The iconic Irish rockers, U2 brought impeccable talent, spectacular production, and an incredible experience to the final show of two nights at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on their ‘Experience + Innocence‘ tour. Bringing along what has got to be one of the most unique and amazing stage setups I have ever seen on any tour that has come through the Philadelphia area, with mindblowing technology allowing Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. to actually enter into the video screens in real time making for an unbelievable eye grasping visual experience which shined vibrantly during U2’s 2014 Songs Of Innocence hit “Cedarwood Road.”
Not only did the band bring some eye grasping visuals to their one-of-a-kind concert experience, they brought some tour-first’s including riffs from the Killers “All These Things That I’ve Done” at the end of their hit “Elevation” singing “I’ve got soul, but i’m not a soldier” and then adding a rare few lines from “Drowning Man” which echoed through the venue during U2’s smash hit “Beautiful Day” which made for only the 39th time ever to be added in live making for a great addition to their already flawless set.
U2’s show not only gave fans a variety of hits from the bands entire catalog but they showcased their most meaningful songs and allowed their activism to shine vibrantly throughout their set as well including motivation speeches from Bono, visuals on their large augmented reality screen that filled the center of the arena flooded with messages of female empowerment, LGBTQ rights, and the rights of all people being treated equally. U2’s message of love and America was definitley shining colorfully throughout their entire 2-hour-and-10-minute set.
Fans in the sold out crowd were definitley pleased with the setlist especially during hits like “Vertigo,” “Elevation,” and “Desire,” as these songs were definitley sung the loudest from the crowd. the capacity crowd also loved when Bono brought back his early 1990’s alter ego of Mr. Macphisto before performing “Acrobat,” which has never been done live prior to this ‘eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE’ tour. Other notable highlights from their set would include when Bono spoke of the peace movement in Ireland in the 1990s before entering into “Staring at the Sun,” then before starting “Pride (In The Name of Love)” it began with video footage of Nazi marches, Ku Klux Klan recruiting drives at last year’s Charlottesville march, and during “Sunday Bloody Sunday” Bono remember the two dozen people killed in the 1974 Dublin car bombings by showing the images of those who lost their life from this awful tragedy asking for ‘Justice For The Forgotten.’
The theatrics on the tour are far beyond any other concert you have ever attended as throughout their nearly three hour set, there were so many sights to see and so many pieces of their production that it was almost too much but was satisfying for fans who like the visual to their music.
Since the beginning of U2 in 1976, the band has released 14 studio albums, sold more than 170 million records, and has won more Grammys (22) than any other rock band in history. The band also holds the record for the most successful concert tour in history, performing over 110 shows for over 7 million fans across 30 countries during their 26-month U2360* tour in 2011. The band however has no signs of slowing down and are only getting better as they continue to keep rock alive and on the road. Not to mention with Bono’s powerful vocals and The Edge’s very unique guitar riffs, we don’t see U2 going anywhere anytime soon other than back on the road or back in the studio for more. I would definitley recommend getting out and checking out U2’s extraordinary performance on this tour and all of their tours to come as they never let their fans down when it comes to talent or production with each tour only getting better and better.
Check out our photo gallery from Philadelphia’s U2 Experience+Innocence:
View the band’s setlist for the evening: HERE
