Surely it's better than the opposite, which the Telegraph managed to avoid this time. Neil McCormick was there, all right (according to him, rubbing shoulders with Robert "Iron Man" Downey, which was presumably rather painful), but they commissioned someone who seems to have been at some remove from the House of Claw to report on the gig. As a result, the review was, for once, just a 3-star "meh" job, instead of the OMG-gushfest that we've become so accustomed to.

U2 have defended the environmental impact of their touring, after David Byrne called their shows "excessive".

The Edge told 6 Music: "It's unfair to single out rock & roll. There's many other things in the same category. As it happens, we do have a programme to offset our carbon footprint."

He added: "We'd love to have some alternative to big trucks ferrying it all around, but there just isn't one."

but the Independent have hit the nail on the head. it completely sums up my experience of Friday. Aside from unforgettable fire, where the streets have no name and ultra violet this was a truly awful show with a set list seemingly made from sticking a pin in a list of songs made mainly from the last 10 years, a run as barren in quality as the stones output of the last 20 years. Thanking Richard Curtis, the people of Britain's generosity, the speech of Desmond Tutu, the Burmese lecture, the obligatory joe strummer reference all contributed to a feeling of being deeply patronised. Having seen them on Joshua Tree, Pop and All that you can't tours I feel that now the band is creatively bankrupt and are merely hiding their woeful musical show behind an ever increasingly 'spectacular' stage set. Bono's performance was shocking, his voice is not what it was, and the promise ' that something special was going to happen tonight' definitely didn't materialise and doubt it ever will as I'm sure he'll repeat to stadiums all over the world over the next 2 years.

Apparently they had difficulties shifting all the tickets for the London shows.

was as full as I've ever seen a show of that size. Not an empty seat in the stadium.
Forgot to mention the relentless 'blackberry loves u2' sponsorship. Of course it does.

from the Quietus review - 'One wonders if these are the last days of U2’s relevance as giants. If U2 was a blockbuster Hollywood movie, this felt like the sixth or seventh sequel (with the cast and director losing interest). Diminishing returns, and that. To come back in a different form may liberate them.'
http://thequietus.com/articles/02498-u2-live-under-a-slate-grey-sky-chri...

U2 used to be a band who had a capacity to confound expectation coupled with an ability to use spectacle and grandeur to deliver music and message to a mass audience. Now they just simply lack substance and context. They're all smoke and mirrors, all Bono's mouth and no sequinned Mephisto trousers. There is nothing tangible about them anymore. You try and grasp hold of some creative content but your hand is slapped back by relentless marketing, state-of-the-art packaging and small but beautiful hand-held devices that used to be called a phone. They're a lifestyle choice, not a band.

I can never work out what constitutes a big crowd at Wembley because all the unallocated seating people go and stand on the pitch.

It would be interesting to see a big band just turn up and play without all the Stadium Spectacle. Even AC/DC, surely the most pared-down band there is, has a few inflatables and walkways into the crowd. Kylie Unplugged without the costume changes? Madge actually singing?

some substance would be even better.

What were Elbow like? Can't imagine seeing them in somewhere like that playing to someone elses pissed up crowd

I saw the Joshua Tree tour in a relatively small indoor venue (3-4000) and it was dreadful; bombastic and dull - although I admit to being there primarily to see support Lou Reed. Zooropa in 1993 was stunning, in that it seemed a perfect balance of staging and substance - I felt then that they would never be as good again and nothing I have seen subsequently (on TV admittedly)has persuaded me otherwise.

stadia?

that's where my problem lies, I'd never go a 'massif' gig again

last outdoor one was The Who/Streetwalkers/SAHB/Little Feat/Widowmaker/Outlaws at 'the Holy Ground - once more, fine girl ye are!' in 1974
indoor was Metallica on their 'Snakepit' (94?) tour at the SECC, they were crap, the vibe was pish
I had seen them previously at the same venue on a really hot Glasgow day, same venue on the '11 and a half year Anniversary' tour and that was a great night out.

But, I like to see my bands up close and personal, not miles away on a screen I'm far too old for a mosh pit as well.

I agree the recent material is weaker than the last album and not a patch on the old classic U2 stuff.

They're a big band so of course they're going to splash out a bit and lay on a spectacle for the kids. Its showbiz after all.

I was at Wembley and the only bit of it that disappointed me was having to listen to three tracks from the new (rather unimpressive) album in the first 15 minutes; maybe they decided to get them out of the way first. As for Bono's voice it was fine from where I was sitting (actually standing like everyone else for a sing-along).

Larry Mullen said around the time of Achtung Baby that U2's best years were ahead of them. He was probably right in terms of the global impact their music has made since 1991 and the fact that they have almost become a brand like Coca Cola and Microsoft.

But no band can get away with all that for long unless they can play live and what you have here are a bunch of Irish guys who rewrote the rock'nroll textbook and launched a new style of political/art/progressive rock with a wonderful unique guitar, drums and bass sound topped with a soaring almost gospel vocal style. I have a feeling that package is going to sell records and move audiences for a long time yet.

what can U2 expect but sniffy responses? They are the ultimate joke that just isn't funny anymore. Who is it that can possibly take Bono seriously? The man is insufferable, I cannot think of anyone else who doesn't practice what he preaches like Bono he truly sees himself as some deity above the rest of us. Normal rules do not apply, enviromentalism, distribution of wealth, the need for muscial talent? "No dey don't mean me I'm Bono"

Worst of all he completely lifted "Get On Your Boots" from "Pump It Up" by Elvis Costello, unforgiveable.

a big bloody yawn. As much as everyone rightly has a punt at Bono for being condescending and pompous I think The Edge must share some blame. His guitar playing is frankly repetitive and joyless. Take away his effects pedals and he would be an average teenage guitar player just starting out. They have written some great songs but not recently but the size of their shows is not the only problem. Springsteen can play to the same size stadiums but without any of the scripting and a big variation in the setlists.It is a rare quality though.

Small intimate shows are far more rewarding - Summer Sundae this past weekend had a couple of acts I had never heard play brilliant sets. A ska band Kingsize had the crowd going mental as did Imelda May. For something more reflective there was an amazing talent from the Faro Islands Teitur who was incredible. Watching them, I increasingly dont need the stadium gigs.

not my flava but I really don't mind U2 and their ilk, I save my bile for Travis. Bastards!

...hold a candle for U2 nor despise them, and indeed concede that some of their previous stage sets looked genuinely fun and exciting, but having watched tim tunes' clip, I suspect if I'd been to one of the current "claw" gigs i would have felt disappointed to spend a good deal of time looking at the backs of the bands'/ Bono's heads. This to me seems to be a major flaw in a rock gig setting, where communication with the audience is everything, where you feel that they are performing and speaking to you. As it is, it seems to be a few chaps wandering around a catwalk engaging with about half the stadium at a time, whilst the other half watches the other half watching Bono. In this situation does the "claw" itself become the star? Does the medium become the message, and the songs become secondary?
I offer this by the way as questions and not criticisms.
(I must confess here that my favourite gigs are the ones where you see the performers faces with the naked eye, and feel a sense of intimacy and two way communication (often literally)).

to be the problem with arena/stadium sized gigs. My one and only experience of which was Van Morrison/Ray Charles at NEC. Truly awful.