I know some people here derive explicit joy from the existence of the iPod so I thought I'd let everyone know that there's a new iPod commercial featuring U2 and Original of the Species. I just saw it for the first time tonight so I'm assuming it's new.
Good times, though I admit to being a little underwhelmed at certain points during the concert, maybe because apart from a couple songs nothing was really all that new. I was hoping for a little more of a variety in the setlist than the show I saw in April, but it wasn't there. They basically dropped all the old stuff from their early albums and went back to more of the hits from the Joshua Tree era. I know they've been playing "Bad" during this leg of the tour but last night was my fifth U2 concert and I still haven't been lucky enough to hear it in person.
Another reason I may not have gotten into this show as much as others is because I was taking so many pictures. It was my first time trying it at a concert and while the quality is pretty much average at best, there are a few I was pretty pleased with. I tried taking a lot of wider shots that included the entire stage, but I also got in with my two telephoto lenses so I could get some closer shots. They're not bad, not great, but about what you might expect from a non-professional camera used in the upper bowl of the arena. I'll be working on those today.
Still, a fun night. U2 always puts on an excellent show and what's said above is not to suggest I didn't enjoy it a lot, because I did. I was probably just a little too distracted with what I was trying to do to get as into it as I usually do. The highlight was a snippet of "One Tree Hill," a song they hadn't played live in 12 years. It's also the first time in 18 years it was played in the US.
Have just seen whilst doing the TV listings that, as part of their UK Music Hall of Fame season, Channel 4 in the UK will be showing "Vertigo 2005: U2 Live In Chicago" on Wednesday November 16th at 11.05pm.
Does anyone know if they're really screening what's on the actual DVD?!?! :D
Thanks in advance :)
ETA: Just found out that it is indeed an hour of the DVD :)
Another question for you then: does anyone know if the video going around on MTV/E4 which is "All Because of You (Live)" is from the Chicago DVD?
Part 3 of the Rolling Stones podcast with Bono's interview was released Monday 11/7. It's 25 minutes long and Bono talks about AIDS relief in Africa and meeting with Pres. Bush and the U.S. congress.
For the first time taking pictures at a concert, especially not being right up close, I'm pretty happy with these. It can be tough to shoot indoors, so the shots look a little grainy because I had to mostly use ISO 400 in order to shoot with a shutter speed fast enough to prevent a lot of blurring. A few shots aren't as focused as I'd like, but overall they came out better than I was expecting. I've done much better in other mediums, but you can't be too picky when it comes to stuff like this.
Many of the shots are full stage pictures. That's something I like as far as the different ways the lights are used, but since I was able to get in with a couple telephoto lenses (nothing fancy - just a 2x and 3x) I could get better stuff up close. I also kind of liked the shot of all the cell phones being held up. It really does look kind of like you're out in space. 50 pictures here:
Okay, some of you are probably aware of this already, but I have a problem...
I am becoming increasingly obsessed with Adam Clayton's hair.
And I don't know where it's coming from! I mean, I'm a Bono girl. Fullstop. But several weeks ago, I was looking at some photos of Adam, and his hair is just so nice looking. Such a silver fox. My immediate reaction was "I want to stick my fingers into his hair." It just grew from there. Even prior to this, I had a bit of a thing for Pop!Adam. Maybe it was the white glasses, maybe it was the super-sexy bassline in Do You Feel Loved, maybe it was the PopTart shirt. Whatever it was, Pop!Adam was sexy. But Vertigo!Adam had the hair. I've decided that should I ever get a chance to meet the man, I'd have only one request. "Adam, may I please, please stick my fingers into your hair? It's my life's goal!" My hope is that such a request would be so off the wall, that he'd be surprised into letting me.
But really, it's not just his hair. It's not just the Pop glasses. It's Adam himself. Say I'm scrolling down a page of various U2 photos. I am a Bono girl, there's no question about that. But I see a photo of Adam (especially if he's playing his bass at the time) and I go "OMG! ADAM CLAYTON! OMG! I LOVE YOU!" No other band member causes such a reaction in me. Not even Bono.
Tonight on Jeopardy!, one of the categories was entitled "U2 Song Titles in Other Words" (it aired more than 4 hours ago, but a girl's gotta find out who died on Lost). I'm sad to say I only got 3 out of 5. And they were all signature U2 songs, too!
surprised
crazy
frustrated