I was somewhat concerned that the LCD display showing the stop names was practically illegible - both on the outward and return journeys, the text was in a watery yellow that blended nicely into the black background. But as we passed a stop on the way in, I noticed the departure board, which said that the destination of my bus was, in fact, Placa de Catalunya. Lovely - the terminus.
I got off and wondered where to go for brunch - my first priority. A quick look around didn't reveal much, and I didn't want to spend too long looking - I was too hungry. I finally decided that the huge department store, El Corté Inglés, might be my best bet - they surely had a café, and it would surely be both reasonably priced and have fairly standard dishes, so no translation problems.
It turned out I had to go all the way to the ninth floor.. where they have a restaurant, which I considered, but the people in front of me exchanged some words with a waiter and left, and it looked very much as though they needed to have reserved. Instead, I queued for the more casual café - still with table service, but no tablecloths, no glasses or cutlery left on the tables, and paper placemats and boxes of napkins.
I didn't really have to queue for long, despite how busy the place was. I was shown to a table that hadn't been cleared yet, and there was some confusion as the waiter who came to clear it thought I wouldn't have been sat at a table that wasn't ready, and I must have skipped the queue and taken the table of my own accord! Luckily, the maitre d' who had seated me came along after a moment to reassure her..
Despite the busyness, service was decently quick. I dithered between the chicken, which sounded tastier, and the beef escalope with spaghetti and chips, which sounded more filling, and which my hunger chose. Same brunch as Tuesday, in fact! And a glass of wine. And it was very nice. The chips were actually terrific - you know how good chips can taste, but rarely do? These were such chips. Now, the elderly ladies beside me sent back their paella for some reason, to be exchanged for steak - but there are definitely things this place does rather well. For dessert - by which time things had calmed down a bit - I, of course, had the "death by chocolate" (I can rarely resist that), which in this case was a chocolate sponge slice with chocolate filling and dark chocolate beads on top. And it was sooo good.. I'd definitely go back there for that alone!
On the way out, I had a browse around. They have the most terrific Hallowe'en selection, and I just couldn't resist..
Once I finally found the exit, I was in the mood for capturing some of the sights: some photos here. By this time, it was too hot to be bothered exploring any more, and I waited in the shade, in a cool breeze, for the bus back to the hotel. Still, it was a relief when it came, and again when the aircon started. I recognised my stop from the buildings we passed - the indicator board was useless again.
After a relaxing afternoon, which featured another nap, I headed out. I must be getting fit - the walk didn't knock as much out of me this evening! Bought a t-shirt that had caught my eye yesterday..
..and took my seat. Which involved another awkward climb down rows and rows of steps with no handrail, and me muttering to myself to distract myself from being terrified. Just like Tuesday, in fact, as I was in the same row - yesterday, I was in a higher one, nearer the entrance.
So, I was in the front row of my section. This time, however, it was towards the back - more so than last night. Again, I needn't have worried - this is why I come to places like Barcelona for concerts - the crowds are amazing. Even the people with the worst angle in the house - directly facing the side of the vidi-wall, so they can't see a thing on it - were whoopin' and hollerin'. Don't feel too bad for them though - they do get a smaller, dedicated screen, at right angles to the vidi-wall, showing footage of both stages and the vidi-wall. From where I was sitting, I had a good view of both screens. And I noticed that Bono spent much of his time on the "e" stage singing directly to the people at the back.
This crowd trumps even the crowds of the last two nights, by virtue of being the FIRST crowd I've seen so far on this tour to get a Mexican Wave going all the way around the stands, more than once. Three times, in fact, before the powers-that-be turned down the lights and distracted an excitable crowd by tricking them into thinking something was imminent. In fact, it's becoming something of a hobby of mine to watch the crowd's reaction to something they weren't expecting to happen. It seems that the word has gone around that when the band say goodbye, they don't mean it, there's more to come - but it was nice to see that several things in the concert still surprised them. And they STILL don't know that the band don't come on until People Have the Power starts to play.. and even then, not immediately..
Tonight's setlist:
SET 1
The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
Gloria
Vertigo
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song for Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Raised By Wolves
Until The End Of The World
Gloria
Vertigo
I Will Follow
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Cedarwood Road
Song for Someone
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Raised By Wolves
Until The End Of The World
SET 2
Invisible
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
Desire
Spanish Eyes
Every Breaking Wave
October
Bullet The Blue Sky
Zooropa
Where The Streets Have No Name
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
With Or Without You
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
Desire
Spanish Eyes
Every Breaking Wave
October
Bullet The Blue Sky
Zooropa
Where The Streets Have No Name
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
With Or Without You
ENCORE
Once they'd started, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before on this tour - as usual, the further away you are, the more of the spectacle you get to see. Being too close has its disadvantages. People with seats at the back, take heart. Now, a funny thing happened to me tonight - I'm finding that, the more of these concerts I go to, the more into them I'm getting. In fact, for the first four songs, I lost it completely tonight.. For their second song, they cycle among three - Gloria, The Electric Co., and Out of Control. (You can safely watch these videos on YouTube, they don't give away too much. And man, have I enjoyed watching them!) For my money, Gloria holds the crown, among these three, of Best Live Song. I always loved seeing it live, and I'm stoked that it's such a regular on this tour - doesn't usually happen! Again, Mrs. Bono was in the house, as mentioned by Bono at the start of Song For Someone, written for her.
Now, the pattern thus far has been that, for Mysterious Ways, Bono brings a girl onstage to dance with him, then she films the band doing a number, which is streamed live on Meerkat. Sometimes, they bring a guy up from the audience to play guitar on that number. Well, Bono was in a mischievous mood tonight, and ever the champion of equal opportunities, he brought up a girl to play guitar, and a guy to dance with. The guy wore one of those glittery cowboy hats and a feather boa, and threw some real shapes. Until his irate wife appeared onstage, ordering him to get down! He complied, after making sure she got a shot of him with each member of the band. Bono got her to do the Meerkat stream - half of which came out upside-down! Then he had a chat with her. "Are you local? Are you from Barcelona?" "I'm from Spain." "What's your name?" "Penélope"..
"So, that would be.. his Bardem-ness?" teased Bono. Yes, these were Penélope Cruz (in a wig) and her husband, Javier Bardem, who - I guess - stayed for the after-show party. Turns out they're enthusiastic supporters of the Red campaign. We may not have had the tv crews there tonight like last night, but what a show they missed! And then Bono sang Spanish Eyes, for Penélope of course. About time - I was wondering whether he'd ever get around to it in this, the only Spanish city on their tour!
Tonight, it was October that moved me to tears. And it seems that rounding off the show with Bad and 40 is a staple for the last night in any city. What a night! What a week! What a city! Truly memorable. Oh, but I can't wait for the tour to hit London, on the 25th (you know I'll be there..)
Back to London tomorrow. I have a long wait, what with check-out at 12 and the flight not until 6.20, but it's in T1, which should be more endurable. And it comes into Heathrow, which makes it much easier to get home. On Monday, I'm back with the Crick Crack Storytelling Club, in the Soho Theatre again, for an interesting-sounding evening called The Heart of a Hero, apparently with an Egyptian storyteller. And on Tuesday, I'm back with the World Music Meetup, for Varlden's Band, in Rich Mix. Long time no see this group!
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