2011-06-01

Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Set List of Show:

Set List:

"Even Better Than the Real Thing"
"I Will Follow"
"Get On Your Boots"
"Magnificent"
"Mysterious Ways"
"Elevation"
"Until the End of the World"
"All I Want is You"
"Stay (Faraway, So Close!)"
"Beautiful Day"
"Pride (In the Name of Love)"
"Miss Sarajevo"
"Zooropa"
"City Of Blinding Lights"
"Vertigo"
"I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
"Scarlet"
"Walk On"

Encore One:

"One"
"Where the Streets Have No Name"

Encore Two:

"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
"With or Without You"
"Moment of Surrender"

Additional Music

Pre-Recorded Intro Song: "Space Oddity" - David Bowie
Pre-Recorded Exit Song: "Rocket Man" - Elton John

Snippets of Other Songs Performed by U2:

Carousel

Show Details:

U2 return to Commonwealth Stadium for their first show in Edmonton, Alberta since 1997’s PopMart shows. Tonight they are joined by The Fray. And they set an attendance record for the venue. Fans have passed out nearly 4000 red and white balloons (Canadian flag colours) and they are waved at the band as they take the stage.

There are few seats behind the stage at Commonwealth Stadium, causing Bono to joke that it’s the 325 degree tour, “your eyes almost make a circle”.

The show is very similar to what has been done on the US / Canadian shows so far, and there are no new surprises to the set list. Indeed it is identical to the previous show in Winnipeg, with one exception, “Moment of Surrender” is back in the set list tonight.

One of the odder moments ever at a U2 show happens when Bono starts talking about hitchhiking in Vancouver and how he was picked up by a professional hockey player. He spins the intro into a hockey themed band introduction. Turns out though that the story was real. Bono and his security was walking in Vancouver and had gotten caught in the rain. Edmonton Oilers centre Gilbert Brule was driving by taking his dog for a walk, and offered Bono a ride. As a way of thank you, Bono offered up passes for the show in Edmonton. Brule is at the show tonight with his mom. Edge tonight is described as “The Wayne Gretzky of U2” bringing cheers from the audience, as Gretzky made his mark on hockey playing in Edmonton.

Ahead of “Beautiful Day” Bono chooses a woman to join him on stage, and he asks her to read the lyrics for Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” ahead of the song.

There is rain during the show which prompts a brief snippet of “Singin’ in the Rain” during “City of Blinding Lights” as the rain starts and “I Can’t Stand the Rain” during “I’ll Go Crazy”. Bono is also celebrating Canadian singer Neil Young with the inclusion of “Needle and the Damage Done” during “All I Want is You”, “Heart of Gold” during “Beautiful Day” and “Rockin’ in the Free World” during ““Vertigo”. Other snippets tonight include “Discotheque”, “Life During Wartime” and “Please” during “I’ll Go Crazy”, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” during “Walk On” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” during “Where the Streets Have No Name”.

There’s an 11pm curfew that is publicized in the newspapers ahead of the show, but U2 pay little heed to that, and play well past 11pm with the show ending just before 11:30. And no songs are cut, unlike Winnipeg where “Moment of Surrender” was not played. Tonight Bono dedicates “Moment of Surrender” to those suffering because of the recent fires in Slave Lake, Alberta. The entire town has been evacuated to nearby towns and cities, but only one casualty was reported, a helicopter pilot who crashed while battling fires. Approximately one-third of the town was destroyed.

Ahead of the show the crew were heard sound checking a number of songs. U2 themselves arrived and did multiple takes on “Magnificent”. They’ve been playing a remixed version of the song and have been working extensively on the new version.

This was one of the shows originally planned for 2010. Tickets for the show initially went on sale on November 2, 2009 with a presale for U2.com members starting on October 27, 2009. It was not listed as a sell out when the show was postponed due to Bono’s back injury. The original scheduled date was June 23, 2010. Tickets for the original show were valid for the newly rescheduled shows in 2011.

Officially Released Tracks