U2, until the end of the world

June 7th, 2011

Drive – Bart – Oakland Colliseum.

We were ready for a long delayed concert; over my shoulder was my new Think Tank Retrospective 5 holding a Leica M6 0.85 and the new (to me) Zeiss C- Biogon 35mm f2.8.

At the Bart Station, I shot the last  frame with the Heliar Classic 50m  and there on the Biogon took control for the remaining of the PanF 50 and the future 2 TriX rolls.

His ostracism was broken with the  arrival of the train.

45 minutes later we arrived to the Oracle Overstock Coliseum.

After a small delay thanks to an annoying security  guard that claimed that I could attach a super “fast” (meaning to shot many frames per second) and super zoom lens to my M6 (funny to say the least), we finally entered the stadium.

We were ready for the best concert with the best company.

Oakland Colliseum – The Concert.

Items consumed: 2 Tri X and 1/3 of an Ilford PanF 50, 4 beers, 1 garlic fries, 1 U2 concert t-shirt

It was hella cold… but then Lenny Kravitz arrived

(Let love rule!)

About 8 songs later there was just the multiplied babble of thousands of people and the Octopus Scenario.

Almost 1 hour and a half after the end of Lenny’s show , the tunes of  Space Odity filled the air, they were coming.

One year later, they finally arrived.

Concert track-list (you can see more photos about the concert here)

intro: Space Oddity

Even better than the real thing

I will follow

Magnificent

Mysterious Ways

Elevation

Until the end of the world

All I want is you

So far away (so close)

Beautiful day (space odity and stream from the international spaceship)

In the name of love

Miss Sarajevo

Zooropa (ask the right questions)

City of blinding lights

Vertigo

Ill go crazy if I dont go crazy tonight

Discoteque

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Rejoice

Walk on

One (Would you still love me tomorrow)

Where the street have no name

Hold me thrill me kiss me kill me

With or without you

Moment of Surrender

The show was an incredible experience, by far the best I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately we had to leave during Moment of Surrender and run into the arms of America to catch the last train.

The stadium was bleeding people, waves of joy walking down slowly over the bridge that connects to the bart station.

The way back home is never an easy task, especially when you are leaving behind so much. This has been recurrent scene for me in the last couple of years.

Last facts: time waiting for the concert 2 years, showtime 3 hours, time going back home 2 hours.

Time is unrelenting, an ever changing tide that cleans everything and only finds a brief peace in the shores of memory. The photography is just another futile effort to hold the time still. Almost 2 years of wait were incinerated in less than 3 hours. These photos are just a reminder to live and enjoy every non repeatable moment.