The Joshua Tree Tour 2017

Less than two years after U2 played in Berlin on the Innocence + Experience tour, they were back. No new album to showcase this time, although Songs Of Experience was originally planned to be released on the heels of Songs Of Innocence. Instead, the show was a 30th anniversary celebration of their iconic album, The Joshua Tree.

The European leg of the tour only visited 8 cities but U2 have a strong bond with Berlin, going back to the early Achtung Baby recording sessions at Hansa Studios. Of course during that period they obstinately avoided writing anything remotely similar to the album that made them megastars, but The Joshua Tree 2017 Tour was never likely to bypass 'the very heart of Europe.'

The Meistersaal at Hansa Studios, known as the big hall by the wall, where U2 recorded 'One' and David Bowie recorded 'Heroes'.

Fewer shows means bigger venues and bigger venues means outdoor stadiums. Fortunately this is U2 we're talking about; creators of Zoo TV, Popmart and 360°. No-one can doubt their ability to intimately connect with a crowd of 70,000. In fact, it was during the Joshua Tree tour in 1987 when demand first necessitated they step up from arenas to stadiums.

Going to an outdoor concert invites the prospect of an evening stood in the rain and on this night we were treated to a deluge. Support act Noel Gallagher seemed particularly put out, peering up at the sky between songs with an affronted look on his face. 'I bet ya any money it stops raining when U2 come on. Any money.'

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds: 'normally I'd thank you for having us but under the circumstances I think you can thank us for standing here and playing in the rain.'

It never did but fortunately this is U2 we're talking about and anyone who was at Red Rocks will tell you it takes more than a downpour to mar one of their shows. Just put an army of stagehands to work on mopping up duty and you're good to go. But how would the concert start? 'Where The Streets Have No Name' masterfully kicks off the album but would a song that's always been such a huge, central moment in their live shows be the best choice for a curtain opener? Would they play the whole album in sequence?

The stage layout gave us a hint. The main stage, dominated by an enormous LED screen and spanning almost the entire width of the Olympiastadion, had a baby brother leading off it. I guessed they would start from there with some of their early hits, before moving onto the main stage to play The Joshua Tree songs.

Larry opened the show with Sunday Bloody Sunday's familiar drum intro.

It looked like I'd called it when a lone Larry Mullen emerged and strolled down towards his drums on the small stage, made himself comfortable and unleashed the intro to 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'. One by one the rest of the band materialised and joined in the song; first Edge, then Bono and finally, Adam's bass, hurling us into the show.

Some of U2's biggest pre-Joshua Tree songs followed. Fellow Berlin adherent David Bowie was acknowledged when Bono sang lyrics from 'Heroes' in English and German to the melody of 'Bad'. 'Pride (In The Name Of Love)', a song Bono has suggested really belongs on The Joshua Tree, led into the main set. As it faded into the opening chords of 'Where The Streets Have No Name', the LED screen came to life, lighting up red, while the band headed to the main stage and stood, silhouetted, in a row beneath a giant image of the famous tree. The Joshua Tree, 2017 style, was about to begin.

Love him or hate him, Bono radiates charisma.

I simply don't possess the writing talent to do any justice to what I saw over the next couple of hours. But it was everything I'd hoped for and expected: the chills at the start of 'Where The Streets Have No Name', the beautiful, stark simplicity of Edge's infinity guitar on 'With Or Without You'; hearing 'the war put through the amplifier' on Bullet The Blue Sky; the new horn-led version of 'Red Hill Mining Town'. 'We finally know how to play this song and now we get it right every single night!' All they needed was the Salvation Army band.

Then it was 'welcome to side 2 of The Joshua Tree cassette', songs I don't think I've ever seen U2 play live before, culminating with an epic, guitar crunching 'Exit' and of course the haunting, spine-tingling 'Mothers Of The Disappeared'.

The Edge creating the distinctive infinity guitar sound on 'With Or Without You'.

Adam Clayton, possibly U2's most stylish member.

The end of the album wasn't the end of the show. Post-Joshua Tree classics crammed themselves into the encore. 'Mysterious Ways' brought back the Meerkat Moment from Innocence + Experience when a fan was pulled from the crowd to dance with Bono, only this time he filmed her...eventually. It was a couple of minutes into the song before he realised he was holding the camera the wrong way round. 'Wow', he said looking slightly stunned after the song. 'Edge knew what to do but I panicked.' Understandably so. The girl he'd chosen was quite a sensation.

Photos once again came courtesy of my trusty gig companion, the Sony RX-100. It baffles me that people still try to get into concerts with DSLRs and telephoto lenses the size of a small dog. It's just not happening and when I see all the confiscated gear lying dejectedly in a pile of banned items, I can't help thinking someone somewhere won't be getting their expensive camera gear back at the end of the night.

'The show's not over so stick around.'

There's rarely an issue with compacts though, probably because they're not deemed capable of worthy enough shots. It's true you're not likely to get anything Rolling Stone would be interested in buying but if you have a good grasp of your camera's functions and know the optimum settings for live music photography, it's possible to get some pretty decent results with a humble compact.

A favourable spot helps. You don't want a bunch of pictures of everyone's phones thrust into the air, which usually means being as close to the front as possible. Getting to the front of a U2 concert is no easy undertaking but there is a way to buy yourself an advantage if you have something put aside for a very rainy night.

Unos

Dos

Tres

Catorce!

The (RED) Zone has been a feature of the last few U2 tours - a small, exclusive area, directly in front of the stage. Access certainly doesn't come cheap but neither does a month's supply of cigarettes - it just depends what you want to spend your money on I suppose. I dipped into my photography savings stash once more, adding another few months to the seemingly unending quest to save up for a pro-grade Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G.

I'll get it one day but there'll never be another chance to see U2 perform the Joshua Tree. And I'm quite happy with the shots I got from the (RED) Zone. The persistent rain, which I'd barely noticed once the band were on stage, give the pictures an extra atmospheric quality. Some great memories from another spectacular U2 show.