Back In Spain
When & Where
First night of two at Wizink Center, Madrid, Spain, Thursday, September 20th, 2018.
Set List
"De Madrid, de Madrid, de Madrid al Cielo!" (from Madrid to the Heaven) was the call from the outset as Red Flag Day returns to the set for Spain. Setlist geeks @U2gigs provide some landmark song facts from tonight's show.
- One was performed for the 777th time - it is now on equal count with Bullet the Blue Sky;
- Until the End of the World overtook Mysterious Ways on play count to become the second-most played song from Achtung Baby;
- Even Better Than the Real Thing now has more recorded performances than Out of Control; one more and it will equal October
Here's the set list from the night one in Madrid
In The Press
Fernando Neira for El Pais
(translation via google translate)
'… 58 springs for our gentleman from the north of Dublin, but the attitude he exhibited last night for 134 minutes at the WiZink Center in Madrid was that of a fiery, spasmodic and theatrical young man who had just left his first rehearsals in the garage. With the subtle difference, of course, that this genuine scenic animal knows all of them and has the support of three extraordinary instrumentalists so that nothing is lost. Recover the innocent spirit from the lessons of experience: there was the crux of the matter, the moral that contained the two last albums of the band. 38 years after publishing their first songs, U2 not only continue to be able to burst pavilions or stadiums, but to suggest excitement, adrenaline, technological glare, controversy ... what 15,000 souls lived last night, in the first Madrid visit of the quartet since 2005, was a pulsating, overwhelming, superlative show. A perpetual jolt in which the musicians disappear and reappear, the central corridor is a fascinating box of audiovisual surprises and almost nothing runs under the parameters of predictability. Authors of some of the great sound emblems of the last half century, the Dubliners have changed the pace of this eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE tour with the most heterodox and disconcerting repertoire of its entire history. Those who did not go on notice, would be stupefied yesterday to check that there was no trace of the first three songs of The Joshua Tree, for example, which alone ensure posterity and a generous inheritance to several generations….'
On The Socials
@aalbaperez (via Twitter) 'Todavía alucinando de estar a 5 metros de la mejor banda de rock del mundo. Mas de 2h de muchaa emociones. Thanx @u2 for a other unforgettable night at #Madrid #U2eiTour'
(translated) 'Still hallucinating of being 5 meters from the best rock band in the world. More than 2h of emotions. Thanx @ u2 for a other unforgettable night at #Madrid # U2eiTour'
@Nieto_R (via Twitter) 'La bandera de España a toda pantalla en el concierto del mejor grupo del mundo ahora mismo en Madrid.'
(translated) 'The flag of Spain full screen in the concert of the best group in the world right now in Madrid.'
@ijgarciagimeno 'As Bono, the lead singer of U2, said, “Europe is a thought that needs to become a feeling”. @U2 has achieved it today at their concert in (Madrid).'
What Did Bono Say?
'You know what you gotta do here… UNO. DOS, TRES, CATORZE!'
'…then some perfectly sensible person from Cedarwood Road like your big brother (Norman Hewson in the house tonight) taps you on the shoulder and says, 'Hey!. You! You're no rock 'n roll star, you jumped-up little shit - you're my little brother - Paul!'
'Don Macphisto a su servicio. So Bo-no goes to Rome-o to see il-Pope-o… to kneel before him, I assume. I didn't kneel when I lived in that place… thats when the Borgia's were my very best friends, Rodrigo, Cesare, Lucrizia such fun… but Macphisto is bored with that now… he's got new pals… anyway Macphisto's got a new game… it's called Zooropa, a game he intends to win. Vote Macphisto or to hell with you!'
U2.com / Zootopia review
jenmusic for zootopia
'O la la Madrid You are hot! The weather is hot! The people are hot! The band and the audience are extremely hot! I don't speak Spanish but boy can I feel the Spanish rhythm tonight... From the moment we started jumping we never stopped! People dancing, people singing so passionately, Everybody is taking us higher tonight! Bono asking the audience for the Spanish word for a mullet, which we still don't know hahah! The visuals on the screen are amazing!!! That Hold me Thrill me Kiss me animation wow Wow Wow I am in love! I'm blown away by the new version of New Years Day! its something I would like to hear every day, that bass goes through your body no matter where you are in the venue! Yes! We! you! All! looked so beautiful tonight!
Lets do it all again for the second night, Muchas Muchas Much Gracias Madrid.'
Were you in Madrid tonight? Post your reviews and add your photos here
2026
U2 - Song Of The Future (Lyric Video)
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