U2 360 At the Rose Bowl

Any of you fuckers going???? 96,000 fcuking people, somebody else from here has to be headed up.

U2 used to be good.

live here in 'rose city'...not as bad as during the rose parade/bowl actually

 

wife's headed to the concert and i'm stuck on baby-duties

 

p.s. liked the Lemon concert @ Foxboro stadium better than the Vertigo concert @ Honda Center

live here in 'rose city'...not as bad as during the rose parade/bowl actually

 

wife's headed to the concert and i'm stuck on baby-duties

 

p.s. liked the Lemon concert @ Foxboro stadium better than the Vertigo concert @ Honda Center

 

 

Im parking in old town and taking the shuttle up.... So were planning on getting there around 5....

 

 

The way people are talking its going to be a complete zoo up there....

 

The concert will be broadcast on YOUTUBE live tonight....8:30 PT/11:30 ET

 

 

The way people are talking its going to be a complete zoo up there....

Just saw the line to get in on TV... Zoo is about it, looked like it went all the way to Glendale!

 

I guess I really am old now, I'd much rather sit and watch it at home than deal with all that shit.

I'm watching it live on Youtube right now...looks absolutley crazy. Wish i was there!

Watching on youtube!!! AWESOME!!

Have to admit though,I hate all of U2'S new music. I like pre-2000 U2

thats a lot of people!

Watching on youtube!!! AWESOME!!

Have to admit though,I hate all of U2'S new music. I like pre-2000 U2

 

Agreed!

why go to the concert when bono plays INTO the camera 99% of the time

(we get the best view)

Oh My fcuking God....

 

 

Im Home.... I feel like Ive just been to war.... Getting there was like traveling cross country at Thanksgiving.

 

 

Leaving was like evacuating a moderate size city- ALL at once. I kept feeling like I was in an avalanche, and if I slowed for a moment, it would overtake me.

Romandad

 

Can you describe what happened after you got there up until prior to the evacuation?

 

Or to put it short How was the concert experience?

Romandad

 

Can you describe what happened after you got there up until prior to the evacuation?

 

Or to put it short How was the concert experience?

 

 

 

I will have a full write up later.....

 

 

For now, Coffee and a half dozen advil are in order.

U2 used to be good.

 

 

Bono makes me cry.

 

Artists and politics don't go together and I can't believe he/they (U2) are spending (even losing money on it) so much money on their stage and tour.

 

Yeah I'm all into Africa and I want to help them, let's waste 1 million a gig.

 

 

 

I know it's entertainment but when you are supporting those charities you have to make up your mind and not do both.

Bono makes me cry.

 

Artists and politics don't go together and I can't believe he/they (U2) are spending (even losing money on it) so much money on their stage and tour.

 

Yeah I'm all into Africa and I want to help them, let's waste 1 million a gig.

 

 

 

I know it's entertainment but when you are supporting those charities you have to make up your mind and not do both.

 

 

 

The stage is absolutely MIND BLOWING...... We left early.... To beat the tsunami of people who were all going to try to get out of the arroyo... And I looked back (we could hear them playing just fine from outside) and looked up.... The Rose Bowl is a HUGE fcuking stadium.... And we could EASILY see the top of the stage rigging rising above the stadium....

 

 

 

I was unaware that they were losing that much money on the tour..... But I can definitely see it.... The production value of that concert was OUT OF THIS WORLD (no pun intended).

OK.... first let me set the stage.... For those unfamiliar with the cluster fcuk that is the Rose Bowl, the bowl (marked in green below) was built in the 1920s, at a time when the standard mode of transportation in America was still the horse and buggy... It is in a DEEP raveen called the Arroyo Seco.... It is surrounded by RESIDENTIAL Homes on one side and steep hillsides on the other.... The streets that surround the Bowl are narrow, windy, dark residential, two lane streets..... BUT..... As you get CLOSER to the stadium, there is only ONE ROAD IN and ONE ROAD BACK OUT (marked in blue below) -one lane in each direction.

 

Parking for the stadium is on the golf course behind it..... Which means waiting probably two hours to get in, and two hours to get back out....

 

 

Thus the bowl sets up "shuttles" from nearby places for people to park their cars and get on a bus that takes a CLOSED OFF residential street to quickly get up the hill.

 

We decided we would park at Old Town Pasadena and take the shuttle thinking we were going to avoid the hassles of parking at the bowl itself. Our parking/shuttle lot is marked in red. Its about 2.5 miles from old town to the stadium.

 

 

One problem..... Everybody else in southern california had the exact same fcuking plan that we did.

 

 

Concert was set to start at 7 (with the black eyed peas).... We left the house at 4. Its usually a one hour drive to Old town.

 

 

We got to old town at 6 because of the traffic. We got the ABSOLUTELY LAST parking spot in the lot.... (We lucked out) we figured: Awesome.... We'll jump on the bus and be there with time to spare.... Im not a big black eyed peas fan, but I wanted to see them anyway....

 

 

Then we saw the line for the buses.... It wrapped around several city blocks..... We stood in it for over an hour.... It was like being cattle on the way to slaughter.....

 

When we got OFF the buses at the stadium is was 7:30 and the peas were playing (mostly shit. so I didnt care much).... Then we tried to find our gate, which of course was on the CLEAR OPPOSITE Side of the stadium..... So we walked all the way around which because of the CRUSH of people took about 20 Minutes.....

 

Then we had to wait in line at our gate.... Another 20 minutes.....

 

FINALLY we got in the stadium JUST IN TIME to see slash playing "Sweet Child of Mine" with fergy(?). I really wish I could have caught more of that.... That fcuking guy is incredible!

 

Then it took us another 10 minutes to walk DOWN from the tunnel to our seats near the field (we had some of the best seats in the house.... I AM SO GLAD I didnt have GA.... I can barely move today as it is and those poor people didnt get to sit down ALL DAY LONG) By then, the peas were done....

 

But it didnt matter.... When I got to my seat all I could do was look around at the crowd..... The stadium seats 96,000. EVERY SEAT was taken..... PLUS the field was FILLED (probably another 10-12 thousand I would guess?)... Prior to this my most overwhelming "Crowd" moment was entering the stadium at Tennessee as a college football player.... This was like that, only slightly fewer people wanted to kill me....

 

We sat there, BASICALLY afraid to leave our seats because we know what happens to the salmon that swims upstream.... We watched the celebs march in- Pierce Brosnan.... Collin Ferrel... That one dude from "Prison Break"... And I think I have some Paris Hilton video for allen. (man.... She is fcuking lame.)

 

We were RIGHT below the skycam most of the night so Im wondering if we made it on the live cast.....

 

U2 took the stage around 9 PM..... WOW..... The stage was incredible.... The notion that 300 guys built something like that in three days is something I just cant wrap my mind around..... It had dudes in hanging baskets on cables that went up and down working the lighting probably 60 feet or more in the air.... Im guessing the top of it was somewhere in the 300 foot range.

 

 

THEY WERE fcuking AWESOME.....

 

 

Yes... They get a little preachy.... The reverend Bono was laying it on thick.... But although I usually like my rock stars to shut up and sing, I wasnt turned off by this political message as I think it was a fairly universal one... There were a few moments where even I was almost caught up in it all.... The"Message to Iran from the United States" just sent shivers down my spine....

 

One downside..... This is California.... The state that made smoking cigarettes a capital crime.... We wont execute a child murderer, but dont fcuking THINK of smoking a cigarette because they will fcuking bury you UNDER the jail... NO cigarette smoker would DARE light up a cigarette at ANY event, indoor or OUTDOOR for fear of being beaten to death or dragged away in handcuffs. You NEVER see it.... EVER.... But at every fcuking event I go to, theres always some fcuking stoner two rows away smoking up with total disregard for the people around him.... And nobody ever says a fcuking word to them.... My hair smells like cheap weed.... And I got a contact high from the smoke in the mens room....

 

Also, There was a fight between armenian and asian gang members down in the GA right in front of us.... I have a lot of it on video....

 

And of course, there were way too many OLD fcuking PEOPLE who should have known better, GETTING WAY TOO DRUNK (or high) standing out in the sun all day, and getting sick come concert time and needing the fcuking paramedics to SWIM through 90,000+ people to come rescue their asses (they did a great job..... They kept some old fcuking woman from throwing up on me on my way in).

 

 

I got a hold of the set list just before the concert and we mapped out an escape route. We decided to leave right after "One" during the first encore.... We knew we had to hit the head, and WALK around to the other side of the stadium.... before 115,000 people all tried to leave AT THE SAME TIME. And that gave us 4 songs and break period to do it....

 

We did, we found our way to the bus lines but about 10,000 people had the same idea..... We got ON the bus before he was done singing and by then the line behind us stretched several thousand yards..... Im guessing we saved two hours by doing that.... We got to our car by 11:30, HAULED fcuking ASS out of the garage, FLEW down colorado and hopped on the 210 just before all hell broke lose (which we later found out it did.... And not ten minutes after we left).

 

While in line for the bus, I said to my wife "Never again..... I will NEVER come to a concert here again....." and my wife said "yep.... There is nobody that I want to see bad enough that I would go through this...." And we both said in unison: "Im too old for this shit." And then I added "Well.... Maybe if the Smiths reunite...." Suddenly the guy behind me says "Did you just mention the holy grail of concerts? Did I hear you say youd like to see the smiths reunite?" And he and I started talking.... And he and his date 9around our age) had been saying the EXACT same thing "Never again."

 

And after about ten minutes talking to him, I turned and looked at his date....

 

 

It was my former boss from Spelling Entertainment. (I still have PTSD from working for her- but she was very nice and we talked for a bit....) And the guy I was talking to was the guy who had my job before I did..

 

 

105,000 people.... SOMEBODY TELL ME THE fcuking ODDS OF THAT?

 

 

 

All in all.... A hell of an experience..... but

 

NEVER fcuking AGAIN.

You have more patience than I do. I cannot even wait in line for three minutes at Subway without leaving.

...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update....

 

U2 360 comes to Anaheim (10 minutes or so from my house) June 2010.... Tix go on sale next week....

 

 

I think We'll do it again!

...

William Fichtner from Prison Break

 

Oh the humanity....

 

 

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