2009-10-18

Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK, USA

Set List of Show:

Main Set:

"Breathe"
"Get On Your Boots"
"Magnificent"
"Mysterious Ways"
"Beautiful Day"
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
"Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"
"No Line on the Horizon"
"Elevation"
"In a Little While"
"Unknown Caller"
"Until the End of the World"
"The Unforgettable Fire"
"City Of Blinding Lights"
"Vertigo"
"I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
"MLK"
"Walk On"

Encore One:

"One"
"Where the Streets Have No Name"

Encore Two:

"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:

Carousel

Show Details:

Tonight the band plays in Norman, Oklahoma. It is their first concert in Oklahoma since a show in 1983 as part of the War tour where they also played Norman. The show tonight is at the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and open air stadium, and Black Eyed Peas are joining the tour as an opening act starting tonight through to the end of the tour. Craig Evans, the tour director, shared that U2 had chosen Norman because of the energy they felt that they get from a college audience. The show draws the attention of the local media and helicopters are spotted in the air above the stadium trying to get photos and footage for the local news.

Perhaps the biggest surprise this evening is that “Unknown Caller” has reappeared after almost a month of not appearing in set lists. “In A Little While” makes its second appearance on this leg of the tour as well. It looks like “Unknown Caller” may stick around for a bit. The day after the Norman show, U2 post a piece on U2.com asking for people to submit video of them singing the song to become part of a “Global Chorus” for the song.

During “City of Blinding Lights” Bono pulls a young boy named Collin out of the audience to walk around the stage, giving him his sunglasses before he returns to the audience.

Ahead of “Moment of Surrender” Bono asks for the crowds participation in a worldwide effort to “stand up” against poverty. Bono explained “Last year 1.6 million people stood up, there’s about 60,000 of you here tonight so let’s see if we can break a record.” He then asks everyone to sit down, and then counts to three, and asks them to stand again. (And yes, many participated throughout the stadium.)

Snippets tonight include “God Only Knows” during “Beautiful Day”, “Stand By Me” at the end of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” during “I’ll Go Crazy”, and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as part of “Walk On”. During the encore “Where the Streets Have No Name” get snippets of “Amazing Grace” and “All You Need is Love”.

In his tour diary for U2.com, Willie Williams shared, “The stadium of Oklahoma University was only just big enough to accommodate the 360 production, with the stage and outer runway completely filling the football field. Larry was positioned directly over the centre spot, so this was as close to playing truly in the round as U2 is ever likely to get. The grandstands in the stadium are extremely high, so it was rather like playing in a valley, or a half-open sandwich toaster, but variety is the spice of life, we’re told. The crowd was well up for it though so it turned into a bit of a party gig. Technically it was a bit of a train-wreck, though it didn’t help that round about MLK the temperature started to plummet dramatically, which is a nightmare for keeping guitars in tune. I really enjoyed the gig, perhaps partly because the change of configuration allowed me to watch it with fresh eyes.”

George Lang in The Daily Oklahoman shared, “If it weren’t for the 150-foot tall, four-legged, green and orange monster sitting on Owen Field, the scene in Norman could have passed for a game day. Homeownders and church groups sold parcels of property for $15 a car, local bands filled the air with classic rock outside bars, and tailgating was the official sport of spectators. But the team playing Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Sunday was visiting from Dublin, Ireland.” A full review by Lang published the following day shared “While the group was highlighting its new songs whenever possible, U2 kept the crowd of 60,000 fans happy to the point of mass, ecstatic dancing when the group deployed its acknowledged classics such as ‘Beautiful Day’ and ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’”

Initially when tour dates were published on U2.com in March, the date for the Norman show was listed as October 19, however, it was quickly removed from the site. The show was announced with the new date on April 6. It was the only date that changed out of all of the shows which had been removed.

Officially Released Tracks