Last week I saw U2 at Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, on their northern leg of the 360 Tour.  Myself & a few local photographers moonlight at rock togs in association with The Sound Gallery, and Phil tried his luck getting press-passes for the U2 show.  As it turned out, on the morning of the gig, we got confirmation that we had two press passes! But as myself, Clare & her pal Alix already had tickets, and the logistics of doing both looked a pain.

So while TSG togs Barber & Booker got their press passes & shuffled into the pit, myself, Clare & Alix saw the show from the other side of the barriers.  I took my Canon G10 to document the fun…

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

Below is the crazy crab spaceship type stage used on the U2 360 tour.  A chap called Willie Russell has designed all the U2 stages since the 80s, and not only was he a Sheffield boy, but it was his birthday.  So later on, Bono got us all to sing him a happy birthday.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

The stage was quite special, with a War of The Worlds vibe.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

I decided to film a bit on my compact camera, cos it was proving quite hard to show the show in a fixed wide-angle lens.  The quality of the G10’s video isn’t much, at VGA 640×480 pixels and quite high in digital noise, but it shows things off quite well and the sound isn’t bad at all!

I chopped this little taster together in iMovie… Enjoy!

I was wishing I had my 5DmkII, and could’ve got some tasty HD footage and some sweet shots with the 15mm.

Check out a few of Phil & Rob’s shots from the pit. I’m only a bit jealous!

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…back to my gritty G10 snaps – I liked this one, showing Bono & The Edge on the 360 screen and the band on stage below.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

I liked this one of Adam Clayton working his bass in the spot.

From a technical point of view: You can see the noise starting to dominate the photos at ISO 800.  The G10 is great for being able to shoot manually, but the lens is quite slow (aperture-wise at the longer end of the zoom) and noise performance is pretty lame, especially compared to the mkII.  Perhaps there’s a £1500 difference in price for a reason!

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

Another stage shot showing Bono on the stage & screen.  There were moveable bridges spanning the gap between to the outer stage catwalk.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

I had a little play with long exposure light trails while I was there too.  Kinda like them.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

I’ve seen U2 a bunch of times now and they’re never dull live.  Fan or not, it’s hard not to be impressed by their shows.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

The 360 video screen dropped down to engulf the stage.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

Go on boys.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

It must be mental playing to this many people.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

I like the colour difference between the crowd & band.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

The video screen, back up.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

The way they filmed it was cunning too, with fisheye cameras running round the stage edge, controlled from below & a camera under each leg.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

The pile out after the show.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

Apparently, they have 3 or 4 stages set up at this and the next shows, but take down all the sound & lighting gear after show & drive it to the next show.

U2 360 Tour @ Don Valley Stadium [live music photography © Barnaby Aldrick for The Sound Gallery 2009]

Make sure you grab a chance to check U2 next time they’re in town!

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