2009-08-03
Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Set List of Show:
Main Set:
- "Breathe"
- "No Line on the Horizon"
- "Get On Your Boots"
- "Magnificent"
- "Beautiful Day"
- "Elevation"
- "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
- "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"
- "Unknown Caller"
- "The Unforgettable Fire"
- "City Of Blinding Lights"
- "Vertigo"
- "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"
- "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
- "Pride (In the Name of Love)"
- "MLK"
- "Walk On"
- "Where the Streets Have No Name"
- "One"
- "Ultra Violet (Light My Way)"
- "With or Without You"
- "Moment of Surrender"
Additional Music
Pre-Recorded Intro Song: "Space Oddity" - David Bowie
Pre-Recorded Intro Song: "Soon" - U2
Pre-Recorded Exit Song: "Rocket Man" - Elton John
Snippets of Other Songs Performed by U2:
-
"Mensch" (Herbert Groenemeyer) /
"Here Comes the Sun" (The Beatles) /
"Movin' On Up" (Primal Scream) /
"Rock the Casbah" (The Clash) /
"You'll Never Walk Alone" (from Carousel by Rodgers and Hammerstein) /
"All You Need is Love" (The Beatles) /
Show Details:
U2 move next to Gelsenkirchen, Germany for a single show. The show takes place at the Veltins Arena. The band makes an entrance in the afternoon, landing a helicopter at the venue, and leave the same way at the end of the night. The show is in a stadium with a roof, only the second time the band has had the show in a roofed venue after the two shows in Amsterdam.
During the show there are technical issues with The Edge’s rig during “Vertigo” causing the band to stop, and later restart the song. Bono jokes that after 30 years with the band, he’s never seen The Edge blow his amplifier.
During “One” Bono includes the lyrics to Herbert Groenemeyer’s song “Mensch”. He will later record the song with Groenemeyer for the album I Walk. Also included in “One” is the extended verse, “hear us coming”. Bono asks for the lights to be turned off and allows the crowd to create a milky way in the stadium darkness with their electronic devices. The song once again has moved to the end of the opening set, before the encore break.
Snippets during the show include “Mensch” at the start of “Beautiful Day” and again at the end of “One”. “Here Comes the Sun” appears in “Beautiful Day”. “Movin’ On Up” appears in “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Rock the Casbah” appears in “Sunday Bloody Sunday”. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” appears during “Walk On”, and “All You Need is Love” appears during “Where the Streets Have No Name”.
An extensive sound check is done according to U2Gigs.com which includes “Magnificent”, “I Will Follow”, “Mysterious Ways”, “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, “Beautiful Day”, “I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight”, “Unknown Caller”, “Until the End of the World” and “City of Blinding Lights”. This is the second known time that the band has worked on “I Will Follow” but it does not appear in the setlist.
When the tour dates are initially announced in March, a date appears for the Gelsenkirchen show, which isn’t listed in the official press release, and later disappears from U2.com. The official press release instead lists “U2 360 will also visit: Gelsenkirchen, DE this summer with additional dates and venues to be confirmed.” Eventually the show is announced, and the date matches that initially on the website, but it is only announced after several cities have announced second shows.
Related News
Officially Released Tracks
- Pride (In the Name of Love) (Live from Gelsenkirchen, Aug. 3, 2009 - Fade In / Out)
- Elevation (Live from Gelsenkirchen, Aug. 3, 2009)