U2 fans flock to Vancouver

U2 is a band with an extremely loyal following. With its "Innocence and Experience" tour kicking off in Vancouver Thursday night, the band'sfans have descended on British Columbia.

Many fans who already have general admission tickets are camping out on the sidewalkoutside Rogers Arena, with the goal of getting into the concert first, for the best view of the stage. Some are hoping to catch a glimpse of the Irish rockers, or just enjoying the company of other die-hard fans.

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Joe Ahorro travelledto Vancouver from Edmonton, just days before his wedding back home. He considersthe trip hisbachelor party.

"Some people spend their resources and spend their vacation time to go to the Caribbean, or ski resorts, or follow their sports teams, we just choose to putit toward concerts," said Ahorro.

Fans use queue registration system

Ahorro has a red number two scrawled on his hand, and has taken it upon himself to help manage a registration book for ageneral admission queue.

"Thewaythefanshaveself-organizedistoadministeraqueue,oraline,througharegistrationsystem,"Ahorroexplained."People show up, write their names in here, and then a number's written on their hand. And that's to keep order in the line."

"I've been to places in other countries for concerts for U2 where it's been chaos, pushing, a lot of running," added Ahorro.

John Holland travelled from Kilkenny, Ireland, to see the tour-opening concert, and unlike many of the other fans hanging around outside Rogers Arena, his hand is unmarked.

"I'm happy enough to go along, to go in twoor threehours before the show," said Holland. He added that he didn't want to camp out, or show up at the various scheduled check-in times required to keep a place in line, because he wanted to make sure he was well rested for the concerts.

But Holland was still spending plenty of time withhis fellow fans underneath the noisySkyTrain track.

It's not just about the concert

For Anna Muller, who drove from Edmonton, Alberta, with her 22-year-old son, it's all about tentingon the sidewalk and enjoying the company of the hard-core U2 fans.

"It's not about just the concert, it's also the experience of lining up and meeting all the people, it's like a reunion, and meeting new people all the time. It's an awesome experience," said Muller.

U2 will play two concerts in Vancouver, before taking the show on the road. The first is Thursday, May 14, the second is the following night. Both concerts are at Rogers Arena.