exploremusic

They were lined up three deep outside the drop-off area of the Ritz-Carlton on Tvetskaya, one of the avenues leading directly into Red Square.  A cold rain—a welcome thing, given the recent heat wave and raft of wildfires that choked Moscow with smoke for weeks—didn’t seem to bother anyone.  All anyone wanted was a glimpse of U2.  The Ritz was their HQ for their first-ever Russian show.

Although there was a constant turnover, the crowd remained around the same size around the clock.  Gregory, Ilia and Dmitry had been there for hours and had already been rewarded with a couple of autographs.  Ilia held up his vinyl copy of October bearing autographs from Bono and the Edge.

“They came outside and talked to everybody who was here,” he said in heavily accented English.  “There were about fifty of us, but they were so friendly.  Now we’re waiting for Larry and Adam.  Maybe they will come out in the rain.”

“This is big, big deal,” Gregory told me.  “U2 coming to Russia as part of a regular tour? It means our country is now part of the music world.”

He leaned in so his friends could not hear.  “Honestly?  I am not big fan.  But this is so important for Russia that I must go for the ride.”

Tickets for the 360 Tour stop at Luzhniki Stadium went on sale nearly a year ago and come Wednesday night, 80,000-odd people will be there.  Gates open at 4 with Snow Patrol coming on around 7:30 followed by U2 at 8:45.

On the first swing through Eastern Europe last year, Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol opened that leg, too) told me of how he was brought to tears by the excitement and appreciation of the fans in Poland.  I have a feeling that Wednesday night is going to be even bigger.