Those who
have attended Irish super-band U2’s concerts often claim that
each concert is one of the greatest, life changing moments they have experienced.
For someone who has been following the band for the last 15 years, upon finding
last September that U2 will be performing as near as Istanbul, Turkey, I just
knew that this was my chance to finally experience the rapture that is U2 live.
I too had to find out whether attending a U2 concert can be considered as one
of my life’s greatest moments or not.
A friend helped me secure my ticket and lo and behold, I landed a couple of days
before the U2 show in Istanbul. The concert was slated to take place at the Ataturk
Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, on September 6, 2010.
The night before the concert, while strolling across the city centre at Taksim
Square, I ran into a lot of U2 fans who had come from different countries to
attend the show. There were people from Bulgaria, Germany, South Africa, Italy
and many other countries, who all gathered at different bars and restaurants,
singing U2 songs and anticipating what was thought to be one of the major concerts
of the U2 360° tour.
Wandering around I had the most jaw dropping of experiences: I managed to catch
The Edge (guitarist for U2) and Larry Mullen Junior (drums) out on the fashionable
Istiklal Street, having dinner with their entourage. I could not muster up the
courage to go up and ask for an autograph or picture, but the close proximity
with members of the band got me buzzing for the next day.
Political connection
The day dawned after a sleepless night. The excitement across the city was palpable.
This was U2’s first ever concert in Turkey. The band had previously expressed
the desire to perform here during the Popmart tour but due to political reasons,
the plan fell apart. This show was already labeled among fan communities as one
to look out for, due to the fact that U2 has always been a staunch supporter
of political freedom and is often outspoken advocate for human rights. The band
has had close association with Turkey in the past as they had acknowledged Fehmi
Tosun, an ethnic Kurd who was taken into custody back in 1995 and never seen
again, on their POP album. Upon arriving in Istanbul, U2 took out time to meet
with Tosun’s wife as well. However, along with that, Bono also met with
the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose conservative policies are protested
against by the progressive sections of the country, this in itself caused a bit
of controversy as U2 was seen by some as playing both sides.
Beautiful day
Typically, despite my excitement, I was late to get the shuttle to the Stadium.
I was already apprehensive if I would be able to get a good seat.
The shuttle took over an hour to reach the venue which was almost 40 km away
from the city centre and by the time I reached there I was already panicking.
It seemed that there weren’t a lot of people outside. However, once I moved
towards the stadium, the smile soon disappeared from my face as I could see more
than 600 people standing before me in the queue. After getting the ticket verified
and stamped with number 848 on my wrist, I finally made my way into one of the
queue boxes outside the stadium.
A U2 concert is a model of organization and efficiency. With an expected crowd
of more than 50,000, the organisers along with U2 team arranged for queue boxes
which would hold 30 people inside them and separated those boxes with dividers
ensuring there was no pushing or shoving. It is here one can truly understand
the camaraderie between U2 fans. People from different nationalities all gather
together for one sole purpose and that is to attend a performance by the greatest
band on earth and rejoice. It is from this vantage point, where the GA ticket
holders also get to hear the soundcheck performances which throw up a lot of
surprises too.
I was lucky enough to be together with a group of Turks, who made me immediately
feel at home with their friendly nature. In fact, upon finding out that I was
from Pakistan, they also sang an impromptu version of ‘Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan’,
a most remarkable memory to last a lifetime.
It was here when I got my first jolt of surprise when I heard the band perform ‘Mercy’ during
sound check, an almost mythical song which has sort of created a cult following
among the diehard U2 fans as it has never been performed on stage or released
as a single. Soon, I was given the second shock as U2 decided to sound check
one of their most underrated gem from the Joshua Tree album, ‘Mothers Of
The Disappeared’.
By this time, the crowds in the queues were going absolutely berserk as the excitement
for the show to begin was growing and there was this sense of urgency. Soon,
however, we were granted our wish and the doors were opened and there was a mad
rush to enter the stadium.
Let me in the sound
The moment I crossed the security check and entered the stadium, I was awestruck.
It seemed like a moment of truth, a moment of surrender, for before me was standing
the magnificent Claw. The 360° tour is all about the Claw, an inter-galactic
spaceship like stage-object which seems to have descended from the heavens to
light up the sky. It was an absolute sight to behold and I for one, took my sweet
time to take in the grandiosity of the structure.
As I was told by my Turk friends just to follow them, I ran the length of an
entire field only to find myself inside the inner circle, unarguably the best
seats in the house. From here, I could see the entire stage, be at a touching
distance from the band, take the best photos and perhaps, achieve nirvana.
Open your eyes
Just as the doors to the stadium opened up, the heavens did too. It started raining
just as the opening band, Snow Patrol came on as if to welcome them. Ataturk
Stadium can hold more than 70,000 people and though it was obvious that it was
not a sold-out show, those 55,000 present at the venue made sure they were loud
enough and excited enough to send a shiver up anybody’s spine. And all
of these 55,000 gave a rousing welcome to Snow Patrol, who opened the show in
what was by now driving rain.
A fabulous band in their own right, Snow Patrol proceeded to deliver some fantastic
songs and warmed up the crowd by performing numbers such as ‘Chasing Cars’, ‘Run’, ‘You`re
All That I Have’. With Gary Lightbody dressed in Turkey’s national
colors, the highlight of their set list was when they dedicated ‘Chasing
Cars’ to the U2 road crew who came on stage to sing the song with the band.
This show was Snow Patrol’s last one with U2 on the 360° tour and as
they bid adieu, the energy levels among the audience suddenly shot up a few notches,
anticipating the appearance of the men from Dublin.
Get on your boots!
Pretty soon, the audience’s wish came true as the intro for U2 began playing
on the PA system, and all eyes rose to the giant screen on the Claw, to see where
the band would enter from. This was definitely one of those moments which cannot
be encapsulated in words, for somebody who had an opportunity to see his music
heroes live, the sheer level of excitement was way beyond anything ever felt
before. As the opening chords of their new song, ‘Return Of The Stingray
Guitar’ began playing, a surge of electricity crossed the field and the
ecstatic screams of the crowd literally brought the roof down.
From here onwards, U2 dove into their 30-year-old repertoire of songs and delivered
classics after classics, which left the entire stadium clamouring for more. It
was a combination of old and new, as the band compiled a set list which would
consist of some of their decades old greatest hit such as ‘New Years Day’, ‘Pride
(In The Name Of Love)’, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ to the modern
classics such as ‘Until The End Of The World’, ‘Mysterious
Ways’ and ‘Beautiful Day’. The playlist also consisted of
the modern U2 hits, such as the fabulous ‘Vertigo’ as well as ‘Elevation’ and ‘Walk
On’.
Oh, you look so,
beautiful tonight!
However, like every U2 concert, this one too had its moment of greatness, which
made this concert particularly stand out among the rest. The first of those unique
moments arrived when while performing In ‘A Little While’, the audience
witnessed the luckiest girl in Istanbul, who was lifted on the stage, and proceeded
to dance with Bono.
Another highlight of the show, particularly for those inside the circle, was
whenever any of the band-members would walk on the bridge constructed on the
main stage to connect with the outer-circle; the bridge itself would rotate and
move across the audience. Every time Bono and the boys would walk on them, there
would be a loud roar emanating from the audience.
Because of the earlier rain, the band was forced to perform the songs at a relatively
quicker pace to rush through them. Despite that, it was at the middle section
of the show when it truly elevated beyond the vast boundaries of the Ataturk
Stadium.
It all started at the beginning of the ‘City Of Blinding Lights’,
with the cylindrical screen expanding to take the shape of a larger cone, emitting
dazzling array of lights, taking breath away of those present at the venue. From
there onwards, the show just notched up to an unprecedented level and the climaxed
when U2 brought out their rare gem, ‘Mothers Of The Disappeared (MOTD)’.
This song, the last one from the epic album the Joshua Tree circa 1987, has been
written for the families from Argentina and El Salvador who lost their children,
never to see them again. On a personal note, I thought this was a most pertinent
song for a lot of people in Pakistan as well who lost their loved ones and are
yet to see them back home. U2 dedicated this song to Fehmi Tosun, and brought
on stage one of the greatest Turkish artist, a man of many talents, Omer Zulfu
Livaneli, who accompanied Bono in singing ‘MOTD’. As Zulfu’s
deep, baritone voice rang across the venue, the crowd’s reaction was mesmerising
to say the least.
Zulfu soon took over from Bono and only for the second time in U2’s touring
history, another artist besides the band went on to perform his own song. Singing
his famous folk tune, ‘Yiidim Aslan¦m Burda Yat¦yor (Here
I am a Brave Sleeping Lion)’, it was a sight to behold when literally every
single one present at the venue sang along with the 64-year old singer.
Walk On…
This magical performance was followed by the encores, where Bono also spoke about
his visit to Turkey, about the reasons of visiting the Turkish PM (amidst loud
boos I may add) and ending with a passionate plea to embrace the future by holding
on to the past, generating resounding appreciation by the audience.
Thus began the last leg of the concert with the stable anthems of the U2 discography,
a glittering collection of gems such as ‘One’, ‘Where The
Streets’ and ‘With Or Without You’, at which the entire stadium
was bathed in shimmering lights as people held aloft their cell phone and created
this dazzling sea of small blue dots and swayed in trance.
The concert was finally brought to an end by perhaps the most epic song, ‘Moment
Of Surrender’, from U2’s latest album. As the band walked down hand
in hand, the audience in a most befitting manner applauded them and sang along
to bring down the curtains on what was possibly one of the greatest nights the
historical city of Istanbul had ever witnessed.