blog.MuchMusic.com www.MuchMusic.com

Last night was the first of 2 massive shows at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

U2′s last time at the venue was in 1997 for the gargantuan PopMart tour which had them somewhat ironically emerging from a disco lemon.

Last night’s massive ‘Claw’ stage was a band member on it’s own and U2 were manipulated it like seasoned rock star puppeteers under an open sky. Why we don’t have more of these European style outdoor shows in Toronto?

This time the stage – and showmanship – were more transparent as the band blasted through a repertoire of hits and some covers, notably some of Elvis Costello’s finest. The boys played with Elvis and the Impostors the night before for a taping of Elvis’s show Spectacle. The crowd ate it up along with references to Union Station, Yonge St. and the TTC.

Photos: Mark Swierszcz

Setlist:
Breathe
No Line On The Horizon
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Beautiful Day / Alison (snippet)
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Elevation
Your Blue Room
Unknown Caller
Until The End Of The World
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
The Unforgettable Fire
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo / Pump It Up (snippet)
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
Sunday Bloody Sunday / Oliver’s Army (snippet)
MLK
Walk On
One / Amazing Grace (snippet)
Where The Streets Have No Name

encore(s):
Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
With Or Without You
Moment of Surrender

Tags: rogers centre, U2

Posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 11:47 am by Mark Swi and is filed under Concert Reviews.

Related Articles:

• First Spin: U2 – No Line On The Horizon
• Deryck Whibley attacked in Japan, hospitalized
• NXNE: Moneen @ El Mocambo
• VFest 07 – Enter Shikari
• U2 rock the Rogers Centre