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The legendary band U2 kicks off a world tour on Friday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of The Joshua Tree. This is the second time that the Irish have chosen the British Columbia metropolis as their starting point.
Radio-Canada with La Presse canadienne
Two years after the tour of Songs of Innocence album took flight from Vancouver, U2 begins Friday in the same city a marathon of more than 30 dates in North America and Europe. In 2005, the group also moved to Vancouver for rehearsals before embarking on the sold-out Vertigo tour.
The success of this new series of concerts, which will have the distinctive feature of including every evening the entire album The Joshua Tree, including the emblematic With or Without You and Where the Streets Have No Name. The title Red Hill Mining Town will also be performed on stage for the first time.
1 - From a handful of concerts to a world tour
Originally, Joshua Tree's birthday was only a few dates, "three, four or five," Bono recently told BBC Radio 2. But before the huge demand, the group Revamped its ambitions upwards, now offering 33 concerts on two continents.
2 - Canadian poetry and political messages to the program
U2 never misses an opportunity to display his ideas or political commitments, this new tour will be no exception. The group will screen a giant screen before its concerts, two poems by Canadian George Elliott, the current poet of the Parliament of Canada.
The first, Kaddish for Leonard Cohen, will pay tribute to the Canadian singer who died in November 2016. The second, Is not You Scared of the Sacred, will deal with the murderous attack in a mosque in Quebec City in late January.
3 - A long history of love with Canada
The return of the group to Vancouver coincides with the year of the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Bono has already publicly paid tribute to the country in 2003 at a Liberal convention in support of the then Prime Minister of the day, Paul Martin. "I am a great admirer of Canada. The world needs more of Canada, "he said.
Bono had explained his choice to support Paul Martin with the considerable help given to foreign countries in need. Mr. Martin and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien had kept their promise to erase the debt to the third world's poorest countries in 2000.
4 - Why Vancouver?
In an interview with Radio Rock 101 in 2015, Bono said that Vancouver offered a warm atmosphere that reassured the group that they were questioning and doubting on the eve of a tour. "We always had something for Canada and especially for Vancouver, which was extremely welcoming at a time when we were fragile," he said.
"When you're preparing to go on a tour, you become vulnerable, nauseous, and you feel it in your stomach. It is a real period of anguish, he continued. In Vancouver you feel free, you love walking, getting lost, cycling. "
5 - And not Montreal?
The band at Bono will make one stop in the country, June 23 in Toronto. Montréal does not have a modern stadium to host this tour, so the most unconditional Quebec fans will have to make the trip to the capital of Ontario, the New York area or Boston to attend the concert. The Irish are expected to return to Montreal on his next tour, which will follow the release of the album Songs of Experience.
6 - Insights and Voices from Vancouver
The presence of the group in Vancouver has generated a strong enthusiasm among residents and social networks, where many people who read a taste of the concert can be read simply by walking near the BC Place Stadium during the rehearsals.
Bono was also spotted on the streets of Vancouver aboard a ferry in False Creek or in a popular cocktail bar in the Gastown neighborhood.
The group's drummer Larry Mullen was seen changing his mind during a stroll on the Sea Wall on the Pacific coast.