U2 & Muse in La Plata, Buenos Aires

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We had bought tickets on ebay a few months ago. We had only paid a deposit but was still very nervous if the tickets were going to be genuine. We contacted the seller and made final payment and picked the tickets up the day before the show. Full payment was made and the tickets, although looked genuine, were still not guaranteed to not be fakes. Slight reassurance was that due to the Stadium being about an hour and a half out of BA the seller, Marcus, was going to the concert himself and asked if we wanted to split the petrol and go with him and his sister & her boyfriend. Surely it had to be a sure thing, (touching wood and rubbing Buddha bellies where ever possible)!

The day of the concert, Marcus was meant to pick us up at 2.30, he then phoned and changed it to 3, then 4. By the time 4.30 had come we were feeling quite defeated, until we heard a car horn and Marcus waving at us from the other side of the road. We had an interesting journey to the stadium, made even more interesting by the toll roads. Where there were queues of traffic all heading to the stadium the roads were getting congested. When we reached the toll booths everyone was sounding their horn. Us thinking what is the point of that, it won’t get you anywhere, but we were wrong. Apparently, if you are left waiting for longer than 2 mins at a toll booth in Argentina then all the cars can start sounding their horns and they have to open the barriers and let you through for free to clear the congestion. I can just see that happening on the dartford bridge!

Anyway, a couple of hours later and we were at the magnificent Estadio Unico de La Plata. It is a fairly new stadium and it is the first time a concert has been held there. It is also to be the host of the South American version of the Champions League final this year.

We arranged to meet Marcus at the end and made our way into the stadium. The relief when the tickets were real. We were still quite early and because Muse were supporting, not many South Americans know of them so the stadium wasn’t that full yet, therefore luckily we got quite near the front. We found a spot and stayed there, especially as there was nothing to leave for. Stadiums in SA don’t sell alcohol in them. A bit disappointing, but we were to be grateful of this later!

The stadium gradually filled up and Muse came on about 7.30. They got a really good reception. For us it was brilliant, both being massive U2 fans and Muse as well, it was like a 2 for 1 concert. They did a fantastic set and really set us in the mood for U2 to come on. They certainly make you wait, and about an hour after Muse had gone off stage and we were nearly about to collapse from the intense heat, they finally came on stage, opening with even better than the real thing.

Now this is where the drink thing comes into it. I have never seen a crowd like it when they came on stage. We must have got about 15 feet closer than we were before as everyone just push the crowd forward. The whole crowd where jumping up and down and going crazy. We were in a totally different place at the end of the first song than we were from the beginning. Lunatics the lot of them, so god only knows what they would have been like if they had been allowed to purchase alcohol in the stadium. I must say that Perdy, with her arm still in plaster still managed to rock it and stay in one piece! The remainder of the concert was pretty much the same. It was either move with them or be trampled. Certainly a very different experience to seeing U2 than all the other times. Even though knocking on a bit, their looking good and they’ve still got it. What an amazing stage set up and the visual effects was something else.

It was the quickest 2 hours of our life. It was so incredible and entertaining and just flew by too quickly. We are so glad we did it, it wasn’t cheap but we would have definitely regretted it if we hadn’t. The only annoying part of the night was the concert finishing at 12 and us not getting home until 4.30. One road in and one road out, so you can imagine the traffic, but never mind.

If you’re thinking of planning to see an event at La Plata stadium, make sure you either book accommodation in the area as soon as you have your tickets because they really haven’t the infrastructure to cope with the capacity of a full stadium all leaving at the same time. But hey no work the next day and we still had the time of our lives…… Again.

After 6 nights in BA it was finally time to move on again. Remaining in Argentina but going 15 hours west to Mendoza. This would be our first glimpse of the Andes and also to indulge in the famous Mendoza winery tours.

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