U2

Hamburg Barclaycard Arena

U2 do not do anything by halves.

The Irish supergroup’s third world tour in four years concludes their marathon two-part Songs Of Innocence/Experience saga, their most personal and theatrical live production ever. Much like its 2015 sister tour, this show is dominated by the monumental “barricage”, a free-floating catwalk stage spanning almost the full length of the arena. Sandwiching the band between two massive LED video walls that blaze with Pop Art graphics and political slogans, this is sense-blitzing spectacle on a blockbuster scale.

Sequenced to tell a loose coming-of-age narrative, the set list draws on both the group’s post-punk Dublin youth and their sleazy-ironic 90s period, including the first ever live airing of Acrobat and a return of Bono’s Faustian MacPhisto character, enhanced by real-time AR visuals. As ever, the singer ingratiates himself with the locals, addressing Hamburg in faltering German and fondly recalling U2’s Berlin connections. This heralds a rare full-band version of the achingly lovely Zooropa track Stay (Faraway, So Close).

U2 haven’t written many killer anthems this decade, and a few of the set’s newer tracks lack the arenafilling swagger that this show demands. But even a diehard Bono hater could not fail to be impressed by the scale and ambition of this high-tech multi-media spectacle. Even after 40 years together, U2 are still working harder than their rock-legend peers to stay engaged, touch hearts and transcend clichés.