Light and sound tests in Turin - but it's the crew

This afternoon in Turin, the first short soundcheck at Stadio Olimpico took place. Initial reports on the Internet suggested that it was by U2 themselves, but this was not the case. It was actually taped music being played by the crew to test the PA, including Thomas Dolby's My Brain Is Like A Sieve. YouTube footage of the Dolby song playing in Turin is here.

Today has been a day of confused and conflicting reports, so let's try to clarify what we know. Important members of U2's crew were spotted at the stadium - guitar wizard Dallas Schoo, bass tech and one-time Adam stand-in Stuart Morgan, drum tech Sam O'Sullivan, and soundman Joe O'Herlihy. The stage is now complete and awaits the band, as can be seen in this photo by Diego Spagnoli:



This evening, some lighting tests were conducted, clearly visible on the stadium webcam:



If last year is any guide, it appears the lighting was tested for songs such as City Of Blinding Lights, Streets, Sunday Bloody Sunday, and With Or Without You.

Now, moving away from facts back to the rumour mill, U2Place is reporting (in Italian) that U2 themselves may do at least some of their rehearsals in the Palasport Olimpico, an arena next door to the Stadio Olimpico. This may make it harder for details to leak, but fans did quite a good job of getting details from rehearsals in arenas on the Vertigo Tour, especially in Vancouver. U2Italia is still reporting (in Italian) that rehearsals by the band at the stadium could begin as early as tomorrow.

Oh, and lastly, U2.com has posted their day 9 video showing the Claw in Turin. Of course, all the details given away in the video have already been revealed by fan photos, especially those taken by Diego Spagnoli, but let's not expect U2.com to be first with the news too often now.

Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 @ 01:15:28 CEST by Axver