My 2009 tour of Italy with Bruce Springsteen - Part 2 : Torino

My next destination after Rome was Torino. It was, if I remember correctly, a 7 hour journey and I slept through most of it (even though we had our passports thoroughly checked by the Carabinieri before the train left the station). My hotel was just beside the station, but I didn't go there when I arrived. We went straight to the stadium in order to get our numbers for the roll calls. We were quite early and we got very low numbers and this time I was determined to follow the procedure correctly, which meant wake-up calls and a few trips back and forth from my hotel to the stadium and vice versa.

I didn't get as much sleep as I would have wanted that night as a result, but that would be partly rectified later. After the last roll call on Tuesday morning, we had to stay there because the gates could open at any minute and we would have to get in, in line according to our numbers. There was a street market that day near the stadium, so we went there and bought... pillows. Yes and we used them to sit down outside the stadium and even, in my case, sleeping! Yes, I'm not ashamed to say, that I slept out in the street! (Out in the street! Geddit?) And in the middle of the day at that! And if that sounds strange, let me tell you that some people, mainly those organizing the roll calls had brought their tents and slept there during the night, not because they couldn't afford a hotel, but because they wanted to be there for the roll calls. Anyway, our long wait there was made easier by the fact that there was cloud cover (but no rain) during most of the day (we were near the Alps, remember?) so we didn't have to suffer the scorching heat we had experienced outside the Stadio Olimpico in Rome the day before.

So, what happened was that one of my friends woke me up from a deep sleep and told me "Get up Pap, we're going in". I just had time to grab one of the pillows we had bought (I think I left another one there in the street). I thought the pillow would come in useful, because we were in for another long wait once we got inside the stadium and I remember dragging it with me as we were guided to the pit in an orderly fashion. We were waiting there, thankfully sitting down, for quite some time, (though not so much as in Rome because there was no aquatic championship taking place nearby which meant that the show would start at a more reasonable time). We spent that time, telling stories of previous concerts and guessing what Bruce might play.

Finally, the wait was over and Bruce came on stage. And instead of opening with the usual "Badlands" as he did in Rome and in fact on several other dates of this tour, he started with one of what I call the "surprise opening numbers", songs that he doesn't play too often. This time it was "Loose Ends". The usual "Badlands" was the second song. But there were more surprises in store for us. At some point Bruce brought out a chair, sat on it with his guitar at the very front of the stage within touching distance (and every time he approached the front of the stage, I would get close to him, whether I wanted to or not, because the whole pit crowd would approach the stage - they would pull back when we went back, and they were very polite, saying "scusi" all the time) and sang "Workin' On The Highway" which is probably my favourite song from the "Born In The USA" album and I hadn't heard it live until then. The rock 'n' roll highlight this time was "Travellin' Band" one of my favourite Creedence Clearwater Revival songs.

But the biggest surprise of the night was to come just after that song and there was a back story to it. Two days before, in Rome, we were given sign requests for "Drive All Night" (a very emotional song off The River album which Bruce rarely played live back then). We kept waving them while Bruce was collecting the request signs and I think he took several of them, but he did not oblige that night. This time, the Italians took it a to the next level. They handed him a sign request that consisted of three envelopes, clearly marked 1, 2 and 3. Bruce opens the first envelope, out comes a sign saying "Drive All Night", He opens up a second envelope, out comes another sign saying "Drive All Night". He opens up the third and guess what: Yes, it was another "Drive All Night" sign. So Bruce, looks towards Max who just shrugged as if to say ("I'm OK with it"). That's when i thought "Success!". This time he was going to play it! But why did I want so much to hear it live? Well it was the favourite song of one my friends. She had been to several Springsteen concerts over the years and only managed to hear it once. Unfortunately, after the Rome concert she decided to go back to Greece and not to follow us to Torino, so she missed her chance of hearing it for a second time.

After the concert had finished, once again with the customary "Twist And Shout", my friends and I hang around for a while outside the stadium, eating junk food from one of the cantines, at the same place where we had been sleeping a few hours before while we were waiting to get in.

"I made it!", I thought. I had followed the pit roll call procedure all the way and I saw Bruce from really up close. But it had been such a tiring experience that I decided that on my next concert in Udine I would not go into the pit. Well, you know what they say... Never say never...

SETLIST:
01. Loose Ends
02. Badlands
03. Hungry Heart
04. Outlaw Pete
05. Working on the Highway
06. Working on a Dream
07. Murder Incorporated
08. Johnny 99
09. American Skin (41 Shots)
10. Raise Your Hand
11. Travelin' Band
12. Drive All Night
13. Two Hearts
14. My Love Will Not Let You Down
15. Waitin' on a Sunny Day
16. The Promised Land
17. My Hometown
18. Backstreets
19. Lonesome Day
20. The Rising
21. Born to Run
ENCORE:
22. Land of Hope and Dreams
23. American Land
24. Glory Days
25. Dancing In The Dark
26. Twist And Shout

My 2009 tour of Italy with Bruce Springsteen - Part 1 : Rome

As Italy is going through a difficult time, it is important for me to remember all the wonderful times I've had and all the wonderful people I've met there. One of these times, probably the best one, was when I took an almost complete tour of Italy, from Rome northwards, following Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band on the Working On A Dream tour. What made it easier was the fact that the concerts were evenly spaced. One every two days: Sunday the 19th of July in Rome, Tuesday the 21st in Torino and finally Thursday the 23rd in Udine. In this way I could go to the concert on one day and then travel the following day to the next town and join the pit roll calls upon arrival. A friend of ours had collected our money and sent it to another friend in Italy who bought the tickets for us so we avoided the usual "ticket stress".

During the days before my trip to Rome I was running a high fever which had manifested itself during a Paul Weller gig in Athens and which I had probably contracted during an Oasis gig in London. There was a serious flu going around in those days. The fever finally relented on Friday the 17th, so I was able to travel on Saturday the 18th. And apart from me, there  were so many Greeks that had come to Rome for this concert that we were right in saying that "The Greeks invade Rome". This was something that would be repeated, again in Rome, during the 2016 River tour. We spent Saturday night by going to a Bruce Springsteen party in Rome, organized by Italians where a local tribute band played.

This was my first concert where I followed the roll call procedure, though not correctly which resulted in my (and a few of my friends') missing a roll call and getting a second, higher number. We still got in the pit though. There we were in for a long wait as there was an Aquatic championship taking place nearby which was not to be interrupted by the noise. This meant that the concert started well past 10 pm and with Bruce's 3 hour concerts you can guess at which time it finished. We spent this time singing Thunder Road with a friend from Cyprus and his teenage children, talking about friends who couldn't make it there (hello, Anastasia!) and trying to position ourselves in a better position inside the pit (which was basically cheating plain and simple but there you go).

All these things were forgotten when Bruce came on stage though. Now this was my only concert from the Working On A Dream tour where Bruce sang not two but three songs from the aforementioned album. 

So apart from the usual two ("Outlaw Pete" and "Working On A Dream") we also got "Surprise, Surprise" because somebody requested it. It was also the first time I heard "Thunder Road" (it was not a regular feature on that tour, but it is still my favourite Bruce song). During that song I noticed someone that must have come out of a cartoon. One of those characters with springs under their shoes so that they jump up and down. With every jump however she was coming closer to us and when she reached us we realised that it was one of our friends who had chosen this way to "cheat" in the pit so that she could be with us. We got "Seeds", we got "No Surrender" as well (very appropriate with so many Greeks from the No Surrender Community present) and this time Bruce did his regular speech during "Working On A Dream" in Italian. 

This was the first Bruce concert where I developed the habit of taking a photo of the audience behind me during "Born To Run" (that's when all the stadium lights are turned on).

Bruce brought his mum and two of her friends on stage during "American Land" and in the end they didn't want to go. He had practically to usher them off stage before he could continue with the next song! 

And finally, the rock 'n' roll highlight was an unexpected "You Can't Sit Down", apart from the usual "Twist And Shout" which was the very last song.

The concert finished in the early hours of Monday the 20th of July, but thankfully one of us had thought of hiring a bus to take us from Stadio Olimpico back to our hotels. But no, we couldn't go to sleep. We gathered in Piazza Barberini where the hotel that most of us were staying was and went into a late night bar and ordered some food and drinks which took half of a length of a Bruce concert to arrive.

The following day most people were heading to Fiumicino airport to get back to Greece (and there was a huge gathering of Greeks there on that day). But my roommate and I headed to the train station and got on a train to our next destination: Torino...

SETLIST:
01. Badlands
02. Out In The Street
03. Outlaw Pete
04. No Surrender
05. She's The One
06. Working On A Dream
07. Seeds
08. Johnny 99
09. Atlantic City
10. Raise Your Hand
11. Hungry Heart
12. Pink Cadillac
13. I'm On Fire
14. Surprise, Surprise
15. Prove It All Night
16. Waitin' On A Sunny Day
17. The Promised Land
18. American Skin (41 Shots)
19. Lonesome Day
20. The Rising
21. Born to Run
ENCORE:
22. My City Of Ruins
23. Thunder Road
24. You Can't Sit Down
25. American Land
26. Bobby Jean
27. Dancing In The Dark
28. Twist And Shout

The Joshua Tree Live Under A Roman Sky - Day 2

On my 2nd night with U2 in Rome I was more organized and more relaxed. I went to the stadium early, before the doors opened and even though I had been walking all day - acting the tourist and sightseeing - I felt that I had the energy I was lacking the previous day.

I took the tram and arrived promptly at Stadio Olimpico before the gates opened. When they did, I went straight to my seat, having had the merchandise sorted out the day before. The only problem was, that after I had scanned my ticket and the gate promptly opened and let me through, a person inside the gate tore a piece off my ticket. Come on, this was marketed as a "souvenir ticket" by TicketOne who sells them and it's meant only to be scanned and then kept as a souvenir by the owner (hence the name). What did they think I was going to do with it? Fly it with a drone back over the gate and re-sell it (by an accomplish?) to a ticketless fan who would then realize that he could not get in because it had already been scanned? Be serious! Thankfully, I have the ticket from the previous night still intact!
Anyway, my intention was to catch the full set from Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds from the beginning. Their support slot on the European leg of this tour was one of the reasons that tipped the scales towards me finally buying a ticket when I had a second chance and while I was still thinking about it. I was lucky enough to have seen Oasis at Wembley in July 2009, about a month before they broke up but I wouldn't mind hearing some of the old familiar tunes again, plus some of Noel's solo stuff which was really good last time I checked.
And that's how it was when Noel came on stage. He did several Oasis songs, focusing mostly on the ones in which he sang the lead vocals back then, like "Little By Little". The penultimate song was what I was waiting for, "Don't Look Back In Anger" and the last one was one of the best of his solo efforts "AKA... What A Life".

 

From then on, we had to wait until it got dark and U2 would come on stage while once again poems, sayings and other excerpts were once again displayed on the screen.

 

At long last, "The Whole Of The Moon" by The Waterboys started playing over the speakers and we knew that immediately after it U2 would come on stage. 
Once again they opened with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" but this time we got "A Sort Of Homecoming" instead of "Bad".

Once again, the full Joshua Tree performance was spectacular and I was able to enjoy it even more than the day before. There was no choreography this time during "With Or Without You" though.

Immediately after the album Miss Sarajevo followed with what was probably one of the best accompanying films displayed on the screen, telling the story of a Syrian refugee. Meanwhile, a huge banner with her photograph was circulated over the seats by the crowd.

We also got one of my favourites, "Mysterious Ways" in the post-Joshua Tree part of the show, but not "The Little Things That Give You Away".

Fully enjoyed this second show, it was after all the one for which I had originally bought a ticket for (the previous day was considered an extra) and knowing more about the public transport that night I headed to the square from which the tram was leaveing. I got on one quickly and I even got a seat. There was no metro to get on at the end of the tram line (it was a Sunday and the metro closes earlier but we could get the night bus that would take us to Stazione Termini. Problem was, when said bus came it was already full, so no one could get in. Thankfully the Romans provided extra buses staring from that same stop so I got on one of these and from Stazione Termini I made my way to the hotel afer grabbing the obligatory sandwiches.
In short, The Joshua Tree tour was an amazing experience. The Joshua Tree sequence itself brings to mind The Wall Tour by Roger Waters in the sense that the films displayed on the almost as big screen are probably an essential part of the experience. As for the rest of the set what else could it be but a Greatest Hits package! Consisting of only the biggest hits, if you please!
And when I got back home the first thing I did was play "Rattle And Hum" (the album) and watch the movie. I know it has been kind of disowned by the band and the music press, but it's a chronicle of the original Joshua Tree tour not just anywhere but jn America, the country that The Joshua Tree is about. Plus it was a revelation for me when I watched it at the cinema at Canterbury, Kent, back in the day and made me a bigger fan than I already was and I thought it was much better than "Live At Red Rocks". A few months later it became one of the first video tapes I bought, along with "101" by Depeche Mode, another great concert film (also set in America). People criticize it because it shows the band being in awe of America. So what? Everyone has the right to be overwhelmed by the US when the travel across it. I know I did, a few years later in 2000.

Now, let's just sit back, relax and at long last wait for "Songs Of Experience" which will bring us the 2nd leg of the "Innocence + Experience Tour"...

SETLISTS

NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS

01. Everybody's On The Run
02. Lock All The Doors
03. In The Heat Of The Moment
04. Riverman
05. Champagne Supernova
06. You Know We Can't Go Back
07. Half The World Away
08. Little By Little
09. Wonderwall
10. Don't Look Back In Anger
11. AKA... What A Life!

U2

01. Sunday Bloody Sunday
02. New Year's Day
03. A Sort Of Homecoming
04. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
05. Where The Streets Have No Name
06. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
07. With Or Without You
08. Bullet The Blue Sky
09. Running To Stand Still
10. Red Hill Mining Town
11. In God's Country
12. Trip Through Your Wires
13. One Tree Hill
14. Exit
15. Mothers Of The Disappeared
16. Miss Sarajevo
17. Beautiful Day
18. Elevation
19. Vertigo
20. Mysterious Ways
21. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
22. One

The Joshua Tree Live Under A Roman Sky - Day 1

My trip to Rome for the Joshua Tree Tour 2017 was on... second thought. When the first European dates of this tour were announced I didn't do anything. Probably I didn't have amy money at that time or I was just thinking about it. They were sold out at once! Then I started thinking about the similarities with last year's Bruce Springsteen The River Tour 2016 plus how much The Joshua Tree album meant to me when it came out and so on... so when the second bunch of dates were announced I was ready!
I chose Italy (of course!) and I made my trip arrangements this way: I booked my flight to Rome for the day before the concert, which was the day of the first Rome date. My plan was to go by the stadium on the day and see if I could find someone selling an unwanted ticket. And my plan actually worked!
First of all, let me say, that going by the stadium the previous day would prove useful, because I wanted to check public transport to Stadio Olimpico. The last time I had attended a concert there was back in 2009 for Bruce Springsteen's Working On A Dream Tour. Once again, The instructions from Google Maps proved NOT useful. It sent me taking the Metro and then a bus which when it came was full. Thankfully, I saw a notice at the bus station of a tram line that would be operating until late because of the U2 concerts and so I used that one the following day.
"How much?" I asked the first person I noticed selling a ticket... "Well it cost 85 euros but you can have it for 50" he said!. Perfect! And within my budget! I bought it,  grabbed a beer to celebrate my success and then headed straight for the entrance as I heard the songs of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds playing (I missed them, but never mind, I could catch them in full, the following day)

I headed first to the merchandise stand to grab the obligatory t-shirt and I finally found my seat, just as Noel Gallagher started playing "Don't Look Back In Anger". 

He played one more, then we were waiting for U2, while poems sayings and other excerprts were displayed on the (huge) screen. 

As it got dark, "The Whole Of The Moon" by The Waterboys was played over the stadium speakers and this was the sign that U2 were about to come on stage.

 

 

 And so they did! They started the set with a few songs that pre-date The Joshua Tree (the opener is always "Sunday Bloody Sunday") before they launched into The Joshua Tree album. These songs are usually from the "War" and "The Unforgettable Fire" albums. Tonight, we also got "New Year's Day", "Bad" and "Pride".

 

After these, it was time for "The Joshua Tree" album and that's the point where the show got spectacular and the huge screen was put in use. 

For the opener "Where The Streets Have No Name" we get a film of travelling on a desert road (with people walking beside it at regular intervals). 

Well, you know the album's sequence, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was next and then "With Or Without You" for which a choreography was prepared for that particular night by U2Place.

Moving on to the B-side of the album, I should also mention "Red Hill Mining Town" which was released as a remix picture disc 12 inch single for this year's Record Store Day and which had never before been played live before this tour, plus one of my favourite tracks from this album "Trip Through Your Wires".

 

 

When the album was finally over, the band returned for a set of post-Joshua Tree songs. The huge screen was still used for that last part of the show which began with an amazing rendition of Miss Sarajevo.

Being in Italy, there was a big round of applause when the recorded vocals of Luciano Pavarotti came on. Another highlight of this part of the show was the medley of Elevation and Vertigo, but the truth was that I was beginning to get very tired by this point. 

This was not the fault of U2 of course, but you have to remember I was at another gig the previous night (in a different country!) and the only sleep I got was one hour on the plane and another one at the hotel. However, U2, after Ultra Violet (dedicated to all women)  had another little surprise at the end to keep me interested. 

A new song, "The Little Things That Give You Away" from their long-awaited next album "Songs Of Experience" 

It was now time to get back to the hotel, a mission which I still did not know how (and if!) it would be accomplished. Luckily, without meaning to, I reached a bus stop which was one stop before the one where most people were waiting on and caught a bus going all the way towards Ottaviano (near the Vatican) from where I could catch the Metro. As I was getting off the bus, I saw the dome of St.Peter's straight ahead and momentarily I thought of getting over there to snap some nice night-time photos but I was too tired for that, so I got on the Metro and returned to the hotel after grabbing a couple of sandwiches. The next day, I would see the whole show one more time but by then I would have caught enough sleep and a well-earned rest to enjoy it properly .

SETLIST
01. Sunday Bloody Sunday
02. New Year's Day
03. Bad
04. Pride (In The Name Of Love)

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05. Where The Streets Have No Name

06. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
07. With Or Without You
08. Bullet The Blue Sky
09. Running To Stand Still
10. Red Hill Mining Town
11. In God's Country
12. Trip Through Your Wires
13. One Tree Hill
14. Exit
15. Mothers Of The Disappeared

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16. Miss Sarajevo
17. Beautiful Day
18. Elevation
19. Vertigo
20. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
21. One
22. The Little Things That Give You Away