Dave's Blog

“See China right in front of you” (U2 – Beautiful Day)

Technology today is amazing! I went to see ‘U2 3D‘ and although it wasn’t China I was seeing right in front of me, if it had have been recorded in China then it certainly would’ve felt like it was right there!

For those who don’t know, U2 are one of my favourite bands and they have recorded shows from their ‘Vertigo‘ tour using digital 3-D technology to release a concert film. So far it has been released in cinemas throughout the world, as far as I know there are no plans for a home release as of yet but I’m really hoping there will be.

As I said, technology is amazing, it really felt as if you were at the concert. Whenever shots were shown from behind audience members it felt like you were standing there among everybody watching the gig and people’s arms were in your way. There were times you were thinking ‘damnit, why am I stuck behind these people’ because they were blocking your view, but it all went towards giving the real feeling of being at the gig. There were other times when the shots were taken on stage and again it felt like you were on stage with the band, standing right next to them. There was a point where Adam turns around with his guitar and it feels like it is going to hit you. I have heard of people ducking at this part and I can really see why they wanted to do that. Another cool part was during ‘The Fly‘ when words were flying at you out of the screen and letters where dropping from the sky like confetti.

One of the most amazing parts was during ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday‘ when Bono was singing “Wipe the tears from your eyes” and he was standing right in front of you reaching out, it felt as if he really was reaching out to you and would touch you if he came any closer! I have met Bono in person and I have to say, it really did feel like that day again, it was as if he was standing right beside me again it was that real.

If ‘U2 3D‘ is on at a cinema near you I would definitely recommend seeing it, even if you aren’t a fan of U2, just to see what is possible with technology these days, it really blew me away!

I went to see Derren Brown’s tour ‘Mind Reader – An Evening Of Wonders‘ on Tuesday night. Most people should know who he is, but for those who don’t, he is a ‘psychological illusionist’ most known for his shows on Channel 4. A lot of people will probably remember him from when he played Russian Roulette live on TV.

Derren tours every year, coming to Belfast on most of the tours. So far I havn’t missed any of the shows when he has come here. Since I’ve seen two of the tours before I had an idea of what I could expect from the show, but I knew it would still be very different so I couldn’t wait to see what he had come up with for this one. Every show I’ve seen before has been amazing, you always leave wondering how the hell he manages to do what he does and I knew this show would be no different after reading very good reviews. (more…)