Surprise Show By U2 Draws 5,000 Fans

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The New York Sun

A throng of about 5,000 fans turned up at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park in DUMBO yesterday for a surprise concert by U2.


After waiting in line for hours, fans were rewarded when an ebullient Bono crossed the Manhattan Bridge on the back of a flatbed truck. His band arrived after driving around the city filming a video for a song from the band’s new album, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” which is released today.


“Here we go Brooklyn! Here we go!” Bono, the band’s lead singer, shouted from the truck. The crowd erupted in delight. Rumors of the concert that had been circulating on fan Web sites ended Sunday night when the Web site www.interference.com announced the concert would be at the park on the Brooklyn side of the East River between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.


By 3 p.m., fans had formed a line seven-blocks deep, and police were just beginning to get a grasp of the size of the so-called video shoot. Policemen from all boroughs were bussed into the neighborhood. The commanding officer of the Disaster Control Unit, Inspector Thomas Graham, mused over a map of the 84th Precinct spread across the hood of a police car and spoke of securing the perimeter.


At 3:45 p.m., the crowd had settled into line or flared out onto the river’s bank for long-distance viewing. Then, after a shout, the band was seen crossing the bridge on the back of a flatbed truck.


By 4:45 the band took the stage, but not before Bono – ever the statesman – stopped for a photo-op with the captain of the 84th Precinct, Philip Sferrazza, and the commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management, Joseph Bruno, thanking them for their help securing the event.


The band opened with their hit single, ‘Vertigo.’ With the lights of the Brooklyn Bridge at his back, Bono said, “We weren’t expecting so many, uh, special guests.”


The New York Sun

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