U2 - 360° AT THE ROSE BOWL

I've had a love/hate relationship with Dublin's finest since someone's older brother shoved a copy of October (vinyl) in my face in the summer of 1981 or so. Musically they have always been great, with a few missteps. Of the early stuff, I wore out a vinyl record, several tapes and a VHS tape of Red Rocks...during the Joshua Tree (becoming bigger than the Beatles) era I got frustrated a bit but I loved Achtung...I come and go but at this point I think all their records offer a lot. My wife and I drove around Hawaii in 2001 with about three CDs one of which was All That You Can't Leave Behind, now one of my favorite albums.Touring wise, I missed the early days but had numerous chances to see them in "mega mongo dome" mode and balked. That's not really my scene. I tried to make it work when they did their straight rock band shows at MSG a few years ago but had a work conflict. But the 360 setup caught my attention, and the clips I saw looked very promising. When then U2360 Tour came to NJ went a with a buddy who had also been yearning to see U2 forever and we were literally stunned at the quality of the show both as musical experience and performance art/technical exposition. If I hadn't been to the show I am not sure I would care about this product at all, but as a souvenir of the tour for those who went, it's a winner even if you're not likely to watch it over and over. Bigger is not always better but in the case of U2360 it certainly was. Bono and the boys know what they are doing.

I will start by saying that I have just about every Live U2 DVD released including the Slane Castle Gig, Sydney Australia, Mexico City, Chicago, Red Rocks & Milan.The cinematography with switching & fades capturing the complexity of their songs at this Rose Bowl gig is PHENOMENAL!! Considering the scope and size of this 360 stage; the state of the art cameras flying and rotating bring you to a place that is simply unattainable from being there live and actually brings the "concert experience" or should I say Reexperience? to a whole new level.Millions of people watched this unparalleled theatrical show live around the globe. It starts with a powerful, nearly flawless, version of "Get on your Boots" and "Magnificent" and encouraging performances of "Beautiful Day" "In a little while" "until the end of the World" (incredible Camera work) "The unforgettable fire", "I'll go Crazy" is enlightening. Later in the show a message to Iran, "This is United States Calling" to "all who love freedom" for those persecuted in Iranian prisons followed by an emotional version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" It is profound to see the fans singing along with "Amazing grace" leading into "Where the streets have no name" or witness music transcend politics and borders in SO Cal during "Vertigo"... & wrapping up with an awesome version of "Moment Of Surrender"Each song performed that evening has it's own little story. No other band has been able to generate this type of global response & bring a genuine intimacy to this SIZE of a venue. It is really quite amazing and quite honestly super natural, in its own "mysterious way"Before watching this show I did not care too much for their new album... but now I am discovering new things about each song as I watch this memorable evening in 2009 that was captured on film.Regarding poor reviews...What the whiners do not understand (Now I know why Bono wrote the song with or without you) is that this show was in Los Angeles!! the whole concert is geared to honor Hollywood and LA! that includes special effects and color!! and this is supposed to be through the eyes of a spaceship!At the intro, the Ariel view of the Rose Bowl completely filled with a enormous crowd glowing in Neon Blue is unprecedented... People complaining about a "grainy" look to this HD concert? Maybe they did not notice that they used colored lighting almost exclusively?? HD is not going to have a "SHARP" picture you expect in this type of lighting environment!!In my opinion it was refreshingly different, with almost surreal type effects the band & fans at times seem to glow in neon colors almost like a blend between Tron, Terminator and Fantasia!! The fast switching is executed between the musicians and the songs in a genius type manner, catching the emotions of the band and venue dancing back and forth between every note of their dynamic and ever changing music & melodies.The audio recording & mixing with "360" surround in Dolby Digital is awesome!After 30 years of singing Rock and Roll and touring more than any other band... I was impressed with Bono's voice, unbelievable energy & grace for this show.Yes I too, can not wait for U23D live from Argentina to be released! But in the mean-time I am thoroughly enjoying this magic night that was captured at the Rose Bowl USA.

The production on this DVD is top-notch. Always the camera shot you want to see at every moment, including lots of great aerials to give a sense of the size of "the claw" staging in the stadium. And the audio mix (which has been suspect on previous U2 live releases) is outstanding.The performance is good, not great. What 'elevates' a U2 show above others is an emotional connection between the band and audience, and I never got a sense of that watching this gig. If anything, Bono in particular seems to make a greater effort to connect with the onstage cameras than with actual people. I realize this is intentional, since 90% of the live audience is watching the giant screen anyway, but there's a magic that happens when the band physically interact with their fans - and that didn't happen on this night.My other minor problem is the setlist. I'm not a fan of the album being promoted (No Line On The Horizon), so I find myself skipping those songs in the show - except the rave-up remix of "I'll Go Crazy...", which is a highlight.Still highly recommended, but not as strongly as the Slane Castle show from  U2 Go Home - Live from Slane Castle (Jewel Case) , which is the gold standard of U2 live releases, in my opinion.

This performance was lackluster in just about every way. Too bad this is the only performance available on Blu. The band just didn't seem to give it their "all" and didn't try very hard....as a result, there were very few palpable moments of intensity. The PQ was grainy most of the time and the AQ was lackluster - maybe because of the massive size of the venue (Rose Bowl). I was so disappointed after watching it, that I turned around and ordered the U2 ZooTv concert on Pan and Scan DVD. It's not Hi-Def, but at least the performance is intense and the picture will most likely look as good as this Blu-Ray.

Great show and immense venue.The direction sometimes chooses shots to try to get you to feel as part of the crowd but just ends up making you unable to see the band.The picture quality is sometimes grainy due to the dark shots producing a lot of noise which is exacerbated by the blue ray definition.Overall an amazing set and show but a shame the HD quality wasn’t in the producers mind

Being a long time U2 fan you can't cease to be amazed at the show that U2 put on. I missed this tour but this DVD does help to get an experiance of it. Yep - Bono's voice just dosen't crack it (live) these days and its a shame as the band are really improving each few years.Its also a shame this Blu-Ray has not been released in 1080p. It is 1080i and a poor transfer to boot. I think we all know that 1080i is broadcast quality but you can't tell me those very expensive cameras don't shoot it 1080p or higher.... Apart from the audio (and I'm not sure how much better than it is than the 5.1 on the regular DVD) then I'm not sure its worth it on Blu-ray. The audio on the extra's is appaling on some scenes.A great band, fantastic songs and concert but to my mind a rushed effort on Blu Ray.

Another unique concert U2 DVD!After one more U2 masterpiece, "No Line On The Horizon" managed, as always, to create a new magic with the tour "U2 360°Tour"!One of the most important moments in the history of U2, a moment that every true fan of U2 will always remember, is finally, return of, for me, the best U2 song ever, "The Unforgettable Fire", perfectly sung and played in the ambient and emotional version.An unforgettable and unique moments are: first "Moment of Surrender" probably one of the best U2 songs ever, and definitely the best "No line" thing, the next one is always mandatory and epic "Until The End Of The World ", another memorable moment for every U2 fan, is the return of "Ultra Violet" on the set list....The only criticism is the lack of incredible song "Breathe" with which they started almost every concert on the same tour. The decision of which probably does not agree any real U2 fan and will always remain a mystery, why was left out from the concert DVD and put it on the bonus dvd?Despite these objections, U2 has recorded another one unique and eternal concert DVD!!!I m ready, I m ready for what s next ?

This is an amazing blu ray experience. Doesn't even really matter what your personal tastes are. When I first saw the set list I was a little disappointed some tracks were not included, but when you watch the show-if you have taste- it completely takes you away. To somewhere better that used to exist. As usual, people complaining are a bunch of nerds and squares who wouldn't know a good performance if it fell on top of them.

Well I have been a big fan of U2 for a long time now, I have got a couple of older concert DVDs of theirs, I thought I would up grade to a Blu Ray and the 360 tour did look good, anyway musically this is excellent but I think its frustrating to watch, most of it is almost filmed in darkness and you never really see much of the stadium or feel much atmosphere and if it didn't say in was Blu Ray on the box I wouldn't believe that it was, the quality is no better than standed DVD !! Probably for big U2 fans only !!