The Joshua Tree Tour 2017

Wide Awake In Minneapolis

When & Where
Friday, September 8th 2017, US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis; the 35rd show of the #U2TheJoshuaTree2017 

Set List
'I wanna take shelter, from the hurricane, where the streets have no name'
It was a high-spirited night Friday in the Twin Cities, where the band and the audience exchanged a kind of contagious (and defiant) joy from the first drum beats of 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', through the 'The Joshua Tree' album,  to 'One', which closed the six-song encore with a few lines of Prince's 'Purple Rain.' Bono dedicated the show to 'the memory eternal of Prince Rogers Nelson',  Minneapolis' favorite son who passed away in April 2016. There were echoes of the Purple One's musical legacy elsewhere in the third act, with snippets of 'The Most Beautiful Girl in the World' in the encore opener 'Beautiful Day' and 'Let's Go Crazy' in 'Vertigo.' And for those of you keeping score at home: 'Happy Birthday' made its fifth appearance on The Joshua Tree 2017 tour, when the band serenaded longtime collaborator, show designer and creative director Willie Williams.

Social Posts
@U2Nurse: 'Thrilled to see a diverse age range here at #U2JoshuaTreeTour2017MN. Oldsters hipsters families and kids. Whew...I love this band. They remind me to feel, even tho sometimes it's a lot.'

@larsleafblad: '10 years old when this album came out. 10 year old like joy coming out listening to this concert. #u2minneapolis #U2TheJoshuaTree2017

If You Had To Pick One Song 
'With or Without You'
'Through the storm, we reach the shore/You gave it all but I want more/And I'm waiting for you'
@michelle_my_belle22: 'Show me someone who doesn't think of their first love when they hear this song, and I'll show you a liar. #U2 #thejoshuatree2017 #withorwithoutyou #Minneapolis'

Whenever Heidi and Andy Chamberlain hear 'WOWY' in the years to come, they'll be thinking of their wedding day and how Bono congratulated them in a shout-out from the stage in front of 50,000 people.
'I was congratulating the Chamberlains because today in the GA queue Heidi and Andrew got married right here. And interestingly—I thought it was pretty cool—Andrew took Heidi's name: Chamberlain. Oh yeah.'

'I didn't think today could be any better and then, of course, Bono finds a way to take it over the top,' the newly-minted Mr. Chamberlain (formerly known as Andrew Johnson) said when we tracked the happy couple down after the show late Friday. 'I was just as surprised to get a shout out at the same concert as Prince!' added the bride. The Chamberlains, both realtors in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, got engaged last Christmas. When they began discussing wedding plans, the conversation gravitated toward U2, said Heidi, 43, a lifelong fan who has seen each tour since 1992. 'Every time I see them, it feels like I'm in church—it's so spiritual,' she said. 'Wouldn't it be cool to have the concert as our wedding night?' 

Heidi and Andy decided they would marry in the church of U2 when the band next played Minnesota. 'We thought we'd have to wait five years for the next tour,” Heidi said. But then the dates for the second North American leg of the Joshua Tree Tour were announced in June and Minneapolis was on the list. 'Andy said, 'We're getting married in three months, aren't we?' They asked their friend to officiate, and quickly pulled together plans for a simple, music-drenched ceremony that would conclude just before GA ticket holders were to begin queuing for the show Friday afternoon. The nuptials opened with 'When Love Comes To Town' and included 'In A Little While,' 'Hallelujah Here She Comes,' 'Ordinary Love,' 'Satellite of Love,' 'Every Breaking Wave,' 'Yahweh,' '40', and the band's new single (Bono's love song about his missus) 'You're The Best Thing About Me.' 

As soon as they were lawfully wed, the Chamberlains joined the GA line and celebrated by sharing dozens of (wedding) cake-flavored Oreo cookies with their queue. News of the 'GA wedding' began to spread through the venue; photos were posted on Twitter, and eventually word reached he lead vocalist himself. A few hours later, Bono's shout-out from the stage caught the newlyweds by surprise. 'I heard him say 'Take us to church. The church of the Chamberlains—newly minted.  (during 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For') and I thought it was just a coincidence,' Andy, 37, said. 'And then when he confirmed that he was talking about us it blew me away….It was the most amazing night of our lives!' 

And that, music fans, is how you get U2 to play your wedding reception. 

What (else) did Bono Say?
Bono dedicated 'One Tree Hill' to Gavin Friday's mother, Annie Hanvey, who passed away Friday in Ireland, saying: 'Tonight we carry in our hearts our friend and comrade Gavin Friday, one of the creative visionaries behind these tours we do. Gavin has just said goodbye for the last time to his mother, Annie Hanvey. Annie was a neighbour of ours growing up, and as well as being our neighbour she was always an heroic character, encouraging our best mate Gavin to be all the people he wanted to be.'

Before the band launched into 'Ultraviolet', Bono talked about how 'incredible women' was a theme now. 'Our partners, our daughters, our mothers, our elected representatives on both sides. Women. We want more women in the political process, is that not right? Men are fucking things up.' Two local Minnesota 'she-roes' were featured Friday among the 'luminous icons' of the HERSTORY installation: Former Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, and Mary Jo Copeland, founder of Sharing and Caring Hands, an organization that works amongst Minneapolis' impoverished communities. 

In his introduction to 'One,' Bono echoed something he'd told Jimmy Fallon the night before when the band performed on 'The Tonight Show': 'This country is not just a country, it's an idea. That's why the whole world has a stake in this idea working out. We love the idea of America. It's still being born this idea…. Allow us to kiss your ass this evening, to say thank you this evening. Thank you, America. …There is nothing you can't do. When you work together. 
As one.'

Review on U2.com 
Nejnej09: Amazing. What an amazing performance! Absolutely love this band and everything they stand for and it was an outstanding performance. When they finished the Joshua tree and came back out and did not just a couple of songs but 5 more (note- all you people that left at that point, you really missed out)'

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