There are few people who can polarise opinion quite like U2 front man Bono.
The figurehead of still arguably the world's biggest rock band has built a career standing up for what he believes and whether you agree with him or not, at least he's not afraid to speak his mind.
As the U2 360 Degree tour arrived at Etihad Stadium last night, more than 60,000 of the converted and the just plain curious turned up to hear Bono's words of wisdom alongside the music of Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullin Jnr.
Melbourne's fickle weather threatened to ruin the night, but almost on queue as the words "After the flood, all the colours came out" in the 2001 hit "Beautiful Day" rang out, the weather cleared to provide a spectacle unlike any other rock show.
The much talked about "claw" stuck out of the open Etihad Stadium roof like a beacon.
The stage, complete with extendable screens, moveable bridges and a circular runway provided as close to an intimate feel as you're ever likely to find at a stadium rock show.
At times, Bono's troublesome back (he requires an hour of physio before and after each performance) seemed to be worrying him, but it didn't affect his voice. This was most notable when he took to Pavarotti's lines in "Miss Sarajevo."
Those expecting preachy Bono would have been disappointed as he stuck to his music but one exception came at the end of the main set when he paid tribute to the recently-freed Burmese freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi who has been released from house arrest. The song the band wrote for her -- "Walk On" -- provided the perfect end to the main set.
A video of Archbishop Desmond Tutu then introduced "One" followed swiftly by "Where the Streets Have No Name" which lead further to "With or Without You" and the ballad "Moment of Surrender" to close the night.
American hip-hop legend Jay-Z provided the entree and while he clearly wasn't to every guitar-rock lover's taste, his performance was full of energy and experience.
His hit duet with Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind" allowed the crowd to give respect to a man who would not be used to second billing.
He would later join U2 on stage for a different take on "Sunday Bloody Sunday" -- again not to every traditionalist U2 fan's taste -- but there's nothing wrong with trying something new.
Who knows when we might see U2 back in Melbourne again? If you are able to snap up a ticket for tomorrow night, you won't be disappointed.
source : http://melbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au/
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