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Published: December 27th 2008
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U2 At Croke Park 2005
U2 onstage at Croke Park in 2005. Let me preface by saying that I never really had a desire to visit Ireland. However, after a quick three day visit in 2005, I'm addicted to the place.
It began in late 2004 when I was desperately trying to land tickets to U2's Vertigo tour in Chicago. Despite three separate dates, it was impossible to score tickets. As my twisted little mind went to work searching alternatives, I suddenly had an epiphany. If I couldn't get tickets to any of the Chicago shows, how about trying to get tickets to one of their shows in Dublin? Why not go directly to the source?
Fingers flying across the keyboard, I quickly located a ticket broker in London. Admittedly, I spent WAY more for a ticket than I should have, but how can you argue cost when you have the opportunity to see U2 in their homeland at Croke Park? All trepidation set aside, I entered the credit card number and clicked 'Purchase.' Little did I know at the time how this simple act would shape my travel plans for the next three years.
As always, to make trips to Europe more affordable, I paid off the tickets on the credit card first. Then I booked the airline tickets and paid them off the following month and then the hotel in Dublin and paid that off a month later. All I would be left with is having to come up with spending money. This is all 'justification' that makes a $10,000 or more trip 'affordable.'
Even while being aware that the U2 shows would be a major deal in Dublin, it never occured to me that it would be difficult to secure accommodations. I can't recall the name of the hotel now, but the only thing I could find was a resort type place on a golf course located about 20 miles northwest of the city. All was well; since this concert was such a BIG DEAL, the hotel had several buses that were headed into Dublin to drop off concert goers. It wasn't until the bus actually arrived in Dublin that I realized what a big deal this truly was. The entire city of Dublin was shut down! The bus dropped everyone off at the Gresham Hotel in the city center and we had to walk a little over a mile through the city to reach Croke Park. There was no vehicular traffic allowed after noon in Dublin the day of the show. Even though the name Croke Park intimates that it's a stadium and that there would be on-site parking, this was not the case at all. Croke Park is located in the heart of a residential area in Dublin and there was no parking at all!
As a huge group making our way to Croke Park, we all had something in common. We were all on our way to see one of the greatest rock bands in history in their own backyard and the feeling of intimacy was astonishing for such a large group of people, who, under normal circumstances, would have little in common.
We arrived at Croke Park at around 4:30 p.m. The first warm up band, the Thrills, started at 6:00. The second band, the Killers, started around 7:15. We were then treated to an original Irish band and U2 finally took the stage at 8:50. The almost 4 1/2 hour build up to the main attraction was excruciating to say the least. Every time a band left the stage, the assumption was that U2 would be next and the roar from the crowd quickly diminished as we realized that we were to endure yet another warm up band. To say that we had to 'suffer' through three bands before U2 took the stage would be unfair, as the warm up bands were talented enough in their own right, but we were all there to see one band and one band only--U2.
U2 took the stage to thunderous applause. Everyone was on their feet, singing along with the band and swaying to the music. The audience participation was so loud that it was impossible to hear Bono's vocals for the first few songs.
The band's backdrop was a simple sign that said COEXIST. The 'C' was in the shape of a crescent and the 'X' was in the shape of a star. The 'T' was shaped like a cross. The 'C' and the 'X' represented two countries in the Middle East who are fighting over religion, thus the cross shaped 'T.'
Two events during the show will remain with me forever. When the band started the intro to the song 'One,' Bono pulled a young girl out of the audience and sang the song into her ear as he held her. Tears were streaming down her face and she was very unsteady on her feet, which is probably why Bono had to hold her so close. I'm sure it's something that she will never forget. The audience got out their cell phones and held them up for this song, signifying that we are all 'One.'
During the show, there was a guy near the front of the stage that had been holding up a sign all night stating that he wanted to play a song onstage with U2. At one point during the show, Bono pulled the guy onstage and said, "See? I always told you that advertising pays." Edge handed the guy his own personal guitar and the guy was allowed to play onstage with U2. Now THAT'S not something that happens to you everyday.
The tickets to the show specifically forbid any type of still cameras, digital cameras or video cameras, as do tickets to shows here in the States. However, once inside the stadium, it seemed like everyone had some type of camera and the security guards were not confiscating them as they would here. How I wish I had dared to bring in a camera and attempt to capture some of that magic.
U2 played from 8:50 until 11:00. I learned later that they would have played longer, but the people living near Croke Park were complaining about the noise (!) and the sound ordinance was invoked, cutting their playing time to just over two hours.
After the show, we walked back to the Gresham Hotel to catch the bus back to the hotel. Once at the hotel, everyone was too emotionally charged to sleep, so most headed to the bar. Walking in with the Vertigo tour shirts on almost incited a riot! The bar was packed and buzzing about the show.
Was it worth the close to $200 per ticket? Absolutely!
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