Vertigo Leg 1: 2005, US
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Oct
23
2009
From PopMart to 360°
4
Friday 23rd October 2009. Las Vegas. Show day.
If they gave out medals for high-speed, last-minute video making, Smasher would sweep the podium. The 'Global Chorus' for Unknown Caller finally finished rendering at 10am, though that was leisurely compared to the Frank de Winne piece (now formatted and comprehensible) which actually finished rendering on a laptop during our flight to Vegas.
Arriving at Sam Boyd stadium was almost enough to put me in the foetal position with memories of spending an angst-ridden month here building the PopMart stage. Really whenever I think of that stage I see it in this stadium. That said, coming back here with that in mind was a great object lesson in just how much bigger the 360 stage is than PopMart. We're all used to it now (most days) but clearly the PopMart screen would comfortably slide underneath the 360 structure.
We had an hour to soundcheck and rehearse the new elements and mercifully everything worked first time, give or take. I had some guests to find so ended up circumnavigating the stadium several times, but did eventually manage to affect a rendezvous.
It was a good show too and great fun to debut some new elements even at this late stage of the tour. That's so U2 - right up to the finish line they're still pushing, playing, fussing. Very happy that these new pieces will make it into the broadcast.
If they gave out medals for high-speed, last-minute video making, Smasher would sweep the podium. The 'Global Chorus' for Unknown Caller finally finished rendering at 10am, though that was leisurely compared to the Frank de Winne piece (now formatted and comprehensible) which actually finished rendering on a laptop during our flight to Vegas.
Arriving at Sam Boyd stadium was almost enough to put me in the foetal position with memories of spending an angst-ridden month here building the PopMart stage. Really whenever I think of that stage I see it in this stadium. That said, coming back here with that in mind was a great object lesson in just how much bigger the 360 stage is than PopMart. We're all used to it now (most days) but clearly the PopMart screen would comfortably slide underneath the 360 structure.
We had an hour to soundcheck and rehearse the new elements and mercifully everything worked first time, give or take. I had some guests to find so ended up circumnavigating the stadium several times, but did eventually manage to affect a rendezvous.
It was a good show too and great fun to debut some new elements even at this late stage of the tour. That's so U2 - right up to the finish line they're still pushing, playing, fussing. Very happy that these new pieces will make it into the broadcast.
4
Comments 
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jasper22 - 13 November, 2009
Vegas Was Spectacular
Saw the show earlier in DC, & Vegas was SOOOOO much better (of course playing No Line on the Horizon & my favorite - Unknown Caller - helped immensely). FedEx Field was just too big --- & what happened to the sound there? Muse came across loud & clear --- U2 was muddied & distant. So glad to see the show again in Vegas - where everything came together so well.
See you in Denver next year (& good luck w/Invesco -- CRANK IT UP!) (And bring back Muse!!!)
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lgg - 08 November, 2009
Vegas in 360
It really was an unusual fit. The stage was immense. You could clearly see it towering over the stadium from a good distance away from it.. The show was fantastic, everybody was into it. Wished I could have seen Popmart in Edmonton, the closest U2 has come to my hometown. They haven't been back there since Popmart either, but this time, I'll be in the stands. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks, Willie for sharing your perspective.
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mbschaef - 06 November, 2009
Sam Boyd Stadium
We saw the show in Chicago and Vegas and the size of the 360 stage was just immense at Sam Boyd. The stage towered over the stadium it was surreal. I almost liked it better in the bigger venue, but it was a great show too. It seemed like this was almost a warm up for the Los Angeles show. I loved what was added since Chicago, but Your Blue Room is an amazing and beautiful song. I wished it would have stayed in the set list.
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deannamarieu2 - 06 November, 2009
vegas was awesome!
I was happy that there were some new elements of the show since this was my 5th show this 2009 tour!! I noticed!
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