Barcelona Fines U2 For Loudness

U2 played Barcelona’s Camp Nou Stadium June 30 and July 2, 2009. Since the dates were the first two dates of the 360° Tour, the band also rehearsed in Barcelona before the gigs. The fine resulted from the band rehearsing two hours over the scheduled midnight quitting time as well as from complaints about exceeding noise level restrictions during the concerts.

But U2 isn’t the only musical act coming under the city’s scrutiny. A spokeswoman said Barcelona is now considering fining Shakira for recording a video in the city without a permit, dancing in a fountain and riding a motorbike without a helmet.

Yeah, we know, rules are rules, but fining U2 for noise or Shakira for not having a proper permit or for not wearing a helmet doesn’t make Barcelona look very artist friendly.

On the other hand, if the city fines Shakira, we’d like to extend our personal invitation to the Colombian artist to consider our humble Pollstar campus for her next vid. We have our own fountain plus a gigantic parking lot where she can ride her chopper, sans helmet, as much as she wants.

And, if she wants to bring that noisy U2 along with her, all the better.