U2 iNNOCENCE & eXPERIENCE 2 | Bell Centre | Montreal Concert Photographer

What is there left to say about a legendary band like U2 ?? They have been a staple for many generations and they keep putting out new songs and keep getting new fans. Last night was the first of two shows (sold out I believe) at Montreal’s Bell Centre, and even if this is their second run at the city with their tour (you can see my shots of their first run a few years ago HERE), they do have a love affair with Montreal

Montreal is actually U2’s only stop in Canada on this leg of the tour. And a few months ago, they were rented out Laval’s Place Bell to break off some rust on the tour. They are always a favorite in town, and always fun to shoot. Aaaaand… they are always gratious with the media. The norm for us photographers is 3 songs and then we are out. Most of the time out of the venue. Bigger acts often limit it even more, 1 or 2 songs, and have us sign a contract / release that can go from simple “these are your restrictions” all the way up to them taking over the ownership and rights to all of our images and we can’t do jack squat with them.

One would think a band as big as U2 would have similar conditions. Nope. We had no contract to sign, nada. We were given the first 4 songs from kind of the side, and we were also allowed back in for songs 12 and 13 from a different higher up vantage point. Good on you U2.

Last time I covered the gig with a 300mm. This time I bought a 70-200 with an extender, that gives an effective range of 280mm at the long end. I must say though, I really missed the Sigma 120-300 I had during the Bon Jovi show a few weeks ago. Might move that up my list of wants / needs for the medium term instead of long term. 🙂

Quick note to those who plan on seeing them.  They have a giant screen that spans most of the arena floor with projections.  However, if you have the special app, you can get some augmented reality from that screen.  From seeing what was going on on some fan’s phones, looked pretty cool !!  But download the app BEFORE going to the gig as data and connection inside venues is always crap.  😉

Images were shot for CHOM 97.7 and iHeartRadio.fr. You can see the media galleries HERE.

u2 montreal 2018 bell centre
u2 montreal 2018 bell centre
u2 montreal 2018 bell centre
u2 montreal 2018 bell centre
u2 montreal 2018 bell centre