by Eric Rife

Well, after seeing them eight times, I think I can honestly say that I don't need to ever see U2 again - especially after last night's show which was one of the tamest, most expensive performances I've ever seen. Sometimes Bono can be a caricature of himself which can be distracting or, taken with a grain of salt, entertaining. Last night it was neither.

CityBeat, a local alternative weekly, made the observation that fans of U2 are kind of like crack addicts ... forever chasing that high we felt when we first embraced the band. When I first read the article I thought "well, THAT'S kind of harsh!" I saw several dates on the Joshua Tree tour as well as Popmart and the Elevation tours and with a couple exceptions, I always thought the show was worth whatever outrageous ticket price I paid.

But after shelling out $120 (face value, no less!) for an upper level ticket for a mediocre show, I think the crack analogy is apt.

There were some good moments - especially when they pulled out their earliest material - but the band never really seemed to gel as a unit. And maybe it's just me, but there's entirely too many slow songs.

As we left, I honestly felt embarrassed that I had shelled out so much money.

I understand it's the first night of the tour, but if the band expects people to shell out more than a hundred bucks a ticket (and really, where's the social consciousness in THAT?!?), then they really need to be at the top of their game. Otherwise, they shouldn't bother because they're only ripping off their fans.

Sorry! I really wish I didn't feel this way! Hopefully Wednesday night's show will be better....

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