It’s not vertigo that pushed back U2’s highly anticipated upcoming U.S. tour.
A family illness has postponed U2’s return to American arenas in support of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
The tour was originally scheduled to start Mar. 1 in Miami, but the Irish foursome will now kick off its worldwide Vertigo Tour March 28 at the San Diego Sports Arena, Billboard reported Friday.
No word on the extent of the family emergency or which band member-Bono, the Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. or Adam Clayton-was affected.
In any case, the band is ready to tour America for the first time since 2001.
The full list of tour dates will officially be unveiled Monday, but a list of leaked dates has been taking a tour of its own-online.
Among the big dates for the U.S. portion of the jaunt, according to the unofficial list circulating among U2 fan sites and news groups, is a four-night stand in L.A. in May at the Staples Center. The soon-to-be inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers also may play a St. Patrick’s Day show in New York at Madison Square Garden.
The two-month spring leg will purportedly conclude with a May date in Boston.
Tennessee rockers Kings of Leon will open the first leg of the American swing.
Billboard estimates the cost of tickets this time out will range from $49.50 to $165.
“This tour will be not unlike the last production in that the lowest priced tickets will be on the floor,” U2 manager Paul McGuinness told Billboard. The best seats are the cheapest, and we want people to get excited.”
The shows are expected to sell out quickly in most cities, and provide a much-needed shot in the arm for an ailing concert business. U2’s Elevation Tour was the top-grossing tour of 2001, pulling in an estimated $109.7 million in North American receipts.
Following the 2005 American arena engagements, U2 will take the tour to Europe for the summer-hitting London in June 18 and Paris July 7.
