U2 has long been one of Jeff’s and my favorite bands, so when we heard they were coming to perform in Dublin (their hometown), we jumped at the chance to go! We had seen them once before, in Seattle, but seeing them in Dubs (especially because they hadn’t performed here in 6 years) felt like a living-in-Ireland bucket list experience. We made it a fun date night, with a delixious sushi dinner beforehand in town, and then meeting our friends Natalie and Joel (who were also going to the show) for a drink before heading to the concert. 

 U2 is undeniably Ireland’s most famous band and they are very much embraced and “claimed” by the people of Dublin (I’ve had numerous cab drivers regale me with their U2 stories…meeting the band, knowing  people who knew them as kids, spotting them in a pub, picking up passengers who live on the street Bono grew up on…the list goes on). In any event, we had a feeling that U2 playing to their hometown would be something special as they tried to connect with and honor Dublin. 

We definitely were not disappointed! Bono and the guys put on an incredible performance. They played some new songs as well as many classics, with the audience singing along with loads of excitement and energy. It’s kind of funny to see Bono’s showmanship– he kind of struts around the stage trying to look sexy, and even periodically took swigs of water and spit it on the crowd (my reaction was “yuck” but I’m sure many recipients of the water considered themselves lucky 😜). But I still think he’s a great performer. And as expected, they definitely highlighted Dublin as their home. From announcing the streets each of them grew up on, their high schools, and photo montages of Dublin sites and scenes, it had some very “local” touches from an international superstar band. They also highlighted and honored the victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland with such songs as “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and photo/video of scenes from Belfast and Northern Ireland. 

U2 always incorporates a lot of geopolitical content in their shows. This time was no different. With the topics of terrorism and refugees filling the news across the world, the music was accompanied by photo/video imagery of the war in Syria, refugees fleeing their countries, and the #refugeeswelcome hashtag. I read some critics that say U2 capitalizes on these worldwide tragedies for “entertainment” purposes, but I saw it more as solidarity, awareness-raising, and honoring people who suffer around the world. At the end of the show, U2 sang part of its famous song “Beautiful Day” in French to honor the Paris victims.  At a time with so much tragedy and hate in the world, I felt that the audience at the concert was so full of energy, upbeat vitality, and hope. The way music can inspire and transport is pretty amazing. 

It was hard to capture photos with the lighting (and I also wanted to just enjoy the show in the moment), but here are a few photos. Really glad we were able to have this opportunity!