We left in good time - the restaurants and bars at the O2 open before the main arena. Changed from a fairly crowded District Line to an even more crowded Jubilee Line - no major departure of passengers at London Bridge this time, which meant we had to stand all the way. It was a relief to get off. A busker was performing - not the same one, and again, not U2..
The queues for merchandising weren't bad, this early, and she got her purchasing done quickly. We met her husband inside, and made our way straight to Water Margin - the Chinese buffet. I really think this is a great option before a show - as the guy standing at the door advertised, "No waiting! No queue!" Unlike all the others. Also, there's a good selection, a fixed price - so you can have as many helpings as you want - and the quality is good. Drinks orders are taken at the table - drinks are priced separately.
We had a good selection, among the three of us - chicken szechuan, which was quite spicy: chicken satay (less so): crispy chicken: two different types of noodles: hash browns: seaweed. I had a whole heap of prawn crackers, which were excellent.. and we went to town on dessert, with lots of tiny helpings of different things. I got the last slice of chocolate cake. :-) I can also recommend the chocolate fudge slices and the lemon cheesecake..
We finished at about 7:20. Now, the scheduled start time for the weekday shows is 7:30.. yeah, right. As mentioned previously, when they were supposed to start at 7, they didn't come on till 7:50. So, we sauntered off in the direction of our entrance, and took our seats. They weren't seated with me, but a few sections away (in the same row, as it happened). They had bought "restricted view" tickets - which meant they were behind the i stage. As I reassured them, for people who are side-on to the vidiwall and can't see it properly, there are smaller screens that give a good close-up of the action - I had a view of one myself, seated at the corner in Barcelona. It's interesting to note, though, that this is the first venue I've been in this year that has been played completely in the round.
Spending £70 more, I had quite an excellent seat.. still, from the moment I came in, I couldn't put my finger on it, but I could tell there was something different about the crowd last night. Which had nothing to do with my seat. There was a new electricity. Maybe more than me had been to the show the night before - I don't know. But the anticipation as we waited.. and waited.. for the show to start was practically unbearable. It was fun actually when the three guys beside me finally got there, and were on tenterhooks trying to figure out where the band would come on. I didn't give the game away - but, at about 8:20, when People Have the Power blared out, and I shot to my feet, directing my gaze pointedly at the e stage - where Bono appears - gee, you'd think that would've given them a hint. Nope, they were still staring at the i stage as he made his grand entrance, between lines of baying fans, phones held aloft for shots.
Some photos here. Setlist as follows:
- The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)
- Out Of Control
- Vertigo
- I Will Follow
- Iris (Hold Me Close)
- Cedarwood Road
- Song For Someone
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
- Until The End Of The World / Love And Peace Or Else (snippet) / Words (snippet)
- (Intermission - The Fly)
- Invisible
- Even Better Than The Real Thing
- Mysterious Ways / Burning Down The House (snippet)
- Desire / Love Me Do (snippet)
- Angel Of Harlem / Into The Mystic (snippet)
- Every Breaking Wave
- October
- Bullet The Blue Sky / Ode To Joy (snippet) / 19 (snippet)
- Zooropa
- Where The Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
- Pride (In The Name Of Love)
- With Or Without You
encore(s): - City Of Blinding Lights
- Beautiful Day
- Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / All You Need Is Love (snippet)
The girl pulled on for Mysterious Ways was Tammy, from Belgium, with the funky hair. And not one, but two, guys were brought on to play guitar for Angel of Harlem - brothers, who'd had a sign up pleading for the band to take them both! Final audience-on-stage moment of the night went to the guy that Bono pulled on for City of Blinding Lights. Again, he gave him his glasses and jacket and waved him into the dark. This time, he took the young lad's jacket - but it didn't fit. And eventually, he got his own things back, explaining that he couldn't keep giving things away - the wardrobe lady had complained she couldn't replace them. Not the cost - she simply couldn't get them!
Famous people in the house included Bono's wife, for the second night in a row, and Bob Geldof. Oh, and Noel Gallagher, who joined them onstage for the last two songs. Best concert yet. Best crowd yet. Go London! I'm expecting great things, later in the week..
They adhered neither to start nor finish time.. when I looked at my watch at the end, it was about 11. Mind you, exiting at Gate B is a terrific advantage - where it had taken me 30 mins the night before, coming from the other side, to get back to the Tube, last night I made it in under 5 minutes. I do believe the busker, by this time, was the same as last night - he'd rehearsed his U2 this time! Again, the crowds clumped near the bottom of the stairs, mainly, leaving the front end of the platform deserted. And when the train arrived, the couple I was waiting with graciously let me on first - the more graciously because I could see they had wristbands; they'd had floor tickets. Well, we all did get seats on the train - and with a direct train home arriving almost immediately at Westminster, I was home in no time! Still too late to blog, mind.
Tonight, all Meetup had to offer was comedy I wasn't interested in. But I did manage a cheap ticket to a Tennessee Williams play, Something Unspoken - a one-act play showing in Pentameters Theatre, Hampstead.
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