U2 reveal what’s ahead for Australia at their first New Zealand concert
As U2 opened their Joshua Tree tour in Auckland, they revealed their some of their setlist coming to Australia, and hope it’d be one of those “epic rock and roll nights”. READ THE REVIEW
Music
Don't miss out on the headlines from Music. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Only musicians know the spell to shrink a stadium concert into an intimate communal experience between a band and tens of thousands of fans and U2 have been masters of that magic for decades now.
As they opened the long-awaited Antipodean leg of their Joshua Tree tour in Auckland on Friday, they appeared to conjure the spirit of their youth.
The four young men who conquered the world with that seminal record more than three decades ago are middle-aged men who have never been keen to dwell in their exalted past.
But with anniversary tours the new black of the live music industry, U2 have embraced the opportunity to marry the nostalgia of the Joshua Tree with their unparalleled expertise in concert technology.
Simply put, the Joshua Tree tour may be the most mind-blowing visual musical spectacular you will get to experience this year.
It is a three act production, opening with the fan-thrilling prequel set on the “Tree stage” in the middle of the floor.
For every U2 fan in New Zealand and Australia, any concert which starts with the beloved quartet of Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year’s Day, Bad and Pride (In the Name of Love) immediately forgives them for always making us wait so long between tours.
“Our prayer is tonight will be one of those epic rock and roll nights,” Bono says as the crowd swell in voice.
The second act begins with the band walking up the runway to take their positions in front of the Biggest Concert Video Wall Ever.
They are dwarfed in stature by its sheer enormity and the compelling travelogue of visuals created by their longtime collaborator Anton Corbijn.
Yet Bono’s strength and nuance of voice rises to match the might of their own technological concert monster as The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr lock into a masterful U2 sonic groove which has been finely honed over three weeks of secret rehearsals in New Zealand.
MORE NEWS
U2 Australian Tour: What you need to know
Why Australia loves U2 so much
Noel Gallagher: Why I don’t jam with U2 and Bono
During the relatively faithful rendition of the Joshua Tree record there were inevitable ebbs and flows of energy – albums are rarely designed to be a continuous live set.
But the master conductors of U2 led by ringmaster Bono quickly restored the vibe in Act Three, as they return to the smaller stage extending into the crowd to play “what came next” which was Angel of Harlem.
A brief backstage break and top-hatted Bono and his bandmates returned to launch into a greatest hits of sorts encore presenting their most recent decades – Elevation, Vertigo, Even Better Than The Real Thing, Beauitful Day and Every Breaking Wave, a song started in New Zealand, partly recorded in Sydney and finally finished for the Songs of Innocence record.
Young girls in high waisted jeans revived from the 80s sang their hearts out alongside middle aged men in their original 80s denim as further testament to this Irish quartet’s appeal across the generations.
Be warned U2 will be mixing up the setlist for Act 1 and Act 3 at each gig on the Australian tour so be prepared for the supergroup to be rotating through their enviable catalogue over their six stadium shows which kick off on Tuesday at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
Originally published as U2 reveal what’s ahead for Australia at their first New Zealand concert