U2 live at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne

December 1, 2010: U2 at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne

Marching to the tune of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' was fitting as U2 took to their 360 degree rocket-inspired stage and kick-started their 2010 Australian tour. With such an esteemed reputation for their live performances, from the stage design alone you knew you were in for a treat.

Starting off the night with 'Beautiful Day', U2 played songs from across the eras; from 'I Will Follow' and 'Sunday Blood Sunday' to more recent songs such as 'Get On Your Boots' and 'Vertigo'. During 'Sunday Blood Sunday', Jay-Z made an appearance to feature in the performance. Crowd favourites like 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For', 'Where The Streets Have No Name' and 'With Or Without You' had the audience screaming and taking over the part of vocals. It was an energetic night with a fabulous light show and captivating visuals. Truly an incredible night.

Also, throughout the show, Bono, a passionate advocate for social justice, described the conditions in less fortunate countries and how a small contribution on our behalf can have an immense impact. A lot of people perceive the U2 frontman to be too flamboyant and 'preachy' when it comes to his outspoken views on social issues around the world. However, I find it truly inspiring the conviction of his words and the passion he has for wanting to change conditions in society. Everybody wants the world to be a better place and for the less privileged countries to have equal opportunities and, given the opportunity, we would all do something about it if that chance were ever to arise. So how can people sit back and criticise a man who is in a position where he can make a difference. With millions of people looking up to him around the world, he is in a position where people listen to him. Standing in front of a crowd of 60,000 onlookers, speaking his words of awareness, his message instantly reaches another 60,000 people in the world. If you had the opportunity to raise awareness in such a way, wouldn't you seize the moment too?

The setlist for the night was as follows:
1. Return Of The Stingray Guitar Intro + Beautiful Day
2. I Will Follow
3. Get On Your Boots
4. Magnificent
5. Mysterious Ways
6. Elevation
7. Until The End Of The World
8. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
9. Mercy
10. Bad
11. In A Little While
12. Miss Sarajevo
13. City Of Blinding Lights
14. Vertigo
15. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
16. Sunday Bloody Sunday ft. Jay-Z
17. Scarlet
18. Walk On
Encore
19. Desmond Tutu speech + One
20. Where The Streets Have No Name
Encore 2
21. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
22. With Or Without You
23. Moment of Surrender