Auckland. Show 1.

I spent an hour this morning trying to have a bath.  I got the damn thing run and ready, then a barrage of calls, mails and texts kept me on the hop to almost comedic proportions.  The final hurrah came when I had quite literally got one toe in the water and there was a knock on the door (Joe asking about the set list), at which point I gave up.

It was a busy day at the gig, getting all the final (for now) versions of the new video and audio pieces rendered and in place.  U2 didn€™t sound check today, which was a good call.  Rehearsals are all-consuming at the best of times, but trying it with kiwi-quality jet-lag has been a whole new world of disorientation.

The doors opened at 4pm and in came the crowd.  I watched almost all of Jay-Z€™s set from the mix position and he absolutely rocked the house.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, so am hoping that seeing him perform regularly during this tour may begin to open the door to this genre for me.  I was also surprised by how much of his material was familiar, so there€™s hope for me yet.

It was very cold by the time U2 went on stage and it was one of those nights when it got very cold very suddenly.  This is absolute murder on guitar strings and vocal cords, but the guys made it through and the show was a fine start to the tour.  I was very pleased with the new pieces, bar a few details that I€™ll tweak tomorrow.  The miners€™ tribute seemed to be very well received and the audience appreciative.  One Tree Hill was beautiful and Scarlet with Jay-Z was just fantastic.  I was beside myself with delight.  Oh, and the silhouettes video piece for Moment of Surrender was promising too €“ again a few tweaks needed but it seems perfect for the mood.

I€™d like to say we partied into the wee small hours in a way bad-ass rock-and-roll fashion, but that would be a complete lie.  Back at the hotel I did manage a cup of tea though, before Mr. Jet Lag came to call, so the night wasn€™t entirely bereft of celebration.