All photos by Phil Bardi.
Upwards of 70,000 people were crammed into Raymond James Stadium, waiting for musical liftoff, and were rewarded with a colossal production spectacle steered by the voices, instruments and magnetic charismas of the Irish mega-foursome.
The stage was a four-legged spaceship and U2 was central command.
I was among the thousands, a diverse crowd composed of every sort imaginable from families (kids included) to groups of ladies in their night-on-the-town best, some in heels I’d never wear out, let alone to a concert, to jocks and goths and tattooed types, to fathers and their adult sons, to scattered groups of non-English speaking tourist types (which made me wonder how many people had flown in from other countries to see the show, and why they chose Tampa), to middle-age couples attending their sole concert of the year. Some were mega-fans, other curiosity seekers and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.
The 360 Tour four-legged spaceship monstrosity (which had a huge spire in its very middle that reached into the sky and had a disco ball at its very top) was set-up at the Galley end of the stadium. A huge 360-degree screen hung over the round main stage, which was located in the very middle and was encircled by an outer platform connected to the round with moving bridges for crossing back and forth, and a crowd jammed in between the platform and stage in a half-circle of bodies where the "front" of the stage was set up. (I imagine these were the $250 tickets.) Rather than try and clumsily explain the layout in any detail, I’ve included pictures and some interesting facts at the end of this post. (In case you're wondering, the 360 Tour has its own comprehensive Wiki page. For real.)
U2 set the mood for the evening with David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” the song blasting through the sound system speakers and heralding the band’s entrance — drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. coming across one of the “bridges” to sit behind the drums in the round, bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist The Edge appearing through “holes” in the round, and Bono bursting onto the round with much fanfare and to a screaming, enthusiastic crowd.
This article appears in Oct 8-14, 2009.