The way we Listen

Last weekend we had the opportunity to make a little trip to Montpellier (South of France), and live the U2-3D experience. Hard to know what to expect, since there has been no other achievement of this sort in the past.

Saturday afternoon, we reach the CGR movie theater of Lattes (just outside Montpellier), just half-hour before the beginning. Big rush to get to the movie projection room… Not because of U2-3D but because of the frenchie phenomenal success at the moment ( “Bienvenue chez les ch’tis”) which is held at the same time in the next room. Then we manage to get into a small room which quickly became full. Then lovely 3D glasses are distributed, and after a short wait, the lights go down… And an incredible adventure begins.

The introduction had a strong effect on me: some footage of the arrival of fans passing through security controls and starting a mad rush towards the Holy Grail: a spot in the heart of the pit, closest to the scene. Other shots show a stadium full of people, but in total darkness, which make us eager to learn more… This came with, as a soundtrack, the famous “Everyone … everyone” who launched the concerts on the US leg of the tour. Then the first notes of Vertigo ring out: the stage lights up and we realize that we are not really in the stadium facing the stage … But on stage, just above Larry Mullen Jr.’s drums, with the band setting up just before our eyes. Vertigo starts, the stadium explodes. And what a smash!

The 3D is truly startling. Rendering of the musicians is incredibly realistic: sometimes shot on stage, sometimes in close-up, sometimes shot from the public. At several points I even thought that the lifted hands of the crowd were those of the people sitting in front of me. You are immersed in the U2 universe to 100%. Songs roll out with great efficiency, the choice of shots and view angles is very sensible and allows us to take full advantage of this performance.

The band’s performance is also among the best that can be seen on DVD. The choice of the setlist is also a clever one, showing both the classics (Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year’s Day, Beautiful Day, One, With or Without You) and some underrated pearls (Miss Sarajevo, Love and Peace or Else, The Fly, Yahweh). Here are my moments of delight:

• Love and Peace or Else, in which the performance of Larry Mullen Jr. at the tip of the stage, with a simple tom + cymbal set is captivating
• Sunday Bloody Sunday, which will always be my favourite song of all time
• Miss Sarajevo and the impressive vocal performance of Bono on the “opera” part (originally sung by Pavarotti)
• Where the Streets Have No Name, where you can admire an audience so elevated that it gives you goosebumps
• The Fly, the ZooTV era was beautifully transposed to 3D: letters and words are tumbling down (the “BELIEVE -> LIE” moment gave me the greatest joy in particular, fans may understand ; ) )

I also noted the excellent performances of The Edge on guitar and piano, and especially of Adam Clayton on bass, very dynamic.

The concert ends with the beautiful acoustic performance of Yahweh, which concludes the film in a proper softness. End of a magnificent 1h30 adventure, we would have gladly extended… The adventure would have been even better if the sound was at the height of the image. Unfortunately, the volume was not sufficiently powerful for us to be surrounded and taken away in the concert. Apart from this, it is difficult to find flaws, as the work is so innovative. And I would like to congratule the extremely talented technical achievement of the film crew; they managed to share with us a moment in the life of the Irish band no band had ever done before on film. Congratulations.

Did you have the chance to see this experience? What did you think about it? What are the moments that you enjoyed the most?

 I would like to present a film that I discovered recently.