U2

"The Unforgettable Sun". The sun warming the hearts of the 70,000 at Rome's Stadio Olimpico truly is unforgettable. Irish flags and "hands that will build Africa" wait with bated breath, in a genuine bath of collective excitement. The mammoth stage and the sweeping view over the crowd foreshadow what will prove to be a memorable show, regardless of one's musical taste or the terrible organization.

The sun begins to set and the anxiety to build, as disappointing support acts take to the target-shaped stage.

Feeder's rhythm section is imposing, but their blend of hard rock, punk and radio-friendly melody doesn't seem up to the task of holding an audience this vast.

Ireland's Ash are also surprisingly out of step, managing the difficult feat of churning out one perfectly identical punk-pop song after another, despite the energy and sweat of their young frontman.

At this point it's up to U2 alone to get everyone's legs and voices moving. That, after all, is what's expected of them. A few minutes before nine, a deafening roar shakes the Olimpico: Bono, Edge, Mullen and Clayton stand beneath the giant central screen, receiving the first wave of ovations from fans on the verge of collective hysteria. We are now in the grip of full-blown "U2mania".

"Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust," sang the late Joe Strummer. Here there's no talk of dust or of anything phony: it's all authentic, and you can hear it in the garage riff of "Vertigo", which opens the show in a sea of lights. Only here could you hear 70,000 people singing, in unison, a plain old "uno... due... tres... catorce".

The Ramones did it a long time ago, but never with this kind of crowd response.

This "Vertigo Tour" is yet another nostalgic step for U2, who, having reclaimed what they'd left behind, keep circling back closer and closer to where they started. This isn't Slane Castle, but Bono and co. are indeed coming home.

And so here comes their first hit, "I Will Follow", and, above all, the revival of a hidden gem like "Electric Co", with Edge in dazzling form, dashing to one of the stage's two arms to draw the crowd in with his unmistakable "infinite guitar".

Despite some microphone trouble, Bono keeps up the energy, well aware of how much he owes the country that loves his band the most. "Elevation" starts quietly before erupting into collective delirium.

After "New Year's Day" and an especially electric "Beautiful Day", the show delivers its first real moments of emotion. Bono points the mic toward the crowd, and the chorus during a goosebump-inducing "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" does the rest.

Between a tormented "All I Want Is You" and a furious "Sunday Bloody Sunday", there's room for the mediocre songs from the new album. After the soporific "City of Blinding Lights", "Miracle Drug" is dedicated to "doctors and nurses... everyone who works to save our lives".

Bono's intimate walk is deeply moving as, glasses removed, he dedicates "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" to his late father.

The night at the Olimpico had something dramatically special about it because of the terrorist attacks in Sharm El Sheikh, and Bono is definitely not the kind of singer who just dedicates a song and moves on. So begins the most fraught part of the concert, caught between anger and grief. Enter the peaceful tribalism of "Love And Peace Or Else" and the bandana reading "Coexist", a symbol of coexistence and tolerance between peoples and religions. Music and politics blur together. The indignant howl of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and the energetic "Bullet The Blue Sky" accompany the slogan "Stop Poverty". And the pain grows even more wrenching when Bono unleashes his voice on a tear-jerking version of "Miss Sarajevo".

Then it's time for the crowd to sing at the top of their lungs again. "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" and "Where The Streets Have No Name" set the Olimpico off in an orgy of stadium sing-alongs.

The encores arrive. With the industrial rhythms of "Zoo Station" and the tightly wound guitar of "The Fly", for a moment it feels like a return to the media megalomania of the Zoo TV era.

Instead, this is a more restrained tour, and after the inevitable "With Or Without You", a hushed acoustic version of "Yahweh" closes the show.

Accompanied by the notes of the anthem "Vertigo", the words "The End" appear on the big screen. It almost feels like watching a film: one of those films that grabs you for two hours without you knowing whether you're awake or simply inside a dream made of music. Despite everything, live, U2 are still exactly that.

Ride the wave of great music

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