1 Band, 2 Cities,3 Amazing Concerts (and A Homecoming Showgirl As Well)...

Phew, what an amazing 7 days. It all started off when I scored a last minute ticket to the Brisbane U2 concert. What a remarkable night. The crowd took a little while to warm up, but by "Sunday Bloody Sunday" everyone around me was on their feet. It was awesome to be part of their return to touring following the cancellation of their tour in March. The boys came on stage around 8:30pm and finished up at around 10:45pm. They did two encores including a great version of their new song "The Saints Are Coming".

Friday morning saw me up early to be at the airport for my 9am flight to Sydney and also to meet up with Michael who had flown in from Townsville. We then boarded our flight to the Harbour City, and then caught a train out to Olympic Park where we'd booked into the Novotel for the night. After checking in we headed downstairs to the Brewery for some lunch, and then wandered over to check out the merchandise stalls. We had a pretty relaxing afternoon and at around 4:30pm we wandered back down to the Brewery where the U2 tribute band "Rattle & Hum" were entertaining the crowd. It all was a bit tragic, but gave us something to laugh about while we had a few drinks to get us in the mood.

At around 6:15pm we headed over to Telstra Stadium. Our seats were awesome! Mick did a pretty good job with the presale allocation for U2 fan club members. Kayne West came on and put on a much better show that in Brisbane. I think it had a lot to do with the large number of general admission people that were on the field (unlike BrisVegas, where they had awful trouble getting the GA patrons into the venue), but even so, he's still not my cup of tea and I'm still wondering why U2 had him as the support act. We even spotted Kochie, Andrew G and Baz Luhrmann infront of the mixing desk on the floor.

Just before U2 came on stage, a very slight rain shower started. Instead of a prevailing sense of disappointment, it instead revved up the crowd even more, so by the time their intro music of "Walk On" by Arcade Fire; the whole crowd was pumped. The rain cleared pretty quickly and although there were a couple more showers before the end of the show, it didn't have an obvious effect on the band or the crowd for that matter. We were on our feet from the start of the show until the end, and it really felt that the rest of those in the reserved seating areas were on their feet for the entire concert as well.

During the concert Bono asked the crowd to take out their mobiles and send their names to "Make Poverty History". Not wanting to disappoint, we pulled out phones and sent out text message, and our reward was received as we made our way home. We got a text message from Bono which read:

"Hi, it's Bono... thanks for texting...please go to www.makepovertyhistory.com.au and sign up to be part of the generation that says no to extreme povery."

Can't you just picture him in the limo after the gig with a computer printout of all the names that he has to work his way through. NOT!!!! But who cares, it certainly was an unexpected surprise.

Having luckily secured some last minute general admission tickets to the Saturday concert, Mick & I headed back into the city on Saturday morning to check-in to our hotel before having a quick look around Paddy's Markets and then grabbing a quick bite to eat. We then headed back to Homebush around mid-afternoon to join the GA queue. It was hot and pretty uncomfortable, but the reward was well worth it.

The gates finally opened at around 5:30pm and we decided that instead of doing stuff like getting a drink and other important things, we'd first stake out our position first. This turned out to be the best decision of the weekend, because by the time we made it down to the arena we were very surprised to see that they were still letting people into the ellipse area right at the front of the stage. We power-walked to the other end of the stadium and got through the gates. As I passed through, I heard one of the security guys ask "So how many is that?" I didn't quite hear the answer, but they only let another 5-10 people in before the shut the gates to the ellipse. I still can't believe we in got there.

There was a great vibe and everyone was pretty chatty. The corporate types came down just before the show started and expected to get right near the stage, but they were soon put in their place. We didn't care that they'd paid $600 for their tickets, there was no way they were getting in front of us. U2 played pretty much the same set list as Friday night with a few small changes, but the atmosphere was electric and an experience I'll never forget.

The transport infrastructure at Homebush is first-rate, so we joined the thousands leaving the stadium, but we didn't have to wait long for a train to take us back into the city.

Mick headed back to Townsville early on Sunday morning, so I spent the day in the city checking out the shops, and then had a quick nap in the afternoon to prepare myself for Kylie's Showgirl Homecoming concert at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Compared to the U2 crowds of 70,000, it felt almost intimate with only 10,000 fans in the crowd. I think Sydney must be in the grip of feather and sequin shortage - which must be a little strange for a non-Madri Gras weekend...

The absolute highlight of the nights was just before the interval when Kylie announced to the crowd-

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the company of greatness tonight. Let me hear it for Bono."

Bono emerged on stage holding a diamante-encrusted microphone and wearing a black suit and sunglasses. The duo sang Minogue's hit, Kids; and Bono followed Kylie around the stage as the crowd erupted. There was more screaming midway through the song when Bono pulled from his suit jacket a diamante-encrusted cat leash.

Check out the video.

I couldn't believe it and if I'd tried to plan the trip to turn out this way, there's no way I could have done it any better!!!

My flight home wasn't until late Monday afternoon so I decided to get up early and head down to Breaky Central to see Mel, Kochie and the rest of the Sunrise Gang down @ Martin Place. I was one of about 20 people who got to see Marcia & Deni Hinze from upstairs in the studio! As we were leaving, I literally ran into Mel & Kochie as they were heading outside to do the final cross and I mentioned to Kochie that I'd seen him at U2 on Friday and then got right up the front on Saturday night. I then quietly revealed that I'd seen Kylie on Sunday night, which meant I got to the Bono/Kylie duet. He was very impressed. As they were getting ready for their final cross he called me over and I ended up standing between Mel & Kochie as they were signing off. Kochie told the whole of Australia about my U2 concert experiences, and then asked where I'd been on Sunday night, so I had to tell the whole of Australia that I'd seen Bono do the duet with Kylie. I couldn't believe it!!

Given that Queensland is still behind the times in relation to Daylight Savings, I was able to ring mum and ask her to tape the segment. I didn't call anyone else as I thought they'd be on their way to work, but just after 10am I got a couple of phone calls and a few text messages from some friends that saw my tv debut!!

Although my plane was delayed by nearly an hour, it didn't really matter as I think I've experienced one of the most amazing couple of days that will take a lot to beat!!!

U2 Set List: Brisbane - Tues 07 Nov 2006

• City Of Blinding Lights
• Vertigo
• Elevation / Streets Of Your Town (snippet)
• Until The End Of The World
• New Year's Day
• Beautiful Day
• Yahweh
• Walk On
• Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own / The Black Hills of Dakota (snippet)
• Love And Peace Or Else
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• Bullet The Blue Sky / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet) / The Hands That Built America (snippet)
• Miss Sarajevo
• Pride (In The Name Of Love)
• Where The Streets Have No Name
• One

Encore(1):

• Zoo Station
• The Fly
• With Or Without You / Streets Of Your Town (snippet)

Encore2:

• The Saints Are Coming
• Angel Of Harlem / Young Americans (snippet)
• Kite

U2 Set List: Sydney - Fri 10 Nov 2006

• City Of Blinding Lights
• Vertigo
• Can't Stand The Rain (snippet) / Elevation / Can't Get You Out Of My Head (snippet) / Highway To Hell (snippet)
• Until The End Of The World
• New Year's Day
• Beautiful Day / Here Comes The Sun (snippet)
• Yahweh
• Walk On
• Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own / The Black Hills of Dakota (snippet)
• Love And Peace Or Else
• Sunday Bloody Sunday / Rock The Casbah (snippet)
• Bullet The Blue Sky / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet) / The Hands That Built America (snippet)
• Miss Sarajevo
• Pride (In The Name Of Love)
• Where The Streets Have No Name
• One

Encore(1):

• Zoo Station
• The Fly
• With Or Without You / Never Tear Us Apart (snippet) / Love Will Tear Us Apart (snippet)

Encore(2):

• The Saints Are Coming
• Angel Of Harlem
• Kite

U2 Set List: Sydney - Sat 11 Nov 2006

• City Of Blinding Lights / Vertigo / She Loves You (snippet
• Elevation / Spinning Around (snippet)
• Until The End Of The World
• New Year's Day
• Beautiful Day / Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (snippet) /Blackbird (snippet)
• I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / In A Little While (snippet)
• Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
• >Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own / Torna A Surriento (snippet)
• Love And Peace Or Else
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• Bullet The Blue Sky / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet) / TheHands That Built America (snippet)
• Miss Sarajevo
• Pride (In The Name Of Love)
• Where The Streets Have No Name
• One / My Sweet Lord (snippet)

Encore(1):

• >Zoo Station>
• >The Fly
• With Or Without You / Never Tear Us Apart (snippet) / Love Will Tear Us Apart (snippet)

Encore(2):

• The Saints Are Coming
• Desire / Not Fade Away (snippet) / Gold Digger (snippet)
• Kite

KYLIE Set List: Sydney - Sun 12 Nov 2006

• Better The Devil You Know
• In Your Eyes
• White Diamond
• On A Night Like This
• Shocked
• What Do I Have To Do?
• Spinning Around
• Confide In Me
• Cowboy Style/Finer Feelings
• Too Far
• Butterfly (Instrumental)
• Red Blooded Woman/Where The Wild Roses Grow
• Slow
• Kids

(INTERVAL)

• Over The Rainbow
• Come Into My World
• Chocolate
• I Believe in You
• Dreams
• Burning Up (Instrumental)/ Vogue (Rap only)
• Locomotion
• I Should Be So Lucky
• Hand On Your Heart
• Can't Get You Out Of My Head
• Light Years/Turn It Into Love
• Especially For You
• Love At First Sight