by Nathan Scoggins

So Bono says that the goal is soul. Well, that's well and good, but THIS fan's goal was a playing opportunity on the mainstage. (Hey, if chicks can play guitar, I figure a newlywed can too, and made a sign indicating that very thing!) After hearing so many great fan stories, and having played guitar for 8 years, I figured, why not?

Got to the Providence Civic Center at 8:30 to line up for the heart... I will never, EVER refer to it as the Dunkin Donuts Center... my wife and I were #s 123 and 124. From the moment we showed up, we knew the show would be great. Met between 15-20 U2 fans -- Scott from ABC 6, Josh, Glen, Lindsey, Derek, Kristina, and soon-to-be-married Alex were just a few of the folks -- and the chemistry amongst fans was palpable. The greatest moment was when Glen took out his guitar and I took out my (freezing) vocal cords, and we sang "Bad" as a battery (okay, one) of cameras recorded us for the evening news.

Line was amazing, the security group really was on our side, gave us our floor wristbands at 2 just so things could be speeded up later. They were very cooperative and worked with us, and although there were a few line-cutters, line justice prevailed.

Stereophonics were surprisingly good, a real versatility and warmth that PJ Harvey sorely lacked. (If you're angry at people for not liking you, you're not going to get very far.)

Of course, once our boys came out (to the "Influx Remix" of Elevation), the crowd went ape. There was a real difference to this show -- maybe because the venue was so much smaller (15,000). A real intimacy, but also a real pensiveness, on both the part of the band and the crowd. Bono sincerely thanked several people for the signs they made -- and he seemed especially moved when the INXS T-shirt was thrown out. Vulnerable almost...much different from any concert before. (Granted, I've only been to four.)

Bono kept talking to us as though it was Boston -- in "Out of Control" he said, "gonna get a record deal, go to Boston," then hastily added, "pull into Providence RI...", and then later did it again. I think he could have consistently referred to us as though it were Sheboigan, the reaction would have been the same.

Chants of "USA, USA" were prominent... and for me, the only problematic moment of the night. I would think that the events of 9/11 would have humbled us into thinking that we weren't as big or important as we thought we were. Patriotism was the order of the night, and I wondered what Bono thinks about that -- he has always chided the US for its foreign policies (which may or may not have influenced the terrorists). I wonder what he thinks about being at the center of surging patriotism? And his new-found reverence for the American flag makes me wonder, since he has always admitted to being "sick of flags." I wonder if he realizes that the flag, for Americans, is just a symbol of America... or if he is putting his own convictions by the wayside to reach out to Americans where they're at?

Of course, the real question for me was whether I was going to get pulled up. Tragically, that wasn't the case -- but the evening wasn't given to such "rock-star" moments. Bono didn't pull anyone out of the audience to play or dance -- but the most powerful moment (reminiscent of Live Aid) was when he pulled himself up the railing behind the stage during "Bad" to connect with a girl who looked to be about 14 or 15. "What's your name?" he asked her, and while she looked to be in a state of shock, she screamed, "I LOVE YOU!!!" (Odd choice for a name, I thought, but then, I don't know her parents. Perhaps they're hippies :).)

The acoustic version of "Please" was incredibly appropriate...and an amazing reworking of a song that has always been amazing. More people sang along to it than I thought would have. And the MLK footage in "Pride" was incredibly appropriate... of course we miss "The Fly" and "With", but look, what more could you ask for in a U2 show? The final song of "Walk On" was phenomenal, a hymn for the lost, and a hymn for those left behind.

In the end, an amazing show. Far, far better than NJ on the first leg (sorry, the only show I can compare it to). Spiritual, human, ecstatic, elevation.

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