The main thing we had to do today is figure out the best way to get to the venue. Croke Park is in Dublin 3 and we are staying in Dublin 2, the numbers delineate areas or neighborhoods. We had asked the front desk at the hotel what bus would be the best to get to the concert and we headed out to find the number eleven or the number tree (misspelled on purpose). Walking down Grafton we had an unexpected surprise and were able to get our photos taken with the band... well sort of. I'm pretty sure the "Bono Head" below is the same one that is in the video for Sweetest Thing.

There was a photographer doing some publicity shoot for the HMV chain on Grafton Street. It must have worked because there was a HUGE crowd of us taking snaps with the "band".

Another "Where's Waldo" moment.

Photo Op with the "band"

We continued on to find the correct bus stop but as it turned out, by the time we found it, we were over half way to the Park, since the idea of standing around in the drizzle was sort of a downer, we just decided to keep walking.

As we got closer and closer to the Park we could hear that the band were doing a sound check. Remember, this is a gynormous outdoor stadium and we were still about two blocks away. We started chatting with a guy who was standing there who said that his plane had just landed. He had flown in from Canada but lived in Miami. He said he was there for "both shows". I had to explain that there is actually a third show that had been added on Monday night, you could see the wheels turning when I mentioned the third show. I asked him how he got his tickets and he said, "Oh, I don't have tickets, I'll take care of it, it'll be fine". I liked his confidence.

Croker looming in the background as we listened to sound check.

They say Croker, as the locals call it, seats 84,000 if you fill "Hill 16", although no one really specified what exactly Hill 16 meant or what the origin of the name was I suspect it was the bleachers BEHIND the stage. For the most part, Croke Park is a large horseshoe shaped stadium and they set up the stage in the open part of the horseshoe.

"I've got a Golden Ticket..."

As we were standing around talking with others at the gate it occurred to us that we are NOT U2 fans, at least, not like THESE kids are. They don't ask how far you have traveled to see the band, frankly I thought saying we were from California would give us a bit of clout, nope. They ask, "So how many shows have you seen?" When I told them this was our only show of the tour I felt a little bit like Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka telling his teacher that he had opened only ONE Wonka bar.

We met an incredible amount of people that had not only traveled, but had traveled great distances to see MULTIPLE performances. Germany, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, and all over the States.

Oh hey.... The gate is opening... EARLY! Let's go.

Our gate opened 45 minutes early... by accident.

Probably the coolest guy we met today was the "Safety Steward" in our section. A rough and tumble old guy who told us about how HE use to sneak into the old stadium that had been on this location. It was fun hearing his old stories while we were waiting for the rest of the crowd to be let in. In the US, security people are so much more uptight. This guy was so laid back and so cool about everything. Everyone on their safety crew is given a sack lunch for their shift. He kept offering us his apples from his lunch, "Are you sure? It's OK", he said, "Just let me know if you change your mind."

Irish hospitality.

The newspapers and TV news kept saying that 80,000 people would be at the show. When I mentioned that figure to the guard he said, "Ah nooo, it'll be more like 100,000. They just TELL people that it'll be 80,000". I don't know how to judge crowd sizes, but it was loud.

The Irish crowds are rabid for U2. Sure there are people that don't want to give U2 any credit because they knew the bad as kids or use to drink with them before they were big but there is also a HUGE group of people that are just really excited fans. There is also a huge amount of pride in this group of local boys that have made good.

It was also fun to see the shirts that people were wearing. I saw one group of guys that had designed their own shirts and put the Croke Park dates on them: dedication. I saw another group of guys that had copied the U2 artwork but added their own names to the shirt design as well: obsession. Both groups walked around together, like they were a gang or something. I saw one guy walk by that was wearing a shirt from the War Tour in 1983. OK, two things. First, we use to wear shirts a bit tighter back then, and second, dude, you've gained some weight. This shirt was WAY to tight for him.

Custom self made tour shirts.

Another phenomena in Europe are the groups that travel from country to country. We met these two guys that had come from Spain and one said, "I'm only seeing eight shows, but he is seeing nine."

Left to right: Eight Shows, Nine Shows, One Show.

And then the rain. Although guard dude told us that we didn't need to worry about the rain, I think what he meant was, "oh, you don't have to worry about the rain, it's DEFINITELY going to rain." And rain it did. It wasn't horrible and frankly during U2 it really did let up almost completely but the support acts got a good bit of rain.

Poor guy and the umbrella.

CONCERT REVIEW

The problem with a stadium show, it's REALLY big.

After the show it was amazing to be in the midst of 100,000 "punters". They opened the gates and over the house PA encouraged everyone to leave in an orderly, and they DID. We headed back out the same gate we came in and continued in a MASS of people for literally 4 or 5 blocks, shoulder to shoulder. It was so crowded that we decided to just head back by foot. We made as for as O'Connell Street before the crowds thinned enough to even think of getting a cab so we just decided to continue walking.

As we walked over the Liffey we decided to take one more casual swing thru Temple Bar and standing in the middle of an intersection it really hit us, "We are done here. It's time to go home."

Our business here is done, we're ready to go home.