I caught them recently here in the Bay Area, and one the first leg when they were at The Rose Bowl... both great shows. While stadium shows tend to be lacking on many levels, I will give them alot of credit as they actually managed to bring energy to the show as well as spectacle. I'd prefer seeing them in a smaller setting, but the reality is that bands that can sell 50-100k seats for a show are not going to often be in smaller venues.
I recall seeing the 90s version of Pink Floyd in a stadium a few times, once from the center of the second row. Actually seemed like seeing them in a small venue... however, they had such little energy that it was still really about everything else. Again, I can't express how much U2 managed to overcome this, even when I didn't have the advantage of being that close in either of the 360 shows.
As for the teleprompter... have never noticed this, but have seen this with other artists (Peter Gabriel jumps to mind, and has noted many times what a problem he has remembering lyrics). Having heard a few 360 bootlegs though, it doesn't seem to be the exact same thing every night, so I would guess that he simply wants to make sure he's remembering the basics that he wants to when introducing songs (and to not be caught off guard and suddenly forget a lyric).
>Free Gary Powers
I think this is only with the purchase of one regularly priced Gary Powers
