U2 at the Rose Bowl

I was fortunate to be able to attend the U2 concert at the Rose Bowl this past Sunday evening. Because of a variety of scheduling conflicts I was not planning on attending either the show in Vegas (on Friday night) or at the Rose Bowl, but then I won two tickets in a raffle on Tuesday. So, long story short, I was thrilled to be able to be a part of a friends wedding and then jumped into the car with Jeff and raced down to the Rose Bowl.

Fortunately for us, the concert was streamed live on YouTube so the band did not come out until about 9pm. We were able to be in our seats for about 10 minutes before they came on. The show was nothing short of impressive. I've long been a fan of the band, but seeing them in person was a true thrill.

Over 96,000 people attended the Rose Bowl concert and so you can imagine the sea of people. One of the things that bowled me over was the stage they have built for this concert. I had read about it and even seen pictures, but to see it in person is something else entirely. It is massive — bigger then any other stage created for any touring concert ever.

The stages are built by the Belgian company Stageco, and construction of each requires the use of high-pressure and innovative hydraulic systems. The steel structure is 164 feet tall – doubling the size of the stadium set for The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour, the previous highest – can hold up to 200 tonnes underneath it, and requires 120 trucks to transport each of the 3 sets constructed to support the tour. Each leg of the structure contains its own sound system. The cost of each structure is between £15 million and £20 million each. The 360° tour crew consists of 137 touring production crew suplemented by over 120 hired locally. Daily costs of the production are approximately $750,000, not including the stage construction; the majority of this comes from truck rentals, transportation, and staff wages. The tour is not expected to break even until the conclusion of the second leg.

Read more about the tour and stage here.