The Joshua Tree Tour 2017

Sep 22 2017
San Diego, CA, US / Qualcomm Stadium
with Beck
59

Rising Up In San Diego
Last night in the USA. #U2TheJoshuaTree2017

When & Where
Friday, September 22nd, 2017, SDCCU (aka Qualcomm Stadium), San Diego, California; the 40th (and final U.S. show) of the #U2TheJoshuaTree2017 

Set List 
It's been more than a dozen years since U2 played San Diego (where they opened the Vertigo Tour at the SD Sports Arena on March 28, 2005), and the massive Friday night Qualcomm audience gave them a hero's welcome. It was a special night marking the last of 27 U.S. dates on the Joshua Tree tour before the band heads to South America early next month. 'Miss Sarajevo (Miss Syria)' and JR's moving film featuring 15-year-old Omaima from the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan returned to the set for the second time on this leg of the tour, opening the encore on what was a few hours shy of the 20th anniversary of the band's historic concert in Sarajevo on Sept. 23, 1997. The encore also included an intimate, acoustic version of the band's new single 'You're The Best Thing About Me.' 

Social Posts  
@harmanjennifer: '30 years after I saw you in AZ for the original #JoshuaTree tour, I got to see you again in San Diego for your final night. It was the best!'

@dianahandall: 'First from Phoenix. Now from San Diego, Bono & @U2 continue sending their love & support to Mexico. Thanks! Mexico loves you back!' 

If You Had To Pick One Song 
'You're The Best Thing About Me'. 'I can see it all so clearly/I can see what you can't see…'

Leonard92: 'Last night of the Joshua Tree tour in the USA! Thanks U2. We brought our kids, passed the torch! Loved the acoustic version of “Best Thing About Me”'

'I had a dream, I had a bad dream…' Bono said as he began singing the pared-down acoustic version of the first single from the band's forthcoming 'Songs of Experience' album. Bono said he wanted to play a special version of the song for the woman who inspired it, his wife Ali Hewson, who was in the audience Friday night. 

What (else) did Bono Say?
Mexico was on the mind of the band as it closed the U.S. leg of the tour in San Diego, just a few miles from the border with Mexico. 
'Thank you for coming out to see us this Indian summer evening, whether you crossed the city, crossed the state, or crossed the border,' Bono said. 'You put some faith in us and we've got a lot in you.'
During 'One', the show closer, Bono asked Willie Williams to turn down the lights so that 'we can see those stars come out for the people of Mexico City—we get to carry each other! Fuerza, Mexico! Fuerza!' he said. Fuerza is the Spanish word for 'strength.'
He also included a snippet from 'Drowning Man, changing the lyrics to lift up Mexico City, which suffered a massive earthquake on September 19. 'Rise up, we will rise up, with wings like eagles…we will run and not grow weary. Viva, viva, viva Mexico! Viva, viva, viva Mexico!'

Other Noteworthy Stuff
Actor-activists Ashley Judd and Robin Wright joined the other 'luminous icons' of the HERSTORY multimedia installation that accompanied 'Ultraviolet'. 
Shout Outs: To actor-activist George Clooney, in the audience with his wife Amal: 'George! George Clooney! God Bless you and the Clooney Foundation for justice!' Bono said during 'Miss Sarajevo'. Bono also said goodbye to Craig Evans, the band's longtime tour director whose last show was San Diego after more than 20 years with the band. 

Review from The San Diego Union-Tribune:
'It could have easily been 1987 in San Diego Friday night when the iconic Irish band U2 performed its revolutionary album “The Joshua Tree” in its entirety, all 50 minutes and 11 seconds of it in chronological order. It could have been 1987, but it wasn't. “Nothing's changed; everything's changed,” Bono declared after a rousing delivery of the album's first song, “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Building an entire concert around a 30-year-old album seemed, on its face, an emotional ploy to relive the past, dredging up memories and flirting with old passions. It was a dangerous proposition, and in the wrong hands, it could have been disastrous. In U2's hands, it was anything but. “The Joshua Tree,”the band's critically acclaimed fifth studio album, came of age in the era of Reagan and AIDS and heroin addiction, at a time of economic and political unrest and natural disasters.
It became crystal-clear Friday night that the band had zero interest living in the past. It plucked “The Joshua Tree” from its resting place in 1987 and dropped it in the heart of 2017. Their message intact, the album's songs breathed with a new sense of urgency, speaking to a world marred by the ravages of climate change and opioid addiction, at a time of political and economic upheaval….'

Reviews on U2.com: 

Brentco: 'We were all elevated right out of the stadium. Thanks for another transcendent evening! Message to America, received and loved.'

Leonard9227: Dream beneath a desert sky!!! Dream come true! Seeing U2 perform the entire Joshua Tree on the last night in the USA! Road trip through the landscape that inspired it!!

Were you at the show in San Diego? Tell us all about it. Add your own review and photos below.

    Sao Paulo - last show of The Joshua Tree Tour 2017. Video by instagram.com/mvsphotography
    Comments
    59
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    carolj2
    We loved it! Thank you U2 for a great ni
    The whole concert is incredible. When I hear "Bad" my night is complete. Then the whole Joshua Tree Album -graphics insane-and ended with "One". Magical.
    angelabrister
    what an experience
    my first U2 concert...30 years past due....I will forever try to see them...so elevating...my husband was transformed into a U2 believer/follower.
    crhutch
    Last Stop San Diego
    I am fortunate to have had the privilege to see 15 Joshua Tree 2017 shows over the past few months - from opening night in Vancouver to San Diego just last week. It was my Joshua Tree 30th anniversary this year as well, having seen my first U2 show as a teenager in Worcester, MA on May 3, 1987. Finally seeing them live in ’87 after only watching them on TV for years prior was one of the moments that I’ll always remember. Streets was the first song I ever heard live, and to this day hearing Bono, Edge, Larry and Adam play this song in front of me is one of my favorite moments at every show. The San Diego show was incredible as always. It was my last show of the tour, so hearing The Joshua Tree songs live from beginning to end for the last time was truly bittersweet. What will I remember from this particular tour? Of course, the music… Red Hill Mining Town on opening night in Vancouver, Little Things from the tree stage in Chicago, Streets in Dublin, the acoustic Best Thing in San Diego from the front rail… I could go on and on. In addition to the music, I’ll remember the amazing community of fellow fans - now friends - I’ve met along the way. It’s the combination of the band, the music, and the U2 community that has made this and every tour special in so many ways. Until next time…
    neallubetsky
    Joshua Tree--The Album and the National
    I thought this would be a fitting tribute to the band... I hope you like it. https://streamingthruamerica.wordpress.com/2017/09/29/joshua-tree-the-album-and-the-national-park/
    nanis
    Nana
    Amazing!!! I Was in New Yorker hotel to see you in the MSG
    PaulBain
    #U2JoshuaTree2017 #sandiego
    Somewhere on side 2 of the Joshua Tree album
    PaulBain
    The stands were full of shooting stars
    This may seriously be the best U2 show I've ever seen #U2JoshuaTree2017
    omarciux
    U2 San diego
    they played for 2 hrs, good music, and show, I'm form Tijuana mexico and seeing them was awesome, i recommend it.!!!
    OneBigU2Fan
    Wow wow!
    Saw them at the Rose Bowl and was blown away. Saw them in San Diego and I was one happy camper! Truly, there is nothing like live!
    OneBigU2Fan
    Just wow.
    Finally, a stop closer to home! Did not disappoint. Thirty years on and still relevant.
    Leonard92
    Dream beneath a desert sky!!!
    Dream come true! Seeing U2 perform the entire Joshua Tree on the last night in the USA! Road trip through the landscape that inspired it!!
    Leonard92
    Baby's got BLUE skies up ahead
    Last night of the Joshua Tree tour in the USA! Thanks U2. We brought our kids, passed the tourch! Loved the acoustic version of "Best Thing About Me"
    brentcoe
    Best show of them all.
    We were all elevated right out of the stadium. Thanks for another transcendent evening! Message to America, received and loved.
    plumiegirl88
    San Diego U2 9/22/17
    Best concert I have ever been to.
    mar_cb
    U2's biggest fans, the Chong sisters!
    We've been U2 fans since the 80s and combined we've been at dozens of U2 concerts! Our sister Denisse, printed on our shirts, was truly your biggest fan and her spirit was here with us tonight rocking to U2 songs here in San Diego. One Love...forever!
    LuluCloake
    Josua tree tour
    always an awesome show.................
    Lalo_U2_TJ
    U2 Rules!!
    Such amazing concert, great experience, great play list, U2 is the best.
    pstolz
    U2 ROCKS SAN DIEGO!!
    THANK GOD FOR U2!! I'VE BEEN TO 4 SHOWS IN THIS TOUR....AMSTERDAM AND MINNEAPOLIS WERE AMAZING! SAN DIEGO WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO END THE U.S. TOUR! PLEASE COME BACK SOON! WE LOVE U2!!
    pstolz
    KARLA & PAMELA TAKE U2 SAN DIEGO!!
    GOD BLESS U2! SAN DIEGO WAS A FANTASTIC SHOW...PLEASE COME BACK SOON!!
    lipo65
    And that's a wrap!
    Flew in so I could attend my third show on this tour and the final stop on the US leg, again, with sister in law and others to say, until we meet again! I was at the show in Phoenix Tuesday night and was so tired Wednesday morning I didn't think I would make it to San Diego Friday night. I'm not 20 anymore, you know? Once I got my second wind and wasn't too tired to want to come, I not only wanted to come, I couldn't wait!!!!! I booked my flight and came in for this show. You can't see this show and this band without smiling and feeling the love! Thank you for a great tour and look forward to the next one.
    carloszzz
    GREAT EXPERIENCE
    A U2 IS ALWAYS A GREAT EXPERIENCE BECAUSE YOU ENJOY THE SHOW AND EVERY BODY ARE TUNNED IN THE SAME STATION, EVERY ONE IS SO FRIENDLY AND MAKES YOU FEAL LIKE YOU KNOW EVERY BODY.
    sthall
    New Orleans Superdome
    I don't know if its age or the struggle of being on the road, U2 did not have the electricity as the other concerts I've seen. Albeit, Joshua Tree has many mellow parts to it. It was still a hell of a show especially the encore.
    maureen_kobrin
    Unbelievable. Thank you Bono, the Edge,
    Having seen this show in LA in 1987, I knew it would be good. I didn't know how great it would be. What a gift to have been there. Shared with good friends and tens of thousands of strangers. Beautiful.
    tim_niegocki
    U2 in San Diego
    Saw U2 in the AZ desert 32 years ago for the first time. Even better last night.
    ChristianSnatched
    Hit the note on the head!!
    Pleasure to see you live for the first time in all my 44 years and coming from Boston. Totally a Peace Concert and the Nail hit the head the right way!! Come back to SD!
    lysa_davis
    Phenominal summer!
    ROSE BOWL ✔ DALLAS ✔ MINNEAPOLIS ✔ PHOENIX ✔ SAN DIEGO TONIGHT ✔✔
    lysa_davis
    Final US show!
    So excited. ROSE BOWL ✔ DALLAS✔ MINNEAPOLIS ✔ PHOENIX ✔ SAN DIEGO...
    christine_indreland
    San Diego!
    Excited
    carlacapelo
    From Pasadena to San Diego
    This was Pasadena back in May. Now, I'm about to the hit the road from San Bernardino to San Diego. REDZONE here I come!
    TraciDeleon
    Welcome to San Diego
    I was 18 when Joshua Tree came out, and we listened to it constantly that summer. Took my son to see you play at the Rose Bowl which he loved, and now that you are coming to our city I am taking my dad to his first U2 concert. Can't wait until tonight.
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