U2 is still on the road with their 360° tour make up shows from last year when Bono had emergency back surgery.  The U2 360° Tour is a monstrous production with a “spaceship” like stage.  U2 360° has a traveling crew of 196 from 15 countries. In every venue around the world, the tour also recruits local labor to build and take down this enormous 360°production.  Usually this local labor is recruited from the local Promoter.  

I've followed U2 since 1983 and have been to 28 shows, most in the New England Area.  In the early days the stage production was a simple stage with a few video screens, the biggest prop was most likely Bono walking around waving a large Irish flag.  

In 1992, the Zoo TV Tour had an enormous production with 33 trucks, 100-foot high towers, video screens, and German cars hanging from the staging. Zoo TV was one of my favorite tours; I've seen every tour since 1983.  In 1992, Foxboro Stadium, Massachusetts, I had the opportunity to see the production of Zoo TV. Since I had a few friends who worked on the video and rigging crew, I was able to watch load in and load out. Just as the 360° "spaceship stage", it took 24 hours to build the stage and put it all together.

I've never worked for U2, although it is a dream of mine. I've worked other shows doing catering, hospitality, setting up the dressing rooms, a runner and production assistant. The production side of music/concert industry it is something I am very passionate about.  
It is amazing to see something like U2 360° or Zoo TV start out as an empty venue and become a monstrosity of video screens, steel, and equipment, along with what goes on behind the scenes like hospitality, sound boards, rolling cases, dressing rooms that look like someone’s living room, and people at work putting all this together for 2 to 3 hours of live music.  


With U2 its not only the music and massive production, it's the message they send out.  Put this all together and it's priceless.