iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour 2015

First Night In Phoenix

Here's what happened. Add your own reviews and photos.

'I awakened to the cry
that the people / have the power ...'
Alternate opening to the show tonight. On the PA, Patti Smith singing 'People Have The Power' before Larry, Adam and Edge arrive on stage for the opening chords of 'The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)' Where's Bono? Here he is. Arriving from the other side of the arena, on the 'e' stage, now walking down to the 'I' stage - and when the band meet up this show is underway.
'I was chasing down the days of fear
Chasing down a dream before it disappeared...'

Two Adams on stage tonight. The one we expect to see, resplendent in another Sex Pistols t-shirt, and one we were surprised by. An eight year old Adam was pulled up from the audience for 'I Will Follow', the first of several members of this full house to find themselves onstage tonight.
'Your eyes make a circle,
I see you when I go in there...'
'I want to thank Adam, the first boy, for being here, I want to thank you all for being here...'

Thanks to @U2gigs for three great facts from tonight's show. This is the longest of the tour to date - 25 songs, previous shows were up to 24. Bad, on the setlist again, is notable: the song was played at consecutive shows only once on U2360. And as for 'In God's Country', a rarely heard classic from The Joshua Tree, that was a complete bolt from the blue. 'Worth noting that In God's Country has only been played 8 times since end of The Joshua Tree Tour: Lovetown x 4, Elevation x 3 and now IE x 1'.

'Desert sky, dream beneath the desert sky.
The rivers run but soon run dry.
We need new dreams tonight.
Desert rose, dreamed I saw a desert rose
Dress torn in ribbons and bows
Like a siren she calls (to me)....'

Did we mention 'In God's Country?' First time it's been played live in fourteen years and with a seriously enthusiastic audience member up on stage to add guitar. Has to have been one of the funniest and most joyful moments on the tour so far - the band reminding themselves how to perform the song while one totally wired fan (from Colorado) wants to hug every one of them.

As well as Adam, 8 mentioned above, 3 beautiful sisters also came up on stage tonight, grooving their way through 'Mysterious Ways' and capturing the performance of 'Desire' on cell phone. 'Great to see some family tonight', said Bono, thanking the sisters, who are from New York, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

If the first act of the U2IE show is a spellbinding journey through Songs of Innocence, there are a couple of slightly older tracks that want to give the new songs a run for their money. Has Electric Co. sounded this good before? Was it like this when they played it in McGonagles in Dublin in 1978?
If you don't know
Electric Co.
If you don't know
Electric Co.

Were you at the first night in Phoenix? Add your own review and photos below.