etainoshirenai @ 2008-06-09T21:58:00

2008-06-09T12:29:55Z

prompts, please. footie only. as many as you like. (preferably au, but i can try anything). and like, tell people to come here and give me prompts, too.

srsly, i can't promise anything, but i want to get back into writing some footie fic.

etainoshirenai @ 2007-08-29T06:58:00

2007-08-28T21:32:14Z

oh god. rest in peace, antonio.

sancta maria, mater dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.

Alessio and Riccardo

2006-12-20T07:25:56Z

Spread the word.

Requiescant In Pace.

Oh you look so beautiful tonight; Adelaide.

2006-11-17T12:00:38Z

We got to AAMI Stadium by bus, which was easy. We thought it would be a lot harder. Anyway, as you go through the gates they do a security check. And you know what they did? Anyone who brought a bottle of water with them had the lid confiscated! I can understand the idea, even if I do think it was over the top and ridiculous. Though you had to laugh at the stupidity of it - everywhere you looked inside the stadium you could see people holding these full bottles of water without a lid; no one knew what the hell to do with them. But the thing that really pissed me off was the fact that halfway through the concert a flare went off in the general admission section. (And no, it was not the part where Bono lit the flare). So they confiscate water bottle lids but someone carrying a flare can get in no problem.

We got in OK, in any case (albeit minus a few lids) and went to find our seats. They were awesome - I reckon we had one of the best spots in the house. No one - bar the people right in front of the stage - would have had a better view. Cause friends of ours were in general admission and said they couldn't see the thing. In fact a lot of people were complaining that the stage was too low.

It was so exciting - the atmosphere was fantastic. There were people shouting "hello, hello!" and you'd hear answering shouts of "I'm at a place called vertigo!" from somewhere else in the crowd.

After quite a wait the support act started, at about 7.20pm - Kanye West. Now, no offence whatsoever intended to anyone who likes him or hip-hop in general - but it was bloody awful. I mean, when you've got a crowd that huge who love U2 and that kind of music, why on earth would you give them Kanye West? The crowd was pretty much silent - I almost felt sorry for the guy. But come on - Europe got Franz Ferdinand, America got Kings of Leon and we got Kanye West. I wanted Franz Ferdinand, damnit! Or why couldn't they get an Australian band? The guy behind me leant over and said "the wiggles would have been good after that". Really, it was too much noise - tons and tons of instruments plus back-up vocals. You couldn't distinguish any of the sound and it came out as this horrible mess. Aside from the fact that I don't think anyone would have liked it any better if you could hear it properly.

Anyway, then the actual concert started at 8.30pm and I won't say another bad word.

City of Blinding Lights: It sent shivers down your spine. The opening song - the stadium went completely black; the floodlights had been on and they just switched off and we were plunged into darkness, and then you heard the first few notes on the guitar. It was the most amazing feeling. After waiting so long, it was finally starting. And then Bono changed the words at one point to "oh you look so beautiful tonight; Adelaide" and everyone went nuts.

Vertigo: The thing I remember most about this is the graphics. If you've seen the Chicago DVD, the massive screen behind the stage was like that, and the graphics during "Vertigo" were so fast and dynamic; coupled with the song it was really spectacular.

Elevation: This was awesome. I think that up to this point the crowd had been a little in awe that U2 were actually here and performing and hadn't really started getting into it. But we did here. At the end of each verse the music would just stop completely, Bono wouldn't sing and you'd hear this crowd of 60 000 singing "ELEVATION!" and then Edge would come in with the chorus and everyone would join Bono in those high notes.

I Will Follow: Eveyone got really excited when they started playing this; I don't think anyone had really been expecting it. Hence the enthusiastic singing of everyone during the chorus. Aside from that, this was excellently performed, I thought. Guitar and vocals just blended so seamlessly and it was beautiful to listen to.

New Year's Day: I don't really remember anything particular about this. It was an awesome performance of course, and I love the song. I was excited to see Edge on piano (not sure why, really. I've seen it before).

Beautiful Day: The crowd went wild when this started. I love this song so much and to see it performed live - amazing. And Bono changed the words of the second verse to match Adelaide - stuff like the Barossa Valley, St Peter's, Murray River, South Australia. It was awesome.

Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of: Beautiful. That's all I have to say. I felt like giving Bono a big hug when he sang this.

Angel of Harlem: This was great fun, and Edge was fantastic. At the end Bono had us singing "Angel of Harlem" over and over...then he randomly started singing "I should be so lucky; lucky, lucky, lucky" (Kylie Minogue). It was so funny. And Bono was out on the catwalk and when the crowd laughed he gave this cute little shrug and skipped back to the stage.

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own: At the start of this Bono thanked everyone for their patience and understanding...and then went on to sing it so beautifully and with such earnestness that I had tears in my eyes.

Love and Peace: I don't remember much about this either. Again, it was good, but nothing special worth mentioning.

Sunday Bloody Sunday: This was FANTASTIC. Bono started out on drums. Edge was so bloody awesome and the vocals - best version of the song I've ever heard. They had a break in this and Bono did his "coexist" thing..."Jesus, Jew, Mohammed", and "COEXIST" was up in massive letters behind the stage. He got this little kid to come up and they were both chanting "no more!". So an absolutely fantastic performance coupled with that...like I said, best version I've ever heard.

Bullet The Blue Sky: This was the song where Bono lit a flare, I think.

Miss Sarajevo: At the start Bono dedicated this to all the Australian military serving overseas. And after that was just...wow. FUCKING BRILLIANT. Bono's vocals had been spot-on all night but this was just something else. Perfect pitch the entire way through and those high, climactic notes - PERFECT. I honestly reckon that was the best live performance I've ever seen them do. I can't describe how absolutely mind-blowing it was. When it started the entire stadium just fell silent; all the people in the stands - who had been on their feet the entire time - just sank into their seats and pretty soon were just watching in awe. I've never in my life seen such a beautiful performance and I don't think I ever will again. If "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" made me feel like crying, this made me cry. Then at the end they had this recording of a woman from a third-world country; this small, accented voice reading the basic human rights as they flashed up on the giant screen. Eventually the music faded into nothing and it was just this little voice ringing in the eerie silence of the stadium - I never knew it was possible for 60 000 people to be that quiet. It was one of the post profound moments I have ever experienced - that absolutely beautiful performance of "Miss Sarajevo" followed by this. Just this little, insignificant voice of somebody no one knows, and it created the biggest reaction and it was so powerful - there were people choking up all around. It was so mind-blowingly incredible. I can't even begin to explain. Just - wow. It was magic; it really was.

Pride (In The Name of Love): Eventually the voice finished and it was just dead silence. And then Edge played those first few notes of "Pride" and the crowd was in full voice again - liked they'd been snapped out of a spell. What followed was an incredible performance of "Pride". I think this part of the concert - "Miss Sarajevo", the human rights and "Pride" was the best of the night. Just pure brilliance.

Where The Streets Have No Name: The beauty just continued right into this. As usual the focus of this song was Africa; the flags were up on the giant screen and Bono complemented the awesomeness of it with a brilliant performance.

One: This was all about "Make Poverty History". Bono said he could turn the stadium into a Christmas tree and got everyone to hold up their phones - it looked really amazing. Then the number flashed up on screen and you had to text your name - I think pretty much everyone did. And then a great performance. At this point I just felt so happy; like I could melt right there. I love that song and everything it talks about.

Zoo Station: This was rocking. Loud. That's all I can think of to describe it. And the graphics! By the way, an interesting fact. November 16, the day of the 2006 Vertigo Tour in Adelaide, was thirteen years TO THE DAY of the Zoo TV Tour in Adelaide - November 16, 1993.

The Fly: Rocking as well. That's all I can say.

With or Without You: Oh God, this was gorgeous too. I was already melted from "Miss Sarajevo" and "One" and I melted again. It was just wow when the crowd was joining in the "ohhhh" bits.

The Saints Are Coming: Another one that nobody was expecting. It was great; not the best ever but really good nonetheless. Bono did a great job on his own.

Desire: The crowd was so enthusiastic in this. We pretty much sand the entire thing with Bono; all 60 000 of us. Fun.

Kite: I love this song. Yes, I melted again. Genius way to end the show. Bono sang "Australia; I know that this is not goodbye" as the last words of the night. Just pure gorgeousness - and like a promise that they'll be back.

The entire concert was just brilliant. Edge was incredible - the sounds he can get out of that guitar are unbelievable. Bono was fucking fantastic. He always is, but you know how sometimes he sings a little off pitch or his voice breaks when he gets to the really big notes? None of that at all. He was absolutely perfect the entire way through. I've seen a lot of U2 live DVD's and I reckon this is the best I've ever seen. And not just because I was actually there. I've tried to explain just how mind-blowing it was but really, there are no words for it. It was that fucking brilliant.

After the concert was pure chaos. There were at least half the people trying to catch the shuttle buses that had been organised to take people home. We were in the line-up for about an hour before we got on a bus - and then it only took us to town and we had to find our own way home from there. The bus ride was so funny - there was a guy at the back handing out minties to everyone.

The feeling after the show was so awesome - just so happy and peaceful and inspired; like there is so much good in the world after all. Before this Bono was just this amazing person doing amazing things - but seeing him live; knowing he was actually there and real, not just in a TV screen - it was the best feeling.

As we were walking to the buses, we fell into step beside these two guys holding hands. As well as, of course, melting (again!) and going "awww!" (not out loud), it makes you think. And smile. Because how many real rock concerts would you go to and see two guys holding hands, perfectly happy and safe? It's this incredible power U2 have - to make everyone so accepting and motivated and inspired; to want to "coexist". Everywhere you looked people had these huge smiles on their faces. It was beautiful.

just the bang and the clatter

etainoshirenai @ 2008-06-09T21:58:00

etainoshirenai @ 2007-08-29T06:58:00

Alessio and Riccardo

Oh you look so beautiful tonight; Adelaide.