Words and photos: Darren Kinsella
I’VE been going to U2 concerts since 1985 and there has always been a great sense of anticipation at the opening of their shows.
Back in the ‘80s, it was the appearance of Dave Fanning on stage as he introduced the band. Then, in the ‘90s, as U2 reinvented the whole concert experience, the build-up came in the form of a song as the huge screens that have become a major part of every U2 tour flickered to life.
As their ‘Experience and Innocence’ shows rolled into Dublin last week for some of the final dates of the tour, there was no sign that things were winding down.
A monstrous 102ft screen known as ‘The Barricage’ cut through the arena as the level of audience euphoria went into overdrive. Moments later, a clip from ‘The Great Dictator’, the 1940 American political satire film by Charlie Chaplin, filled the screen.
Then we see the ruins of major European cities in the aftermath of war and, seconds later, it’s Trump, Putin and Kim Jong Un.
The message is clear as ‘The Blackout’ opens the show with silhouettes of Bono, Adam, Edge and Larry filling the giant screen until it slowly starts to rise to reveal the foursome inside.
A U2 concert is as much about the visuals as it is about the songs and my brain was working overtime as my senses were overloaded by what I was seeing, hearing and feeling.
When I was given the go ahead to start taking pictures, I had to concentrate hard to bring myself back to the real reason I was there. I had three to four minutes in front of the stage to get photos, all while standing in the middle of a sea of dancing, screaming fans with their arms in the air. The light seemed to be changing every second, heaping further pressure on the photographers.
The show continued to bombard us with all kinds of imagery, from refugees to cartoon characters of the band to kaleidoscopes of brilliant colours. It’s rock concert meets cinema meets political rally. It’s all here.
Soon, I’m upstairs taking more photos as the band move to the more intimate setting of a small stage set in the centre of the crowd. I’m amazed, yet again, by what U2 are able to do with their live shows.
When Bono declared from the stage at the same venue back in December 1989 that they’d have to go away and dream it all up again, he certainly was true to his word. Decades later, U2 continue to dream it up every time they take to the road.
I can’t wait to see what Bono and the boys come up with next.
