U2 360° Tour at the Rose Bowl - Live on YouTube
The U2 360° Tour is named after the 360-degree staging and audience configuration it uses for shows, which U2 claims is the first time a band has toured in stadiums with such a unique and original structure.
Willie Williams designed the stage set for U2's current 360° Tour. The size of the set has caused some sensation. Mr. Williams has been working with the Irish rock band since 1982.
Mr. Williams insists that the scale the set is the least interesting thing about it. He says, "Even though it's very tall and very wide, the magic trick is that when you stand onstage the whole thing disappears. The reason it's so big is to make it invisible."
This works by removing the hulking backdrop that usually defines a stadium show and relocating all those tons of gear above the band's playing area to create the illusion that the gear isn't there at all.
An early inspiration was the Theme Building at LAX, a favorite of U2 frontman Bono's. According to U2 manager Paul McGuinness, the structure has practical advantages: It allowed the band to expand the seating capacity at most venues by about 20 percent.
Roughly 95,000 people are expected at the Rose Bowl tonight, October 25, 2009. The tour incorporates three separate rigs to allow for construction and disassembly time along the way.
The October 25, 2009, performance in Pasadena, California, is set to be filmed for an upcoming DVD release and will be streamed live over YouTube.
Watch the Live Webcast or the Rebroadcast.
