA line in preparation of fans entering the venue in approx. 2 hours. Doors will open at 6pm local time.

Tour info coming in... Vintage T-shirts $80-$90

Word from our team is that tour tshirts will be $35, 'vintage t-shirts' will be $80-$90 (not a typo), and that posters will be $10

Well, on the opening day of the Vertigo Tour, it looks as though the whole world IS watching. A quick look at our stats page tells us that a majority of U2 fans watching today's events unfold are actually coming from outside the United States. We'll continue to monitor trends as the day's events unfold.

U2.com presale line..

U2.com presale line
Our team on the ground is reporting, and I quote: Update - both lines will go in at same time, but u2.com line will move faster (less people). everyone has equal chance of being in egg

The dawn of A Beautiful Day..

Well it certainly is a beautiful day for San Diego fans who are lining up bright and early for today's Vertigo show. A member of our crew is currently in line and will be sending us pictures throughout the day. Stay tuned! Thanks goes out to DRay for all the hard work today.

Vertigo Tour Stage taking shape...

An early vid cap of the crew putting together the Vertigo Stage. We will post additional pictures throughout the day. note: The white boxes can be seen in the general area where the oval catwalk will be set up.

The Boys are Back in Town...

Adam Clayton at last night's LA Dress Rehearsal

Bono at last night's LA Dress Rehearsal

Edge at last night's LA Dress Rehearsal

11 o'clock tick tock... it's music to our ears

Well, we're just about 24 hours away from the first chords of the Vertigo Tour. As noted below, last night was one of the early dress rehearsals before the official tour opener in San Diego tomorrow. We'd like to wish everyone in the crew a great tour, and of course, we wish the band a year full of great shows and even greater memories. Keep checking here for candid tour pictures and tour commentary as we follow Vertigo around the globe. A member of our Vertiblog team will be on site for the tour opener and should be sending us some mobile pics from the venue.

Los Angeles Sports Arena | Full Dress Rehearsal

Tonight is the first Vertigo Tour dress rehearsal that is open to radio contest winners and industry executives. Taking place at Los Angeles' Sports Arena, we're expecting to hear first reports of official setlists and have pictures of the stage shortly after, if not during, the show. During the course of the tour, we'll be bringing you satellite imagery of each of the venues that they play as well as other points of interest relating to the band and their travels.

***SPOILER***

Setlist

City of Blinding Lights
The Electric Co.
An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart
Beautiful Day
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Elevation
Stuck in a Moment...
Yahweh
Bullet the Blue Sky
Running to Stand Still

(break for human rights video)

Zoo Station
The Fly
Vertigo

(break)

Pride
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
All Because of You
40

Song notes:

Larry plays keyboards during "Yahweh"during "Love and Peace or Else", Larry is at the edge of the egg when the song starts, playing drums there; during the middle of the song, he goes back to the main stage and drums from there, while Bono drums at the edge of the eggduring "Zoo Station", Edge is using a "Vertigo" guitar -- black with the red circles on it"Streets" does not have a red-colored background; flags of the countries on the African continent are shown behind the band instead"40" is performed as it was 20 years ago -- each band member leaves the stage one-at-a-time, and Larry ends the show with a brief drum solo

Stage notes:

very simple stage, clean - just Larry's drums, Edge's stuff, keyboards, and lots of room for Bono to move around3-level video screenmain stage is shaped like the "Vertigo" spiralsthe "egg" extends further out onto the floor than the Elevation "heart" didthere's no b-stage at the far end of the egg, but there is enough room for the band to play, just like on the Elevation Tour

March Madness.... U2 Style

Well, as much as we would have expected them to be on top, it looks like we need to help U2 get out of the basement on Esquire's 'The Best Band in the World' contest. Set up like a NCAA Final Four Bracket, users can navigate through the flash-based contest and pick their choice as the world's best musical group. Check it out here...

Buffalo U2 show will mark 25th Anniversary of John Lennon's Assassination...

Upstate New York has a lot of ties to U2's early history. U2 played one of their first-ever stateside gigs at a small bar in Albany, called 'JB Scott's'. U2 were also in Buffalo on 12.8.1980, the night that John Lennon was assassinated in front of The Dakota in NYC. During the Buffalo Elevation show on May 31, 2001, Bono made reference to the fact that they were in Buffalo the night Lennon was killed and paid homage by performing a moving solo version of 'In My Life'. What is interesting to note about the Vertigo Tour schedule is that the Buffalo concert date, 12.9.2005, is as close to the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's murder as can be. We can only Imagine that the setlist that night might have an extra Beatles song or two thrown in. We're trying to find out if this was intentionally scheduled to coincide with the anniversary or if it is simply a bit of Rock & Roll Helter Skelter. Remember, you read it here first!

Fans Going GA GA over Vertigo...

GA=General Admission

According to a recent poll on Mel's blog approximately 43% of die hard U2 fans were able to get coveted floor tickets for the upcoming Vertigo shows. While we would have liked to see a majority of fans having GA tickets in hand, it is good to know that scalpers did not hoard all of the tickets available. Our efforts to solicit a boycott in other fan forums such as interference.com and @u2.com to 'punish' scalper's on eBay was no match for the insatiable demand for the elusive U2 ticket, so we're reluctantly taking the position of endorsing eBay sales as long as the seller is a fellow fan and they have positive feedback, of course.

Announcing: Vertiblog's ATOMic Feed!

Well, we've received a few emails asking us to provide an XML feed for the blog (guess that means we're doing a good job!), so today we're announcing 'the Vertiblog ATOMic XML Feed', the official syndicated feed for Vertiblog. Add this link to your XML reader and you will be better able to follow the Vertiblog in addition to the other U2 related sites you frequent. We've had about 6,000 visitors since we started the blog a few weeks ago, so we'd like to thank you for your support.

Bulletproof the Blue Sky...

We were unaware of the apparent dangers facing the band during the Joshua Tree Tour when U2 were ardent supporters of honoring Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday with a US National holiday. During the recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Bono remembered three 'Kodak moments' with each of his bandmates. Edge was credited with his passion, Larry was credited with his integrity, and the most moving comments were what Bono had to say about Adam. Adam, who we've always considered laid back and sometimes (albeit reluctantly) indifferent, really demonstrated his commitment to the band unbeknownst to the fans in attendance at one of their early JT shows. Bono said it best during his speech:

"Third Kodak moment: 1987, somewhere in the south. We'd been campaigning for Dr. King -- for his birthday to be a national holiday. In Arizona they're saying 'no,' and we'd been campaigning very, very hard for Dr. King. Some people don't like it. Some people get very annoyed. Some people want to kill the singer. Some people are taken very seriously by the FBI. They tell us that we shouldn't play the gig because tonight his life is at risk and must not go on the stage. The singer laughs. The singer pffts, you know. Of course, we're playing the gig! Of course, we go on stage! And I'm standing there singing "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and got to the third verse. I close my eyes. I know I'm excited about meeting my maker -- but maybe not tonight. I don't really want to meet my maker tonight. I closed my eyes and when I look up, I see Adam Clayton standing in front of me, holding his bass like only Adam Clayton can hold his bass. And, yeah, there's people in this room who tell you they'll take a bullet for you, but Adam Clayton would have taken a bullet for me -- and I guess that's what it's like to be in a truly great rock and roll band."

It was an eye opener to realize that on any given night, depending on various information the band receives, that there may be a lot more going on on stage than a U2 concert.

KFOG 104.5 San Francisco | U2 Contest

Well we've been fans of KFOG in San Francisco for a long time (they have one of the best free radio streams online...) and we don't think it's a coincidence that their logo is in the shape of an oval. They are having a contest and the details were mentioned in a recent email to the Vertiblog crew:

U2 Rehearsal - Listen and Win!
We've got a pair of tickets for a U2 dress rehearsal before their tour opens, Saturday, March 26, LA Sports Arena. Trip for 2 includes airfare, hotel, and passes for this special performance only. Wanna go? Just listen to KFOG this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 4 and 7pm. When you hear a U2 tune, just be caller 9 at 1-800-300-KFOG and you win a U2's new CD and qualify for the grand prize, the trip to LA.

Stuck in a Moment...

Congrats!

Bono celebrates during last night's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at NYC's Waldorf Astoria Hotel Ballroom.

The band played: Until the End of the World, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Pride (in the name of love), and Vertigo.

Another stage design from Somewhere in Middle America...

Here is yet another seating diagram from the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska with the most detailed stage set-up yet. The original image did not have any type of Oval extending into the GA section, so we superimposed a dashed line to depict what the final stage might look like.

MSG is the place to be...

Wow. Wow. Wow. Vertibloggers were amazed at how fast the general sale tickets to the 3rd leg MSG shows went today. In a matter of minutes, the three shows that were slated for general sale sold out, and as two more additional dates were added, those also were snapped up in minutes. Many U2 fans are wondering exactly how many fans are, in fact, getting tickets. It is a general consensus that brokers have an inside track to getting tickets and grab as many as they can to sell at inflated rates. Some fans, at least those in New York, are calling for the state's Attorney General to step in and investigate exactly how the TIcketmaster program works.

And while many U2 fans would disagree, it may simply be a matter of demand outrunning supply. Contrary to popular belief, MSG only holds approximately 19,522 people (x 7 shows = 136,654) in a city with a population itself totalling 7+ million. NYC fans alone would have a hard time getting tickets, let alone a global population of U2 fans dreaming of seeing the biggest band in the world play in what MSG calls itself, "The World's Most Famous Arena'. The Vertiblog crew is happy to say that we'll be there!

The good news is that Billboard is reporting that 2 additional shows for November 21 & 22 have been confirmed and will go on sale @ 9am ET on March 21st.

(photo courtesy of Henry Wagner Photography)

One way you can help...

Wear the White Band!

Wear the white band and show your support for the ONE Campaign and the fight against global AIDS and poverty. Worn by teachers, doctors, and homemakers. You've seen them in the pages of People and US Weekly on your favorite stars, get your band now! The white bands are part of a global effort to make poverty history. You can get ONE here.

Welcome to the HSBC 'Pleasuredome'....

Well, the Pleasuredome these Vertibloggers remember wouldn't be an appropriate place to have a U2 concert, but it is looking like our hunch was right and that Ticketmaster will be handling the presale for Buffalo Vertigo at the HSBC Arena. There has been widespread speculation that Tickets.com, the regular ticket vendor for the HSBC Arena would handle both the presale and general sale, however the above screen capture shows that Ticketmaster is readying itself for presale activity. It is our guess that because the HSBC Arena is not in Ticketmaster's system as a regular venue that they made up the 'Pleasuredome' moniker as a way to get around the Tickets.com contracted arrangement with the venue.

Winging Buffalo?

We are still trying to pin down details for those of you who are seeking information regarding the Buffalo show on 12/9/05. From all preliminary information, the best we can tell is that presale will be handled through Ticketmaster and the regular sale will be handled through HSBC Arena's ticketing vendor, Tickets.com. Sources are telling us that Ticketmaster has certain rights that guarantee them first chance to offer pre-sale tickets.

Vertiblog staff emailed Tickets.com and we basically got a canned email response that said:

As of this time we do not have any information as to when those tickets will be going on sale. If you would like you may keep checking back with us either by checking our website http://www.tickets.com/ or you may call our call center 800-225-2277. Thank you for visiting Tickets.com.

Divina
Consumer Support

Our feeling is that with all the confusion surrounding the use of a presale code that it would make sense to keep Ticketmaster's database of codes intact and not try to migrate information to Tickets.com. We will stay on it and as the situation clears up we will be the first to post it here.

More stage designs emerging...

Well, yet another Vertigo stage has emerged and while we certainly cannot verify that this is official, we sure hope it's close.

3rd Leg Presale Anti-Scalper measures are in place

Per Ticketmaster, delivery of Vertigo Tour tickets will be delayed until membership can be verified. Exact note on Ticketmaster site reads as follows:

DELIVERY OF ALL TICKETS WILL BE DELAYED ONE WEEK FROM PURCHASE TO VERIFY MEMBER STANDING

It looks as though they are really trying to ensure that all fans who want to see the shows this fall do not have to go through the corrupted brokering houses that gouge fans on eBay.

3rd Leg Presale Schedule

PRESALE SCHEDULE:
**Registered Propaganda Members Presale Begins: Tuesday, 03/08/05 10AM local
**U2.com Members: Unused Codes Presale Begins: Wednesday, 03/09/05 10AM local

3rd Leg Tour Dates Announced

Well, the Vertiblog crew is back in action after a move to a new office, and we're pleased to provide you with the 2005 Vertigo Tour Leg 3 tour dates:

12th September Toronto - Air Canada Centre
14th September Toronto - Air Canada Centre
20th September Chicago - United Center
21st September Chicago - United Center
23rd September Minneapolis - Target Center
25th September Milwaukee - Bradley Center
03rd October Boston - Fleet Center
04th October Boston - Fleet Center
07th October New York - Madison Square Garden
08th October New York - Madison Square Garden
10th October New York - Madison Square Garden
16th October Philadelphia - Wachovia Center
17th October Philadelphia - Wachovia Center
19th October Washington - DC MCI Center
20th October Washington - DC MCI Center
22nd October Pittsburgh - Mellon Arena
24th October Detroit - Palace of Auburn Hills
28th October Houston - Toyota Center
29th October Dallas - American Airlines Arena
01st November Los Angeles - Staples Center
02nd November Los Angeles - Staples Center
13th November Miami - American Airlines Arena
16th November Tampa - St. Pete Times Forum
18th November Atlanta - Philips Arena25th November Ottawa - Corel Centre
26th November Montreal - Bell Centre
07th December Hartford - Civic Center
09th December Buffalo - HSBC Arena
10th December Cleveland - Gund Arena
14th December St. Louis - Savvis Center
15th December Omaha - Qwest Center
17th December Salt Lake City - Delta Center
19th December Portland - Rose Garden