U2.com has just announced via an e-mail to subscribers that a second show will be held in Zurich on 12 September 2010, following the sell-out of the first show on 11 September 2010. This is the first time U2 have ever played two outdoor concerts in the same Swiss city on a single tour. U2 previously played two indoor concerts in Zurich on the second leg of Elevation.

There will be a fanclub presale commencing tomorrow. Entry times for different subscriber groups are not as staggered as usual. In Zurich local time, they are:

Horizon and Breathe subscribers: 10am, Tuesday 2 February
Boots and Magnificent subscribers: 10am, Wednesday 3 February

The presale closes at 5pm on Wednesday 3 February for all subscribers.

The public sale will begin at 8am on Friday 5 February.

Today, I would like to commemorate the first anniversary of an article I wrote about the 23rd anniversary of U2 going "inthistowntastic" 24 years ago today. Does that make barely any sense to you? Good, because the performance itself barely makes any sense.

In fact, the performance makes absolutely no sense if you think about it too hard. Or too little. Or at all.

Or maybe it is the only thing U2 have ever done that makes perfect sense?

By this point, you are perhaps wondering what on earth I am going on about. Well, gather around, for U2 folklore is full of all kinds of bloopers, mistakes, and hilarious moments - but none quite rival the band's ramshackle and presumably drunken appearance on TV Gaga on 30 January 1986. The aforementioned article from last year provides a summary of the two original songs that U2 debuted on an unsuspecting audience that was surely even more confused then than you may be now. It explains why the performance has been dubbed "inthistowntastic" after one of the few lyrics Bono could remember, and it comes complete with videos of those two songs.

What last year's article lacks is a video of the final song of the setlist. Yet no experience of Inthistowntasticism could possibly be complete without a video of what was undoubtedly the highest low point of the night. The band decided to end their appearance with a cover of Bob Dylan's Knockin' On Heaven's Door - a cover that swiftly descends into farce. If Bono forgetting the lyrics, struggling to maintain his balance or composure, and giving Ronald Reagan a random shout-out were not enough, he then swaps roles with an audience member. And compels Edge to swap roles with another audience member.

Or possibly they swap with seagulls. It really is hard to tell.

Hence, for your amusement on this inthistowntastic anniversary day, and to pass the time in the lull between legs of the 360° Tour, I present to you the video I wanted to give you last year. YouTube now provides the goods. Enjoy.

Today, 22 January 2010, Bono and Edge performed at Hope For Haiti Now, a telethon event held to raise funds for earthquake relief in Haiti. The event ran for two hours from venues in London, New York, and Los Angeles, and each artist that appeared played for just one song.

Bono and Edge performed at the London venue with Jay-Z and Rihanna. The song they played was a new one Bono and Jay-Z wrote in response to the earthquake called Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour). Jay-Z performed the verses, while Bono and Rihanna dueted on the chorus, although Rihanna largely drowned out Bono. Edge played his Gibson Explorer and was backed by a house band.

The song, as well as others from the event, is available on iTunes with money going to the disaster relief efforts.

As we reported yesterday, a concert in Zurich on 11 September 2010 has been announced. U2.com has caught up with the promoter and ticket retailer and has the news now. Their tour page has been updated too.

Of particular interest is that U2.com contains information about a fanclub presale. As with last year's presales, it frustratingly begins with very little notice. The usual system of tiered entry for different subscriber groups is unchanged, and will proceed as follows (all times given in Zurich local time):

Horizon subscribers: 10am, Monday 25 January 2010 (at the time of writing, U2.com's Zurich article says "10pm" but 10am is given on their tour page and that is the time meant)
Breathe subscribers: 3pm, Monday 25 January 2010
Boots subscribers: 10am, Tuesday 26 January 2010
Magnificent subscribers: 3pm, Tuesday 26 January 2010

The presale will close to all subscribers at midday on Wednesday, 27 January 2010. The public sale as reported earlier then begins at 8am on Thursday, 28 January.

It may be a new year, but nothing has changed in the world of woefully haphazard 360° Tour concert announcements. Some four months after the initial European dates were announced, a concert in Switzerland has finally been confirmed by the promoter. Their announcement in German can be read here. The concert will be held on 11 September 2010 in Zurich.

Past rumours indicated that U2 would perform at the Dübendorf airfield. However, the concert will in fact take place at Letzigrund Stadion, the venue that hosted U2 on the Vertigo Tour on 18 July 2005. Hilariously, U2.com's 360° stage diagram for Dübendorf that has been online since September 2009 is currently still up at the time of writing!

Tickets for this concert will be sold by TicketCorner. Sales will begin at 8am on Thursday, 28 January 2010. Specific details regarding fanclub presales are not yet known.