'End Of Tour Party Starts Here'

23 Jul 2011

'When the night has come
'And the land is dark
'And the moon is the only light we'll see
'No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid
'Just as long as you stand, stand by me...'


One of the stand-out moments in tonight's show in Minneapolis was when Bono brought on stage the Somali rapper K'naan to join in a duet of 'Stand By Me'.
'I want to introduce you to a very special spirit.
'Showing great leadership on behalf of his country, Somalia
'Get used to his name cos your going to hear it a lot...K’naan.'

The rapper, a former Twin Cities resident got quite a reception, as the stadium remembered the people of the Horn of Africa and that was followed by another poignant moment  introducing 'Stuck In A Moment': 'We wrote this for Michael Hutchence… but tonight you will understand when we play it for Amy Winehouse.'

Thunderstorms and severe weather were  forecast for today. We had rain in the morning and if it held off for the start of show, it was soon with us for the evening. But two years after buying their tickets,  nothing was going to stop the people  of The Twin Cities having a blast.
'Get on your boots in your fancy new stadium, handsome place for us to be hanging in tonight...'
Bono reminded us that Minneapolis was originally set to be the last night of the tour and the next two shows had  only been added when this leg was rescheduled. This show, however, marks 'the place to begin the end of tour party.'
'It's amazing to be on stage with these people,' he says. 'Really amazing. At the end of the last show I thought I heard thunder and saw lightning flash from behind me, I thought I 'd been hit by truck,
I thought Mike Tyson had jumped out... but it was Larry Mullen playing the drums.'
Then he felt the ground shaking beneath his feet and when he looked around it was the 'handsome Adam Clayton on bass, a force of nature'.
In this vision he also saw angels, 'some friendly, some wearing beanies but all creating chaos with a host of crazy harmonies.' Turned out it wasn't angels at all, 'it was The Edge on guitar and everything else...'
'And then I heard the voice of God .. and you know what God said?
'He said, 'If you think you're having fun now, wait till you get to Minneapolis...
'The end of tour party starts here...'

Didn't matter that by the time we reached 'Elevation' the rain was getting serious and continued pouring for 'Pride', 'Miss Sarajevo' and Zooropa'.  We were having a  wet and wonderful party. 'America in the rain, singing your heart out - and it's a beautiful heart'.
By 'Blinding Light's we were all 'singing in the rain' and so it continued: 'Don't know what's happening, but we like it,
'Just want to thank you for standing in the rain...'

'Despite all the bells and whistles,' reported The StarTribune,  first out of the blocks with their review of the show. 'U2 gave a performance that was both over-the-top and intimate, both epic and informal, both highfalutin' and fun.'

Did  you get wet in Minneapolis tonight? Were you singing in the rain? How was the start of the end of tour party for you? Add your own reviews and post your photos on our Tour Pages.

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