FINALLY, i got to see u2 3d. leighanne and james and i headed out to see the only showing of the day tonight. i would say it was definitely worth it. even if the visuals had sucked, i just loved having the chance to hear great songs, live and at full volume. i wish more bands would have their concert films shown in theatres, i’d so go to all of them (i’m thinking about going to the rolling stones one when it comes out – cheaper than actually seeing them again ha).
so the movie. the 3d…when we got in it was during the last preview, also in 3d, for…journey to the center of the earth?? and wow. flashlights flying at my head, along with rocks. and i immediately thought – i am going to get such a headache from this…i was not looking forward to it. it took a bit to get used to the 3d. there ends up being so many levels your eyes don’t know what to focus on, and often wouldn’t focus on whatever was “closest” to you. after a few songs it got better and much of the time i forgot i was wearing silly glasses and had no troubles. every now and then something would show up on screen that was hard to focus on again, and movement (especially adam) was sometimes weird, but for the most part it was pretty cool. the performance itself, leighanne and i both thought bono was holding back a lot. given how he usually acts, kissing the camera and stuff, his 3d actions seemed pretty tame. we figure someone must have told him to calm down for the filming. on the other side, i thought edge seemed way more into it than in the past – just really hard strumming on the guitar and massive “Edge stomp”. i noticed a “trent edit” job during “miss sarajevo” where one shot bono was using a mic stand, and the next shot he was holding the mic – and at one point it showed both shots at the same time…hah. oops.
the setlist was short, i think 80 min or so, much shorter than a real show. i’d go again just for “bullet the blue sky” and “the fly” which was just beyond brilliant. “bullet” loud and live is always a good thing, even tho i prefer a “bono rant” ending to “johnny come marching home”. but nevertheless, edge guitar on bullet is killer. “the fly” took full advantage of the 3d, with flying words, letters, sentences etc like the zoo tv version. the song sounded fantastic, and i love bono performing it (yes i even love the hat). i was smiling through the whole song. they ended with “with or without you”….then “yahweh” during credits…but i had to go to the bathroom so bad i left, doesn’t hurt that i can’t stand the song. it also didn’t seem to be a performance from the first 30 seconds i saw when leaving…just audio with the credits. had it been a performance i MIGHT have stayed….no probably not 🙂 james still can’t fathom why we can’t stand the song. worst. bono. lyrics. ever.
i’m always in awe of crowd shots in concert films, and just the mass of humanity present, and how i’d hate that…and then i remember, i’ve been IN that and it’s not as bad as it looks ha. i’ve been a part of 80k at the old wembley stadium, and it was really ok.
anyway. well worth the price of admission, and if it was playing in the afternoons i’d probably go again. i don’t see myself getting the chance to go on another day off before it stops showing. oh, we got to keep the glasses haha.
stopped at denny’s after before heading home. my head only hurt a tiny bit, really less than normal, which i was SO thankful for. i was figuring for another “3:10 to yuma” make me barf headache. hahah.
aaaand…the sabres had a fantastic 8-4 win, with our new guy Steve Bernier contributing the first 2 goals and an assist. Welcome to Buffalo.